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What!!!!! resident Evil 4 as resident evil 1. It's not even scary.
It’s Halloween time boys and girls…and that means time to enjoy all things that go bump in the night and make you scream. We’ve all got our favorite horror movies to watch at this time of the year but for some truly interactive terrors, sit down and play one of these great horror video games. We’ve come up with a list of 13 of the most terrifying games to ever appear on the small screen. These will make even the heartiest of manly men squirm in their seats. You may have to dig out an old console or PC to play some of these ghoulish games but you won’t be disappointed in any of them. Since many of these games are part of a series, we decided to only include one game from a series…the one we think is the absolute best! So cuddle up close to someone, turn down the lights, and check out Mania’s list of the 13 best horror video games.
7th Guest is one of the earliest horror graphic adventures and one of the first games to appear on CD-Rom. The first-person adventure finds the player having to solve various puzzles in a haunted mansion. It might not have the sheer terror of today’s games but in its day 7th Guest stood out as one of a kind.
One of the earliest of survival horror games. This was a point-and-click adventure that involved puzzle-solving but the main mission of the game was to constantly evade the maniacal Scissorman who stalks you constantly with a paid giant scissors that can rend you in two. The game was unique in that it came with 10 different endings.
The sequel to Fatal Frame is even better than the original game. Heavily inspired by J- Horror films, twin sisters Mio and Mayu Amakura are led into the woods by a mysterious butterfly to a seemingly deserted, fog-shrouded village where souls of the dead roam.
The works of H.P. Lovecraft have generally not had much success when being adapted for film but Bethesda and 2K games scored a big hit with this atmospheric adaptation of the Lovecraft story “The Shadow over Innsmouth. You play a detective in the 1920s investigating the strange sea-side town. Hits on the Lovecraftian elements extremely well. Great musical score, too!
20 years after John Carpenter’s masterpiece hit the big screen, a videogame adaptation came out of nowhere from Konami in 2002. The game actually takes place just after the events in the film as a Special Ops team arrives at the research base in Antarctica to investigate its destruction at the hands of the alien lifeform.
All three entries in the F.E.A.R. series are outstanding and it was tough to pick just one for the list but we’re going with the original. A psychological horror-shooter might seem like a contrast in genre but it works. F.E.A.R. is game where the scares creep up on you slowly and the game is influenced by Japanese horror films like Ringu and Dark Water.
Unfortunately this one is not on a console so far, being released strictly on PC and Mac. This is a survival game that is truly about surviving as you do not have any weapons to fight the monsters who are after you. Rather you need to evade them and solve the various puzzles in an 1830s castle. You not only have to avoid losing your health but your sanity as well. One of the best pulse-pounding soundtracks in any horror game.
Wake is part survival horror and part psychological horror. Perhaps the most Movie-like of any game on our list, it puts you into a chilling episodic adventure as struggling writer Alan Wake tries to beat writers block by taking a trip to the town of Bright Falls. Fantastic story!
What’s this? A game by Nintendo on a list of best horror games? Well it’s true…this 2002 Gamecube game is one of the best and is outstanding Lovecraftian horror-themed game without actually calling itself a Lovecraftian-themed game. But when you have ancient Gods called Ulyaoth, Xel'lotath, and Chattur'gha, what else can it be? The game takes place in various time periods from ancient Rome to the Dark Ages, to modern day.
There have been a lot of good games in the Silent Hill series but we think that Silent Hill 2 is the best. Not really a sequel to the first game but rather a new story, this time that of Frank Sunderland who journeys to deserted town (except for the monsters) in search of his deceased wife Mary. Featuring one of the best soundtracks ever, this game still delivers the goods in a big way.
Left 4 Dead is the videogame version of 28 Days Later. Set during the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic, it focuses on several survivors fighting against hordes of the infected, who develop severe psychosis and aggression and act zombie-like. The controversial game was banned in Australia and Germany and its original cover art was altered when it was deemed to explicit.
Combining Sci-Fi shooter action with survival horror, Dead Space 2 is without a doubt one of the scariest games ever released. As Isaac Clarke you fight against an alien organism that re-animates and takes control of dead bodies referred to as “Necromorphs”. This game has it all…atmosphere, terrifying visuals, and great gameplay to boot.
So many Resident Evil games you’d think it would be tough to choose…and it is but in the end it clearly comes down to Resident Evil 4, the best in the series and one of the most influential horror video games of all-time. A perfect storm of game design, plot, graphics, and gameplay result in a near-perfect game, and our choice for the #1 horror video game.
I cant remember the name of this game but u started out as a detective investigating an abandoned building filled with psychopathic homeless people, searching for a serial killer. That is the only that game that made me jump a few times. The atmosphere was creepy and the surround sound made so u could here the nutjobs jumping out at u from behind. I was so jumpy playing it that my character accidently kicked over a metal bucket causing a racket of noise and I literally jumped up out of my seat.
Resident Evil 1 had all the right scenerios for a Halloween esque game. It was dark, creepy and gory. It had a mysterious mansion, government experments, puzzles and zombies!
I will have to agree with boxker. RE4 was a little bit creepy at the most. Certainly not scary.
Guys...lets clarify....The article isn't "scariest Horror videogames" its "Best horror videogames"
@ 6dragon6 i think it's condemned from sega the game u are talking about.... also RE 1 was scarrier for me too.
Exactly tjanson...... And just like a good horror movie there is a formula. "Scary" is a big part of horror.
RE4 (IMO) was more suspense thriller with a side of horror.
RE4 was a good choice, that's one of the best survival horror games EVER...but I think Silent Hill 2 should be tied for first place. Love all these games on the list...Eternal Darkness is a personal favorite, and one I bring out every couple years to play through again. The graphics may be out dated now, but the music and freaky sound effects (as well as story!) remain top notch. I would LOVE to see a revamped version for HD consoles.
All of these are good games (although I have never played Amnesia or The Thing so I'm not sure about them), but I like the fact that they included The 7th Guest in this list. While it wasn't the scariest game I've ever played, it was one of the creepiest and still one of my favorites as you've probably guessed.
Although that damn microscope puzzle still gets me frustrated every now and then.
The "Alone In the Dark" back in the early 90's was one of the freakiest ones back in the day for me. I remember playing that one in the dark and getting creeped out because it was one of the first to use surround sound tech. Things were happening behind you and I remember actually jumping out of my chair a couple times.
I definitely agree with the first F.E.A.R. That one also made me yell out loud a few times. Alma would just appear out of nowhere and freak the crap out of me. And the creators were geniuses when it came to times and where they knew you'd notice something out of the corner of your eye and it would be Alma. Crazy bitch kept me from sleeping for days.