By Logan Jacobs

As the month of October is in full swing and Halloween is fast approaching, gamers may be looking for new or different scares. However, fear often takes a back seat in this style of play and tension takes over. And that tension is delivered in different and sometimes unusual ways. Multiplayer, Psychological, and Traditional are a nice triad of horror.

Multiplayer Horror: Phasmophobia is a fun 1 to 4 player ghost-hunting game in which players find pieces of evidence to determine what type of ghost is pursuing them.

As the ghost initiates what is called a “hunt” all players who are in the house at the time get locked in with the ghost until the conflict is resolved.

Players have tools to assist them such as the walkie talkie. During the hunt the walkie talkie also shuts off so players’ voices can only be heard by those nearby.

Death is always a risk. The ghost’s primary purposee is to track down players and kill them with a touch.

However, there ways to avoid these disturbing deaths. Different items like smudge sticks or a crucifix can ward off ghosts, buying the players more time.

Players can buy these items using a shop system offering many different items such as a head-mounted camera so teammates can see a first-person perspective from the van or candles that maintain player sanity in dark rooms.

However not all items can be bought in the shop like cursed possessions. These cursed possessions range from a ghost summoning circle to tarot cards that may save players from death.

Overall, this game is an engaging first-person paranormal investigation with mortal consequences yet a fun team-based action.

Phycological Horror: Yume Nikki is a true cult classic. Released in 2004, Yume Nikki explores dreams and nightmares.

While this game is far more psychological than horror, there are still horrific elements which have inspired other great horror games such as Omori, and the Lisa franchise.

As young shut-in Madotsuki, players go around dreams, collecting effects, doing events, and diving deeper into said dreams. Effects are the closest things you get to a progress system in Yume Nikki. Not all effects are useful, but some are extremely useful such as the bike making you go faster or the lamp lighting up dark worlds.

Although the effects can be described as a “progress system” gathering all 24 effects should not be the goal when playing Yume Nikki. Looking at Yume Nikki through that lens may lead to overlooking impacting events and areas such as going to Mars or meeting Uboa. These events and areas make up such a huge part of Yume Nikki and can be witnessed only after doing very specific steps that would have been missed by just chasing after effects.

Traditional Horror: Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion, has the player exploring a haunted mansion. In the mansion players will find different specimen, these specimens all have unique abilities each having their own way of trying to kill the player.

Unique abilities can range from having a puddle of goo to slow the player down, to forcing the player to constantly look at the specimen as they venture through the different rooms of the mansion.

After venturing through the mansion’s 1000 rooms players will face off against a final boss and depending on their score will either get a good or bad ending. Players will also face a sad truth of the mansion that had been hinted at all throughout the game.

Even after beating the story mode Spooky’s continues, by beating the paid hd version players will unlock an endless mode and two new dlcs.

Karamari Hospital and Dollhouse are both vastly different from the past formula of Spooky’s, instead of mixing in random specimen encounters and scripted encounters the two dlcs choose to go down the route of just having scripted encounters. This style of just having scripted encounters makes the story shine, letting the player explore a large dark abandoned hospital, discovering the past secrets left behind by GL Labs.

In Spooky’s Dollhouse the player explores a large mansion with many dark secrets left behind, eventually coming to a climax the player sees Spooky’s final moments. The endless mode opts to ditch the lore aspects and instead just focuses on scaring the player, the player can be chased by any monster across both dlcs and the main game, even adding more specimen exclusive to endless mode.

Phasmophobia, Yume Nikki, and Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion are three games I will never forget playing and games that I would recommend to anyone who’s looking for a good scare this Halloween.

By Dairell Alvarico

October has just arrived; you know what that means, right? Soon you are going to notice the spooky and scary skeletons chilling on your neighbor’s yard, or see costumes get sold out at your local Target, only to later be worn by children asking for candy on your doorstep. It is not every day you catch sight of these things, so how about joining in on the fun?  This month is the time where everyone around you will dress their worst to be the best.

Unless you are not much of an outdoor person. But even that cannot stop you from doing something exciting for your Halloween night. To each their own, and you my friend, are just getting started. 

So how about getting cozy on your couch, bed, or whatever you can rest yourself on, and grab a book fitting for the eerie, sinister, spine-chilling time of the year? 

Are you ready to read a simple yet interesting story about a kid being forced to go to a haunted boarding school? How about the aesthetics of academia in a historic location like Salisbury, England, but add paranormal activities? This book has both. 

Jon Whitcroft is just a generic kid with stepfather issues, which led him to be sent to a boarding school in Salisbury, England to improve his “behavior,” but fate has not been so kind to him, and his school year could not be any more opposite of ordinary when he suddenly sees ghosts. 

This story is enough to give you the jitters, but not the creeps. It does make you feel the suspense of what the characters will do next and sometimes the paranoia of what is at the end of the hallway, yet it contains lighthearted moments that will give you a break from all that action.

The book has the concept of a simple ghost story, but it is creative and distinct way of turning the plot into something unique is what makes it interesting.

The descriptions of what a character feels are not the usual generic narrations of their inner thoughts, and you can see the struggles and loneliness of John Whitcroft, who did not have time to process the sudden change in his life.

This book is perfect for a casual story by the fireplace on a chilly night in October. 

Sherlock Holmes, but with a twist. This story was written by horror icon Stephen King. It has mature aspects to it and delves deeper into the process of catching an indescribable crime case and the struggles of finding the perpetrator, supernatural or not.  

Ralph Anderson is a detective in Flint City and has not experienced any serious crime until the day the murder of a little boy has shaken the neighborhood.

After tedious interviews with witnesses and gathering of evidence, it all pointed fingers to Terry Maitland, a man who coached Ralph’s own son in baseball. But with further digging, the authentication of proof started to get foggy, and Ralph is starting to doubt they got the right guy, so he goes on a personal detective spree to find answers for himself. 

This book had me on my nerves for the right reasons. The frustration of Ralph is so suffocating, you can feel it from time to time. The character’s actions become questionable, and you would have to think if what they are doing is right or not.

The Outsider is a story where you do not want your favorite character to walk anywhere with a stranger, much more alone. Compelling and spine chilling, it will make you check your window at night. 

This novel can potentially keep you on your toes due to the odd way everything transpires in the heart of the crime. The stories do not match, a simple clue can make the whole investigation go for an unexpected turn, even the consequences of one’s actions can ruin a person’s life. That is why you should tread carefully, for not everything is what it seems to be when you dive deep into the story. 
  

Peter Pan may not be the inspiring and vibrant childhood influence you perceive he is. Sometimes there is genuine curiosity when it comes to the perspectives of villains in a fairy tale.

Lots of narratives are bent and smoothened into a biased outcome in favor of the “hero.” There are always two parts to a story, and Christina Henry did a splendid job of creating lore for the infamous Captain Hook.

Before everything went to the dumps, the pirate captain was known as James who was just another Lost Boy that Peter took an interest in, but the latter considered and acknowledged James more than the other boys for reasons that he did not specifically reveal.

It was known that he was the first one to be swept away by Peter to Neverland, and that he became second in command for their group, but Peter was good at hiding his deepest, darkest secrets.

James was starting to think that his own misfortunes and trauma are tied to it, but he knew that it was impossible for confrontation, since Peter has not a drop of patience for it.

The idea of putting a group of young boys, still on the stage of growth and development to fend for themselves in an unknown island is a recipe for disaster, but with the carefree yet twisted mind of Peter Pan, he made everything a fun little playground for him.

Lost Boy is the type of story that takes you back to the nostalgic tale of Peter Pan. The only difference is that you start to doubt that any of his actions are with good faith.

By Ashleigh Varing

“Until the spring day comes again, until the flowers bloom again, please stay, please stay there a little longer.” If you recognize this, you know where I’m coming from: K-pop. Specifically, BTS.

Within the last few years, K-pop has surged in popularity in the states. But why? What makes it so appealing to such a specific niche of our country? There are a few different answers to this question.

K-pop is made up of many different genres. Although pop is prolific within the industry, many other types of music are present. Ballads, rap, hip-hop, rock, and almost any other genre you could think of can be found, meaning it can be enjoyed by just about anyone.

Their choreographies are just as versatile as the music. Several dance trends have stemmed from K-pop songs, which range from ‘Super Tuna’ by Jin to ‘Pink Venom’ by BLACKPINK. Most dances that go viral are much simpler than choreography you might find in an average song, though; many are fairly complex, such as ‘IDOL’ by BTS.

Additionally, music videos within K-pop are high-budget, with striking visuals and overarching stories that draw the viewer in. A good example of this would be BTS’ HYYH (Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa) concept, which has been ongoing since 2015.

Plus, most K-pop stars train for years in order to debut, working on a multitude of talents necessary to become an idol. For example, BTS’ Jungkook trained for roughly 2 years, despite already being quite experienced.

K-pop idols also create genuine bonds with their fans. They write special songs, livestream regularly, film variety shows, and communicate with fans on social media platforms. Most groups are genuinely appreciative of their support.

By Logan Jacobs

Kendrick Lamar, one of the biggest names in music history and an amazing artist who made a name for himself by working hard and making beautiful music.

He started off at a young age releasing small mixtapes which garnered notoriety on the west coast. Under the name “KDot” he would sign to TDE or Top Dawg Entertainment, and slowly release more mixtapes and singles, even receiving a cosign from Lil Wayne.

While releasing two more mixtapes Kendrick would change his stage name to his birth name, finally going by Kendrick Lamar, he announced his first independent album under the name “Section.80”.

Section.80 would soon put Kendrick’s name even further on the map including features from artists such as GLC and SchoolBoy Q.

The album’s first single “HiiiPoWeR” released a few days after the announcement of said album. Section.80 would be released on July 2nd to high praise, with many people around the world coming to the realization that Kendrick is or will soon become the king of the west coast.

Kendrick’s first studio album “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City” was announced in March of 2012, the lead single, “Drank” releasing July 31st.

MAAD City would be an album that told a tale of Kendricks life and was very popular because of it, singing about his life in Compton. MAAD City would start a trend of greatness for Kendrick with his two following studio albums being some of the greatest of all time.

Kendrick Lamar would go on to make To Pimp a Butterfly and Untitled, Unmastered, with TPaB being seen as Kendrick’s masterpiece and one of the best albums of all time.

Untitled Unmastered would include cut songs from TPaB, having them all be untitled and unmastered. TPaB and UU would instantly become classics in Kendricks’s discography.

DAMN, Kendrick Lamar’s latest album* would shock the world with a tale of Duckworth, Kendrick’s father. This album would become one of his most popular albums with Humble, the lead single of the album reaching over one billion streams.

The end of this era of Kendrick would be with the soundtrack for Black Panther, as Kendrick would soon go into hiatus.

Kendrick Lamar would break this hiatus not with a new album but instead by working with his younger cousin, Baby Keem. Both would work on The Melodic Blue, Baby Keems first studio album even signing him to his new record label PGLang. oklama.com would on April 18th announce a new album, Mr. Morale and The Big Steppers, to come out May 13th.