WarioWare-inspired horror game Spookware gets a late August release date

News
By
published

It's the perfect start to Spooky Season

Spookware
(Image credit: Beeswax Games)

For folks who love WarioWare-style madcap minigame collections, the next month just got at least 90% spookier.

Before WarioWare: Get It Together hits Nintendo Switch on September 10 with a new, co-op friendly take on microgame action, Spookware will debut the first of four episodes on Steam on August 26. What is Spookware, you may ask? It's like if all of WarioWare's games were about assembling skeletons out of bones or sawing some dude's head off and other horror stuff. It sounds grim, but it looks like its video nasty VHS aesthetic is counterbalanced with just enough goofiness to keep you laughing at least as much as you're shivering.

Developer Beeswax Games revealed the release date for Spookware today, also sharing the Steam wishlist trailer that introduces you to its three horror movie-loving skeletal heroes. You'll guide the trio on a roadtrip through the land of the dead, completing "hundreds of hand-crafted fast-paced microgames" as they bungle their way through exotic locations such as a school, the docks, and their basement.

If you can't wait for the full game to arrive in a few weeks, you can get started early with the smaller, pay-what-you-want prototype version on Itch right now. As for playing Spookware on anything besides PC, publisher DreadXP told me it's looking into options for releasing on consoles and mobile but doesn't have any announcements to share right now.

As someone who welcomes the gradual encroachment of Spooky Season onto every part of the year that isn't already the uncontested domain of a non-Halloween holiday, and as someone who loves WarioWare, I am officially jazzed for the next few weeks.

You can kick off your scary times right now by playing through our guide to the best horror games. 

See more Games News
CATEGORIES
Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Read more
Mouthwashing screenshot of the captain Curly covered in bandages
After hitting 500,000 copies sold and nearly 24,000 reviews on Steam, viral $13 horror game Mouthwashing is coming to consoles this year
Awaria
The Helltaker creator has a new free game with ghost girls instead of demon girls, and after less than a month it's got over 9,000 Steam reviews at 96% positive
Image of the official Nintendo Switch box art for Doki Doki Literature Club on a pink GamesRadar background.
I've been playing spooky games for almost 30 years, and insist you don't let this iconic horror pass you by before Switch 2
a scary floating head screaming
With over 5,000 "overwhelmingly positive" Steam reviews already, a new co-op horror game with the spirit of Lethal Company has officially popped off
A screenshot shows a teardrop-shaped protagonist smiling.
The Metroidvania gods have spoken and answered my prayers with this horror game that looks like Majora's Mask if it let you play as an onion-headed freak
Key art from Stage Fright, showing a split image of two characters looking at a spooky landscape (left) and a sunset town (right)
More than 50 million people played Overcooked, so its devs are teaming up with the No Man's Sky team for a "Luigi's Mansion meets Overcooked" adventure
Latest in Games
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' Gemma actor requests "tips for beginners" from fans of Capcom's action RPG as it's the "first MH game that I've ever played"
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Players in GTA Online running businesses and playing missions
GTA publisher is suing a GTA Online website that lets you buy hacked accounts, which "risks upending the GTA 5 player experience"
Death Stranding 2 trailer showing Sam shooting at an enemy
Hideo Kojima aims to beat the ‘walking simulator’ allegations as Death Stranding 2 releases combat-heavy trailer
A screenshot of a castle in Manor Lords.
Manor Lords dev confirms "castles and sieges are now in the works" for the city builder, as well as a new map that could get its own game mode in the future
Latest in News
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' Gemma actor requests "tips for beginners" from fans of Capcom's action RPG as it's the "first MH game that I've ever played"
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State may be the Russo brothers' most challenging VFX project yet, but stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say it's one of the easiest films they’ve ever done
The Last of Us season 2 trailer shows spores
The Last of Us season 2 is bringing in one of the biggest game omissions from season 1 – and the showrunners say it's for a "good reason"
Chris Cocks with a transformer grimmacing behind him
Hasbro CEO, D&D DM, and self-professed "AI bull" Chris Cocks says AI is "supercharging fandom" which is "just net good for the brand"
More about games
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face

You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop

Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat

Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
See more latest
Most Popular
Chris Cocks with a transformer grimmacing behind him
Hasbro CEO, D&D DM, and self-professed "AI bull" Chris Cocks says AI is "supercharging fandom" which is "just net good for the brand"
a titanium watch with grey and orange features on the arms and face
You can look like Solid Snake with this Death Stranding 2 watch, but it'll cost you over $1,500
Monster Hunter Wilds trailer screenshot showing a young woman with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail smiling slightly, pumping her left fist in the air
Monster Hunter Wilds' Gemma actor requests "tips for beginners" from fans of Capcom's action RPG as it's the "first MH game that I've ever played"
Doom: The Dark Ages screenshot
Doom director claims The Dark Ages can be beaten without using a gun, but "the game's not necessarily built to do that"
Giancarlo Esposito in The Electric State
The Electric State may be the Russo brothers' most challenging VFX project yet, but stars Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito say it's one of the easiest films they’ve ever done
The Last of Us season 2 trailer shows spores
The Last of Us season 2 is bringing in one of the biggest game omissions from season 1 – and the showrunners say it's for a "good reason"
A screenshot of a castle in Manor Lords.
Manor Lords dev confirms "castles and sieges are now in the works" for the city builder, as well as a new map that could get its own game mode in the future
Daredevil: Born Again
Vincent D'Onofrio responds to a fan who thinks Daredevil: Born Again has "ruined" Kingpin: "Thanks for the support dumbass"
One Piece Egghead arc
After 18 years, the English dub of long-running anime One Piece has finally caught up with the original Japanese version
Death Stranding 2 trailer showing Sam shooting at an enemy
Hideo Kojima aims to beat the ‘walking simulator’ allegations as Death Stranding 2 releases combat-heavy trailer