Best Nintendo Switch Halloween games 2021

Far before the first leaf falls each autumn, I’m already counting down the days to Halloween. When the haunting day arrives, I love nothing more than to curl up on the couch clutching my controller and eating candy. Whether you’re looking for something to play by yourself or for a spooky game to play with friends, here are the best Nintendo Switch games to celebrate All Hallows Eve this year. We’ve listed them from kid-friendly to terrifying.

For lighthearted spooks, you really can’t go wrong with Luigi’s Mansion 3. It stars our favorite cowardly plumber and his gooey doppelganger as they capture ghosts in a haunted hotel. Mario, Peach, and some Toads have all gotten captured, and it’s up to Luigi to save his lost friends.

Each floor has its own haunted theme, like spooky castle or pirates to shake up gameplay. Plus, this game even has multiplayer games for up to eight players. Once you unlock Gooigi, you and a friend can play through the main story in 2-player co-op mode. It’s a great fit for players of all ages and skill levels. If you’re hosting a spooky party, this is one of the best Halloween Switch games to have.

It might seem strange to have Animal Crossing on this list, but the game highlights real-world holidays and brings them to your virtual island. During October, you can collect spooky furniture and decorate your island.

Then on Halloween, you can go trick or treating and can even meet a pumpkin-headed ghost named Jack. Since the game allows you to visit other people’s islands or invite people to yours, it can really be a party whether your friends are close by or far away.

Nothing’s creepier than suburbia, especially when your neighbor is out to get you. This family-friendly game has you working to outwit an AI who learns tactics and evolves his strategies based on your actions. You’ll employ stealth and interact with your environment to get away safely.

This prequel to the original title has you trying to complete goals while playing hide and seek with your in-game brother. You’ll need to move stealthily and collect items, all the while being hunted down. If you get caught, you’ll lose everything you’ve acquired and have to start all over again. It’s a fun stealth horror game for teens.

This hand-drawn animated adventure stars a cynical talking cat, a gumshoe detective, and a librarian. During your play-through, the characters will discover crazy cultists, uncover conspiracies, and stumble into a dark overarching plot.

Take on the role of the mythical Pumpkin Jack as you platform your way through various levels to annihilate Good and perform the devil’s work. Along the way, you’ll solve puzzles, explore new locations, fight enemies, and find animal companions to battle at your side. This spooky game is rated Teen due to some language and fantasy violence.

This isn’t a horror game, per se, but you’ll find plenty of dark elements throughout the story. An essential part of the plot even takes place on Halloween, so that ties it in nicely. Don’t let those cute animal designs fool you; this game is oddly realistic, hilarious, sarcastic, and more relatable than most other games out there.

Mae is a college dropout with a dark past. She returns home to her depressing hometown to rekindle the friendships she left behind. During the process, she’ll make choices while hanging out with her friends that will impact the story’s outcome. See where your decisions lead you.

This visual novel centers around a young woman in a European countryside. She’s fed up with where her life is going, and it’s up to you to help her make new choices. The decisions you make affect her personality and appearance, plus there are some supernatural, witchy vibes making it a great fit this Halloween.

You play as a little boy who’s just escaped capture and is being hunted by the thing that you escaped from. To get away, you’ll need to solve puzzles and dive deeper into the story. With its minimalist design, dark imagery, and ominous music, this game is a great single-player for Halloween.

You play as a little boy trying to figure out what’s happened to your mother. Your only companion is your stuffed teddy bear as you wander around your dark house or the forest outside. This game has a lot of symbolic references and employs psychological tactics to try and scare you.

What could be creepier than being stuck in an oversized dollhouse? Oh, I know, being forced to find your way out before any of the monstrous residents can get a hold of you. This is a delightfully chilling puzzle platformer that will put you in scenarios that you could only find in your worse dreams. It’s perfect for Halloween.

Little Nightmares 2 is a direct sequel to the previous game and follows a young boy named Mono and the girl in the raincoat named Six as they investigate a strange hum coming from a tower. Several creepy enemies are lurking in the dark, along with references to classic horror movies. See if you can solve the puzzles, beat the bosses, and unravel the mystery.

This game employs beautifully chilling artwork in a 2D side-scrolling horror game that takes place during 1960s Taiwan. Your school is host to several hostile, supernatural forces, and you’re trapped inside. It’s up to you to uncover the haunting story behind what happened as you solve puzzles and come across evil beings.

This creepy masterpiece employs ominous music and simple silhouettes to invoke fear and uncertainty. You play as a little boy who’s chosen to enter LIMBO to find out what happened to his sister. You’ll solve puzzles and escape evil creatures on your journey. It’s not the scariest game out there, but it does a great job making you feel uneasy as you play.

A painter has succumbed to madness, and it’s up to you to investigate and figure out his past. You’ll encounter supernatural entities, psychedelic sequences, and psychological symbolism. As you navigate, your environment can change simply by shifting the camera. You never know what you might find in the room with you.

Looking for a single-player game to meet your horror needs? Dark Souls is an RPG that has you wandering around a cursed fantasy world, exploring dungeons, fighting menacing foes, and discovering hidden passageways. If you do want to play with others, you can play with up to six people online.

This action RPG has you playing as Jonathan E. Reid, a doctor from 1918 who just got turned into a vampire. Your insatiable need for blood forces you to stalk and kill innocent victims around London. You’ll engage in combat and have the opportunity to improve your abilities in the skill tree.

This is a visual novel where you play as a young man cursed by an evil spirit. The deranged being will eat your memories and kill you unless you can solve its puzzles and pacify its thirst for revenge. There’s a mystery to solve, dreadful curses to come across, and alternate endings depending on your choices.

You play the role of a blind woman trying to uncover the mystery of a recurring nightmare by exploring a haunted mansion. Through echolocation, you’re able to see glimpses of your surroundings. Tapping your cane on the ground as you walk reveals outlines of objects. This creepy mansion also has a horrifying presence that will kill you if you make a sound when it’s nearby.

Jen is sent to work as a maid at Ashmann Inn after getting expelled from the Flemington Girls’ Institute. Shortly after arriving, she discovers something isn’t quite right here. You’ll spend the majority of the game stealthily evading a creepy figure who wants to do you harm and searching rooms for useful items.

Dead by Daylight lets up to five players play together in the ultimate multiplayer horror game. One takes the role of the killer while the rest works together to survive. Or, you can depend on your skills to pull through the night. It’s one of the best Halloween Switch games, especially if you’re hosting a party.

Play with up to seven others as one of you takes on the role of Jason Voorhees and attempts to take the rest of you all out. This special edition includes all previously released DLC. As you play, you’ll unlock additional playable characters or versions of the infamous killer. See if you can survive the night.

A young woman has been murdered by the Raincoat Killer in a rural American town, and it’s up to FBI Special Agent Francis York Morgan to investigate. You’ll spend your time encountering supernatural enemies, gathering evidence, chasing down perpetrators, and escaping murderers in this open-world horror game.

If you loved the first game’s experience, then you really ought to check out this sequel/prequel. Agent York is back, this time tracking down details of a brand new murder in New Orleans. You’ll again need to survive encounters with supernatural entities as you deduce what happened to the victim.

The Amnesia: Collection comes with three horror classics: The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs, and Justine. These first-person action games require you to solve puzzles and interact with machinery while dangerous monsters are out to get you. There’s a lot of low lighting and creepy imagery to get your blood pumping.

This collection comes with Resident Evil 4, 5, and 6, which are some of the best games in the series. You can even play local or online multiplayer with Resident Evil 5 and 6. Each has you fighting creepy foes and blasting your way to safety, making it one of the best Halloween Switch games of the season.

You follow two teams, one comprised of Chris Redfield and Jessica, and the other made up of Parker Luciani and Jill Valentine, as they make their way through the Queen Zenobia, a supposedly abandoned cruise ship. Ammo is limited, and enemies are many. You’ll have to evade, explore, and gather to survive this game.

Claire Redfield returns in another horror classic. This time, she’s been abducted and left in an abandoned detention facility on a remote island with Moira Burton. You’ll have plenty of abominations jumping out and trying to get you as you make your way through the prison. During the story, you’ll learn who brought you here and why they did it.

You play as Miles Upshur, a journalist who breaks into Mount Massive Asylum after getting a tip about strange goings-on. What you didn’t realize was that this facility is filled with horrors beyond your imagination. So what makes this game so scary? You don’t have a weapon. The only thing you can do is run and hide to avoid certain death. What’s more, the only way to escape is to go further into the asylum.

In this sequel, you play as Blake Langermann, a cameraman who works alongside his wife Lynn as investigative journalists. The suspicious murder of a pregnant woman leads you both to a bizarre wilderness town in Arizona known as Temple Gate, where a demonic group of people lives. As with the first game, you don’t have a weapon, so your only option is to run and hide when an abomination is chasing you.

The best Halloween Switch games

Halloween is the best time of year—there’s candy, you get to dress up, and there are no obligations to see family. There’s no better way to get into the Halloween spirit than by playing your favorite video games. We’ve gathered up a range of spookers, from child-friendly games to terrifying horrors. That way, you can find the right amount of scariness for you or your loved one.

The game I recommend most is Luigi’s Mansion 3. This is a great game for all ages as it has you running around a haunted hotel that pays homage to several different spooky themes. You can play on your own or pass a Joy-Con to a friend for two-player co-op. If you have more people coming over, choose from one of the many multiplayer party games. Eight people can play together, either locally or online.

Looking for something a little more creepy? You should consider playing Little Nightmares: Complete Edition. You play as a child named Six who has been sucked into the Maw, a horrifying vessel controlled by evil creatures. To escape, you need to solve puzzles and avoid getting caught. It’s like something out of a Grimm brothers’ nightmare. If you want something downright horrifying, you’ll want to get your hands on Outlast: Bundle of Horror. This is the kind of game that will keep you up at night. You play as a journalist who’s gotten himself into a supernatural asylum. Demonic beings try to attack you, and your only defense is running away and hiding before they get to you.