Retro-inspired Halloween, Evil Dead platformers coming this October — with a little twist

RetroRealms Announcement Trailer

Remember when Boss Team Games announced it was working on two games based on the 1978 slasher classic Halloween yesterday? Well, the studio followed up on that news today by revealing one of those games is a 16-bit action platformer, and it’s coming out in October.

WayForward Technologies has teamed up with Boss Team on the first two titles for RetroRealms, a new series of retro-inspired console and PC games. The first are ones based on Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead, and both are set to release on October 18 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

“Everyone at Boss Team Games are huge fans of horror and getting to work with these legendary properties is a dream come true,” Boss Team CEO Steve Harris said in a press release. The studio had previously worked on the asymmetric 4v1 Evil Dead: The Game, and is working with John Carpenter on another Halloween title being developed in Unreal Engine 5.

RetroRealms: Halloween and RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead are both 16-bit platformers. They’re not exactly movie accurate, but in the trailer, you can see familiar set pieces from each franchise; you can control Ash running his chainsaw arm through crowds of enemies or Michael escaping from prison and heading to the old Myers home.

“We’ve designed a whole new kind of gameplay that is unique to the RetroRealms titles and highlights the over-the-top gore and special abilities of these characters,” WayForward president Voldi Way said in the press release.

They’re standalone titles that are purchased separately, but buying both unlocks new features, including the ability to move characters from one to the other. What would it be like to have Michael Myers take out the demons from the Evil Dead franchise? There’s also a hub called RetroRealms Arcade where players can access the games, redeem in-game tickets, and check out other content.

Each RetroRealms game will cost $25 individually or for $50 in a Double