Announced yesterday, Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield in the asymmetric stealth horror game Halloween: The Game from Illfonic and Gun Interactive, which is dedicated to immersing players in the chilling and iconic world of John Carpenter’s original Halloween.
What sets this horror franchise-based game apart from recent games including The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Killer Klowns from Outer Space? Unlike those games, Halloween: The Game will feature its very own single-player mode! But what exactly does that mean?
In addition to the online multiplayer version of the game, Halloween: The Game will also feature offline bots so that gamers can play matches solo, but what’s most important to note here is that the game will also feature a legit SINGLE-PLAYER STORY MODE, something that other asymmetric games in the horror IP space have been ignoring in recent years.
The official press release teased, “Whether playing solo in story mode, against bots offline, or facing others in online multiplayer, each mode rewards stealth, strategy, and skillful play.”
What else do we know about Halloween: The Game‘s single-player component(s)? We poked around the game’s official website to learn more, and Bloody Disgusting also exclusively spoke with the developers at Illfonic for a preview piece that has some more info.
The game’s official website details, for starters, “Heralded as one of the very best in the genre, John Carpenter’s Halloween stands above the rest when it comes to storytelling and tension. [Illfonic CCO] Jared Gerritzen knew that this project wouldn’t have been complete with just a fun multiplayer experience; there needed to be an immersive single-player component to fully bring a true horror experience to players.”
“When we looked at how can we take asymmetrical horror to the next level for this project we knew adding in a single-player mode would set us apart from other titles in the genre,” Gerritzen shares. “We believe that fun factor and gameplay comes above all and adding this in definitely adds to that formula.”
The website also notes, “the narrative for single-player in Halloween takes on a new shape. Playing as Michael Myers, walk through memorable locations from the 1978 classic such as the Myers House or bask in the recreated atmosphere of Haddonfield.”
The single-player story mode for Halloween: The Game places emphasis on “exploration and replayability,” with those two things “largely informing the design of story mode.” Additionally, “special items and collectibles” will be exclusive to the game’s story mode.
As Harrison Abbott notes in our exclusive interview with Illfonic, “Developed in collaboration with PollardStudio (who brought us Karma: The Dark World earlier this year), this mode will thrust you into the coveralls of The Shape and have you facing off against the townspeople of Haddonfield, the police and, of course, that pesky busybody Dr. Loomis.”
Illfonic’s Lead Designer Jordan Mathewson told BD, “It’s such a fun mode. You’ll get to have a very controlled Halloween experience that will hopefully drive even more people towards the multiplayer. We can’t wait to show it off in the near future.”
While many of these types of games inevitably seem to die off when large numbers of people stop playing them, the news of Halloween: The Game having a single-player story mode, as well as offline bots, becomes quite compelling. And it could very well be the thing that keeps us playing the game for many, many years to come. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.
Halloween: The Game will be released sometime in 2026.
Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth’s prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has two awesome cats. Still plays with toys.
