Did you know that R.L. Stine’s massively popular kids’ horror novels, Goosebumps, are being turned into a big-budget movie starring Jack Black? It’s news to me, but apparently it’s happening. And, like any major motion picture worth its salt these days, Goosebumps is getting an official mobile tie-in game. It’s called Goosebumps: Night of Scares and — to this former Goosebumps junkie — it actually sounds pretty great.
Currently in development by Cosmic Forces and Free Range Games, Goosebumps: Night of Scares is a point-and-click survival game that tasks players with exploring R.L. Stine’s creepy house and engaging in intense cat-and-mouse confrontations with iconic Goosebumps villains and monsters — including Slappy the Dummy, The Werewolf of Fever Swamp, Murder the Clown and many more — who have somehow escaped from the pages of author’s manuscripts and are running rampant in the real world.
Ziad Seirafi, Founder and CEO of Cosmic Forces has this to say about the upcoming game: “We are thrilled to be teaming up with Sony Pictures and Scholastic on this ground-breaking mobile project around the equally exceptional Goosebumps series. The Goosebumps game will feature superbly animated characters, monsters, and scenery including a realistic interpretation of R.L. Stine’s haunted house, and a VR mode that will put players right inside the house.” (That mention of a VR mode is particularly intriguing, right? Although it’s likely to be an Android-only feature.)
There’s no footage of Goosebumps: Night of Scares in action yet, but if you’re interested in the game, the trailer for the movie is probably worth a watch since the two share story elements and characters (Jack Black even plays Mr. Stine in both). Check it out below:
If I’m being honest, the movie looks a tad too CGI-laden and kid-focused for my tastes. That said, the Goosebumps book series and TV show provided me with plenty of enjoyable nightmare fuel back in the nineties, so I’m definitely going to give the game a download.
Cosmic Forces and Free Range Games’ Goosebumps: Night of Scares is due to hit the iOS App Store and Google Play in October — just in time for Halloween, and the release of the Goosebumps movie in theaters. In the meantime, you can head over to the game’s newly launched interactive site to find out more.