Halloween games week: Mouthwashing finally hits consoles and Game Pass, three horror sales worth your time, and the live events that end this weekend

Mouthwashing on consoles and Game Pass, Thursday

The one new thing this week that matters: Mouthwashing came to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Switch on Thursday, October 29, and landed on Game Pass the same day, on Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass, including cloud and the Xbox handheld. (Xbox Wire) It's the first time it has ever been on a console. Wrong Organ's game came out on PC in September 2024, sold more than 800,000 copies on Steam, won Best Narrative at the Horror Game Awards, and the console ports announced for 2025 slipped a full year. Publisher Critical Reflex says Fangamer is doing physical PS5 and Switch editions. (Critical Reflex on Xbox Wire)

If you don't know it: you're on a freight ship a year from anywhere after the captain deliberately crashes it, with five crew, dwindling supplies and a cargo hold full of mouthwash. It's told out of order, it looks like a PlayStation 1 game on purpose, and it's about two and a half hours. No jump scares to speak of. It's the dread of being stuck with people. I played it on PC when it came out and I still think about one scene with a birthday cake. The 88 on Metacritic is deserved, and on Game Pass it costs you nothing to find out if you agree.

Game Pass also added Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted and Terrible Lizards on Thursday, and The Séance of Blake Manor on Tuesday. Nine games leave on Saturday, including Deep Rock Galactic, Grim Fandango Remastered, Wartales and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, so finish or buy those first.

The three sales, with dates

• Steam Scream Fest, through Monday, November 2 at 1 p.m. Eastern. Horror only. Resident Evil 4 remake is $9.99, Resident Evil 2 is $7.99, Resident Evil 7 is $7.99, Resident Evil Requiem is 30 percent off, The Outlast Trials is $11.99, Dead by Daylight is $7.99 and Phasmophobia is $13.99. (Steam)
• PlayStation Store, Halloween discounts through November 3, Planet of the Deals through November 4. Dead Space's deluxe edition is $15.99, Bloodborne is $9.99, MediEvil is $14.99, Amnesia: Collection is $5.99, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered is $13.49, and PS Plus members get Until Dawn half off from Wednesday. (PlayStation Blog, PlayStation)
• Xbox Shocktober, through November 4. The Outlast Trials deluxe is $4.99, The House of the Dead: Remake is $2.49, Alan Wake 2 is 70 percent off, Silent Hill 2's deluxe edition is 60 percent off, and the whole Tomb Raider I to VI remastered set is 80 percent off. (Pure Xbox)

My rule for these: buy the one you'll play this weekend and put the rest on a wishlist, because every one of these games will be this price again at the holidays. The two I'd break the rule for are Alan Wake 2 at 70 percent off, which has never been cheaper on Xbox, and Resident Evil 4 at $9.99, which is the best $10 in games right now.

Once Human: the event's been running a week, the shop opened Wednesday

Starry Studio's survival game is on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and phones, and its Halloween Wonder Night event started October 22 and runs to November 11. The genuinely new thing this week is that the Halloween shop tab opened Wednesday. The loop is blind boxes that give you candy bait, which you put in your territory to draw "mysterious guests" who leave pumpkin seeds, Starchrom or crates. Collecting five regular editions gets you a rare Stardust crate, four plus one hidden edition gets the epic one and exclusive pumpkin seeds. Unused opening attempts expire when the event ends, and unplanted jack-o'-lantern seeds vanish after November 18. (Once Human)

One correction worth making loudly because it affects your play: the briefing I was sent said the October 21 patch, 3.1.1, fixed controller deadzone and build-mode rotation bugs. The official notes say nothing of the kind. What 3.1.1 actually added is the Isles of Abyss ocean scenario, controller sensitivity presets, vibration settings and a build-mode relocation tool. And since about Monday, players on Steam and console are reporting a bug where you can't rotate pieces in build mode on a controller, which Starry hasn't acknowledged yet. So the opposite of the claim. Next scheduled update is November 4. (Steam forums)

Ending this weekend

• Fortnitemares ends with the season change on November 1. It started October 1, the earliest ever.
• Phasmophobia's Crimson Eye runs to November 1. The event shirt, badge and Blood Moon charm are tied to it, and a charity drive with the American Heart Association started Monday with a new Twitch drop.
• Dead by Daylight's Haunted by Daylight runs to November 3, with a Stranger Things "Lights Out" mode following November 5 to 12.
• Team Fortress 2's Scream Fortress goes to November 7, Marvel Rivals' event to November 13, Fallout 76's to November 3.

Also out this week

Thursday was crowded beyond Mouthwashing: Phantom Blade Zero on PS5 and PC, The Wolf Among Us Remastered on everything including Switch 2, Sword of the Sea on Xbox and Switch 2, and Monster Hunter Outlanders on iPhone and Android. Tuesday brought Minecraft's Switch 2 edition. (Game Informer) And the thing after Halloween is the thing after Halloween: Grand Theft Auto VI is still dated November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series. Three weeks. Plan your October purchases knowing November is already spoken for.

What I was sent, and what was wrong with it

• "Mouthwashing launched on Xbox Game Pass today," dated Wednesday. It was Thursday, and the bigger story, the first console release after a year's slip, was missing.
• "Starry Studio kicked off its Wonder Night event" this week. It's Halloween Wonder Night, it began October 22, and only the shop is new this week.
• The patch "resolving persistent controller deadzone bugs and build-mode rotation issues." Not in the notes, and players currently report a rotation bug.
• "Seasonal Halloween sales" with no names or dates. They're Scream Fest, Planet of the Deals and Shocktober, ending November 2, 4 and 4.

My weekend

Mouthwashing again, on the PS5 this time, with the lights off, because I want to know if it hits the same way on a couch as it did at a desk. Resident Evil 4 for $9.99, which I've somehow never finished. And Saturday is for handing out candy, so Phasmophobia with the Discord crew waits for Sunday, if the event's still up. It ends that day, so we'll see.

Verified October 28, 2026. Game Pass dates and tiers from Xbox Wire and Critical Reflex. Sale prices from Steam, the PlayStation Blog and Pure Xbox, as seen October 28; US prices, and they can change. Once Human event and patch details from Starry Studio's official notes; the rotation bug is player reports, not an acknowledged issue. Release dates from Game Informer.