The Best Halloween Game Launched 15 Years Ago Today and Remains Criminally Underrated

Arguably the best Halloween video game ever came out on this day 15 years ago, and it remains incredibly underrated. While there are plenty of horror titles that gamers look to play each October, there are very few games that deal directly with Halloween itself. Even those that are set during Halloween, like Batman: Arkham Knight, often don’t have a whole lot to do with the spookiest holiday of the year. Fortunately, one developer chose to lean directly into Halloween with an all-ages RPG, and it remains a must-play to this day.

Back in 2010, Costume Quest first launched on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Developed by Double Fine Productions, this turn-based RPG follows a set of kids on Halloween night as they explore their town to gather candy and defeat monsters known as Grubbins. The costumes that they wear, which can be swapped out at times, then give them powers that relate to that character that they can unleash in battle. It’s an ingenious idea for a game centered around Halloween and it still feels fresh despite now being 15 years in age.

Costume Quest Adorably Captures the Charm of Halloween

The best thing that Costume Quest taps into is the charm and excitement of Halloween when viewed through a child’s eyes. Darting from one house to the next to collect candy all while hanging out with your friends is something that we’re all only allowed to do for so many years as kids. Double Fine perfectly recaptures that magic in video game form better than almost any other piece of media I can think of.

Costume Quest also excels at making you feel powerful in the costume you’re wearing. Putting on that Darth Vader or Wolverine outfit as a kid always made you feel like you had the powers of the character you were emulating, even if you really didn’t. Costume Quest really puts this idea at the forefront by giving its cast of characters actual powers to take down monsters. It’s this sort of power fantasy that every kid dreams of, and being able to live it out in Costume Quest is so much fun from beginning to end.

I also think that Costume Quest should becelebrated for being one of the few games around Halloween that just about anyone can play. As mentioned, most games that people tend to play this time of year are horror-themed, which means that they’re aimed at mature audiences. Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Dead Space, and so many others are meant for adults, leaving kids with very little that they can play if they’re hankering for something associated with Halloween. Costume Quest doesn’t just perfectly fill that need, but it does so while also being a game that older audiences could get a kick out of as well.

Costume Quest Spawned a Larger Franchise Than You Might Realize

While Costume Quest hasn’t been all that relevant over the past decade, it has actually spawned a larger franchise than you might think. Outside of the original game, a sequel, Costume Quest 2, went on to release in 2014 and expanded on many of the mechanics and the story of the original. And while a third entry hasn’t come about, Costume Quest did get its own animated spin-off.

The Costume Quest TV series launched back in 2019 exclusively on Prime Video and was relatively well-received. This adaptation had a 13-episode run (in addition to a Christmas special) and featured the same style and characters from the video games. Despite capturing the spirit of the games, Costume Quest was never picked up for a subsequent season.

And if that wasn’t enough, there was also a graphic novel tied to the series called Costume Quest: Invasion of the Candy Snatchers. This comic launched alongside Costume Quest 2 in 2014 and instead centers around a group of Grubbins rather than children. It’s perhaps the least-known spin-off related to Costume Quest, but it’s still out there if you’re trying to get your hands on everything that has ever spawned from the series.

We Need More Costume Quest

It’s now been over a decade since we last received a new Costume Quest game, but I think that needs to be resolved quickly. Despite now being owned by Microsoft, developer Double Fine is still known to work on smaller, quirkier games, most recently seen by this month’s launch of Keeper. As such, there’s no reason that the studio can’t or shouldn’t go back to this franchise and make Costume Quest 3.

Even if Costume Quest 3 never happens, though, the first two games remain extremely underrated and are worth revisiting. I’ve gone back to Costume Quest on a handful of occasions over the years, and on each occasion, I’ve been so glad that I did. If you’re looking for a game to play by yourself or with your kids this Halloween, you really can’t do better than this.