Haunted Lands

About

Haunted Lands is a single player platformer game with horror and violence themes. It was developed by alevgor and was released on March 10, 2026. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Haunted Lands is a 2D pixel shooting game. You are on a contract to eliminate the undead. Can you complete it successfully and still alive? Release Date October 2019 Developer Haunted Lands was developed by alevgor. You can support the developer on itch.io. Platform Web browser

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 118 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Exceptional retro-inspired pixel art and atmospheric visuals that perfectly capture the EGA DOS era aesthetic.
Deep and rewarding gameplay with multiple distinct character classes, varied combat styles, and a wealth of secrets and upgrades enhancing replayability.
Well-designed challenging levels and bosses that require skill, patience, and mastery, evoking a satisfying sense of accomplishment upon success.

High difficulty level with punishing checkpoint and save systems leading to tedious repeated runs and progress loss frustrating many players.
Controls and reload mechanics can feel clunky or unintuitive at times, causing player frustration especially during precise platforming and combat.
Some design choices like needing to replay entire levels to deposit items or upgrade gear without mid-level checkpoints disrupt pacing and waste player time.

gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
72%
10%
The gameplay offers a challenging and rewarding retro-inspired platforming experience with three distinct classes and diverse enemies, blending nostalgic difficulty with modern mechanics. While the combat, level design, and character progression are praised for depth and engagement, many find the punishing difficulty, tedious checkpoint system, and clunky reload mechanics frustrating, occasionally hindering enjoyment. Overall, it balances solid, satisfying gameplay with a difficulty curve that may not appeal to all players.
- “Very satisfying to learn the three different classes with their different mechanics plus a variety of class-specific equipment.”
- “All the mechanics and enemy design are super fun, and it's satisfying to slowly master the game.”
- “The stages are visually varied and interesting, with constant memorable set piece moments and amazing looking bosses that constantly get more elaborate as the game goes on. The inventory and treasure system adds another layer of satisfying depth to the already rock-solid gameplay.”
- “If you die, you lose the money, and if you choose to go back to base, you have to redo 5-45 minutes of gameplay, which is extremely tedious.”
- “I really want to beat this game because I know it's awesome and has a lot of content, but I am bad at platformers and clunky reload mechanics are killing me. I wish the game had an option (easy mode if you wish) for auto-reload when your ammo mag is empty so you just keep using the shooting button to start the reload, and also reload does not interrupt after almost any move besides taking damage. The game would be infinitely better and much more fun for me.”
- “Unfortunately, the 'die, run right back up and try it again' gameplay format does become kind of a huge pain because of the checkpoint system that most of the negative reviews are referring to.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
52%
12%
The game features beautifully detailed pixel art inspired by classic EGA DOS-era graphics, skillfully blending nostalgic retro aesthetics with modern lighting, animation, and visual effects. Reviewers praise its authentic yet refined art style that enhances the dark fantasy atmosphere while supporting engaging and challenging gameplay. Overall, the graphics are widely regarded as fantastic, charming, and a key highlight of the experience.
- “Beautiful graphics and effects, spot-on audio, a lot more depth than you'd expect at first glance, and a lot more challenge too.”
- “The visuals, presented in all their EGA glory, look gorgeous, and the attention to detail is incredible.”
- “Too bad, the graphics are really fantastic, they seem designed with something quite close to a genuine EGA palette (just higher resolution) and if that's what you want out of a game, go for it.”
- “Aesthetically, it looks like an EGA DOS game.”
- “The pixel art is reminiscent of the old EGA DOS graphics.”
- “I bought this game because of its art style, only to find that the game experience is actually like serving a sentence cyberly.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
37%
16%
The music in the game is widely praised for its high quality, fitting soundtrack that complements the retro, eerie, and intense atmosphere. While some note occasional repetitiveness or desire for more tracks, the overall metal-themed and moody compositions significantly enhance the gameplay experience. Fans particularly appreciate the nostalgic sound effects and genre-appropriate tunes that make each level feel immersive and engaging.
- “It plays well, the music is god-tier, the art is beyond sublime, the difficulty feels perfect!”
- “Amazing gameplay only matched by the absolute head-banging soundtrack.”
- “The music isn’t bad, but it can get repetitive.”
- “The soundtrack features moody, ominous compositions that match the haunting tone of the environments, shifting into more intense themes during combat encounters.”
- “Each level felt like a set piece with the perfect combination of the eerie yet rockin' music and the ultra violent pixel art.”
story
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The story is subtly conveyed through atmospheric and environmental details rather than extensive dialogue or cutscenes, providing a sense of purpose amidst the game's challenging missions. Players appreciate the 8-bit aesthetic and narrative hints, though difficulty spikes and limited mid-mission upgrades can hinder progression. Despite these challenges, the story and overall experience remain engaging, with some hoping for additional content to expand on the ending.
- “Love the 8-bit graphics and the story, I do hope the developer comes out with a DLC on how it ended.”
- “Although the story is not heavily emphasized through lengthy dialogue or cinematic cutscenes, the atmosphere and environmental details provide enough context to give players a sense of purpose as they move deeper into increasingly corrupted regions.”
- “Great game but the difficulty is no joke, I've just cleared the 2nd mission out of 5 (I think) after about 11 hours.”
- “Too difficult even to go to section 2 of mission 1.”
- “Then stuck in mission 1 section 2, till now.”
- “Differently from the demo which starts slow then ramps up to what would be a perfect pacing, you can no longer use checkpoint statues to end your mission there and save up artifacts or silver; in the full version you either trudge on or lose everything, and instead of the manageable stream of enemies, you get constant barrages of ambushes with tens of enemies in tight spaces, any parts of a level but a boss will send you back to where you started, and most of all, the boss encounters are simply insane.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game’s atmosphere is richly crafted with detailed retro-styled art, dark and eerie environments, and immersive sound design that effectively convey a horror-tinged fantasy world. Its blend of classic DOS-era aesthetics with modern mechanics creates a challenging yet captivating experience that deeply engages players through exploration and environmental storytelling. While some find the gameplay demanding, the compelling atmosphere and art style stand out as major strengths.
- “Really fun game with tight controls and incredible atmosphere.”
- “The environments are dark and atmospheric, featuring crumbling tombs, eerie forests, and cursed ruins that reinforce the game’s horror-tinged fantasy setting.”
- “Although the story is not heavily emphasized through lengthy dialogue or cinematic cutscenes, the atmosphere and environmental details provide enough context to give players a sense of purpose as they move deeper into increasingly corrupted regions.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
Replayability is a strong highlight, with multiple character classes and new additions offering varied experiences that encourage players to revisit levels. Though some levels are long and may feel old school, the game provides extensive gaming time and fresh challenges through different character perspectives, enhancing overall replay value.
- “The sheer variety and replayability with each class is awesome!”
- “For the price, you will get an insane amount of gaming time, and the addition of the 2 new characters adds even more replayability value.”
- “That's one area where it does feel a bit too old school, and since each level can be well more than an hour long, it would make sense and help replayability.”
- “It also encourages replayability, since returning to earlier levels with a different character can significantly change how those challenges unfold.”
- “Haunted Lands is a retro-inspired action platformer developed by Alevgor and published by Alawar, designed to capture the spirit of classic side-scrolling games while introducing modern mechanics that add depth and replayability.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game evokes nostalgia with its skill-based progression and replay value, but the requirement to redo lengthy sections after death can feel tedious and diminish enjoyment, especially given the high difficulty and repeated encounters with challenging bosses.
- “If you die, you lose the money, and if you choose to go back to base, you have to redo 5-45 minutes of gameplay, which is extremely tedious.”
- “Awesome game, but sadly the high difficulty in combination with having to replay long tedious level sequences again and again (because of dying to the same mini boss) totally takes the fun out of it.”
- “During childhood you could spend your whole day grinding out a game like this, and you maybe only had a single game to play through anyways, so you wanted to get the most out of it.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Optimization is excellent, with smooth and flawless performance reported consistently.
- “Performance has been, as expected, perfectly fine, no issues whatsoever.”