The Nightmare Before Christmas Meets Super Mario Bros. In Spooky New Game

Published Oct 4, 2026, 4:00 AM EDT

Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.

In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.

He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com

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It's the Halloween season, and that means many of us are looking for spooky games to play. If you have a soft spot for the Halloween storybook charm of The Nightmare Before Christmas and the colorful, playful platforming of Super Mario Bros., then there's an upcoming game on Steam that should be just about perfect for you. It perfectly blends treak-or-treat vibes with a lightheartedness that's equally cute and spooky.

The game is called Waltz and Jam, and it's a game worth keeping an eye on. The upcoming action-adventure platformer from Flyway Games combines whimsical characters with puzzle-solving gameplay and larger-than-life enemies the two protagonists must face. Like The Nightmare Before Christmas, it's an adventure for people who love fantasy mixed with a little darkness. You can view the YouTube trailer here:

At the heart of Waltz and Jam is Waltz, a soul traveling through an afterlife inspired by a reimagining of the Seven Deadly Sins. Accompanying him is Jam, his lovable spirit dog and indispensable adventure partner. Together, they journey through seven handcrafted realms, each with its own visual identity, atmosphere, secrets, puzzles, and dangers.

That premise probably brings The Nightmare Before Christmas to mind. Like Jack Skellington exploring a different holiday world, Waltz will explore lands based on the Seven Deadly Sins. There's also Jam, a loyal dog sidekick similar to Jack's own Zero. Waltz and Jam similarly embraces the idea that scary topics don't have to be purely grim and frightening, but rather strange and even adorable.

The Steam page describes the game's realms as hand-painted storybook worlds, ranging from a chaotic restaurant to a castle filled with light and shadow. There's even a vast desert. All of these levels, of course, sound similar to what you might find in any number of Super Mario Bros. games.

Waltz and Jam Looks Like The Perfect Halloween Game

Like Super Mario Bros., the gameplay in Waltz and Jam is built around platforming, puzzles, and collectibles. You can use various abilities as you explore and face a number of boss encounters. Rather than simply moving from one combat encounter to another, players are encouraged to experiment with their surroundings and figure out how the game's various tools can open new paths.

Jam is especially important to that formula. The little dog isn't merely a companion following Waltz around. Jam can transform into useful forms, including a water ball that can bounce and splash and a trampoline that can launch Waltz into the air. Waltz also collects toys with different abilities, using them to activate mechanisms and overcome obstacles, as well as dealing with enemies.

That combination of movement and environmental interaction is where Waltz and Jam looks particularly familiar to fans of Nintendo-style platformers. The appeal isn't necessarily about copying Mario games, but about capturing the same vibe. Ultimately, Waltz and Jam has the macabre storybook atmosphere that fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas should enjoy, while its colorful exploration and platforming offer the kind of playful adventure associated with Super Mario Bros.