Halloween 1985 Review

Halloween 1985 tells the story of Pumpkman who has to hunt down a handful of monsters that stole his pumpkins. Our little protagonist will have to go through five arena-like levels to recuperate his pumpkins in each of a monster’s lair before a final showdown.

Halloween 1985 is a 2D action platformer where players need to walk around various levels, dodging enemies and obstacles while grabbing his pumpkins. Our little protagonist cannot defend himself, at least directly. In each level, there’s a few hazardous trap you can use to knock enemies and the main monster of the level.

For example, one of the levels, you need to open window drapes at the same time an enemy or Dracula gets in front of it to attack him. Another example is a Mine level where you need to shock the werewolf with a switch; again requiring great time. Although killing the enemies is optional, but gives additional points.

You have three lives to get through all six levels. And it’s one hit kill, so it requires a bit of strategy. The game offers three modes: Beginner, Expert and Speedrun. Once you’ve cleared Beginner, you can unlock and when you clear Expert, which requires completing all levels twice, you can unlock Speedrun mode.

The game looks fine. It’s a colorful 2D 8bit gaming experience. Each level has its unique theme and design. Enemy design is limited. The soundtrack is a mediocre, borderline ear-grating chiptune soundtrack that you’ll drown out either because you’re focused on not dying or by muting the TV.

Nothing inherently wrong here. It’s a short, cutesy restrained platformer although it feels shallow. Can’t help but feel that a more traditional 2D action platformer style of game would’ve given this game a bit more life. It’s also score based, so unless you’re hellbent on beating your own score, there’s isn’t much of a reason to replay this.

Halloween 1985 is an enjoyable, albeit shallow and limited gaming experience. But this game is definitely more aimed at the younger gamers of the household. Older gamers will find this a walk in the park, but younger ones will find this an enjoyable and fairly challenging experience for their skill level.