HALLOWEEN HORROR

Beginner's guide

How to play Halloween Horror

Halloween Horror: Hood Edition is a free 2D fighting game that runs in your browser. Pick one of 37 hip-hop stars dressed as horror-movie villains, choose a crew member to back you up and one of 12 haunted horror-movie stages, then win two rounds before your opponent does. You don't need an account, it works with a keyboard, gamepad or touch screen, and you can install it as an app to play offline.

On this page: Game modes · 2v2 tag team · Rounds and meter · Attacking and defending · Grabs and throws · Combos · Signature moves · Supers and Ultras · MURKED finishers · Throwables · Crew assists · Comebacks · Tips

Game modes

Arcade

Fight up a seven-fight ladder. The CPU gets tougher as you climb, and the last fight is the final boss. Play it 1 vs 1 or as a 2 vs 2 tag team.

VS CPU

A single fight against the computer, 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2. You pick both sides and the stage. CPU difficulty is set in Settings.

Versus

Two players on one computer, sharing a keyboard or using two gamepads, 1 vs 1 or 2 vs 2.

Online

Press Find Online Match to be paired with anyone else searching at that moment. There is no sign-in. You can also host a private room and share its four-letter code with a friend. The game connects players directly when it can, and uses a secure relay when a network blocks direct connections. If your opponent quits or drops mid-fight, you win by forfeit.

Training

Practice against a dummy with a full meter that refills. Use Try Ultra to watch your fighter's Ultra, and Change Fighters to switch characters without losing your stage or training settings.

Story

A Halloween-night campaign is coming soon.

CPU Showcase

Watch the computer fight itself, which is a good way to see each character's moves.

Download

Install Halloween Horror on your phone, tablet or computer and play it like an app, even offline. It's free and needs no sign-up.

2v2 tag team

Arcade, VS CPU and Versus can be played as a 2 vs 2 tag team on one device. Each side picks two fighters. Press the assist button in neutral to tag your partner in, and they run in from your side of the screen while the other fighter runs off. Every fighter has their own health bar. The fighter on the bench slowly recovers some of the damage they took, shown in dark red. When a fighter is knocked out, their partner comes in automatically, and the last team standing wins. In 2v2, your Ultra helper is your teammate. Tag team is local only, so online matches are always 1 vs 1.

Rounds, health and meter

Each match is best of three rounds, and each round lasts 99 seconds. Both fighters start every round with 1,150 health. If time runs out, the fighter with more health left wins the round.

The meter under your health bar holds up to three bars. You start each round with one bar, and meter carried over from the last round stays. You earn meter by attacking, blocking, taking damage and taunting. Spend it on Supers, Ultras and comeback moves.

Attacking and defending

Four attack buttons: light punch, heavy punch, light kick and heavy kick. Light attacks are fast. Heavy attacks are slower and hit harder. Every fighter has their own fighting style, so the same button throws a different strike for each of them: a brawler swings wide, a striker snaps quick kicks, a grappler reaches to grab.

Special: every fighter has a Special move themed on their horror character.

Blocking: hold the block button, or hold away from your opponent while they attack. Blocking stops most damage, though some moves are unblockable. Perfect block: press back or block just before a hit lands. A perfect block takes no chip damage, earns meter and lets you act sooner.

EX special: press Special and heavy punch together with half a bar of meter for a stronger version of your Special that shrugs off a hit as it starts and knocks the opponent down.

Dashing: double-tap forward to dash in. Double-tap back to backdash, which makes you briefly invulnerable.

Quick rise: press any attack button as you hit the ground to get back up faster. It doesn't work after a Super knocks you down.

Launcher: hold down and press heavy punch to pop your opponent into the air.

Grabs and throws

Grab string: press toward your opponent and heavy punch up close to grab them and land a four-hit string that knocks them down.

Back throw: press back and heavy punch up close to throw your opponent behind you. Throw them into the wall and they bounce off it.

Air throw: press heavy punch in the air next to a jumping opponent to snatch them and slam them down.

Command grab: press back and Special up close for your fighter's own unbreakable grab.

Breaking a grab: press heavy punch right after you are grabbed (command grabs can't be broken).

Combos

When an attack connects, you can cancel it straight into another move to build a combo. Each move can be used once per chain, so mix light and heavy attacks.

Beginners can use the auto-combo: after a hit lands, keep tapping light punch and the chain climbs automatically from light punch to light kick, heavy punch, heavy kick and your Special. With a full bar, it finishes with Super 1.

For air combos, land a launcher and hold up to super jump after your opponent, then chain your jumping attacks. You can also super jump at any time by tapping down and then up. Long combos make the opponent bounce off the floor and walls, which can extend the damage.

Land two combos of four hits or more in a row and your fighter goes On Fire: for about ten seconds, every hit deals 10% more damage.

Signature moves

Every fighter has a signature move of their own: press toward your opponent and heavy kick. Some parry, some hit low or overhead, some dash through you, pull you in, armor through a hit or call in their crew. Each fighter's signature is listed on the fighters page and in the in-game move list.

Supers and Ultras

Each fighter has two Supers, and each costs one bar of meter. Supers are multi-hit moves themed on the character. A few Supers can even hit an opponent who is lying on the ground, once per combo.

The Ultra is each fighter's cinematic move. Press both Super buttons together (LT + RT on Xbox, L2 + R2 on PlayStation, T + Y on the keyboard). You start every round with one free Ultra. Once it starts it cannot be blocked or interrupted, and it grabs your opponent even mid-air or getting up; it opens with your fighter's intro. After you have used them, an Ultra costs a full three bars. A pulsing blue prompt beside your meter shows when an Ultra is ready.

MURKED finishers

When you win the match, your opponent gets back up dazed. Enter your fighter's secret finisher input while they stand there, a short direction sequence and an attack button, to MURK them with a gory finisher. Every fighter's input is in the in-game move list. You can also press both Super buttons together to finish them with your Ultra (a K.O., not an EXECUTION), or just hit them to end the match. Only the secret input EXECUTES. Turn BLOOD off in Settings to play without blood.

Throwables

Every fighter carries a throwable item themed on their character. Press the Special button to throw it. You get four throws per round, the counter under your meter shows how many are left, and it refills at the start of the next round. Fighters whose Special is a close-range attack use it with down + Special.

Crew assists

Before each fight you choose a crew member: any other fighter in the game. Press the assist button and they run in with their own attack, then need a short rest before you can call them again.

Comeback tools

Crossover

While you are blocking, press the assist button with at least half a bar of meter. Your crew member jumps in front of you, knocks the attacker back with an unblockable hit and gets you out of the pressure.

Combo breaker

If you block the third move of an opponent's chain, the chain breaks and you earn meter.

Combo break

Once per round, while you are being hit, press the assist button with a full bar to escape the combo.

Tips for new players

Ready? See the full controls, meet all 37 fighters, or start playing.