Computer Gaming’s Ghoulish Grab-Bag: October 2025 Round-Up

The nights are drawing in, the pumpkins are two-for-a-fiver at the supermarket, and your backlog is starting to look like an M.C. Escher staircase. October 2025 has arrived, which means publishers are lobbing spooky, space-age and swords-and-sorcery delights at our faces like a trebuchet full of Haribo. Here at SFcrowsnest magazine, we’ve brewed a proper cuppa and rounded up the month’s choicest nerd delicacies.

The Outer Worlds 2 (29 Oct, PC/PS5/XSX) finally punches its ticket to the Arcadia system. Expect capitalism to be both the villain and the punchline (again), six new companions with strong opinions, and enough corporate jingle-jangle to make your ethics committee weep. Also of note: after a brief flirtation with premium pricing, the cost was trimmed — details via PC Gamer. Somewhere, a megacorp accountant felt a great disturbance.

ARC Raiders (30 Oct) staggers out of the extraction-shooter trenches with PvPvE robot mayhem, persistent progression, and a rooster called Scrappy who is, frankly, a cultural icon in waiting. Ahead of launch, the price in some regions was lowered “to ensure a more fair price point” — also spotted by PC Gamer. Nice when a dystopia throws you a bone.

Mina the Hollower (31 Oct, Switch/PC et al) scampers in for Halloween like a pixel-perfect goth mouse who’s stolen your best whip. It’s 8-bit-styled, Victorian-tinged, and entirely prepared to turn your commute into a fiendishly satisfying dungeon crawl. Bring snacks. And cheese.

Ghost of Yōtei (out 2 Oct, PS5) parks its horse in 17th-century Ezo: snow, steel and spirits with a standalone tale of revenge that politely asks your DualSense to earn its keep. Not quite fantasy, not quite history — definitely a vibe. Cloak optional, dramatic snowfall required.

Jurassic World Evolution 3 (21 Oct) lets you roll your own islands with an overhauled generator and then fill them with bitey friends and monorails like you’re the irresponsible deity of a very expensive ant farm. Your guests will be thrilled right up until the power goes out. Again.

Oneway.exe (7 Oct, PC) is a browser-from-hell survival horror where the dark web goes full Poltergeist. You click, you run, your antivirus cries in a corner. Perfect for anyone who’s ever thought “what if my desktop tried to eat me?”

Lessaria (24 Oct, PC) resurrects the Majesty-style “indirect control” RTS — you bribe heroes, they ignore you, monsters eat your gazebo. It’s the perfect fantasy kingdom sim for players who love strategy, chaos, and their citizens having “free will” (the absolute nerve).

Bounty Star (23 Oct, PC/PS5/XSX, Game Pass) straps you into the Desert Raptor MKII for a post-apocalyptic mech-’n’base-builder where you punch raiders, tune your walker, then pop home to farm like a sensible adult. Armored Core by way of dusty Americana and a suspiciously competent allotment.

Welcome to the Dark Place (25 Oct) is a text-driven horror told in second person — think choose-your-own-nightmare with a modern, online malaise. For those who like their scares literary and their choices morally compromising. Ideal bedtime reading if you hate sleeping.

R.I.P. (31 Oct) is PSX-era survival horror reborn: fixed/dynamic cameras, puzzle-box maps, and the sort of crunchy sound effects that make you glance over your shoulder in an empty room. Pop a light on. Maybe three.

Also wandering the haunted halls this month: a clutch of indie chiller-thrillers spotlighted by GameSpot’s October horror roll-call — worth a rummage if you need extra jumpscares to season your autumn.

That’s your lot for October: corporates behaving (slightly) less badly, robots trying to shoot you, dinosaurs trying to eat you, and ghosts trying to emotionally compromise you. Pace yourself, hydrate, and may your autosaves be frequent. If we’ve missed your spooky darling, give us a nudge — we’ll add it to the cauldron next time.