Is Halloween: The Game worth it?

Where the Steam rating stands

The rating opened at 71.8% positive (“Mostly Positive”) and now stands at 66.9% across 15,371 reviews (“Mixed”). Steam switches a game from Mostly Positive to Mixed below 70%, so the label change is a threshold, not a collapse. A slide like this usually means later buyers ran into problems the first wave did not. The sections below show which ones.

What the negative reviews are about

Share of the 399 most recent negative English-language reviews that mention each theme. A review can mention several, so the bars do not add to 100%. The story-mode bug has its own note on the challenges page.

• 32%Other bugs and glitches
• 25%Balance: Michael too strong or too weak
• 18%Price and amount of content
• 16%AI and NPC behaviour
• 16%Performance: frame rate, stutter, crashes
• 5%Matchmaking, queues, disconnects
• 1%Controls and controller support

What the positive reviews are about

The same breakdown for the 400 most recent positive reviews.

• 12%Playing as civilians
• 7%Playing as Michael
• 7%Story mode
• 7%Multiplayer with friends
• 7%Fun, but needs patches
• 3%Atmosphere, music, faithfulness to the film

Players who stuck with it liked it more. The median negative reviewer had played 18.3 hours; the median positive reviewer had played 28. Either the game rewards pushing through a rough start, or the problems hit early enough to end a first session. Steam’s automatic refund window closes at two hours, so decide early.

What the patches fixed, and what they did not

The balance complaints got a direct answer in Patch 1.0.3. Civilian melee was toned down so squads can no longer one-shot Michael into a down, especially with Bob, Laurie or perks that boost damage while Drunk. Michael now gets a short buff after getting up from Downed. The wood axe and pickaxe hit a little softer and slower, heavy weapons, rifles and shotguns spawn less often, fast civilians were slowed and slow ones sped up.

Patch 1.0.4 went after stability: memory and GPU crashes on Xbox Series X|S, a single 30 FPS graphics mode on Series S, the crash when Loomis spawns in, and crashes after finishing a Story Mission or loading into a match on every platform. Every current player also received 10,000 Perk Points. Every change is on the patch notes page.

The complaint to watch is the one 0% of recent negative reviews describe: finishing a story chapter, getting a black screen, and being put back at the start of the same chapter with its challenges uncounted. If story mode is why you would buy this, read the story-mode note first.

What you are paying for

How it compares to what you might buy instead

Three side-by-side comparisons covering format, price, single-player, crossplay and availability.

• Halloween: The Game vs Friday the 13thSame developer, same publisher, same genre. A sequel in everything but name.
• Halloween: The Game vs Dead by DaylightThe genre's incumbent versus a single-licence game with a story mode.
• Halloween: The Game vs Texas Chain Saw MassacreBoth published by Gun Interactive, and the closest thing to a like-for-like comparison.

Frequently asked

Is Halloween: The Game worth buying?

It depends on which complaints would bother you. The Steam rating stands at 66.9% positive across 15,371 reviews ("Mixed"). The biggest complaints are other bugs and glitches and balance: michael too strong or too weak; the biggest praise goes to playing as civilians and playing as michael. Players who liked it had put in 28 hours at the median, against 18.3 for those who did not.

Why is the Steam rating Mixed?

It started above 70% positive and has since slipped below it. Of the 399 most recent negative reviews, 32% mention other bugs and glitches and 25% mention balance: michael too strong or too weak. Price relative to content and a story-mode progression bug come next.

Should I wait for a patch?

The big fixes have started landing. Patch 1.0.3 rebalanced civilian melee so Michael can no longer be one-shot downed so easily, gave Michael a buff after he gets up from Downed, and evened out civilian speeds. Patch 1.0.4 fixed a batch of crashes on every platform (including after finishing a Story Mission), stabilised Xbox Series X|S, and gave players who were already playing when the patch arrived 10,000 Perk Points. If you held off because of crashes or unfair fights, now is a better time to jump in.

Can I refund it on Steam if I do not like it?

Steam's standard refund policy applies: a request within 14 days of purchase with under two hours played is normally approved automatically. The median negative reviewer had played 18.3 hours, often past that window, so make up your mind inside your first two hours.

Is it cheaper anywhere, or sold in Australia?

$39.99 for the Digital Standard Edition on every platform, with a Digital Deluxe above it. It is not sold in Australia at all, because the game was refused classification there, while New Zealand can buy it on Steam at NZ$60.99.

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