We previously reported on the announcement of Halloween 1985, an arcade-inspired retro platform game developed by Spoonbox Studio and Ratalaika Games, and published by the ever-reliable indie publisher Eastasiasoft.

And now the pivotal date of spooky season is upon us, we thought we’d let you know what we think of the game, after spending a few spine-chilling sessions getting to grips with its spooky platforming goodness.

As you’ll no doubt habve ascertained from the title of the game, it’s set exactly 40 years ago today, on Halloween 1985. The game also plays like it was released 40 years ago (but in the best way!), being a rock hard single-screen platformer in the vein of the likes of Donkey Kong and Popeye, but with a suitably seasonal spooky twist!

Halloweeen 1985’s graphics are just like those you’d find on arcade platformers of the 1980s, with colorful, charmingly designed spooky characters, such as the pumpkin-headed hero of the game, and other spooky beasties such as werewolves, and vampires.

While the gameplay of Halloween 1985 offers little  new, it accomplishes what it sets impressively, with well-designed levels, and a couple of welcome additions to the tried and tested ladder climbing, baddie leaping and goodie collecting you’d expect from a title of this genre. Each level has an essential goal that must be completed to continue to the next, namely collecting all the on-screen items, but there are also  additional optional bonus quests for the completists amongst you to embark upon, such as collecting the pumpkins in order, or banishing monsters, which is  done by a neat mechanic of turning on a light to shine on them, which is something a little different from the standard shooting or stomping that you’d find in other platform games, and it suits Halloween 1985’s horror theme well.

In Halloween 1985, Eastasiasoft have created the perfect retro-style arcade platform game, with appealing graphics, an enjoyable chiptune soundtrack, tight controls and classic arcade gameplay (but with a slight twist from the fun  light-shining mechanic), and all for a scarily low budget price!

We really enjoyed Halloween 1985, and if you’re a fan of old-school arcade platformers then you will too, and today’s the perfect day to pick it up on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, or Xbox (version tested). We’re already looking forward to another forthcoming Eastasiasoft release – the shooter LightRiders, on which we’ve previously reported.