View source for The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror


{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox video game
|title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror
|image=The Simpsons - Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror Coverart.png
|caption=North American box art
|developer=[[Software Creations (UK)|Software Creations]]
|publisher=[[THQ]]
|engine=
|series=''[[The Simpsons]]''
|platforms=[[Game Boy Color]]
|released= {{vgrelease|NA|March 19, 2001<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-04-16 |title=PR - 03/19/01 - THQ SHIPS THE SIMPSONS: NIGHT OF THE LIVING TREEHOUSE OF HORROR FOR GAME BOY COLOR |url=http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-277.asp |access-date=2023-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040416011325/http://www.thq.com/Corporate/PressReleases/press-277.asp |archive-date=2004-04-16 }}</ref>|PAL|April 20, 2001}}
|genre=[[Platform game|Platform]]
|modes=[[Single player]]
}}

'''''The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror''''' is a [[platform game]] published by [[THQ]] on March 19, 2001, for the [[Game Boy Color]]. Developed by [[Software Creations (UK)|Software Creations]], it is based on the ''[[Treehouse of Horror (series)|Treehouse of Horror]]'' episodes of the animated television series ''[[The Simpsons]]''. The game features seven [[side-scrolling]] levels in which the player controls the members of the [[Simpson family]]. ''Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror'' has received average reviews from critics, with praise directed at the design.

==Gameplay==
''The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror'' is a [[side-scrolling]] [[platform game|platformer]].<ref name="IGN-review"/> The game features seven levels, each one of which re-creates a tale from the annual ''[[Treehouse of Horror (series)|Treehouse of Horror]]'' episodes of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''.<ref name="IGN-review"/><ref name="GS-review"/> All five members of the [[Simpson family]] have their own level, with the exception of [[Homer Simpson|Homer]], who has three.<ref name="GS-review"/> The levels include [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] in a zombie tale, [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] as a fly, [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] fighting cannibalistic teachers, [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] rescuing [[Santa's Little Helper]] in a haunted house, and Homer as a vampire killer, a robot, and the large ape [[King Kong|King Homer]].<ref name="IGN-review">{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Craig |date=April 24, 2001 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/24/simpsons-night-of-the-living-treehouse-of-horror |title=[The] Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror |publisher=[[IGN]] |accessdate=November 3, 2016 |archive-date=September 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919100249/http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/24/simpsons-night-of-the-living-treehouse-of-horror |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Development==
''The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror'' was developed by [[Software Creations (UK)|Software Creations]] and published by [[THQ]]. Software Creations began developing the game before the May 2000 [[Electronic Entertainment Expo]] (E3), but since it was only in its early stages when the expo took place, it was not displayed there.<ref name="IGN">{{cite web |author=IGN staff |date=February 9, 2001 |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/10/simpsons-night-of-the-living-treehouse-of-horror-2 |title=[The] Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror (Preview) |publisher=IGN |accessdate=November 3, 2016}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Video game reviews
| GR = 74%<ref name="GR">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamerankings.com/gbc/467977-/index.html |title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror for Game Boy Color |publisher=[[GameRankings]] |accessdate=November 3, 2016}}</ref>
| GI = 7.5/10<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |issue=98 |date=June 2001}}</ref>
| GSpot = 7.8/10<ref name="GS-review"/>
| GameZone = 8/10<ref>{{cite web |author=Rgerbino |date=May 3, 2001 |url=http://gameboy.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r17344.htm |title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror |publisher=GameZone |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010607092546/http://gameboy.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r17344.htm |archivedate=June 7, 2001 |url-status=dead |accessdate=November 3, 2016}}</ref>
| Hyper = 4/10<ref name = "Hyper">{{cite magazine|last=Shea|first=Cam|date=July 2001|url=https://archive.org/details/hyper-093/page/72/mode/2up?q=%22Night+of+the+Living+Treehouse+of+Horror%22|title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror|magazine=[[Hyper (magazine)|Hyper]]|issue=93|page=72|accessdate=October 28, 2021}}</ref>
| IGN = 6/10<ref name="IGN-review"/>
}}

The game received generally positive reviews according to the [[Review aggregator|review aggregation]] website [[GameRankings]] with an average score of 74%.<ref name="GR"/>

''[[IGN]]''{{'}}s Craig Harris said that it "is a better-than-average platformer for the Game Boy Color" and has "some decent design elements". He added, however, that he thought the game got boring towards the end: "The difficulty is certainly there — it's not an easy game to play, and you won't be whisking through this title in an afternoon. It starts out clever and decent enough, as the first few levels are a good and fun challenge. Most of the levels, though, are based on the first level's side-scroller, and by the time I got to the first Homer level, I was getting quite bored."<ref name="IGN-review"/> Cam Shea of ''[[Hyper (magazine)|Hyper]]'', more unfavorably, also felt players would quickly grow disinterested by its overuse of recycled elements of other games.<ref name = "Hyper"/> Frank Provo of ''[[GameSpot]]'', on the other hand, wrote that "each level [...] is a game unto itself, which makes for a rather pleasing and varied experience." He praised the game for being "colorfully drawn, highly detailed, and smoothly animated," and for the video game references featured in it. He disliked, however, that it "uses an unwieldy password system, making it unnecessarily tedious to continue a game."<ref name="GS-review">{{cite web |last=Provo |first=Frank |date=April 5, 2001 |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/the-simpsons-night-of-the-living-tree-house-of-hor/1900-2705209/ |title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Tree House of Horror [sic] Review |publisher=[[GameSpot]] |accessdate=November 3, 2016}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{moby game|id=/gameboy-color/simpsons-night-of-the-living-treehouse-of-horror}}

{{Simpsons games}}
{{Treehouse of Horror}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror}}
[[Category:2001 video games]]
[[Category:Video games about cannibalism]]
[[Category:Fox Interactive games]]
[[Category:Game Boy Color games]]
[[Category:Game Boy Color-only games]]
[[Category:Halloween video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:THQ games]]
[[Category:Treehouse of Horror|Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror]]
[[Category:Video games about nightmares]]
[[Category:Video games based on The Simpsons|Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=The Simpsons: Night of the Living Treehouse of Horror|access_date=2026-03-07}}