We hope you’ve had a great time LARPing through the streets of a quiet mountain town in this month’s featured game, South Park: The Stick of Truth, but now it’s time to take a break and vote for the October TA Playlist Game of the Month.October is the month of Halloween, and as is tradition, we’ll take this opportunity to celebrate the spooky, the creepy, and the macabre. Some of our nominees are traditional horror games, while others take a lighter approach to scary subject matter, but each one is a fitting inclusion for your Halloween horror gaming. And our four nominees this month have something else in common as well – each is an acclaimed sequel with the number ‘2’ in its title. Which of these spooky sequels should we choose for next month’s featured game?Dead Island 2It was a long wait for fans of the original Dead Island (Xbox 360), which became a big hit for developer Techland and publisher Deep Silver back in September of 2011. A sequel was announced in 2014 but bounced from studio to studio for the next several years, and it seemed like it might be buried forever. In 2019, one of Deep Silver’s internal studios, Dambuster, took over development, resurrecting the sequel from its grave and releasing Dead Island 2 on April 21, 2023.The much-loved zombie saga is back with a unique formula of horror, dark humor, and over-the-top zombie-slaying, spanning an epic pulp adventure. Dead Island 2 is a thrilling First-Person Action RPG, stylish, vibrant and flooded with zombie infection. Explore an iconic, gore-drenched Los Angeles. Meet larger-than-life characters. Slay countless foes in exquisitely bloody detail. And evolve to become the ultimate Zombie Slayer!Despite the years of development hell, Dead Island 2 released to generally positive reviews, and currently holds a strong TA user rating of 4.11/5.00. Nearly 198,000 tracked gamers have unlocked at least one achievement in the game, with around 3,500 (2%) earning the full completion, which is estimated to take around 30-35 hours. That may change with the release of Dead Island 2: Ultimate Edition, along with a free Xbox update next month, which will include a Horde mode and New Game+, and possibly some additional achievements. The base game is currently available on Xbox Game Pass (Standard and Ultimate).Alan Wake 2A breakout hit in the Xbox 360 era, followed by a decade of uncertainty for the franchise despite strong interest from the community, and finally, a triumphant sequel released in 2023. Wait, are we having deja vu? No! Our second spooky sequel just happens to have an eerily similar history to Dead Island 2, but that’s where the similarities end. Alan Wake 2, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Epic Games in October 2023, generally strikes a much more dramatic tone, although there are certainly some weird and wild bits that shine a light on the darkness.Saga Anderson, an accomplished FBI agent with a reputation for solving impossible cases, arrives to investigate a string of ritualistic murders in Bright Falls, Washington. Alan Wake, a lost writer trapped in a nightmare beyond our world, writes a dark story in an attempt to shape the reality around him and escape his prison. Two heroes on two desperate journeys in two separate realities, connected at heart in ways neither of them can understand: reflecting each other, echoing each other, and affecting the worlds around them. Trapped in a sinister horror story where there are only victims and monsters, can they break out to be the heroes they need to be?Alan Wake 2 has a fantastic TA User rating of 4.69/5.00, winning the TA Game of the Year Bracket Tournament for 2023 and placing third overall in the TA Game of the Year vote. Over 44,000 tracked gamers have returned to Bright Falls, with almost 3,300 (~7%) earning all 78 of the game’s achievements, including 12 from the Night Springs DLC. In another spooky similarity with Dead Island 2, Alan Wake 2 will also be getting new content this October with the release of a second DLC, The Lake House, which will likely expand the connections between Alan Wake, Control, and the rest of the Remedy Connected Universe.Resident Evil 2For our next nominee, we chose one of the elder statesmen of the survival-horror genre, Resident Evil 2. Originally released in 1998, developer Capcom decided to do a ground-up remake for modern consoles, breathing new life into the venerable franchise. Releasing in 2019 for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4, the new Resident Evil 2 was hailed as “the gold standard for how to do a remake” according to Metacritic.A deadly virus engulfs the residents of Raccoon City in September of 1998, plunging the city into chaos as flesh-eating zombies roam the streets for survivors. Play as rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield as they flee from the outbreak and attempt to uncover the secrets of the nefarious Umbrella Corporation. An unparalleled adrenaline rush, gripping storyline, and unimaginable horrors await you.Resident Evil 2 is another top-rated game, with a TA User rating of 4.66/5.00. Over 253,000 tracked gamers have unlocked at least one achievement, with around 8,600 (3%) earning the full 100% completion. It’s estimated that it will take 25-35 hours to unlock all 44 of the game’s achievements, which include 41 achievements in the base game and three more in “The Ghost Survivors” and “Another Survivor” updates. Resident Evil 2 is currently available on Xbox Game Pass (Standard and Ultimate), along with a regional stack – Resident Evil 2: Z Version – which will also count for participation if RE2 wins the poll.Senua’s Saga: Hellblade IIOur final nominee for the month opts for a more psychological horror experience set in a land of ancient myths and haunted forests. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, developed by Ninja Theory following the breakout success of 2018’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and published by Xbox Game Studios, continues the story of the 9th-century Orcadian warrior Senua as she battles enemies both human and supernatural, while also struggling with her own psychosis. Senua returns in a brutal journey of survival through the myth and torment of Viking Iceland. Intent on saving those who have fallen victim to the horrors of tyranny, Senua faces a battle of overcoming the darkness within and without. Sink deep into the next chapter of Senua’s story, a crafted experience told through cinematic immersion, beautifully realised visuals and encapsulating sound.Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II also has a strong TA User Rating of 4.07/5.00, with almost 110,000 tracked users earning at least one achievement and nearly 16,000 (around 15%) battling their way to the full completion. It’s estimated to take 6-8 hours to unlock all 11 of the game’s achievements, making this the shortest list of this month’s nominees, both in terms of the number of achievements and overall playtime. Hellblade II is available on Xbox Game Pass for Ultimate-tier subscribers.So, which game will you choose for your October “spooky sequel” experience? Place your vote and let us know your thoughts in the comments! And as always, if you have any suggestions for future Playlist games or themes, be sure to drop them in the TA Playlist Game Suggestion Thread for possible inclusion in a future poll!Which game should the community play for October 2024’s TA Playlist?
