Is Halloween: The Game worth it?

Where the Steam rating stands

The rating opened at 71.8% positive on launch day, when Steam labelled it “Mostly Positive”, and now stands at 69.8% across 8,806 reviews, labelled “Mixed”. Steam moves a game from Mostly Positive to Mixed when it drops below 70% — which is a threshold about the label, not a cliff in the game. A slide of this size in the first days after launch usually means the people arriving after the first wave are hitting problems the first wave did not, and the sections below say which.

What the negative reviews are about

Of the 399 most recent negative English-language reviews, the share that mention each theme. A review can mention several, so the bars do not add to 100%. These are complaint categories, not a bug list — the specific story-mode bug has its own note on the challenges page.

• 38%Other bugs and glitches
• 32%Performance: frame rate, stutter, crashes
• 20%Price and amount of content
• 16%AI and NPC behaviour
• 10%Balance: Michael too strong or too weak
• 9%Story mode: chapter restarts, progress not saved
• 3%Matchmaking, queues, disconnects
• 2%Controls and controller support

What the positive reviews are about

The same cut across the 399 most recent positive reviews.

• 14%Playing as civilians
• 13%Multiplayer with friends
• 12%Fun, but needs patches
• 11%Story mode
• 6%Playing as Michael
• 5%Atmosphere, music, faithfulness to the film

The sharpest number on this page: the median negative reviewer had played 2.8 hours; the median positive reviewer had played 10. That supports two readings and this page will not pick one for you: that the game rewards people who push through the launch problems, or that the problems arrive early enough to end a first session — and Steam’s automatic refund window closes at two hours.

What the launch patch fixed, and what it did not

The Day One Patch 1.0.1 notes run to 45 transcribed changes under 11 headings — cross-play matchmaking, NPC pathing, stamina rebalanced by Athleticism level, and a long general fix list including crash fixes. All of it is on the patch notes page, line by line.

What it did not fix is the thing 9% 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. The notes acknowledge challenge tracking as a work in progress and do not name the restart loop. If story mode is why you would buy this, read that note first.

What you are paying for

How it compares to what you might buy instead

Three side-by-side comparisons, each built from specifications rather than opinions: format, price, single-player, crossplay, availability.

• Halloween: The Game vs Friday the 13thSame developer, same publisher, same genre — this is 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. Different products.
• 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?

That depends on which of the measured complaints would bother you, and this page lays them out rather than deciding for you. The Steam rating stands at 69.8% positive across 8,806 reviews, labelled "Mixed". The largest complaint themes are other bugs and glitches and performance: frame rate, stutter, crashes; the largest praise themes are playing as civilians and multiplayer with friends. The median positive reviewer had played 10 hours against 2.8 for the median negative one.

Why is the Steam rating Mixed?

It opened above 70% positive on launch day and slid below it within two days. Of the 399 most recent negative reviews, 38% mention other bugs and glitches and 32% mention performance: frame rate, stutter, crashes. Price relative to content and a story-mode progression bug are the next largest themes.

Should I wait for a patch?

The Day One Patch 1.0.1 fixed cross-play matchmaking, rebalanced stamina and shipped a long general fix list, but a story-mode bug that restarts a chapter after you finish it is still widely reported after it. If story mode is your reason to buy, the honest answer is that the thing you want is the thing most often reported broken.

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 here had played under three hours, which is past the automatic window — decide inside your first two hours if you can.

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 on Steam in Australia at all — the Classification Board refused it a rating — while New Zealand can buy it at NZ$60.99.

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