Summary
Some ofthe originalPlayStation’smost beloved games, fromResident EviltoSilent Hill,werehorror titles.While not always entirely dedicated to the cause of scaring gamers, the console owes much of its fame to its incredible variety of games, genres, and developers. This includes unique little games likeNightmare Creatures,as well as multiplatform titles like theClock Towerremake.
A great many horrortitles on the PlayStation were not actually exclusives. It’s weird to imagine it now, but the first threeResident Evilgames were also released on PC, with some reaching the Dreamcast and even the Nintendo 64. The fact that those games are now tied to Sony’s console speaks volumes of how influential the PlayStation was in its time.
Alone in the Dark 2might have come out in 1993, but it didn’t reach the PlayStation until 1996. This somewhat justifies the dated look of the game, which, for the most part, is on par with the 1992 original, except for the inferior atmosphere. While the firstAlone in the Darkis set in an abandoned house during a stormy night, the sequel is often set in a lovely daylit garden.
While it might not be as strong as the original or as the PS1Resident Evilgames it inspired,Alone in the Dark 2is a fun romp through vaguely spooky scenarios. Interested players should approach this game with the right expectations. It occasionally gets very silly, with pirate zombies and improvised traps straight out ofHome Alone.
8Banshee’s Last Cry – 1994
The Seminal Horror Visual Novel
Until the iOS port in 2014,Banshee’s Last Crywas never translated into English. It’s unlikely, then, that many fans of the console would recognize this seminal horror visual novel, though they might be familiar with its legacy. For example,Banshee’s Last Cryis one of Chunsoft’s first games, developers of theDanganronpaandMystery Dungeonseries.
Banshee’s Last Cryis the story of a winter vacation retreat gone wrong, when one of the guests staying at the protagonists' cabin is killed. The player must explore almost all the paths through the game and find different bad endings before unlocking the dialogue choices necessary to reach the true ending. While the idea of unlocking dialogue choices might sound weird to mystery visual novel newcomers, it has since become a standard of the genre.
7Clock Tower: The First Fear – 1995
The Horror Adventure Reboot
Clock Toweronly reached Sony’s console in 1997 asClock Tower: The First Fear, a remake that almost acted as a reboot of the young series. Gone was the pixelated, hand-drawn look of the original, replaced by charming but blocky early 3D models. In exchange, this version of the horror adventure classic has voice acting, even if it’s not very good.
Clock Tower: The First Fearis an adventure game, first and foremost, like the rest of theClock Towerseries. Unlike dedicated survival horrors, there is no real action to speak of besides occasionally running away from monsters. WhileClock Tower: The First Fearis stuck on the original PlayStation, WayForward should release a remaster of the original sometime in 2024.
The originalResident Evilmight be the mostwell-known horror game on the PlayStation, and certainly one of the most popular games in the early years of the console. Curiously,Resident Evilwasn’t actually a Sony exclusive, being released for Windows computers later that same year.
The story ofResident Evilis simple: a group of police special operatives take refuge inside an old mansion after their helicopter crashes in the nearby woods. What they find, from monsters to secret passages, requires further investigation. An investigation that causes them to blow up the entire structure and kill the biggest monster of all, the Tyrant.
5Nightmare Creatures – 1997
Atmospheric Horror Action
Nightmare Creaturesis a weird beast. If it weren’t for some technical limitations and awkward controls, it would probably be regarded as a hidden gem. The game is set in a 16th-century London overrun by werewolves and other classic monsters. This setting, together with the game’s slow-moving melee combat, have caused fans to (ironically) refer toNightmare CreaturesasBloodborneon PS1.
The PlayStation version ofNightmare Creaturescame with long pre-rendered cinematics for the intro and the ending, a gift of thenew CD-ROM technology. This goes hand-in-hand with the game’s interest in creating a unique atmosphere. The city is immersed in constant fog, visibility is low, and the animations are quite impressive for the time.
Parasite Eveis a unique survival horror game, especially for a 1998 PlayStation title. For one, it’sbased on a novel, and a fairly popular one at that. It’s also an RPG, mixing the genre’s traditional mechanics with heavy survival horror influences like a fixed camera.
One thing that immediately stands out about this game is the combat; a traditional RPG without real turns, in many ways similar to the (much more recent)Final Fantasy 12. Fans ofParasite Eveoften praise the game’s soundtrack, byKingdom Heartscomposer Yoko Shimomura, and the story, a weird and dramatic romp at once based on every kind of speculative science imaginable.
Silent Hillis now such a classic series that it’s hard to imagine playing the original without the context of its sequels. But the originalSilent Hillis quite different from the others, with a lot more overt supernatural elements. InSilent Hill2and3, the monster-filled Otherworld is implied to be, at least in part, a nightmare that takes over the Earth. In the original, it’s pretty much just hell.
That isn’t to saySilent Hillis as silly as other1990s horror games. It might not take itself as seriously as its sequels, but it’s a far cry from the giant snakes and rocket launcher finale ofResident Evil.
TheDino Crisisseries is sometimes referred to asResident Evilwith dinosaurs. To its credit, this horror-inspired series successfully implements the horror classic’s formula into a much more intense game.Dino Crisis 2has classic survival horror puzzles, fixed camera angles, somewhat limited ammunition, and even a few scares.
Still, there’s no denying the facts:Dino Crisis 2is about shooting dinosaurs in the face, which is as far from horror as it gets. Unlike its predecessor, the sequel even has “Extinction Points,” a currency that dead dinosaurs somehow drop and which can be used to buy guns and ammunition.
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmareis a big departure from the first games in the series, so much so that it couldalmost be called a reboot. It’s certainly more in line with the oppressive tone of the original, but without the humor that continuously grew in the sequels.
Edward Carnby, the protagonist of the original, has been transported to the 21st century, but other things have stayed the same. The game actually begins when the player starts investigating an abandoned mansion, just like in the original. Unlike the original, the plot soon loses its horror focus, with evil lizard people and ancient curses taking the focus. Still, even without its scares, the game manages to stay interesting the whole way through.
