Halloween: The Game is IllFonic’s 1v4 asymmetric horror built on the John Carpenter classic: one player stalks Haddonfield as Michael Myers while up to four civilians try to survive the night. But unlike its genre cousins, the town is populated: NPC residents live in these houses, and talking to them is half the game. Here’s how a match actually works.
The Setup
- One Michael, up to four player civilians, plus NPC residents scattered across the map (four launch maps: East Haddonfield, Haddonfield Heights, Orange Grove Estates, and Haddonfield Town Center).
- Civilians win by escaping, surviving the night, or getting Michael arrested. Michael wins by working through his kill list.
- There’s also a separate single-player story mode, The Night He Came Home, played as Michael.
The Civilian Game: Talk to Everyone
The defining mechanic is the NPC conversation system. Approach a resident and you can, via a conversation mini-game:
- Ask them to call the police (builds police presence toward rescue and reinforcements)
- Ask them to follow you or head to an exit
- Hand them weapons so they’re not helpless when Michael arrives
Phones work similarly with skill checks, and every successful call builds toward the police response. Michael can cut phone lines, so a dead phone tells you something important: he’s been here.
Weapons: Small Escapes, Big Stops
Weapon size has distinct jobs:
- Small weapons (pocket knife, butterfly knife) are escape tools: they break you out of Michael’s grab.
- Large weapons (guns, axes) can actually down Michael, setting up the arrest play that wins matches outright (see our detain guide).
If Michael carries a victim off, they get wiggle skill-checks to fight free, and marked spots around the map trigger his environmental special kills, so watch where you get grabbed.
Your First-Match Priorities
- Find a weapon early, small for insurance, large if you’re brave.
- Talk to every NPC you pass: police calls compound, and armed NPCs are speed bumps for Michael.
- Learn one escape route per map before trying to be a hero.
- Watch the Reinforcements timer: dead teammates can return as police, so death isn’t the end of a match.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there crossplay? Yes, across PC (Steam and Epic), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
How much does it cost? $39.99 standard; the Digital Deluxe ($59.99) adds two extra civilians (Richard and Alexis) to the ten-character base roster.
Can I play offline? The single-player story mode is exactly that, and it doubles as Michael practice for multiplayer.
Is Laurie Strode in it? Yes, Laurie, Annie, Lynda, and Bob headline the civilian roster, with character-specific traits (Laurie’s extends Michael’s downed time, for instance).