Tag: Ellie - Help me out... please »

It's All Hallows' Eve once again. And what better way to enjoy the holiday spirit(s) than to have a good scare - or ten?

Since nobody at 148Apps could come up with an answer to that question we've created a list of our top picks for spooky, creepy, scary, and unsettling iOS titles in honor of the ghoulish festival. Hopefully these games won't be too much for you to handle...

---

The Walking Dead - Season 1

The Walking Dead isn't conventionally scary in the "Aargh! What the heck just jumped out at me??" kind of way, but it's distinctly unnerving. It taps into that instinct to protect those we care about then shows us just how easily the life we once knew can be taken away forever. Forcing you to make tough decisions that are a matter of life and death mean you never get a chance to calm down or relax. Instead, you're constantly on edge in a world that makes no sense any more. If that's not deeply scary, I don't know what is. - Jennifer Allen

Ellie - Help me out... please

Ellie - Help me out... please is a short, but creepy puzzle game that revolves around the player's interactions with a kidnapped girl through a security camera feed. It definitely has some Saw vibes thanks to its puzzle room nature and voyeuristic perspective.

Although the puzzles are a little opaque, immersion in the very tiny game world is precisely what makes it kind of creepy. Not necessarily creepy in the "spooky" sense, but in the sense that players start questioning the game's bizarre setup. Who is the player character? Why is this girl in this room? What does it all mean? - Campbell Bird

I've never really been "into" Escape games, but I have dabbled. It's not that I dislike them, it's just that I generally prefer my adventure/puzzle games to involve more character interaction and humor (i.e. of the LucasArts variety). The desolate environments for these kinds of games are somewhat of a downer for me, so I have to really be in a particular mood to want to play one.

Ellie - Help me out... please has put a Japanese horror spin on the fairly universal formula, adding an unsettling atmosphere to the isolation and loneliness that keeps the tension high throughout. It's a bit graphic, a little disturbing and bound to get the heart beating faster. This is not a game I'd suggest playing before bedtime, no sir.

But creepy atmosphere and personal doubts about the innocence of the trapped girl aside, what makes Ellie stand out is its interesting use of in-app purchases. An "extra room" can be purchased for players who want to keep enjoying the disturbing story and world, naturally. However, unlike many "free" games it's not ad supported nor does it lock users out until they pay for the full version. Instead, it allows users to unlock hints with real money at $1 apiece. It's an interesting idea that might not work out all that well once people start posting said hints online, but it's nice to see companies trying out new ideas when it comes to freemium pay structures.

Some may scoff at the idea of paying for answers to a couple of puzzles, but in all honesty some of these puzzles are very, very hard. That one with the drawers, especially. Sure it's possible to jump online and try to look up the answers, but I expect a good many players might be too involved in their game to interrupt it like that. I think it might be easier for some to just bite the bullet and spend the buck so they can move on. And I think the folks at Ateam Inc are thinking that, too.

Only time will tell us if their idea works, but if it does it may well open up new possibilities for freemium games. I'm quite curious to see how this all works out.