Glitchy Pixel’s Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror brings sprite-based spooks and top-down terror to the PS Vita this October.
The world needs more puzzle games involving ghosts. Sure, we get one every ten years or so, fulfilling the craving for strategically placing spectres to scare the heebie-jeebies out of our tiny targets, but that just isn’t often enough.
Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror is an indie game built around the concept of doing just that. You have a certain number of objects and powers on each map, and your goal is to leave every occupant you can fleeing for their life from your spectral might. What makes the game unique — even in a genre populated by, maybe, five games — is its cutesy aesthetic and variety of levels. Players get to scare the pants off targets in a variety of time periods, so if you ever wanted to watch a woman in a flapper dress flee from a shark-toothed Victrola, this is the game for you.
Maybe. If that can’t happen, then it should.
Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror follows in the footsteps of cult classics like Haunting starring Polterguy and Ghost Master, setting players up with a playground of jump scares to mess around with. The game comes from two-person team Glitchy Pixel, and has been their pet project for over three years. With successful Steam Greenlight campaign under their belt as well, the team has chosen to make the PS Vita one of the first platforms where their little haunter will make its ghostly appearance. If the screenshots they have are anything to go by, the Vita will make a great home for the game’s retro-simple visuals and slow-paced, strategy/puzzle driven gameplay. And, of course, the team has chosen October as the perfect time to bring the game to the masses, letting them cash in on the spook-tastic time of year to hopefully help drive sales as gamers prepare a few choice games for their halloween-themed pleasure.
Beyond simply October, Glitchy Pixel has provided no more specific information on exactly when Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror will premier. Nevertheless, the game is worth keeping an eye on, if for no other reason than how rare games like it come along.