Horror video gameshave come a long way with the advent of thematic innovators such asChoo-Choo Charles, Scorn,The Quarry,and even the supposed spiritual successor toDead Space— depending on who gets asked. In any case, new advancements in gaming hardware and graphical technology havemade horror games even more terrifying.
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They’re now more realistic than ever compared to 10 years ago, it’s hard to find games from that era too scary anymore. Speaking of which, there were still some impressive and horrific titles that might hold well to this day. If not, then they at least serve as an example of how far the horror genre has come; these titles prove either point, and some of them might even be due for a remake.
7The Darkness 2
The Darkness 2is a direct sequel toThe Darkness, andit follows the story of the demon-possessed Jackie after becoming head of the mafia. However, the sequel starts off its plot with brutality where Jackie’s crew is attacked by a rival gang, and he is forced to restore his demonic powers for a fighting chance.
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Seeing as his enemies are mostly human mobsters, it’s a different take on horror. Here, the players as Jackie are the monsters and the horror victims are his human enemies. Due to that angle, it’s not really as scary as the conventional horror titles, butThe Darkness 2has plenty of supernatural action to make up for that.
6Lucius
Speaking ofunique and novel takes on horror,Luciusis another title that really should have had a reboot, or remake. Because it’s like theHitmangames but instead of an assassin, players get to control the Son of Satan himself, the titular character.
Throughout the game, Lucius must devise and think of ways to kill and eliminate all his other family members in their mansion simply because he’s evil. So in this horror game, players are once again stepping into the role of the villain as they stealthily cause some lethal “accidents” around the house.
5Resident Evil 6
Of course, here’s aResident Evilgame, one of the most persistent and ubiquitous mainstays ofthe horror genre. It continues the story of the main timeline where players get to control Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jake Muller, and occasionally, Ada Wong in yet another zombie-terror attack plot.
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The game combines four storylines from the perspective of the aforementioned characters in what could be one of the most hectic and convoluted plots in aResident Evilgame to date. Still, the impact ofResident Evil 6is significant enough that it enlightened its developers to rethink their approach and try something closer to the series' roots, which gave birth toResident Evil 7.
Don’t be fooled by the 16-bit cutesy visual style,Mad Fatherwas one of the mostunderrated horror gamesof 2012. Players step into the small shoes of an 11-year-old girl named Aya Drevis for a rather big undertaking. They must guide Aya through her family mansion and uncover secrets that could solve some bizarre incidents.
What she discovered would shake the very foundations of her family tree as Aya started uncovering secret maniacal experiments, hidden undergrounds, and tools that aren’t fit for a normal household. There’s no shortage of suspense here and players might even be thankful that the game’s graphics aren’t too realistic.
3Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir
Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoiris sadly only available on a platform that’s going extinct, but there are emulators on the PC to help with that. Because this spin-off and successor to theFatal Frameseries continues its horror photography gimmick.
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In this iteration of theFatal Frameformula, players must use their camera in order to discover and see the ghosts that will attempt to attack them. Thus, this makesthe horror experiencemore visceral and palpable than others since thoseplaying it on a Nintendo3DS will have to physically turn around to utilize their device’s gyro function to see ghosts. Other than that, players will also need to photograph important story bits and puzzles to continue the ghost story.
2Cry Of Fear
What started off as a mode forHalf-Lifequickly became a cult sensation that acted as a spiritual successor forSilent Hill 2. That game would beCry of Fear. It’s a psychological horror where players find themselves in a deserted town filled with inexplicable horrors and beings that would make anyone question their sanity.
Cry of Fearputs a strong emphasis on the traditionalcinematic horror experience, like the old horror games. And the best part is that players get an incentive to go through the nightmare once again since there are multiple endings.
1Slender: The Eight Pages
LikeCry of Fear,Slender: The Eight Pagesstarted off small. In fact, it was a mere Creepypasta meme passed around on the internet back in 2009. But it turns out that an abnormally tall and faceless man with Eldritch tentacles on his back is compelling horror material, hence the game adaptation of the internet urban legend,Slender: The Eight Pages.
As the title instructs, players must locate eight hidden pages in dark cabin ruins surrounded by woods before Slenderman eventually finds and “does something” to them. It was simple, creepy, and enough to fuel a film adaptation that sadly had a slender chance of success at the box office. But perhaps someday, Slenderman will get his due.
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