Connect with us

Games

REWIND OR DIE: 5 Spooky VCR Board Games!

Published

on

Written by Dr. Jose

This week sees the VOD release of Beyond the Gates, a brand new nostalgia-inducing horror movie starring scream queen Barbara Crampton. In the film, two brothers tasked with selling their missing father’s video store uncover a VCR board game called “Beyond the Gates”. The mysterious game holds clues to their father’s disappearance – but also puts anyone who plays it in danger. We here at iHorror love creepy board games, so we’re totally on board for this one.

For those unaware, video board games did actually exist. Stuck having to compete with the popularity of the burgeoning (and frankly awe-inspiring) home video game craze while simultaneously trying to cash-in on the VCR boom of the ’80s, board game companies came up with the bright idea to start releasing ‘video board games’. They were no different from your regular old board games, except you had to watch a video while playing in order to have any idea of what to do. They were about as time-consuming and clunky as they sound. And could the phrase “watching a VHS while playing a board game” sound anymore more anachronistic and antiquated?

The idea to exploit the current media trend to sell a board game lives on (who hasn’t played Scene It on DVD?), and it’s the archetypes that deserve the credit. Below are some of the original spooktastic titles that made a splash on the video board game scene.

“Nightmare” (released overseas as “Atmosfear”) is clearly the direct inspiration for Beyond the Gates and perhaps the most recognizable and best known horror video board game. Players can assume the identity of either a ghost, witch, werewolf, vampire, zombie, or mummy, and their goal is to defeat “The Gatekeeper”, a shrouded figure who barks commands in a thick, unplaceable accent. Like many a successful horror movie, the makers franchised the hell out of the game and followed it with three “sequels”. And just like how the video boxes for so many old horror films were actually better than the movie itself, the commercial for “Nightmare” is far more exciting than the actual gameplay.

Doorways to Horror came out in 1986 and was not only one of the earliest horror video board games, but one of the earliest video board games in general. Released by Pressman Toys, the game saw players watching clips from old horror films, hitting pause on the VCR, and then rolling a die – which determined the ‘power’ of their ‘spells’ – to (hopefully) defeat whatever monster was onscreen. It’s your basic Dungeons and Dragons-style gameplay. The makers of the game were clearly aware of the hokey vibe of the whole thing and had some fun by filling the video with all sorts of puns and groaners to keep players at least somewhat interested.

xfiles

It wasn’t just original ideas that were thrown into the video board game format – well-known properties were also being given the special treatment. One of those was The X-Files, which, at the time, was at the height of its popularity. The weird thing about The X-Files Trivia Game is how straight-forward it is. You’d think the makers of the game would want to take advantage of the show’s colorful cast of monsters, creatures, and aliens, incorporating them into the gameplay somehow, but no – you just answer some trivia questions about the show. The snooze is out there.

eddie

Video Grin ‘N’ Bear It is technically classified as a humor game, but there’s nothing funny about its absolutely terrifying host, a puppet named Hysterical Eddie. Looking like a mix between Rik Mayall and The Joker, the puppet was designed by the UK creative team, Spitting Image – the same group behind those terrifying celebrity caricature puppets that were so popular in the ’80s. Throughout the game, Eddie makes a chosen player act out ridiculous requests with everyday household objects, while everyone else must sit and watch, but not laugh. The back of the box describes a chainsaw-wielding Eddie as “a bit mental”, so you definitely don’t wanna get on this dummy’s bad side.

agatha

With the participation of several different authors, including Agatha Christie, Behind the Screen and The Scoop were both successful radio serials from the 1930s. Flash forward 50 years and both stories are released as the VCR board games Agatha Christie: Behind the Screen and Agatha Christie: The Scoop. While both games play like your typical Clue-style murder mystery (a murder victim, lots of suspects, and clues that must be gathered to finger the perpetrator), it’s “The Scoop” which stands out due to its modernized look and feel. With its faux news reports and sleek ’80s graphics, players might think they’re instead watching an episode of Forensic Files or America’s Most Wanted.

This list is just a starter: there are plenty more video board games out there! Have a freaky favorite that we missed? Sound off below. Beyond the Gates comes to VOD on December 9th.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Games

‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

Published

on

Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Games

‘Terminator: Survivors’: Open World Survival Game Releases Trailer And Is Launching This Fall

Published

on

This is a game that many gamers will be excited for. It was announced at the Nacon Connect 2024 Event that Terminator: Survivors will be launching early access for PC via Steam on October 24th of this year. It will launch fully on a later date for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. Check out the trailer and more about the game below.

Official Trailer for Terminator: Survivors

IGN states, “In this original story taking place after the first two Terminator films, you take control of a group of survivors of Judgment Day, in solo or co-op mode, faced with a multitude of lethal hazards in this post-apocalyptic world. But you’re not alone. Skynet’s machines will hound you relentlessly and rival human factions will fight for the same resources you desperately need.”

First Look Image at Terminator: Survivors (2024)

In related news to the Terminator world, Linda Hamilton stated I’m done. I’m done. I have nothing more to say. The story’s been told, and it’s been done to death. Why anybody would relaunch it is a mystery to me. She claims she doesn’t want to play Sarah Connor anymore. You can check out more of what she said here.

First Look Image at Terminator: Survivors (2024)
First Look Image at Terminator: Survivors (2024)

An open-world game about surviving against Skynet’s machines sounds like an interesting and fun game. Are you excited about this announcement and trailer release from Nacon? Let us know in the comments below. Also, check out this behind-the-scenes clip from the game below.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Games

New ‘Paranormal Activity’ Entry Isn’t a Movie, but “It’s Going to Be Intense” [Teaser Video]

Published

on

If you were expecting another Paranormal Activity sequel to be a feature film you’d be surprised. Maybe there will be one, but for now, Variety reports that DreadXP co-director and creative director Brian Clarke (DarkStone Digital) are creating a video game based on the series.

“We are thrilled to work with Paramount Game Studios and to have the opportunity to bring the world of ‘Paranormal Activity’ to gamers everywhere,” Epic Pictures CEO and DreadXP producer Patrick Ewald told Variety. “The films are steeped in rich lore and creative scares, and under the stewardship of creative director Brian Clarke, DreadXP’s ‘Paranormal Activity’ video game will honor those core tenets and offer horror fans one of our most terrifying games yet.” 

Paranormal Activity video game

Clarke, who worked on the horror video game The Mortuary Assistant said the Paranormal Activity franchise shows just how much reach a genre-specific title can accomplish, “If you thought ‘The Mortuary Assistant’ was scary, we’re taking what we learned during the development of that title and cranking it up with a more reactive and horrifying haunting system. It’s going to be intense!”

The new game is scheduled to be released in 2026.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' Popcorn Bucket

Continue Reading

Embed Gif with Clickable Title