Video game Halloween costume ideas needn’t give you sleepless nights.
This article was originally published last year, but last-minute costume ideas are never a bad thing to have to hand, right?
There’s nothing worse than seeing a theme, or the words ‘come in costume’ on a party invite. Sure, there are people who love preparing these things in advance and pour hours (or days, or weeks) into making the perfect costume, but for the rest of us mere mortals it’s a little more difficult. It’s hard to find the time. It’s hard to find the inspiration. We might be lacking some of the requisite crafting skills.
Plus, a lot of Halloween tropes are just a bit boring. Ghosts, mummies, vampires – yawn – are all so passé, so the temptation is to go as something you’ll enjoy. Video game Halloween costume ideas can work to spice things up and make the idea of dressing up more appealing, but if you just throw on a red sweater, blue overalls and a red baseball cap, it’s not really in the spirit of things.
This is where we come in.
We’ve put together a short selection of video game Halloween costume ideas – for all genders – that you can put together in really short order, with the minimum of expense and creative skill required to get something looking decent. We’ve included everything you’ll need, some instructions, a picture of what it should look like, and even graded them by difficulty; there’s really no excuse now.
Resident Evil 3: Jill Valentine – Difficulty 1/5
You will need:
- A blue tube-top thing.
- Short black skirt.
- White cardigan.
- Brown boots.
- Shoulder holster (optional).
- Replica pistol (optional).
Steps:
Wear all the things in the conventional manner, except for the white cardigan – tie that around your waist by the sleeves, like you’re going for a day at the Regatta (and not to fight hordes of zombies). Arm yourself with your fake pistol, if you have one.
Congratulations! You now look like Jill Valentine.
Hitman: Agent 47 – Difficulty 2/5
You will need:
- Black suit.
- White shirt.
- Red tie.
- Bald head (or a Bic razor and the desire to be bald).
- Sharpie.
- Leather gloves (optional).
- Pair of replica silenced pistols (optional).
Steps:
Wear all the things. If your head isn’t already bald, shave it. Get someone to draw a bar-code on the back of your head, at the base of your skull, with the Sharpie – the correct bar-code is 640509-040147. Complete the outfit with creepy assassin leather gloves and twin silenced pistols, if using.
Congratulations! You now look like Agent 47.
Minecraft: Creeper – Difficulty 3/5
You will need:
- A cardboard box (larger than your head).
- Several shades of green paper/card and some glue (or several shades of green felt pens).
- Scissors.
- Sharpie.
- Green clothes.
Steps:
Either cut the green paper/card into equal size squares and arrange them around the cardboard box in a mosaic fashion, or colour in the cardboard box in the same design with the assorted green pens. Draw the iconic Creeper face on the front of the box with your Sharpie, and poke some eye-holes in the box. Wear the green clothes, and put the box on your head.
Congratulations! You now look like a Creeper.
The Sims: Showering Sim – Difficulty 3/5
You will need:
- A headband.
- Some wire.
- Several shades of green paper/card.
- Several shades of paper/card that loosely match your flesh tone.
- Some glue.
- A sandwich board (or two large boards and some straps).
- Shower cap (optional).
- Loofah (optional).
Steps:
Form the green paper/card into a tall diamond shape, and attach it to the top of the wire. Attach the wire to the top of the headband. Cut the fleshy-coloured paper/card into equal size squares and arrange them on the boards in a mosaic fashion. If you’re making your own sandwich board, join the two large boards with straps. Put the headband on your head, and hang the sandwich board straps over your shoulders.
Congratulations! You now look like a Showering Sim.
Silent Hill: Nurse – Difficulty 4/5
You will need:
- Typical Halloween nurse costume.
- Bandages.
- Fake blood.
- Dirt/dust.
- Kitchen knife (optional).
Steps:
Rip, tear, or otherwise damage the Halloween nurse costume. Rub the Halloween nurse costume and bandages in the fake blood, dirt and dust – don’t stop until they look genuinely horrific. Wear the Halloween nurse costume, and wrap the bandages around your face and head in an Invisible Man style. Pop the nurse costume’s hat on top of the bandages at a jaunty angle, if one was included.
Congratulations! You now look like a Silent Hill Nurse.
BioShock: Splicer – Difficulty 4/5
You will need:
- Dandy, 1940s-era clothes (pin-stripe waistcoat makes a great choice).
- A cheap opera mask (that you don’t mind customising/damaging).
- Gold/silver pens.
- Dirt/dust/flour.
- Fake blood.
- Metal pipe (optional).
- Hand scythes (optional).
- Syringes and food colouring (optional).
Steps:
Decorate up your opera mask with the gold and silver pens, to make it look art-Deco and fancy. Then take your metal pipe (or other heavy object) and damage your opera mask, so that it looks battered and broken. Wear your dandy, 1940s-era clothes and your opera mask, then dump the dirt/dust/flour and fake blood over yourself until you look generally dishevelled. Fill your syringes with food colouring and water, if using, and arm yourself with those makeshift weapons.
Congratulations! You now look like a Splicer.
Silent Hill: Pyramid Head – Difficulty 5/5
You will need:
- A lot of cardboard.
- Scissors, glue and tape.
- Some metallic paint.
- Fake blood.
- Dirt/dust.
- A floor-length brown skirt or butcher’s apron (preferably leather).
Steps:
Construct a cardboard helmet, that is shaped like a lop-sided Star Destroyer from Star Wars. Perforate the top two panels of the helmet so you can see through them. If you have enough cardboard left over, you could also make a massive sword. Spray the helmet (and sword) in the metallic paint, then allow to dry. Rub the helmet (and sword) in the fake blood, dirt and dust. Strip down to your underwear, and put on the floor-length skirt or butcher’s apron. Rub yourself and the skirt in the fake blood, dirt and dust.
Congratulations! You now look like Pyramid Head, and will probably not be allowed into any parties.
Bonus: Shaun of the Dead – Difficulty 1/5
You will need:
- White shirt.
- Black trousers.
- Red tie (preferably two-tone, diagonally striped).
- Name tag (or some card and a pin to make one).
- Fake blood.
- Cricket bat (optional).
Steps:
This isn’t strictly a video game Halloween costume idea, but it’s so simple to do and fits in culturally with gaming that it’s hard to ignore. First, wear all the things. Either modify your existing name tag, or make one from scratch, so that it says that your name is ‘Shaun’ and you work at ‘Foree Electric’. Put a few spots of fake blood on your white shirt, so people can constantly point out that “You’ve got red on you.”
Congratulations! You shall go to the ball!
Have you had any success with our costume ideas? Send in your photos!
