KEY POINTS

  • Halloween is the theme uniting the four titles offered for October's Xbox Games with Gold
  • "Slayaway Camp: Butcher's Cut," "Costume Quest," "Maid of Sker," and "Costume Quest" are the offerings
  • Xbox Games with Gold offers rotating titles for free every month via subscription

A cursory look at the Xbox Games with Gold titles for October will immediately give off a Halloween theme, so Xbox is digging in for the month’s offerings.

Polygon has outlined the four games offered but warned that they might be a bit obscure for the avid gamer.

In “Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut,” players take control of demented villain Skullface, who definitely gives off the ‘80s horror vibes as he terrorizes camp counselors and other victims. There are over 300 puzzles to solve while dealing with new dimensions of absurd terror in this game.

The game, which was first released in 2017 and developed by Blue Wizard Digital, will be available for free for the whole month of October on Xbox One.

Wales Interactive developed and published the first-person survival horror game “Maid of Sker” set in a remote hotel with a history connected to Welsh folklore. Players need to use stealth tactics to stay alive against a cult of sound-based enemies in the form of the Quiet Ones.

From Oct. 16 to Nov. 15, “Maid of Sker” is available for free on Xbox One.

Developers Eurocom, THQ Nordic, and Humagade are behind the 2003 title “Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy, a third-person action-adventure game. Players take on the role of the demigod Sphinx and the undead corpse of Tutankhamen.

Sphinx must battle fearsome monsters and use raw power to complete tasks while the corpse, a.k.a. the Mummy, does more puzzle solving and logical thinking to outwit its foes. The title is available for free from Oct. 1 to 15 on Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Finally, there’s the trick-or-treat-themed “Costume Quest” that was released in 2010, developed by Double Fine Productions, and published by THQ. Players collect super-powered magical costumes in the neighborhood of Auburn Pines while dealing with monsters left and right in the game.

The Halloween tale is available for free from Oct. 16 to 31 on Xbox One and Xbox 360, and players need to complete numerous quests, build up their party, and take down evil in the process.

Three games from September’s Games with Gold haul are still available until Wednesday, namely “Tom Clancy’s The Division” (Xbox One), “The Book of Unwritten Tales 2” (Xbox One), and “Armed and Dangerous” (Xbox One and Xbox 360).

For a limited time, Xbox Live Gold members will have exclusive access to the titles as part of Games with Gold.

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Microsoft shelved plans for an Xbox One VR headset. REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian
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