I know it's irresponsible to say "trick or treat," but at least you carved pumpkins, right? Nope? Tomorrow is Halloween, so you'd better get on with it. Mayor Bones Proudly Presents Ghost Town's 999th Annual Pumpkin Festival, released free (or paid) on Itch this week, is a delightfully social little gourd carving that doesn't even require getting your hands dirty.
Created by A Short Hike developer Adamgryu, Mayor Bones' Pumpkinfest is a simple but surprisingly solid little creative distraction. Procedural pumpkins abound, and while only carving and scraping tools are available, transforming the soft pulp of a gourd is surprisingly satisfying.
If you're good at making jack-o'-lanterns, even better. I am clearly not.
What's really magic is that Mayor Bones' Pumpkin Festival is actually more like a low-key MMO. Once you've finished your own pumpkin lantern, you can take it to the little festival and set it up anywhere you like on tables, carts, stumps, fence posts, or anything else that lines the show.
Other players' lanterns litter the scene, ranging from menacing to cute to downright bizarre. Some have rows of gourds that look like cat ears, while others have a whole quarter cut off to make a very unflattering Pac-Man pumpkin. Authors, fans, and other guests drift around the show floor as ghosts giving hearts to their favorite decorations.
I think it's been a decade since I last carved a pumpkin. But between the social displays and the lack of seeds, Adamgryu has created a wonderful little seasonal showcase that is well worth a visit. The servers seem to go down a few weeks after Halloween, so let's carve pumpkins while we can.
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