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Halloween 2026 may be rapidly vanishing in the rearview as the comforts (and stresses) of Christmas approach. However, true horror fans know spooks and scares aren't something you have to keep locked away for the remainder of the year.
With that in mind, I thought it was worth highlighting a piece of news that completely passed us by this past Halloween season: the release of the Ultimate Edition of the NES homebrew All Hell Unleashed.
Originally starting development in 2024, All Hell Unleashed, in case it has yet to darken your door, is an unofficial 8-bit tribute to classic horror cinema, which grew out of a bunch of fan-made horror games based on Friday the 13th, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Candyman. Developed by a team led by Fista Productions Steve McCall, it was initially released on itch.io in April 2025, though it has continued to receive updates ever since (including the humorously titled v6.66 and, more recently, the Ultimate Edition, launched last month).
Its story mixes multiple horror franchises, following a twisted cult's attempt to harness the powers of cinema's most infamous slashers: Jason, Michael, Freddy, Candyman, Ghostface, Leatherface, Pennywise, Pinhead, Chucky, and the Killer Klowns. As you might expect, this plan quickly goes to pot, with the cursed amulet shattering, unleashing the cast of killers upon the rest of the world. It therefore falls to either yourself or the Evil Dead's Ash Williams to take on the mantle of humanity's saviour to recover the amulet shards, defeat the killers, and stop the cult before it’s too late.
One of the most exciting new features, according to McCall, in this new Ultimate Edition is the ability to "flip the script." While in the original All Hell Unleashed, players could only take on the role of the hero, this new update lets you experience the game from the point of view of the killers to "turn the rescue mission into a massacre." Additionally, 2-player has also been added across all of the game's modes, as well as some quality-of-life improvements, like reduced lag and making it so that pits don't necessarily kill you outright.
Despite being unofficial, the game has some famous fans, in the form of Robert Englund and Kane Hodder, who agreed to pose for photos with the project, and it has even graced the pages of Fangoria. As he tells us, "It’s been a labour of love for nearly three years, and I’m excited to share the finished version."
You can check out the game here for free.