Summary
Iconic slasher horror properties make for great crossover potential into games, with some explicit examples found as a part of an abundance of licensed horror content available inDead by Daylight. Not every game is suitable for each horror icon to appear, butMortal Kombat Xmade for wonderful guest character additionsand some asymmetrical horror games have elected to feature an iconic slasher franchise each. Outside the realm of crossovers and decidedly niche asymmetrical games with short shelf lives, though, icons such as Michael Myers fromHalloweendon’t necessarily receive games that are incredibly unique anymore.
It would be difficult to make full-length action-adventure games to the standard ofmodern AAA budgetswith a killer character for a number of reasons. Because most action-adventure games are story-driven, it would be hard to script a story around a mute killer whose ambitions revolve purely around bloodshed, at least in Michael’s case. Still, while not every genre is suitable for such a character, it would be exciting to see a developer attempt to adapt a slasher franchise into theHitmanformula, andHalloweenis one of few where such gameplay would already feel right at home.
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The Halloween Slasher IP Would Be Perfect for a Hitman-Esque Game
Hitmangames are remarkably simple on paper and while the mechanics of different titles and game modes offer further comprehension, they boil down to players assassinating targets and attempting to avoid detection. This hasn’t truly been tapped by any other IP, at least not to the same extent, and it is therefore an avenue thatHalloweenand other slasher horror IPs could explore.
The targets that Agent 47 assassinates could be fully arbitrary and it wouldn’t matter to the player, who gets swept up into the gameplay loop and all of its possible permutations regarding the setting,available NPC disguises, and other elements that make for optimal routing.
If this gameplay system was tweaked a bit to be oriented around horror instead of espionage, though it could still operate similarly; asHalloween’s Michael, players could be given arbitrary teenagers or other individuals to stalk and kill, following them to their homes or destinations and planning out a perfect time to strike from the shadows. Stalking victims could involve detection from other NPCs and passersby while in a neighborhood in broad daylight, and hiding from view within victims’ homes could add a level of intensity that Michael might not experience, but that players surely would as they hope they’re not discovered lurking nearby.
Killing victims could also includea degree of improvisation thatHitmanis known forin terms of which instruments are around for players to wield as murder weapons, whether they’re able to select a chef’s knife from a kitchen or are forced to get more creative with whatever is found in a victim’s bedroom. Michael isn’t typically as concerned with hiding corpses as Agent 47 is, but it would still be a fun mechanic to have in aHitman-likeHalloweengame to stall players and have them be more meticulous about their kills unless they’re able to slip away unseen into the night thereafter.
Moreover, like Agent 47, Michael does like to wear masks and has been known to cleverly don items that obscure him as he gets close to victims, making his murderous tactics already applicable toHitman’s stealth techniques.Halloweenhas had enough installments now that aHitman-esque game adapting it should be able to pump out updates with new maps and content, too, which makes the premise thrilling despite no such game seemingly being in development at the moment.
