Great promo, although I have to agree that the lack of Costume Quest is odd. Perhaps a special 1-day discount on the 31st? ( I already bought my copy a few weeks ago, but it seems like the perfect game to buy/play on Halloween. )

Anyhow, I like Horror games, so I grabbed a few titles from the promo, and I'll have to give the two new releases a closer look some time in the future. :)

Challenge accepted. :P

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The Story of a Haunted PC by TheEnigmaticT:

Let me tell you the story *click* of the Haunted PC.

Our story begins with a young man named Robbie. Robbie was not a nice boy, above all he loved to torment his siblings. He would jump at them behind corners and laugh when they startled with fright, he would play Punch Buggy with them and he put sand in their sandwiches and overall Robbie was a spoiled little brat. Even when his younger brother Todd broke his leg riding a bicycle, still Robbie didn't stop tormenting him.

One summer as they pulled up in the driveway to visit their grandparents, Robbie raced out the door and ran up the stairs shouting, "I'm going to play some video games!"

Todd behind him, much slower, shouted, "No fair! It's my turn!"

Now, Robbie didn't really like playing video games but he did like tormenting his younger brother. So he ran up to the top of the stairs and then hid in the linen closet and listened and behind him he could hear Todd, with his cast and crutches, coming up the stairs, -thump- -tap-, -thump- -tap-, -thump- -tap-. And when Todd reached the top of the stairs Robbie leapt out from the closet and said, "Punch Buggy says, 'ow!'" and punched Todd on the shoulder and Todd jumped back, startled. But unfortunately one of his crutches got tangled in his legs and with a crash, and a clatter, and a CRUNCH, he fell to the bottom of the stairs. And just - like - that Todd was dead.

After the ambulance, and the hospital, and the funeral, and the blame, Robbie was a very different boy than he used to be. But one night, not too many months after that terrible accident, over again at his grandparents' house, Robbie was unable to sleep thinking about Todd. He climbed up the stairs and went into the playroom and decided he would sit down and see what video game it was that Todd was going to play. He knew Todd liked to play scary games and thought maybe it would be something he could play while he waited the night through. So he turned the PC on and the fans made a sigh like the sound someone would make sitting down if they climbed the stair with a broken leg. And the speakers made a crackle like someone opening a package of snacks. And the hairs on the back of Robbie's neck rose. But a guilty mind plays tricks on people, so Robbie told himself, nothing's going on, it's just the wind.

But then he heard it, at the bottom of the stairs, -thump- -tap-, but surely that was just the house settling or maybe a mouse in the walls or something. But again it came -thump- -tap-, -thump- -tap-. And now Robbie was sure his sisters or someone was playing a prank on him but he wouldn't let them win, so he just hunched his shoulders down and pretended he didn't hear it. But it came up the stairs louder, -thump- -tap-, -thump- -tap-, -THUMP- -TAP-. "Come on guys, stop being funny," Robbie whispered.

And then, then he saw a reflection in the monitor behind him; his brother Todd's face, skin grey and clammy with the pallor of death, and his face spoke, a low rumble, "Punch Buggy says, 'ow!'" and something punched Robbie on the shoulder. With a terrified scream Robbie leapt up and ran out of the room and headed for the stairs and as he started down the stairs he felt something slip between his ankles. As he looked down to see what he was tripping on there was a ghostly outline of a pair of crutches and then with a crash, and a clatter, and a CRUNCH, Robbie fell to the bottom of the stairs and broke his neck. And just like that Robbie was dead.

*click* They say to this day if you're unfortunate enough to play that scary game that Todd wanted to play that day and foolish enough to play at night in the dark, that Todd will come for you.

So by all means get a scary game this Halloween, enjoy it, play it at night even if you dare. But if you know what's good for you listen carefully and turn it off if you hear -thump- -tap-, -thump- -tap-, -thump- -tap-.

Was it one of these? Do you dare?

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Regarding the Gabriel Knight 1 remake, I'm skeptical that a remake will be able to accurately capture the charm of the original and if ever a game was deserving of a remake this is it... but it seems rare that a remake actually equals or exceeds that of the original.

Oookay, i trusted you and now its No. 273 on my shelf ;-)
you know i will sick the worst possible on you if the game isn't good, beware of the wrath of the blue Hippo

Blackstone Chronicles would have been a nice addition to this party.

I'm really hoping GOG can get that game sometime in the future.

Last time I played an horror game on PC, it was the demo of a newly released game called "Alone in the Dark". I'm actually thinking of trying a more modern entry of the genre. Would that game be a good start? I'm more interested in a good, fear-inducing atmosphere than mere jumpscares.

I think it would be a very good start. :)

Amnesia does have its share of jump scares at certain moments, but it's really about the constant feeling of fear and tension. The atmosphere is fantastic, and there are some decent puzzles.

Excellent. I know what I'll be playing tomorrow after work. :)
Thank you.

Rather disappointed this is just a couple of horror games instead of a seasonal sale. Will probably pass on this as the few games I'm interested in I already own - Gabriel Knight, Alone in the Dark, etc.

I'm not saying it's a bad promo, certainly lots of people seem to be enjoying it. It's just not for me this time. Which is probably good since I tend to get weak around sales and I have no money.

That was good of you.
Tet has a really captivating voice, and you forget to listen to the story..

I've been waiting for this! My supply of unplayed horror games is running low, time to restock. Thanks GOG!

For others curious about the games, here are my micro-reviews of the ones I've played to completion:

Clive Barker's Undying: Decent horror FPS, which more of an emphasis on spellcasting than shooting. It's mostly "boo" horror, but the environments were moody enough to keep me interested despite the fact that I don't normally like shooters.

Sanitarium: Plays like a pulp adventure magazine come to life. There are some horror chapters, but also weird sci-fi adventure and some magical two-fisted tales. If you like the "pulp anthology" format, you'll love this. If you're looking for a straight horror game, you might find the campier stories offputting.

Phantasmagoria: It's an FMV haunted-house game - you probably already know whether you like this sort of thing. (I eat it up with a spoon!) Expect the usual cheesy acting and cheap FX, but with some surprisingly decent gore thrown in. I had a lot of fun with it.

Phantasmagoria 2: A much-dumber sequel that ditches the original story and goes for more of an "evil corporation" angle. Might be worth playing just to laugh at all the stupid parts.

Gabriel Knight: A serviceable point-and-click adventure with a voodoo theme. At no point did I find it scary, but if you're a fan of classic point-and-clicks you could do worse.

Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within: By far my favourite game in the series; this game tells the best werewolf story I have come across. The whole game is drenched in Bavarian history - it actually plays out a lot like a really well-written scenario for Call of Cthulhu. Highly, highly recommended for people who enjoy horror fiction mixed with real historical events.

Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned: This entry in the GK series mixes Grail lore with vampire mythology. The concept is fun and the game's big "treasure hunt" puzzle is a lot of fun to solve; but the story never manages to be quite as engaging or moody as The Beast Within.

I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream: Probably the darkest, bleakest video game ever made. If you can get past the fairly obscure puzzles (solutions often involve symbolism moreso than conventional "logic") and the unforgiving difficulty, you're in for one of the most "mature" game experiences (in the true meaning of that word) that you're likely to come across.

Alone in the Dark 1: Worth playing if you're interested in gaming history, but probably not for its own sake - the controls and graphics have aged very poorly. On the other hand, it's pretty short, so the shortcomings don't have time to get too annoying.

Great post, and I'm sure it will be very useful to people. +1!

Thanks for the transcript and +1!