Trying to keep up with all of the downloadable games and content that's out there these days is enough to make a person cry. But cry no more, because Download Lowdown is here to help. I'll sift through the good, the bad, and the weird to help you get the most from your game system of choice without leaving your house.

In honor of Horror Week, I tackled Costume Quest, the Halloween-themed role-playing game from the funny folks over at Double Fine Productions. Let's find out if this kid-focused, candy-obsessed adventure is a trick or a treat.

Game: Costume Quest
Systems: XBLA, PSN
Price: $15 (1200 MS points)

The Lowdown: Sweet is the operative word with Costume Quest. Not only does candy feature heavily in the story (heck, it's even the currency), but the game is so disarmingly sweet that I feel bad critiquing it.

And Costume Quest is not an easy game to critique. How you'll feel about it depends on how you approach it. Are you a parent interested in a gateway game to get your kid interested in RPGs? Are you yourself a kid at heart? Then, you can't do much better than Costume Quest. But if you're an RPG fanatic looking for a meaty experience, you'll likely be disappointed.

The game stars Wren and Reynold, bickering siblings out to haul in as much candy as they can on Halloween night. Their collecting is going swimmingly until Wren, dressed up as a candy corn, knocks on the wrong door and gets kidnapped by a candy-loving fiend (if you choose to play as Wren, the situation is reversed). Reynold spends the rest of the game trying to find her, or else he'll totally get grounded. Along the way, he partners up other neighborhood kids, engages in some light questing (generally of the "collect this and bring it there" variety), and fights plenty of monsters.

Battles have been streamlined so that younger gamers will have an easy time with them. The turn-based fights consist of a standard attack, a special ability that becomes available every few turns, and an optional third ability that can be activated by a modifier. That's it -- no items or complex party management to worry about. Most of the moves have a timing element to them that result in greater damage, so once you master the rhythms, you'll be yawning through the battle sequences.

And yet the simplicity of Costume Quest's gameplay never bothered me because I was too busy being won over by its charm. I loved every moment I spent immersed in the beautiful, cel-shaded graphics -- battles, mimicking comic-book panels, are a particular joy -- and the dialog, cowritten by studio head Tim Schafer, hits that Pixar-perfect note that manages to both engage children and amuse adults. If you're a kid, if you have kids, or if you want to remember what it was like to be a kid, then Costume Quest is the perfect Halloween treat.

What Twitter users are saying:

@DropDeadInt has a candy addiction: Oh Costume Quest, why did I have to complete you, I want more! I NEED MORE!

Sorry, @Darkcityxx, no refunds: Tried costume Quest after so many of you told me it was awesome. It was not awesome, I did not like it. You all owe me 30min of my life back!

If @OpenEmotion's next game is delayed, blame Costume Quest: Seriously whoa, I'm taking liberties and playing Costume Quest when I should be focusing on making our game.