Goosebumps: Dead of Night

I can just imagine some kid saving up their allowance to buy this pricey meatball and crying afterward: if you're reading this, don't do it, Timmy! If you want your Goosebumps game fix, stick with the slick, lovingly-crafted 2015 adventure game that's $10 or less on more platforms.

A greedy price tag, poor performance and an incredibly short campaign make Goosebumps: Dead of Night more likely to be dead on arrival. It's a shame, because it's a well-constructed and entertaining lite survival horror adventure that's probably perfect for kids. Even then, we'd recommend either waiting for a deep, deep sale, or simply renting the excellent 2015 movie. There's a lot to like here, but unfortunately, it's buried under a lot of ugliness. Much like, say... a scary ghoul! Wooooo! Or something.

Sadly, Goosebumps Dead of Night is another failed attempt at converting a franchise we already know and love into a game that lives up to our expectations.

Goosebumps Dead Of Night won't provide the longest or most challenging experience for hardcore gamers. For most of us, it serves as a wonderful homage to the Goosebumps franchise. Its family-friendly content makes a game that households with younger gamers can enjoy with, or without, their parents. Even those not fully versed in the Goosebumps series will find plenty of characters here that seem awfully familiar. At the end of the day, it's an excitingly fun experience because who wouldn't find fun in blasting and being chased by life-size Gummy Bears?

This one is a challenge for me to review as there's good news and bad news...

Goosebumps: Dead of Night is a video game that children will enjoy more than adults. For them there will be scares and puzzles, and 5 hours of family frendly horror. For the elderly it will be an agonizing hour.

This may end up as one of R. L. Stine's greatest nightmares yet—for all the wrong reasons.

I had to believe that this video game was more than what the movie from 2015 offered. With the mash-up of every possible iconic horror monsters and the creativity of the Goosebumps world, I truly thought this would be a good scary experience relieving my childhood. Yet its another great disappointment and I recommend unless you want your kids to play this out, to sit this one out and just stream gameplay online.

Goosebumps Dead of Night brings R. L. Stine's creations to life but fails to meet the quality of content expected from the Goosebumps franchise

As an interactive Goosebumps experience, Cosmic Forces has successfully recreated the beloved children's series with Goosebumps Dead of Night. However, the game only lasts a handful of hours, and a small chunk of my time was spent replaying sections because I wanted to collect achievements along the way for dying to each monster.