SPOOKWARE by BEESWAX GAMES and DreadXP (Publisher)

First, my one-sentence summary: SPOOKWARE is perfect for folks who want a blend of frantic Wario Ware style micro-games and B-grade horror movies (and are OK with occasional bugs and quality of life issues).

Next, a word from the publisher: “lay through loads of hand-crafted fast-paced microgames based on horror tropes, explore the world of the afterlife and help the skelebros live their death to the fullest.“

What worked for me:

Each of the three main characters has a distinct personality: Lefti is the timid one, Midi is the fourth-wall breaker, and Righti is the self-appointed cool guy. Generally speaking, I enjoyed watching the brothers interact.
The game offers a cheeky mix of humor and horror, like a slasher film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This includes everything from knowing winks to the player about being unable to move the camera to lots of bone jokes.
I appreciate that the game allows you to replay each of its mini-games, and that you can mix-and-match mini-games from various chapters in a custom “playlist.”
The game definitely has a distinct visual aesthetic, including everything from pixels to puppets
I appreciate the fact that each chapter has a different play style: games that focus on the D-Pad, games that focus on the shoulder buttons, and games that use the mouse. There’s lots of variety in that way.

What didn’t:

The game has lots of small quality of life issues, like not being able to skip cut-scenes after beating a chapter for the second time and too many dialogue boxes to confirm the start of a mini-game (e.g. the bongos mini-game).
Sometimes the game expects you to use the analogue stick, and others only the D-Pad works. This is made worse by the fact that the game never specifies which it expects. For example, the analogue stick didn’t work in the milk crane game (for lack of a better term), but the analogue stick has to be used in menus.
Even after beating Chapter 1 (and viewing the graduation ceremony cut-scene twice), Chapter 2 never unlocked. I’m not sure if I’ve hit a bug or if I’ve just missed something, but if its the latter I wish the game would just come out and say it. (If it’s the former, I wish the devs would patch the issue).
- UPDATE: I was able to access Chapter 2 by closing and re-opening the game. Yikes. That seems like a pretty basic issue that should’ve been ironed out before the game was released. According to Steam, it’s not like the game is in early access…
Chapters 6 and 7, as well as the “finale” and “epilogue” of the game are locked behind DLC. To add insult to injury, I’m not sure these episodes are even available for purchase at time of writing. I’m not really playing SPOOKWARE for the story, but it sucks to buy a game only to learn you didn’t really get all of it.

Conclusion:

SPOOKWARE is a great Halloween game, and perfect for fans of both horror movies and the Wario–Ware franchise. While it’s far from perfect, it offers a combination of tone and gameplay that isn’t available anywhere else. Ultimately, though this game isn’t for everyone, I suspect it’ll really work for the folks craving its specific brew of horror, comedy, and frenetic play.

Check it out here.