RetroRealms Arcade Halloween & Ash vs. Evil Dead promises a fun retro experience.

Everyone has the right to experience one good fright.

Upon first inspection, RetroRealms Halloween & Ash vs. Evil Dead might appear to be a run-of-the-mill licensed platformer, featuring familiar characters, nostalgic visuals, and excessive violence. However, after trying it out, I quickly realized that this was something unique, due to a nostalgic world and references to Halloween and Evil Dead, along with enjoyable and easy-to-grasp gameplay that kept me hooked. Actually, I often found myself starting it on my Steam Deck just to get in some more playtime.

Although Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead are distinct games, they have a common overworld arcade, comparable gameplay styles, and offer the opportunity to play as the protagonists in each other’s games. They are still unique encounters, and I struggled to choose one over the other while playing. This doesn’t mean that both were flawless experiences as they both faced common issues of having too many enemies on screen at once during difficult platforming sections and offering extra weapons and skills that didn’t prove to be more useful than the default kitchen knife and chainsaw arm.

Delving further into the game, the dark realm feature stands out as one of the stronger elements. By turning it on, you can view the world in a demonic way, with distinctive enemies and access to hidden routes and quick paths. It not only enhanced the visual appeal of the world, but also motivated me to search for concealed Necronomicon pages to collect.

During Halloween, you get to embody Michael Myers and navigate through various levels inspired by the movies. His distinctive kitchen knife is utilized in his dominant playstyle, forcing you to engage closely with adversaries and vulnerable targets in order to deliver death in an excessively exaggerated and violent manner. Boss fights in Halloween are reminiscent of Mega Man, requiring players to analyze their adversaries’ behavior and vulnerabilities in order to effectively defeat them up close. Despite Myers’ few ranged attacks, I always found it easy to close the distance with my foes and cover the levels in blood.

Ash vs Evil Dead bears resemblance to Halloween in its plot and gameplay, yet it remains distinctly different and offers a unique experience. In contrast to Michael Myers, Ash is equipped with his Boomstick and various ranged weapons like a dagger, bombs, and a nail gun. He is slightly faster than Myers, and his levels and boss battles are more hectic, demanding a more aggressive and swift approach. There were numerous occasions when I felt swamped by numerous enemies and had to quickly strategize to cover the screen with an abundance of pixelated blood and gore that did not belong to me.

Both games allow players to control each character in various worlds, which enhances the gameplay and sets them apart from other platformers. Even though both worlds are synced with their unique characteristics, embodying Evil Dead as the intimidating and sluggish Myers created a captivating experience that didn’t seem forced or cheesy. It’s amazing how both of these worlds can easily switch back and forth without skipping a beat. It’s even more enjoyable when I witness story beats unfold with characters who are not supposed to be in the scene. In any case, it’s worth it merely to watch Michael Myers perform a spectacular burnout in Ash’s vehicle.

The overworld in these two classic games occurs in what appears to be a deserted arcade. You can play each title on different devices and use in-game currency to buy different trinkets and items from the movies to showcase them in a museum. This additional level of immersion enhances the less exciting features of a licensed game by allowing me to physically obtain in-game collectibles like Michael Meyers’s mask and weapons from the movies.

RetroRealms Arcade Halloween & Ash vs Evil Dead is set to be an exceptional experience for fans of both properties or anyone seeking a fun, gory, and enjoyable action-platformer, thanks to its meticulous attention to detail, strong replay value, and comically exaggerated violence.