Axel Cushing

If there’s one game out there that absolutely deserves the title of “cult classic,” it would have to be Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2002, it marked a milestone for Nintendo as the first Mature-rated game the company had ever published since the inception of the Entertainment Software Rating Board in 1994. Although critically beloved, it was commercially unsuccessful, selling less than half a million units after its release.

Normally, I like to lead into my reviews with a bit of history, a little cultural background, something to help steer the tone of the review. And for the life of me, I find myself unable to do so with Blood of Mehran. One might wonder what the problem is. And the solution is painfully obvious: the game itself is the problem. Blood of Mehran is advertised as being inspired by The Arabian Nights, and it might be possibly the worst instance of false advertising I’ve come across in a while.

It’s October once again, and that means kids are counting down to the day of massive sugar highs and the rest of us are thinking about how much we want to scare the little devils. It’s also the time of year when horror-themed games get pushed by publishers and “spooky season” cosmetics pop up in various live service games. This year, we thought we might take a look at how horror and the supernatural are handled in the games space. The only rule: single titles only.