Horror games have had up and downs over the years. You’d think that a medium that requires direct input from its audience would have more of an impact in such a genre. After all, unlike TV, movies, or books, you’re not watching passively a character do their own thing and risk his life against an unseen monster. You are the character. Whatever happens it’s a direct consequence of your actions. This is especially effective in first-person games where you feel more like you’re inside the game.
But, of course, a game doesn’t need to be in first-person to be scary. In fact, many developers have tried and failed to accomplish something that, in theory, shouldn’t be too hard, and that is to scare the player.
The answer as to why some games fail while others succeed is another topic altogether and one I won’t mess around with too much on in this post. Instead, what I want to do is show you a list of games that have mastered the art of making you shit your pants, and that you can play on your PC right now. For the sake of making a varied list, I decided to include one game per franchise.
Lone Survivor
An indie survival horror with obvious inspiration from Silent Hill, this game is a gem for all lovers of pixelated games. It really brings an air of nostalgia mixed with the increasingly creepy feeling of dread throughout the game. You’re a survivor in a world taken over by monsters, and your purpose is to survive your day to day while struggling to retain your sanity. In this game, your choices affect the world around you, and it won’t fail to make your skin crawl.
F.E.A.R.
First Encounter Assault Recon. F.E.A.R. is the creepy little-girl-with-long-dark-hair trope taken to the extreme. First-person survival where you won’t feel safe even carrying a freaking rifle. The game was a big deal at the time in terms of how the AI behaves and still holds to this day. Not to mention that you’ll be wanting to bite your nails at every corner. You’ll have to fight your way through dark corridors against very smart enemies and a ghostly little girl that will make your life hell.
Condemned: Criminal Origins
An amazing concept, a great execution, but a failed project nonetheless. Condemned has become a sort of cult classic. You play as FBI agent Ethan Thomas in the crime-ridden city of Metro trying to solve a series of murders. You’re then thrown into the chaotic city with criminals roaming the streets and causing mayhem.
The combat is focused on melee, forcing you to get close to your enemies, making every fight feel like you’re struggling to stay alive. Guns are rare, and the situation gets more bizarre with each chapter. Truly a great game that went unappreciated and is in desperate need of a sequel of a remake. And no, I don’t know any game called Condemned 2: Bloodshot. It never happened.
Dead Space
Now, if you want me to be completely honest, I prefer Dead Space 2. It’s the first one I played, and it has a fond place in my heart as it introduced me to the concept of space horror and Necromorphs. However, I do recognize that the first Dead Space is the one that captures the best all of the elements of a well-rounded and outright terrifying survival horror.
The sequels, while good on their own merits, are more focused on the action. The thrills you get from Dead Space 2 and 3 are more on the level of a shooter, especially in the third installment. Still, those don’t take away from the fact that the original Dead Space is a horror masterpiece.
Evil Within
Heavily inspired by Resident Evil 4, Evil Within was a bit of a shot in the dark. The game took a few risks and managed to capture the feeling that similar horror games before it had tried and yet failed.
The story is… convoluted, to say the least, but the visuals, the gameplay, and the atmosphere are on par with heavy hitters like Silent Hill or Resident Evil. I have to admit I was skeptical when I bought it, but it turned out to be one of my favorite games on the genre and definitively one that’s not getting as much love as it deserves.
Resident Evil 7
This may be my most controversial choice on the list, especially for Resident Evil fans considering that the franchise is littered with amazing instant-classics and beloved horror games that changed the way we looked at the genre. There’s no denying that the very idea of a survival horror as we know it today wouldn’t exist without the influence of the original Resident Evil, or how the fourth installment demonstrated that you could have a good mix of action, comedy, and horror. And yes, the remakes also showed that there’s still a demand for such games that can still be as terrifying as they were a decade or two ago.
But, and this is a very subjective preference of mine, I believe that one of the modern games in the franchise that truly captured the feeling of dread while staying true to its roots most successfully was the one that wasn’t afraid to shake things up a bit.
Not to mention that I’m a huge fan of the first-person perspective in horror titles, Resi 7 delivered different kinds of horrors in one neat package. The fear of loss, being stranded, despair, family abuse, Jigsaw-like torture, the skin-crawling fear of insects, being chased, and so much more. It was made it such a way that every piece felt like it belonged in the right place, and I think Resident Evil 8 could learn a few things by implementing what worked on this one.
SOMA
This survival horror takes place in an underwater research facility. The setting alone was enough was to sell me the game, considering it brought flashbacks of my first experience with Bioshock back in the day. Little did I know that it wasn’t like that at all, in a good way, though. SOMA is more heavily leaning into the psychological aspect of horror, yet it’s hard to talk about it without going into spoiler territory.
So, to keep things short, SOMA is one of those games that’s not afraid to “go there” and address issues that other games only dare to imply. This horror title is one that has become one of those that every horror lover needs to play at some point.
Outlast
Continuing the trend of run and hide instead of fight, Outlast plays it safe in terms of setting. It takes place in a psychiatric hospital overrun by homicidal maniacs. You’re only equipped with your camera and your wits. And, as cliché as it may sound, the setting actually adds a lot to the mix. You have to evade enemies and hide. Still, the fact you don’t have a gun doesn’t mean you don’t have to manage resources, batteries run out as you use the night vision on your camera, and there are lots of areas where you’re going to need them.
Alien: Isolation
I never thought I’d see a game made from a movie to capture what made the movie so scary. You’re on the shoes of Amanda Ripley, up close in first-person, exploring a space station and completing tasks while avoiding your enemies.
And though you eventually come across a wide variety of weapons, the game emphasizes the stealth aspect. Limited ammo and resources force you to be on your tiptoes at every corner, arming you with courage with every gun you encounter, but without empowering you as an action game would.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia is the game that brought the genre back to life and popularized it, along with the elements of running and hiding from enemies to give the player a feeling of powerlessness. This game turned into a classic almost instantly. From the creepy environment of the castle you wander around to the music.
Everything in this game seems to be made to put you on edge. The designs of the enemies are terrifying, and the story is engaging. Amnesia follows the same steps as Penumbra but improving on a lot of mechanics. If you’ve never played this game, you’ve probably heard of it.
Silent Hill 2
The quintessential horror game. The one with a gripping story, disturbed characters, and a suffocating atmosphere that will have you question your life decisions just a few minutes into the game.
This is the game that countless people, including the developers of the game itself, have tried to replicate to no avail. And while some deserve the credit for getting some things right, none have come close to achieve what Silent Hill 2 is capable of inducing into the player in such a raw way.
James Sunderland is a sympathetic character, and we dive deep into his mind as we try to unravel the mystery of his deceased wife trying to communicate with him and the ominous town of Silent Hill. Pain, grief, suicide, trauma are some of the topics the game explores and makes you feel for every character involved. A rollercoaster of emotions that bounces from sad to scary with no seemingly no effort. Silent Hill 2 is, simply put, a masterpiece that deserves to be at the top of every horror game list.
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