Game Scoop! 831: Join Us for Game Spook – If You Dare!
Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Damon Hatfield
Panel: Justin Davis, Sam Claiborn, Nick Limone (joins later)
Theme: Halloween Special (“Game Spook”)—a celebration of spooky games, retro gaming nostalgia, and seasonal gaming debates
Episode Overview
On this year’s “Game Spook” Halloween special, Daemon Hatfield and the IGN crew (Justin, Sam, and eventually Nick) delve into the spookiest games around, revisit a vintage issue of Video Games and Computer Entertainment, discuss newly released games (including The Outer Worlds 2), share listener stories about “accidental” Halloween games, and finish with a spirited round of Video Game 20 Questions. The tone throughout is irreverent, nostalgic, and packed with gaming in-jokes, with plenty of Halloween banter and spooky digressions.
Featured Discussions & Insights
1. Spooky Transitions, Cast & Halloween Setup [03:08]
- The panel launches Game Spook with playful, "spooky transitions" (e.g., a Halloween "spirit" materializing as Nick).
- Quote (Sam, joking about setup): "Listen, it's hard to frame up three people and then four. We have to use a transitional ghost." [03:24]
2. Early Outer Worlds 2 Impressions [04:00–14:41]
Damon Reviews Outer Worlds 2 (Embargo Lifted)
- Damon’s spent ~20 hours with The Outer Worlds 2, agrees with IGN’s review score (8/10—“a great out of ten”).
- OW2 is a much bigger, more ambitious game than its predecessor: "I spent 10 hours on just the first planet." [04:43]
- Not a direct sequel—new characters, new setting: “It’s not related... another one of the same game.” [05:08]
- Obsidian’s output is praised, given it’s also releasing Avowed and Grounded 2: “How is Obsidian doing this?” [04:45]
- Comparisons: “It is exactly like Fallout in space.” [04:57]; “It’s much, much better than Starfield.” [05:29]
- Double jump boots add fun and platforming, but have a quirky limitation: “If you reach terminal velocity, it won’t work… meant to move farther, not higher.” [07:44]
- No encumbrance system—pick up everything: “I think that should be one of our ten commandments for games. I think we’re just done with that.” [08:44]
- Light platforming, lots of loot, classic food-as-healing, and playful banter on video game recovery items (e.g., “Eat 14 wheels of cheese and continue this fight”). [08:20]
- Memorable moment: Discussion of the “ten commandments of games” — “In turn-based games... you should not miss. Missing feels so bad.” [09:20]
- Combat and writing are “solid and flowery,” but “no one just sounds dumb; everyone’s super well-spoken.” [12:51]
- Notable in-game scenario: Mining facility mystery on 2nd planet—“you’re plugged right into a mystery.” [12:04]
3. What We’re Playing [15:15–22:09]
Sam: Once Upon a Katamari (9/10, “return to form”)
- "It has the exact same humor... this batshit Japanese insanity." [15:35]
- Minor gameplay quibbles about controls, but “it’s really hard to put down once you get going.” [16:39]
- Sam also dusted off the Wii U to replay Metroid Prime 2 after reading a Metroid book; struggles with retro hardware nostalgia: “Wires everywhere already. Just like total chaos.” [17:42]
- Justin: Recent sim games, notably Two Point Campus ("incredible," “exactly what I like out of a sim game” [20:48]), commending the scenario-based variety and developer pedigree going back to Theme Hospital.
4. Listener Email: “Accidental Halloween” Games [24:24–39:11]
- Rob from Detroit: Shares childhood memory of playing Ninja Spirit on TurboGrafx-16 during a thunderstorm. Asks: What are your favorite UNINTENDED, but spooky, games?
- Panel pivots to discussion of games that are “spooky by accident”:
- Shadowgate (NES): "Not a horror game, but you’re exploring a spooky castle…” [34:15]
- Underwater levels in Sonic and Mario: universally stressful, almost horror (“That noise is so stressful” [35:40])
- Super Mario World’s post-Star Road palette swaps: “You can turn Super Mario World into Halloween season.” [36:36]
- First-person adventure puzzle games (e.g. Myst) described as “weirdly unnerving… like there’s something behind you.” [36:54]
- Pokémon ghost stories (e.g. Lavender Town), “ghost zones” in platformers, and environments that evoke unease without being overtly horror.
- Balatro (2025 indie card game): “No story at all, but it just feels strange.” [38:30]
- Majora’s Mask: Noted for its surreal, unsettling tone—“the transformations are not happy, jolly transformations. It’s just like body horror. Like this child just screaming in agony.” [39:11]
- Quote (Damon): “If you give a skeleton eyeballs, it looks way scarier.” [34:46]
- Quick tour of how certain visuals (from red-eyed skeletons in Castlevania to haunted pianos in Mario 64) tap into universal fears.
- Panel pivots to discussion of games that are “spooky by accident”:
5. Retro Magazine Flip-Through: Video Games & Computer Entertainment, Nov. 1990 [40:31–66:34]
- Damon brings in a 1990 Halloween issue as a time-capsule.
- Standout features:
- Castlevania III sweepstakes promising a trip “to Dracula’s hometown” (Transylvania), which nobody seems to have won. [43:05]
“So you know, every 10-year-old boy is like sick. And then whoever won got sent to like Eastern Europe…” - Ads for odd and rare games: Mendel Palace (shows non-NES controllers), Genesis game “Dando” (didn’t exist), Godzilla on Game Boy (“You’re a chibi Godzilla, looking for his son.” [48:23])
- Reviews: Final Fantasy 1 (8/10 overall; price: $42.99), Dragon Warrior II (much less favorable), Ys Books I & II (“sound got a 10”)
- NARC NES ad featuring a visible “Just Say No” slogan—panel riffs about arcade game anti-drug messages. [52:16]
- Pictionary NES ad: “Including you, the cool kid, your yuppie dad, your biker grandma… and a dog.” [53:14]
- “Games that go bump in the night”—feature previews several horror games that never actually came out (e.g., NES Hellraiser, Alien vs Predator) [55:41]
- Amusing oddities: piracy newsletters, 900 numbers, and early “online” options ("Want to find other hot players to talk to?”—Delphi Network). [65:19]
- Quote (Damon): “I love it. Want to find other hot players to talk to.” [65:19]
- Toho ad for Circus Caper: “Most fascinating game ever.” [54:50]
- “Escape from Hell”: “Look how badass this skeleton is.” [58:17]
- Odd NES ports: Death Race actually did get released by a small American publisher, panel delighted by this “hidden” history. [66:19]
- Castlevania III sweepstakes promising a trip “to Dracula’s hometown” (Transylvania), which nobody seems to have won. [43:05]
- Standout features:
6. Now Playing: Nick’s Hands-On With Battlefield 6 BR Mode [27:44–33:27]
- Nick shares thoughts after IGN preview of the new Battlefield 6 Battle Royale mode (“Red Sec”/“Red Sick”).
- “Just a very fun, fast, fluid battle royale… the biggest difference is destructible environments. Battlefieldification of the Battle Royale.” [29:15]
- Free-to-play, massive environments, rage about helicopter piloting mishaps at IGN.
- Quote (Nick): “If a team is just behind a cover, you can blow up that cover and expose them for your team.” [31:28]
7. Spooky Game Design & Tone Musings
- Extended riffing on:
- Negative tropes: encumbrance, fall damage (“Ten Commandments for Games”)
- Voice acting and setting expectations (must all fantasy games use British accents?)
- “That’s also one of the ten commandments. Fantasy characters have to speak in a British accent. We don’t make the rules.” [14:14]
8. Video Game 20 Questions [74:38–89:58]
Game: Parasite Eve (PS1)
- The panel zig-zags through deduction, considering survival horror, undead/zombies, PS1/PS2 exclusives, and genre-blurring “spooky” games.
- Notable clues: Third-person, gory, set in contemporary (for its time), exclusive to PS1/PS2, but not survival horror or action game in the DMC sense.
- Nick: “Survival horror RPG... not gonna say the whole thing.” [89:35]
- Panel celebrates an accidental Halloween miracle as they land on Parasite Eve—with much discussion of its unique place in horror-RPG canon and “mitochondria horror” story.
- Quote (Nick): “Their mitochondria has been manipulated by Eve, this sentient evil entity-slash-opera singer… turning them into mutants.” [87:02]
9. Extracurriculars: Shows & Movies [67:16–74:38]
- Damon: Praises recent films Weapons ("loved it... a great movie") and One Battle After Another ("really, really good", “Sean Penn is great in it…”).
- Sam: Applauds Futurama’s new season (“absolutely fantastic… feels back.” [73:34]), and Chair Company (“a little bit more plot-driven… very strange.” [70:42])
- Nick: Raves about Chainsaw Man movie adaptation, highly recommends manga and anime.
- “Cannot sing the praises of the manga and the anime enough... It’s so good.” [73:10]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On encumbrance:
“I think that should be one of our ten commandments for games. I think we’re just done with that.” – Justin [08:44] - On double-jumps:
“There's never been a video game that wasn't made better by a double jump.” – Sam [06:38] - Ten Commandments for Games:
– “In turn-based games with turn-based combat. You should not miss. Don’t miss. Missing feels so bad.” [09:20] - Halloween Nostalgia:
“You can turn Super Mario World into Halloween season.” – Sam [36:36] - On spooky skeletons:
“If you give a skeleton eyeballs, it looks way scarier.” – Damon [34:46] - On a classic horror ad prize:
“There's no evidence that anyone actually won this week.” – Damon [43:39], about the Castlevania III Dracula Castle sweepstakes - Panel banter after solving 20 Questions:
"It’s a Halloween miracle.” – Sam [86:53]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------------|----------------| | Spooky episode open / panel introduction | 02:44–03:32 | | Outer Worlds 2 deep dive / Obsidian output | 04:02–14:41 | | What We’re Playing segment (Katamari, Metroid, etc) | 15:15–22:09 | | Nick joins, Battlefield 6 Battle Royale preview | 27:44–33:27 | | Listener: accidental Halloween games | 24:24–39:11 | | Retro magazine flip-through (VG&CE ’90) | 40:31–66:34 | | Circumstantial lost games & odd ads | 55:41–66:34 | | TV & film—Futurama, Chainsaw Man, movies | 67:16–74:38 | | 20 Questions—Parasite Eve solution | 74:38–89:58 | | Pumpkin prices & Halloween banter (bonus outro) | 92:47–93:54 |
Final Notes
- Audience Inclusion: Regular listener emails are featured, and the show's tone is inclusive and friendly. Running gags (TurboGrafx = “rich kids’ system”; “Bionic Commando podcast”) pop up, building a clubhouse feel.
- Halloween Feels: The episode showcases nostalgia, gentle ribbing, and gaming deep-dives, making it a perfect seasonal listen.
Bottom line:
If you love gaming nostalgia, deep dives into modern and classic games (with a special love for Halloween spookiness), and want to know why “you should never give a skeleton eyeballs,” this episode is essential. Bonus: You might learn how Final Fantasy 1 cost $42.99 at launch and that nobody ever seems to have gone to Dracula’s castle on Konami’s dime.