It's hard to believe that October is almost over. I honestly feel as though I blinked and, all of a sudden, 2018 was nearly gone. We did get some really good video games along the way, though, and the year's not over yet. We still have to plumb the depths of Lovecraftian nightmares, relive the byzantine saga of a boy and his giant key, and save the world of Sanctuary... again. You know, I was going to play Until Dawn for Halloween, but maybe I should just roll up a Necromancer instead...

XSEED Games is starting to bring the remaining Corpse Party titles to PC, beginning October 29th with Corpse Party: Book of Shadows. This continuation of the terrifying Heavenly Host ordeal sheds new light on the events that transpired in the original game, with a whole new batch of horrible ends the characters can come to. Should be a bloody good time, and right around the Halloween season, too!

And now to interrupt your spooky game lineup with...dads! This visual novel from the Game Grumps is being launched for the PS4 this week, and the PC version will be updated accordingly. Enjoy some (probably punny and wholesome) content cut from the original release as well as more minigame options. Not to be too parental, but it's a good idea to read our original review. You'll thank us later.

The writings of H.P. Lovecraft have had a tremendous influence on the horror genre, even if one kind of gets the feeling that "ya boi H.P." was less scared of unknowable terrors from the deep and more... well, let's just say that the dude was racist even by the standards of his time (for extra fun, Google what he named his cat). But putting all of that aside, the psychological nature of Lovecraftian horror has rarely been applied well to video games: I can think of a handful of successful examples, like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but aside from that, the "winnable" nature of video games sort of runs counter to the themes in Lovecraft's stories. We'll see if the new Call of Cthulhu games gets it right this Tuesday. While you're waiting for our review, check out our preview from E3.

With the impending release of Kingdom Hearts III, it is imperative to catch up on the... let's be charitable and call it "incomprehensible gibberish" that is the Kingdom Hearts storyline. Hey, I still love it! Square Enix is giving players an opportunity to get current on the series with Kingdom Hearts - The Story So Far -, a compilation of all the Kingdom Hearts games (well, six games and two games' worth of cinematics) for forty bucks, making this a steal if you've missed the boat on this franchise. I already own all of these games several times over, and I will need to be physically restrained to prevent myself from buying this collection. Just saying.

Another spooky game for the frightening season, and this one decided to arrive on the day itself. Death Mark is an intriguing horror visual novel/adventure game where a mysterious mark appearing on people's bodies portends their imminent demise. The game will be hitting the PS4, Vita, and Switch on Halloween.

"When you speak, I hear silence..." Sorry, that soundtrack is going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Supergiant Games' second title, Transistor, is making its way to Nintendo Switch in the wake of its predecessor, Bastion, earlier this year. Follow the enigmatic Red and her trusty talking sword companion (I'd say it makes sense in context, but it doesn't) through a gorgeous cyberpunk cityscape. To see what we thought of it, check out Rob Steinman's review.

It's a good week for adventure games as yet another classic, Machinarium, releases on the Switch. Now we can have tiny robot adventures on the go. It's difficult not to be charmed as you help your little robot friend out of the scrapyard; it's the perfect way to round out your collection and appreciate the artistic atmosphere (especially if you don't own it yet). See our previous review for details!

...yeah, it's going to be awfully hard not to give in and buy Diablo III again. Blizzard really turned this game's fortunes around with the excellent Loot 2.0 system and Reaper of Souls expansion, and the game has one of the finest console ports ever devised. Now, you can hack and slash through Sanctuary on the go, because the Eternal Collection will be hitting Nintendo Switch on November 2nd. Groovy.

And that's a wrap for this week, folks! Happy Halloween, and we'll see you next time.