‘Halloween’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ Collide In an Arcade-Style Game Franchise

Michael Myers has returned. But this time, he’s got company.

As first reported by IGN, Boss Team Games has announced not one, but two 16-bit side-scrolling action games based on the classic horror franchises Halloween and Evil Dead. Coming this October, RetroRealms: Halloween and RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead are the first in what appears to be a new franchise for the publisher focusing on bringing horror movie mainstays to gaming with an arcade style.

The official announcement trailer shows off each game’s pixelated viscera in all their glory, with both Halloween’s Michael Myers and Evil Dead’s Ash Williams (played by Bruce Campbell in the films), marching through levels inspired by their respective franchises, slashing and shooting their way through waves of enemies and towering boss battles in a tone reminiscent of movie tie-in games like Super Star Wars that dominated arcades and home consoles in the Eighties and Nineties.

Ash Williams and other Evil Dead characters were recently seen in 2022’s asymmetrical multiplayer title Evil Dead: The Game (also published by Boss Team), but Michael Myers has n’t starred in an official tie-in game since 1983’s Halloween for the Atari 2600. 

According to a press release, the games are being developed by WayForward Technologies, a California-based studio known for its retro-inspired 2D platformers based on classic IP, like 2024’s Contra: Operation Galuga and the upcoming Atari game revival Yars Rising, both of which have garnered positive reception from fans.

More curiously, the video teases that by purchasing both standalone games, players can take on the roles of each protagonist in crossover content that puts them in each other’s worlds. There’s also additional downloadable content that adds separate playable characters like Halloween’s final girl Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis’ long running character) and Kelly Maxwell, played by Dana DeLorenzo in the Starz series Ash vs Evil Dead. The pair-up incentivizes buying both games as a “double feature” bundle, similar to how Nintendo’s Pokémon encourages the purchase of multiple versions of each game.

Following the back-to-back announcements of RetroRealms and another Halloween-based standalone game from Boss Team Games, it looks like Michael Myers (otherwise known as The Shape) is coming back in a big way. John Carpenter, director of the original 1978 film and overseer of the franchise, is confirmed to be involved with the development of at least one of the two new releases, on top of spearheading his own game based on an original IP, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, due out later this year.

This isn’t the first time the two horror movie giants have clashed in a game. Currently, fans of multiplayer game Dead by Daylight can access both characters with Ash as a playable survivor in the online game and Michael Myers serving as one of its killers. Both characters are extra downloadable content that can be purchased in-game.

RetroRealms: Halloween and RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead will be released on Oct. 18, 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.