It’s that dreadful time of the this time of the year (Perfect Halloween Game). The time of year when we dress as scary creatures of evening and (depending on the age of you) wander from house to home looking for candy. In this period, we engage in activities that bring us in the spooky festive spirit like watching frightening films or decorate the home with elaborate skeletons and ghosts. One of my favourite rituals is playing an eerie game in October. For me there’s one game I’m always drawn back to; Luigi’s Mansion.
Luigi’s Mansion is a game that I purchased when I first received my Nintendo Gamecube as a ten year old. When I first started playing it I was captivated by the characters as well as the music “Ghostbusters” kind of gameplay and the overall atmosphere. The atmosphere has impressed me at the time and today. The first game has an ideal balance between fun and really frightening, which is something that the previous games were not capable of doing. While I enjoyed those sequels some snarkiness in their overall atmosphere. Certain of the games later were too much a part of the cutesy style, which made it seem less scary (Perfect Halloween Game).
Perfect Halloween Game
When you play the first it’s like being in a haunted house. It’s not a horror game but there are plenty of goofy elements that make it entertaining however, this mansion cannot make you feel any less a feeling of apprehension every time you step into a dark space. Although all of the Mario characters appear and feel cartoonish but the actual mansion is a bit spooky. It’s old and worn-out and there’s dust everywhere and there’s hardly any lighting, aside from some candles or the occasional strike of lightning that illuminates the dark spaces. The other thing that makes the space more enticing can be the sound.
The music moves with a lively pace and the instruments emit the impression of unease and anxiety. The piano can play themes from the house by itself and the strings come in from time to time. The music is perfect for an unsettling house in a perfect way. The game’s bosses also receive excellent music, with tracks that emphasize the dangers Luigi is in. The music, just like the other aspects of the game allows for a balance of fun with real creepiness. The result is an experience that is perfect for Halloween.
Halloween to me at the very most, was about the balance of having fun in childhood with the most terrifying of atmospheres. If you make it too scary, and it scares children, it will keep them away from celebrating the holiday. When you are making it too child accessible, it will lose the authenticity and scares that create the holiday’s uniqueness. A great Halloween should aim for what adults and kids consider to be terrifying for everyone. Dark corridors, old homes and night creatures and the idea of things lurking in dark, waiting to strike are terrifying to nearly everyone. Luigi’s Mansion is a game which embodies the universal terror that can make something like Halloween thrilling and terrifying.
