Costume Quest is a Halloween RPG built around trick-or-treating, where knocking on doors earns the candy that buys costumes and battle stamps. Each costume grants a special attack and a traversal gimmick, from the pirate’s cannon barrage to the vampire’s heal.
The combat borrows from Paper Mario but stays far more lenient, with timing rings that need only a few presses. The battle stamps add a passive perk per character, bought from a stamp vendor who sells them throughout the adventure.
The story follows twins whose friend is snatched by the monster king, leading them to recruit the grubbin monsters of Repugia. The humour, from a monster elder’s romance subplot to a treasured joke book, captures the imagination of childhood play.
The Grubbins on Ice DLC expands into a winter valley with a revolution, a missing-yeti mystery and a bobbing-for-eyeballs festival. The pirate costume stands out as the strongest of the new additions, with the most powerful attacks in the expansion.
The DLC’s closing confrontation leans heavily on luck, with a devastating attack that cannot be interrupted and random targeting that can wipe the party. The DLC’s enemies also hit very hard by comparison with the main campaign.
Early navigation stumbles, with one trick-or-treat house easy to miss, and not every costume has a sprint. One earlier boss fight is an absolute nightmare of an encounter, a sharp difficulty spike in an otherwise gentle game.
Overall, costume fantasy and childhood charm make Costume Quest a warm, funny RPG. The lenient combat and the extra DLC content round out the package.