Halloween Forever

While Halloween Forever is simple, I think the developer achieved what it set out to do, which is to make a fun, pick-up-and-play platformer that would feel at home on the NES. As someone who loves the console and still goes back and plays its games, I can appreciate this spooky little game. It's cute, it's easy, it's colorful, it has a decent chiptune-ish soundtrack, and it illustrates perfectly how we all feel about candy corn (barf).

Boss fights are a highlight, and Pumpkin Man handles excellently. Some rough music doesn't take away too much from the overall presentation which is otherwise very strong. Halloween Forever is a solid retro platformer for those looking for some authentic NES style challenge is running, jumping, and barfing.

Halloween Forever is a retro treat on Switch. It reminds me of the days when developers came up with wacky but original ideas and somehow made them work on the hardware. But while Halloween Forever has the originality and retro charm it also brings retro warts; like one-hit kill spikes and sending you back to the start of the game when your two lives are spent. If you love your retro titles this one comes highly recommended. Halloween Forever is a game that can be enjoyed all year round and not just for Halloween.

In the end, Halloween Forever is merely okay. For $4.99, it’s a perfectly reasonable purchase despite the short length and simple replay value. For what was a solo project, it is a fine enough experience, especially since the artwork and animations were done in Photoshop of all things. As such, many of the issues explained above are far more forgivable than normal. So props to you Peter Lazarski. I hope the game was an excellent learning experience all the same.

Price: $5.99

Games don't need deep stories and intricately rendered game worlds to be fun and Halloween Forever proves this through and through.

Halloween Forever is a much-needed counterbalance to the striking harsh situations put forth by other titles that are popular at this time of year. Unlike many other games that wrap a retro aesthetic over a deep, complex, combat system like a well-tailored costume, Halloween Forever is more than happy being itself, and it's just perfect at it!

It’s hard to say no to the short but sweet blast of enjoyment that’s on offer here.

Halloween Forever is a fun and short 2D platformer with extra replay value for those who like to 100% games. There are five levels to complete, each with a handful of sections, and you can probably speedrun the game in 15-20 minutes once you know where everything is, but getting to know the game that way is part of the fun. There is a full trophy list waiting for trophy hunters, and an entertaining action platformer to play over and over again to get there.