These 5 spooky video games will keep you on the edge of your seat
From big-budget blockbusters to indie standouts, the future has a lot of fear-packed games. But many older games are still so good, it would be a shame to miss them. As a huge horror fan, it is difficult to find the right blend of scary and story in a video game. Hence, I have created a list of my absolute must-play horror games to help fellow enthusiasts.
Until Dawn (2015)
If you’re looking for the most cliché horror game, it’s got to be this one. Until Dawn is an interactive survival horror game that lets players step into the shoes of eight young adults as they try to survive on Blackwood Mountain.
The characters fit stereotypes that can be found in horror movies. There are plenty of jump scares in the story, and the coolest part is you decide how it progresses. Rami Malek, Hayden Panettiere, and Brett Dalton are some of the recognizable faces in the game.
Developer: Supermassive Games
Genre: Survival Horror, adventure, exploration
Modes: Single player
Rating: Mature (ESRB), 18 (PEGI)
Available on: PlayStation 4
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented (2005)
A third installment in the Fatal Frame series, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented tells the story of Rei Kurosawa, a freelance photographer, who is assigned to take photos of an abandoned mansion. The dark, narrow corridors and Japanese ghosts definitely add a lot of scare factor to this survival horror classic.
Throughout the game, you'll experience unexpected twists and turns, as you fall under the curse of the mansion. What's really interesting is that there are two endings.
Developer: Tecmo
Genre: Survival Horror
Modes: Single player
Rating: Mature (ESRB), 18 (PEGI)
Available on: PlayStation 2
The Evil Within (2014)
Though not as popular, this game is a psychological horror experience that messes with your perceptions. The story is fascinating and the characters are multidimensional.
You take on the role of Sebastian Castellanos, a police detective arriving with his partners at a Beacon Memorial Hospital to investigate a crime. The team finds the hospital abandoned after discovering a massacre took place there. The story then takes a crazy turn which you should definitely find out for yourself!
This game has more action and shooting than the other two, reminiscent of Resident Evil four through six. So if you want something more action-oriented, this one is for you.
Developer: Tango Gameworks
Genre: Psychological horror, Survival Horror
Modes: Single Player
Ratings: Mature (ESRB), 18 (PEGI)
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Cloud Gaming
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)
The first-person survival horror game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has a LOT of gore. You play as Ethan Winters, who searches for his long-missing wife on a derelict plantation occupied by an infected family, fighting enemies and solving puzzles.
This will probably be on every horror game list, but it is totally worth checking out. The seventh Resident Evil game brought Capcom back to its horror roots, and they did a great job.
Developer: Capcom
Genre: Psychological horror, survival horror
Modes: Single Player
Ratings: Mature (ESRB), 18 (PEGI)
Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch (Cloud Version), PlayStation 5, Stadia
Blair Witch (2019)
There's no doubt you'll be up at night with this one! In this game, an ex-policeman, Ellis Lynch, is tasked with finding a missing boy in the Black Hills Forest, based on the Blair Witch horror movies of the '90s.
“Blair Witch is one of the most successfully terrifying horror games I've ever played. More so even than any of the Amnesia games, it made me feel like I'd been dragged feet-first through Hell by the end.”
- (Hafer, 2019)
With the first person perspective and the extremely dark surroundings, you're sure to get goose bumps. The story is captivating and makes you question everything. There are plenty of puzzles to solve as well as a lot to explore. and the fact that you can customize your German Shepherd at the beginning of the game (and feed him snacks throughout) is particularly appealing to me.
Developer: Bloober Team
Genre: Survival horror
Modes: Single Player
Ratings: Mature (ESRB)
Available on: Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, Amazon Luna
References:
Hafer, L. (2019, August 30). Blair Witch Review. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from IGN website: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/08/30/blair-witch-review-3