Xbox goes all-in on the Halloween theme for October’s Games with Gold

At least a couple of treats

A lot of times, Microsoft misses the mark with Games with Gold. That’s not in terms of the quality being crappy — although that has certainly been a problem in the past — but in terms of disassociating months from their biggest holiday. Everyone’s in the mood so just give us what we’re already vibin’.

That is not a problem for this October’s Games with Gold. It is Halloweened to the max, with no time for anything other than scares and slayings. This is exactly how October should be. 

It starts strong on Xbox One as Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut is the first to die freebie. I actuꦕally wrote about thi🅰s little gem a few years ago. It’s a cutesy block-moving puzzle game where the goal is to murder everyone in any given scene. It’s well worth a try. Also, its name is a nod to Sleepaway Camp which is my favorite camp slasher movie. Joining the festivities halfway through the month is Maid of Sker&nb🔜sp;which ꦿcertainly looks more the part of a traditional horror game.

On the backward compatibility side of things, Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is available for the first half of October as an original Xbox game. Next up is Double Fine’s Costume Quest which I unapologetically adore. It might be time for a replay of that one. It’s breezy and light in all the right ways. This one doesn’t even have a Hardcorn mode to trip you up.

Here’s the full Xbox Games with Gold breakdown for October:

• Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut (Xbox One, available October 1 through October 31)
• Maid of Sker (Xbox One, available October 16 through November 15)
• Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (Xbox, available October 1 through October 15)
• Costume Quest (Xbox 360, available October 16 through October 31)