ResetERA'S 2018 Top 51 Essential Horror Games |One Vote Wonders!|

Gradon · Sep 14, 2018

Welcome to ResetERA's first Top 51 Essential Horror Games Vote and Results thread!

What is the purpose of the Top 51 Essential Horror Games thread?
After being heavily inspired by Kswiston's Top 101 Essential RPG's thread, I decided that I wanted to create my own. I was able to get his blessing and here we are! Horror games are a passion for me and I know for many others too. October is fast approaching and is usually a huge month for fans of Horror games, this thread is being put together with the help of PK_Wonder to compile a comprehensive list of the Top 51 Essential Horror games as voted by you all just in time for Halloween month!

The list is to help people discover games they may not know about, missed or forgotten so people can play these all month, or even just for Halloween!

What is eligible for voting?
Anything. If you earnestly believe that the game you want to vote for falls under the Horror umbrella, then vote for it. Horror itself is subjective, and I don't want to put the genre in a box. I will accept anything that's not a joke; your light-hearted horror (Luigi's Mansion, Gregory Horror Show, etc) to your action horrors (Resident Evil 5 & 6, etc) are allowed.

Ports, Remasters & Remakes
Ports and Remasters will all fall under the same game of the original release, Remakes is where it becomes a bit more hazy - they can be completely different games entirely. As this is the case, I will be classifying remakes as their own games separate from the original releases. (such as Resident Evil Remake and White Day for iOS and PS4)

The Game Presentation

Each game will have a banner that displays information for each individual game, inspired by Kswiston's Top 101 RPG's, I hope you find these helpful in your decision making, an example of the banners is below.

The elements of the banners are as follows:

1. Number in the List & Title of the Game
2. Key Art - some key art for the game, usually the cover.
3. Release Information - all the information regarding the original release of the game.
4. Mechanics Information - these are mechanics shared between the horror genre that I think are relevant to how players interact with horror games.
5. Platforms - what platforms you can play the game on.
6. Three Screenshots - self explanatory

Here is an icon grid that displays the consoles icons used in the Platforms tab of the banners and what console they represent:

More will be added if necessary.

Each game will also have some trivia related to that game placed underneath their banner along with a highlighted post quoted from a member who voted showing their reasons for why they have chosen that game for their list, and why you should play the game.

The Voting Format

You will be voting for 10 games. We are utilising a three point system for the voting format.

Your first game will receive 3 points. This will be your No.1 Horror Game. Consider this your "Golden" game.
Your second game to your fifth game will receive 2 points. Consider these your "Silver" games.
Your sixth to your tenth game will receive 1 point. Consider these your "Bronze" games.

If any games fall onto the same amount of votes as any other, then their Golden Votes will be counted and the one with the higher amount of Gold Votes will place higher. If they receive the same amount of Gold votes then their Silver and Bronze's will be taken into account.

If games have exactly the same points, Gold Votes, Silver Votes and Bronze Votes then they will share their double / triple / quadruple placements.

Present your games however you like at the top of your post, you need to have at least five writeups for your list saying why you like the game / have voted for it to avoid the thread becoming a list thread. This can be as small as a sentence to several paragraphs. You can include your own banners or artwork if you like as well.

The Voting Period

The voting period has ended. Thanks for participating!

Results will begin posting on the 1st October through the month!

Gradon · Sep 14, 2018

The Top 51 Essential Horror Games

OST Composer
Philippe Vachey
OST Highlights
Entering Derceto As Carnby, Death Theme, Enemy Theme

Trivia
Alone in the Dark was the very first game to feature 3D polygonal characters over fixed 2D backgrounds - a graphical style that would have massive influence even beyond the survival horror genre.

Why FiveSide thinks you should play this game?

Alone in the Dark is the granddaddy of survival horror, and it's difficult to overstate its influence on the genre. Given its age, it's also remarkable that the game remains palpably creepy and atmospheric even to this day, as exploring the haunted mansion of Derceto while tip-toeing around zombies (or bringing them down in tense moments of firepower if necessary) is still a nail-biting experience. If it were not an essential horror game merely through its status as the progenitor to series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, it would be essential simply because it is a damn fine, and damn spooky, game.

OST Composer
N/A
OST Highlights
N/A

Trivia
Kuon is fondly remembered for its incredible atmosphere and creeping tension - two traits that its developer, FromSoftware, would later find immense praise for in their work on Dark Souls and Bloodborne.

Why Luminaire thinks you should play this game?

Luminaire said:
Kuon holds a special place in my heart. It shows that From Software are masters of dark fantasy, horror, and the occult. Set in the Heian-era in Japan, the game leads you through a nightmare strewn about a small village in a feudal region. Bloodsmears line the walls, heavy breaths litter the air, and the corpses of those who met a most unfortunate fate lie before you when they're not falling from the sky. [...] The story grows darker and darker by the hour, and the developers do a great job in granting you a brief glimpse of something terrifying scurrying across the rooftops just as the camera angle changes.

OST Composer
Mike Morasky
OST Highlights
Witch Alert, The Monsters Without, Swamp Fever Title Screen

Trivia
Left 4 Dead 2 originally featured a zombie type called "Leakers" which would plant themselves like landmines and detonate when survivors got near. Though they were scrapped from the final game, a partially-working version is playable using console commands.

Why boybrushedRED thinks you should play this game?

boybrushdRED said:
Out of everything on my list, this is the most fun I've had.

*Castlevania Symphony of the Night for PS4 releases 26th October 2018

**Maria is only playable in the Sega Saturn, PSP and PS4 versions of the game.

OST Composer
Michiru Yamane
OST Highlights
Lost Painting, Dracula's Castle, Wood Carving Partita

Trivia
Scrapped voice acting lines reveal that one of the original endings involved Maria becoming possessed by a demon, and this "Black Maria" had a unique set of graphics and attacks.

Why Aquova thinks you should play this game?

Aquova said:
It doesn't get much more classic horror than this. The game itself is phenomenal. Play as the Son of Dracula as you attempt to fight off your father and save the vampire hunter Richter Belmont. It helped define a genre, and has one of the biggest post-game twists ever. It without a doubt should be on the list.

OST Composer
Garry Schyman
OST Highlights
Welcome to Rapture, All Spliced Up, Cohens Masterpiece

Trivia
The adorable Little Sisters were not even human in the first concepts of the game, but were instead fantastical, chipmunk-like creatures.

Why Gakidou thinks you should play this game?

Gakidou said:
Picking up where Half Life 2 and System Shock left off in cinematic, story-rich FPS adventures. Bioshock exceeded expectations when it brought you into a refreshing setting - an undersea dystopia inspired by the fallacies of Ayn Rand's brand of Objectivism. This game wowed me with great sound design and expert timing and setpieces. Moreso than its predecessors, it wraps it all up in a very cohesive theme with an iconic twist.

OST Composers
Ayako Toyoda, Shigekiyo Okuda
OST Highlights
Mirror, Children's Room, Broken Neck

Trivia
After the success of Fatal Frame, Tecmo licensed the franchise to DreamWorks for a Hollywood film adaptation. Unfortunately, the film never came to fruition - despite the fact that Steven Spielberg himself was personally involved with the project.

Why Big G thinks you should play this game?

Big G said:
While numerous aspects of the Fatal Frame series have improved over time - it has gotten much easier to snap photos of ghosts, after all - my heart remains with the first game. [...] Fatal Frame continues to build and build and build suspense while at the same time ratcheting up the terror, and by the final act the atmosphere was so oppressive I almost had to stop playing. The rest of the series is good, but for me it could never reach these same heights again.

OST Composers
David García, Andy LaPlegua
OST Highlights
Bridge Combat, Surtr Fight, Meadow

Trivia
Though Senua is identified as a Pict from Orkney (i.e. Scotland), the design of her sword and her society's reverence for severed heads were actually inspired by the culture of the continental Gauls.

Why ToastieMaster thinks you should play this game?

ToastieMaster said:
I was really drawn to the setting of Hellblade and ended up getting a more horrifying experience than I expected. While I can't directly relate to the main theme of Hellblade, it did an incredible job of instilling some very uncomfortable feelings in certain sections. (Play it with headphones, or you'll miss out on the fantastic job Ninja Theory has done with the audio.)

OST Composer
Yutaka Minobe
OST Highlights
Bullying, Backbiting, A Love Suicide

Trivia
Rule of Rose released to extreme controversy in Europe and was outright banned in France, Italy, and the UK (it was also banned in Australia). These bans were partially motivated by the public outcry against the game after an Italian magazine ran a moral-panic story alleging that it depicted sexual contact between minors.

Why BaraSailey thinks you should play this game?

BaraSailey said:
I love so much about this game. Its setting, its very unique story, its' cast of colorful and malicious characters. Rule of Rose is a very unique, original experience that left me fascinated as I tried to piece together what exactly had happened to the children in this story.

*Lost in Nightmares & Desperate Escape are DLC for PS3, Xbox 360 and Steam.
They are included in the PS4 and Xbox One releases.

OST Composer
Kota Suzuki
OST Highlights
Executioner, Result, Evil Mutation, Sad But True

Trivia
Barry Burton was originally intended to appear multiple times throughout the game, including as an assist during a mob fight against ten El Gigantes. Unfortunately, his appearances were all cut from the main campaign.

Why Megatron thinks you should play this game?

Megatron said:
When it debuted, it was considered a bit of a disappointment from the magnificence of RE4. But it wasn't disappointing, it was just it's own thing entirely. [...] Like RE4 before it, the game is criticized for not being scary, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.

OST Composers
Eric Brosius, Ramin Djawadi, Josh Randall
OST Highlights
Med Sci 1, Hydro 1, Command 3

Trivia
The somewhat controversial ending cutscene was not the intended ending, and only arose from a miscommunication between Ken Levine and the cutscene artists. As there was not enough time to change the cutscene, earlier parts of the plot were rewritten to accommodate it instead.

Why leafcutter thinks you should play this game?

leafcutter said:
This game was definitely a shock when I first played it back in the day. [...] I had no idea that after the training I would immediately be plunged into a horrifying (at the time) experience like this. A classic and a must-play.

OST Composer
Kōji Niikura
OST Highlights
I'm Looking for Mary, Dead End, Don't Cry Jennifer

Trivia
Clock Tower spawned a number of sequels, but one of the most beloved games associated with the franchise is actually Haunting Ground - the game was developed as a Clock Tower sequel before spinning off into its own franchise.

Why Gakidou thinks you should play this game?

Gakidou said:
Your friends all go missing in a big spooky mansion, and you have to search for them. But every room you explore and door or cupboard you check, you risk bumping into SCISSOR MAN, a diminutive man with a massive pair of gardening shears. The only thing you can do is run and hide. [...] Fairly impressive for the snes, they manage to make an empty room be so... spooky.

OST Composer
Kikiyama
OST Highlights
Saving Theme, Poniko's Room (Lights Off), Aztec Monkey Rave

Trivia
Despite the success of Yume Nikki, very little is known about its creator, Kikiyama. This mysterious individual has maintained strict privacy, and her gender is a mere inference based on her use of female Japanese pronouns to describe herself in emails.

Why ArmsofSleep thinks you should play this game?

ArmsofSleep said:
"Inside of your dream, I am not there" Imagine a world where horror games gave more of a shit about horror and less of a shit about game. This one won't ever leave you alone.

OST Composer
Mike Morasky
OST Highlights
Skin on Our Teeth, Blood Harvest, Left 4 Dead

Trivia
Valve originally planned the game to be restarted from the very first map if all the players died. While this was ultimately changed because it was deemed too punishing, the concept served as the basis for the Iron Man mutation mode in Left 4 Dead 2.

Why Futurememory thinks you should play this game?

futurememory said:
More silly-scary than truly frightening, Left 4 Dead was a great party of an experience. The co-op mode was a blast to run through with close friends, trying to coordinate your attacks and plans of action. The verses modes, where you got to control the more powerful zombies themselves, equally thrilling.

OST Composer
Akira Yamaoka
OST Highlights
Tender Sugar, Cradle of Forest, Silent Circus

Trivia
Hackers exploring the game's code discovered placeholder items for unlocking a "UFO" ending, which was unfortunately cut from the final release.

Why Geeklat thinks you should play this game?

Geeklat said:
While not the best of the original Silent Hill games, it may be the scariest. Fantastic horror visuals, incredible tense situations with the ghosts, fantastic creature designs, and that added sense of the loss as you return to your Room only for it to be less safe over time all add up to an experience that's worth getting through in spite of the worst escort sequence this side of Robotech.

OST Composer
Mao Hamamoto
OST Highlights
Health Room, Chapter 1 Main Theme, Fear

Trivia
Corpse Party's audio was recorded using a technique known as "binaural recording," which gives the soundscape incredible texture and an almost "3D" effect, especially when using headphones. Unfortunately, XSEED Games has stated that this complex audio is the reason why the localization did not receive a dub.

Why Poltergust thinks you should play this game?

Poltergust said:
For a game featuring cute anime characters, you wouldn't expect to see them get subjected to horrifying experiences. This juxtaposition defines the game for me, and it runs with it all the way until the very end. With its amazing audio design, gripping narrative, and enjoyable adventure-lite gameplay, I can recommend this to anyone who is looking for something that fills them with constant dread, despite the small bits of fanservice.

OST Composers
Hideki Okugawa, Marika Suzuki
OST Highlights
Adam (Crazy Clown), Entrance Plaza, Army

Trivia
"Dead Rising" was originally just the placeholder title for the game during early development. However, the dev team liked the name so much that they decided to keep it.

Why 5pectre thinks you should play this game?

5pectre said:
Almost every object in the mall could be used as a weapon, Frank was an interesting and empathetic character that was looking out for everyones interest and the story took a new spin on the whole zombie thing. The length of the game was brilliant, with multiple endings, which encouraged several playthroughs. This is a top contender for my favorite game of all time.

OST Composers
Isoe Toshimichi, Murakami Masayoshi, Yuu Ohyama, Jinbo Shintarou, Kawagoe Yoshihiro
OST Highlights
Sin, Song of Saya II, Scare Shadow

Trivia
Though nothing ever came of it, Nitro+ CEO Digitarou once expressed interest in adapting Saya no Uta into a Hollywood Movie.

Why Maurico_Magus thinks you should play this game?

Mauricio_Magus said:
I really wish it was easier to recommend Saya no Uta, it's so disturbing that other Horror games seem like a damn joke in comparison, but anyone that ends up diving into Gen Urobuchi's insane Visual Novel will get an unforgettable experience out of it.

*This series unfortunately has a rather complex presentation. Only Steam has English version releases, the other consoles never saw a release outside of Japan.
The Question Arcs are four games named Onikakushi-hen, Watanagashi-hen, Tatarigoroshi-hen and Himatsubushi-hen.

**The Answer Arcs comprise the Kai Series and are another four games named Meakashi-hen, Tsumihoroboshi-hen, Minagoroshi-hen and Matsuribayashi-hen.

These eight games comprise the entirety of the main story. Steam as of writing only has Chapters 1-6 of 8. They are listed under "Higurashi When They Cry Hou"

OST Composers
Dai, Kenji Kawai, Tomoyuki Nakazawa, Hiroyuki Oshima
OST Highlights
Main Theme, Oyashiro-sama, You

Trivia
The town that Higurashi's Hinamizawa is based off of had to make a new wall in their shrine, due to fans of the game putting too many things on said wall.

Why UshiromiyaEva thinks you should play this game?

UshiromiyaEva said:
[...] Higurashi is a disorienting, methodical trip of a game. Though much of its more violent content is explained only in words and sounds, it paints enough of a vivid picture of you to feel disdain as you slowly lose trust in everything and everyone around you as you slowly feel yourself trapped in the small village of Hinamizawa.

OST Composers
Masami Ueda, Saori Maeda
OST Highlights
Nemesis' Theme, Carlos' Theme, The Clock Tower, Cold Sweat

Trivia
Due to a mistranslated interview with one of the game's developers, there was a persistent fan rumor that Nemesis was actually one of the characters featured previously in the series, captured and mutated by Umbrella. While this ended up not being the case in RE3, it did influence Nemesis' portrayal in the accompanying live-action film.

Why S.T.A.R.S Beret thinks you should play this game?

S.T.A.R.S Beret said:
A dark horse pick out of the original trilogy but this has always been a favorite of mine. I love the vast variety of locations and Nemesis really keeps you on your toes. This game has a pretty high level of challenge for me in comparison to the other 2 in the trilogy which can also be nice.

OST Composer
Shinji Hosoe
OST Highlights
9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors, Recollection, Quietus, Eternitybox

Trivia
Director Kotaro Uchikoshi's favorite character is Zero. Producer Jiro Ishii's favorite character is June.

Why PK_Wonder thinks you should play this game?

PK_Wonder said:
This was the first visual novel I ever played, and to this day the best of them. The story was engrossing, and the atmosphere provided a sense of urgency, tension, and terror to each puzzle that most visual novels can't come close to providing.

OST Composers
Makoto Tomozawa, Sayaka Fujita, Akari Kaida, Syun Nishigaki
OST Highlights
Set You At Ease, Pounced, Distorted Space-Time Continuum

Trivia
Despite its similarities to other games in the survival horror genre (including, of course, Resident Evil), Capcom dubbed Dino Crisis the first of a new genre of games called "panic horror," largely due to the enemies being dinosaurs.

Why Jawmuncher thinks you should play this game?

Jawmuncher said:
19 years [after its release, Dino Crisis] still holds the title as the best dinosaur game and the best dinosaur horror game to boot with virtually no competition. While it can be argued the genre specifically is rather niche. The fact that it has held this title for so long is quite the accolade and well worth the top vote.

*Luigi's Mansion is releasing for Nintendo 3DS on the 12th of October in NA and the 19th of October in Europe.

OST Composers
Kazumi Totaka, Shinobu Tanaka
OST Highlights
File Select, Sucking up Portrait Ghosts, Dark Rooms

Trivia
In its earlier development builds, the game was significantly harder in various ways: the Poltergust had an exhaust meter which, if overheated, could blow up; there was a ghost that could sneak up on Luigi and scare him; and the map that's included on the Game Boy Horror originally didn't have the feature to identify which keys accessed which rooms.

Why Poltergust thinks you should play this game?

Poltergust said:
No one over the age of 12 is going to be scared by this, but this game really does sell the idea of a scared Luigi exploring a creepy mansion to find his missing brother. The ghosts (especially the portrait ghosts) have very memorable designs and the game is surprisingly atmospheric with excellent music composed by Kazumi Totaka.

Gradon · Sep 14, 2018

*Training and Advanced difficulty modes are exclusive to the Director's Cut and Director's Cut Dual Shock versions of the game. They are akin to Very Easy and Very Hard difficulties respectively.

OST Composers
Makoto Tomozawa, Koichi Hiroki, Masami Ueda
OST Highlights
Second Floor Mansion, Save Room, Sudden Attack

Trivia
Originally, the first Resident Evil was to be played from a first-person perspective. However, the game's perspective changed significantly as a direct influence from Alone in the Dark, and it wasn't until 2017, with the release of Resident Evil 7, that the mainline series returned to this original vision of a first-person survival horror experience.

Why Wollan thinks you should play this game?

Wollan said:
Resident Evil really kicked off the 3rd person horror genre (with all respect to Alone in the Dark) and it was a knockout. What helped separate it from other games in the genre besides the production values however was just how fun the gameplay experience ended up being and this has remained true for the series ever since.

OST Composer
Yoko Shimomura
OST Highlights
Primal Eyes, Arise Within You, Missing Perspective, Urban Noise

Trivia
Tetsuya Nomura was designing another female character at the time he was working on Aya. Her final design was the result of him becoming confused and making a synthesis of the two designs.

Why Luminaire thinks you should play this game?

Luminaire said:
Parasite Eve is another hybrid rpg that mixes in horror. It focuses more on mutation, and at times body horror, to create diabolic nightmare creatures who known only how to rend and tear asunder anything before them. [...] PE toys with the concept of a horror within oneself, something within that delicate little ecosystem thats inside every one of us. [...] The game holds a special place in my mine as a successful mixture of two genres that otherwise couldn't be further from one another. I'd give it a nod on any horror or rpg list.

OST Composer
Dan Salvato
OST Highlights
Dreams of Love and Literature, Sayo-Nara, Your Reality

Trivia
Lead developer Dan Salvato was a competitive Smash Bros. player before creating DDLC, and has confirmed what each of the girls' Smash mains are. They are: Sayori = Yoshi; Yuri = Marth; Monika = Fox; Natsuki = Pikachu.

Why Dazraell thinks you should play this game?

Dazraell said:
This is one of the weirdest takes on the [Visual Novel] genre. When you start the game, it looks like a regular dating sim. When you play a little bit more, it still feels like an dating sim. Then something changes and you're forced to deal with some stuff that are scary, super weird and creative. Doki Doki has a very clever twist that couldn't be done outside video-games media.

OST Composer
Masatoshi Yanagi
OST Highlights
Guardian Chase, Deeper into Madness, Psychoplasm

Trivia
The Harbinger enemy in TEW2 originated in TEW1; however, it was cut during development, with the sequel providing an opportunity to reimplement it.

Why Descendant thinks you should play this game?

Descendant said:
To me this is how more horror games should set their foundation on. Great gameplay, legit scares, and a semi open world environment. The open area spaces was a thrill to explore, and you never knew what would pop up every corner. Also a fun shooting mini game in it also.

*Whistleblower is a DLC campaign.

OST Composer
Samuel Laflamme
OST Highlights
First Chase, Surgeon Attack, Basement Lab

Trivia
Original concept art for antagonist Chris Walker featured a significantly more lithe, athletic figure. It wasn't until later in development that he became the grotesque, hulking figure featured in the final game.

Why Notorious Roy thinks you should play this game?

Notorious Roy said:
A game like Outlast is terrifying and gives me goosebumps for the rest of the evening. [...] So, as I was walking towards the mansion I was in doubt about even entering but I was curious so I manned the fuck up and went inside. I heard things. I saw things. And then a man that was tied on a stick told me to get out. Okay. Will do. Bye.

*400 Days is a DLC campaign.

OST Composer
Jared Emerson-Johnson
OST Highlights
Alive Inside, The Best for You, Outcome

Trivia
During development, the writers considered cutting Clementine entirely since they couldn't find an appropriate actress for the role. Thankfully they settled on Melissa Hutchinson, and Clementine was saved.

Why futurememory thinks you should play this game?

futurememory said:
TWD's first season was episodic gaming at its finest. Harnessing the narrative power of television and the interactivity of video games, TWD managed to pull together an emotionally resonant story that you felt in control of (even if that control was partially an illusion). [...] Season 1 was full of promise, and even as a standalone, still a worthy play for anyone interested in narrative gaming.

*Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate are Expansion Packs that are exclusive to PC and Xbox 360.

OST Composer
Nathan Grigg
OST Highlights
Docks Battle, Searching for Alice Wade, Office

Trivia
F.E.A.R. originally featured a late-game mission in which the player fought Replica soldiers on motorcycles while driving a car. While conceptually interesting, the level was ultimately cut.

Why FiveSide thinks you should play this game?

FiveSide said:
It is a rock-solid FPS injected into a supernatural horror setting to great effect. [...] The exhilarating gunplay contrasts sharply with the more chilling displays of supernatural aggression that punctuate the campaign in progressively more frequent intervals, reminding the player that there are some forces that mere firearms, no matter how skillfully wielded, cannot overcome. It is an essential horror game, in addition to being an FPS par excellence.

OST Composer
Ayako Toyoda
OST Highlights
Chou, Woman in Box, Results

Trivia
The Xbox port contains special costumes based on Dead or Alive and Deception; in the Wii remake, these costumes were changed to Mario and Luigi.

Why BaraSailey thinks you should play this game?

BaraSailey said:
Fatal Frame II is the best game in the series, filled with terrifying encounters and fights that leave you panicked due to the cramped hallways and rooms you're forced to fight in. The lore of the village and the ritual that the game revolves around are unsettling, and I found myself eager to learn more about the town and its history as I explored.

OST Composers
Seiko Kobuchi, Shinya Okada
OST Highlights
Endless DEMENTO, Innocent Freak, Closed Mind, Precious Hewie

Trivia
In its earliest stages of development, Haunting Ground was actually spun off of the so called "Castle Version" of Resident Evil 4, which would've featured a subplot of a woman exploring a castle with a B.O.W. dog at her side. This concept was fully-fleshed out into Haunting Ground.

Why unoillnino thinks you should play this game?

unoillnino said:
While Haunting Ground is not a flawless game, it has an excellent setting that is convincingly creepy in a way that makes my skin crawl to this day. The villains are very memorable maniacs who relentlessly pursue Fiona and keep the player in a constant state of anxiety which is amplified by the fear of having Fiona panic if caught off guard. [...] I'd also like to add that Hewie is a great companion and a much needed comfort in an otherwise lonely environment. This game needs a re-release very badly! Come on Capcom!

*Severed is a two-part DLC campaign exclusive to PS3 and 360.

OST Composer
Jason Graves
OST Highlights
Much Ado About Necromorphs, Rest in Pieces, I Only Have Eyes For You

Trivia
Every clock in the game stops at exactly 12:00. On a related note, a panel next to each door displays the temperature of the room inside - which is always 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

Why Magic Mushroom thinks you should play this game?

Magic Mushroom said:
Space horror is the best horror and while many might prefer the first, I think the second game is the better game of the two. It is more varied (in terms of enemies, locations, weapons and suits) and as such less predictable. It ties wonderful encounter design to beautifully realized environments, incredible sound design and some truly spectacular set-pieces. The way it ties into the first is wonderfully done. The ultimate blend of horror, sci-fi and action. How I wish this franchise was still alive and kicking.

*The Signal and The Writer are both DLC campaigns.

OST Composer
Petri Alanko
OST Highlights
A Writer's Dream, The Clicker, The Night It All Began

Trivia
Nathan Fillion reportedly expressed interest in playing the titular Alan Wake; unfortunately, this casting choice didn't pan out.

Why Dazraell thinks you should play this game?

Dazraell said:
Remedy went through a lot of revisions and changes during development of Alan Wake, but the final effect was stunning. If you ever wanted to play a game set in a town with a similar atmosphere to Twin Peaks, this is probably closest you can get.

OST Composer
Mikko Tarmia
OST Highlights
Main Theme, Going Down, Say Hello to Mr. Akers

Trivia
Sarang's ideology is based heavily on the concept of quantum immortality, which is a fascinating thought experiment worth looking up.

Why Magic Mushroom thinks you should play this game?

Magic Mushroom said:
Peter Watts' hard sci-fi novel Blindsight is one of my favorite novels and the work of this Canadian author was a major inspiration for Frictional's underwater adventure (along with China Miéville, Philip K. Dick and Greg Egan). If you like your horror to be more on the existential side you owe it to yourself to play this game. It asks questions anout the self, free will and conciousness and it made one hell of an impression on me with an ending that lingers in the mind for a long time.

*The Assignment & The Consequence are a two-part DLC campaign, and The Executioner is another separate DLC campaign. They're all included in the Season Pass.

OST Composer
Masafumi Takada
OST Highlights
Them, Hide and Seek, Inside the Psyche

Trivia
The game was originally supposed to take place in Spain, which is why many of the central characters feature Spanish names such as Castellanos, Victoriano, Jimenez and Gutierez.

Why Elodes thinks you should play this game?

Elodes said:
The Evil Within is the most deranged game I've seen. Its pacing and its level design feel like the works of an absolute madman; strange, unhinged, uncomfortable. [...] Almost uniquely amongst games, it has this kind of spirit composed of horror, where the player really can't be sure what will be thrown at them next. (Plus the game is just fantastic y'all and so varied.)

OST Composer
Akira Yamaoka
OST Highlights
You're Not Here, End of Small Sanctuary, Prayer

Trivia
Inputting the famous Konami Code removes most of Douglas' clothes (no, this is not recommended for a first playthrough!).

Why PensivePen thinks you should play this game?

PensivePen said:
Another masterpiece of art direction, Silent Hill 3 is a tour de force of psychologically draining set pieces, as you move from locale to locale. There's almost always something to see, and every area seems to have multiple unique rooms full of disturbing imagery that'll make you want to look away. The narrative may not be the series best, but its somber tone is a perfect fit for the game.

*There are two PS3 versions of Deadly Premonition.

The Original release which was a Japanese exclusive, this is exactly the same as the 360 version of the game that was released in the west.

The second version that was released was the Director's Cut version which was also released on PC.
It includes many changes and enhancements to the game and was released internationally in 2013.

OST Composers
Riyou Kinugasa, Takuya Kobayashi and Hiromi Mizutani
OST Highlights
Main Theme, Life is Beautiful, Miss Stiletto Heels

Trivia
Deadly Premonition originally didn't feature combat sections at all; these were added to the game at the insistence of the publisher after playtesting an alpha build.

Why CannonFodder52 thinks you should play this game?

CannonFodder52 said:
Deadly Premonition is a contender for my all time favorite video game. [...] There's a bizarre murder, a rural american town and an assortment of charismatic and lovable towns folk. The shooting is rough, but the interactions with the game's cast make it one of the most memorable titles I've ever experienced.

*Hard Mode was implemented in the Xbox One version, and as a patch for the PC version released the 2nd of October. The PS4 patch is not yet released.

OST Composer
Mikko Tarmia
OST Highlights
Run, Danger is Close, Daniel Theme

Trivia
Amnesia was plagued with budget issues, and the developers actually spent at least one entire month of work without pay. Thankfully, the game's success gave Frictional Games some financial breathing space.

Why Aigis thinks you should play this game?

Aigis said:
Similar to RE7, Amnesia is not about fighting the monsters, but knowing that you are powerless and need to hide. The mechanics of this game are what I really appreciated, it added a level of immersion to the game when you had to pull back a closet door to hide in it. The mystery of waking up in a infested castle really was an experience because you really were unsure how to engage with anything or what awaited you deeper into the dark halls.

OST Composer
Jason Graves
OST Highlights
The Shadow of the Mountain, Run or Hide, Icicle Elegy

Trivia
"Flamethrower Guy" is actually played by one of the game's writers, Larry Fessenden.

Why Psychonaut thinks you should play this game?

Psychonaut said:
Until Dawn perfectly recreates the campy teen horror film genre, while simultaneously showing us what it would be like if Quantic Dream games were at all good or self-aware. The characters are well-written, and the dynamics between them even more so. This is the only adventure game of this sort that I felt was actually worth replaying to see different endings.

*Rookie is was introduced in the Dual Shock version of Resident Evil 2, and carried over into every new re-release.
Nightmare and Expert are exclusive to the Dreamcast and PC versions of the game.

OST Composers
Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama, Syun Nishigaki
OST Highlights
The Front Hall, The Second Malformation of 'G', Ada's Theme

Trivia
In the earliest concept drafts of Resident Evil 2 (i.e. the build now commonly referred to as "Resident Evil 1.5"), the Spencer Mansion was considered as a location you could visit while escaping Raccoon City, and would feature a monster surviving the events of RE1 living in the ruined lobby and dining hall. Concept art exists for this scenario, but it was never implemented into the game itself.

Why CJCW? thinks you should play this game?

CJCW? said:
It's the Aliens to RE1's Alien, where the action is kicked up a few notches, but I think in this case makes for the better of the two. The layout of the police station and its connecting areas should serve as a design lesson to anyone looking to make a Metroidvania-style game, and the zapping system puts a cool twist on what you thought you knew about the game's sequences. Really looking forward to the remake.

OST Composer
Akira Yamaoka
OST Highlights
Silent Hill, Not Tomorrow, Tears Of...

Trivia
The official canon for Silent Hill is that it is located in Maine.

Why Wollan thinks you should play this game?

Wollan said:
Silent Hill was ahead of its time with its large 3D polygonal open-world, the chilling dynamic soundtrack which barely constitutes anything resembling music yet having some unforgettable key themes, a deeply complex & moving story that does not hold you by the hand, multiple endings and outcomes and the duality of the light-world and the other-world, survival gameplay where you are the common man not equipped for the situation and out of this world horrors & creepiness factor that didn't rely on shock frights. It ended up defining its own sub-genre and it's the definite self-contained horror epic and it's my favorite game of all time.

Gradon · Sep 14, 2018

OST Composer
Ludvig Forssell
OST Highlights
N/A

Trivia
P.T. was the playable demo for Silent Hills, which would've been a collaboration between Hideo Kojima, Guillermo Del Toro, Junji Ito, and Norman Reedus. While the game was unfortunately cancelled, a British game called Allison Road is considered to be a sort of spiritual successor, and is currently in development.

Why leafcutter thinks you should play this game?

leafcutter said:
Absolutely the scariest game I've ever played. If this were a contest to find the scariest game instead of the "essential" games, I have no doubt P.T. would win. I couldn't play it alone for more than two minutes. The night I actually managed to beat it, I had four friends in the room, all passing the controller and contributing to solve the puzzle. No idea how people can play this one alone in the dark with headphones.

*Left Behind is a DLC campaign that can be bought for The Last of Us or as a standalone game.

OST Composer
Gustavo Santaolalla
OST Highlights
All Gone (No Escape), The Last Of Us,The Choice

Trivia
The original concepts for Joel and Ellie had their last names as "Miller" and "Williams," respectively. However, these surnames were cut from the final game.

Why Morrigan thinks you should play this game?

Morrigan said:
I don't know what was more terrifying, trying to silently creep past a group of clickers or trying to elude that one boss (you know the one, in the Winter chapter). In any case, TLoU stands above most other games in terms of production values and writing, and its survival horror third-person combat gameplay is also more than solid enough to carry it.

OST Composer
Steve Henifin
OST Highlights
Ram Dao, Black Rose, A War to End All Wars

Trivia
The Templar knight who Pious uses as the foundation for the Pillar of Flesh was originally a playable character, Joseph de Molay. In light of the September 11 terrorist attacks and how they influenced attitudes regarding the Templars, his chapter was hastily scrapped and reimagined as what became Karim in the final product.

Why PK_Wonder thinks you should play this game?

PK_Wonder said:
Horror is not the first, the second, or even the twelfth genre you think of when you think of genres Nintendo is most experienced with on their resume. But this game is absolutely the definitive psychological horror game in my opinion. Frequently quirky but genuinely unnerving at times, it's a solid gem that I would love to see a remaster or sequel happen for.

OST Composer
Jason Graves
OST Highlights
The Necromorphs Attack, Severed Limbs Are Hazardous Waste, Do Not Vomit - Do Not Shout

Trivia
Dead Space was originally intended to be System Shock 3, but EA failed to acquire the license. It was then retooled into a new IP.

Why Jawbreaker thinks you should play this game?

Jawbreaker said:
There's something to be said about experiencing a feeling a utter solitude in outer space, and this is what Dead Space excels at. Thanks to its brilliant, minimalist UI that never takes you out of the experience and the fantastic sound design, it's easy to get drawn into the dreadful atmosphere of the USG Ishimura.

*Banned Footage 1 & 2 are short stories during Resident Evil 7's campaign, these are part of the Season Pass.

Not a Hero is a free DLC which is a campaign that takes place after Resident Evil 7's Ending.

End of Zoe is another DLC campaign, it's also a part of the Season Pass.

OST Composer
Akiyuki Morimoto
OST Highlights
Go Tell Aunt Rhody -Resident Evil-, Welcome to the Family, Saferoom

Trivia
The development team of RE7 took considerable pains to add authentic details to the game's environments. For example, the tanker breakroom in Mia's flashback has a bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce on one table, which is a real and locally-produced brand in the state.

Why FiveSide thinks you should play this game?

FiveSide said:
From the brooding, descent-to-madness intro, to the terrifying hide-and-seek exploration of the manor, to the atmospheric dread of the guest house and ultimately the F.E.A.R.-esque, empowering combat of the finale, RE7 is a thrill ride of modern pop horror conventions deftly assembled into a tight, polished experience, elevated beyond measure by the primeval terror inherent in VR's immersive capabilities. [...] [A]s it stands now, it is an unforgettable firsthand journey through a night of terror in rural Louisiana, and a game that stands proudly alongside its legendary predecessors, REmake and Resident Evil 4.

*Crew Expendable and Last Survivor are two DLC campaigns. They were both included in the Ripley Edition of the game.

OST Composers
Christian Henson, Joe Henson, Alexis Smith
OST Highlights
Amanda Ripley, Alien, Mayhem

Trivia
The setting of the game, an understaffed space station with a giant space mall and a subway-style transit system, was the original setting of William Gibson's draft of Alien 3.

Why Psychonaut thinks you should play this game?

Psychonaut said:
Alien: Isolation is the only game I can say terrified me from start to finish. Creative Assembly took the horror game tradition of making players feel powerless and ran with it. The active save system is an inspired choice that keeps the tension mounting at all times. Even as you begin to accrue useful upgrades, you never quite feel free of the Alien's imposing presence. [...] What the game asks you to do at its conclusion was simply too frightening a prospect for me to feel in any way good about it.

*The Old Hunters is a DLC campaign that can be accessed in-game.

OST Composers
Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Yuka Kitamura, Cris Velasco, Michael Wandmacher
OST Highlights
Lady Maria, Amygdala, The First Hunter

Trivia
Hacking the game files reveals that the player character was apparently intended to start the game in Hemwick; however, this was changed later in development, among many other things.

Why Big G thinks you should play this game?

Big G said:
The best game of this generation (thus far) also doubles as one of the finest horror games ever produced. [...] Bloodborne is horror all-the-way, whether it's the traditional werewolf/vampire-inspired brand of gothic horror that you're initially introduced to, or the game's eventual shift into cosmic horror. Yharnam and the surrounding areas are dripping with a macabre and foreboding atmosphere, and the game's cast of monstrosities can't be described as anything other than ghastly. [...] Bloodborne is a master class in game design, level design, art design, combat and progression . . . It is a triumph of artistic vision becoming fully realized, and is one of the most immersive games out there.

*Separate Ways was first introduced in the PS2 version of the game and appears in every subsequent version.

OST Composer
Misao Senbongi
OST Highlights
Serenity, Garrador, Regenerator, Ganado V

Trivia
While there are an enormous amount of small, detail-oriented touches in the graphics and animations of Resident Evil 4, one of the most subtle is the realistic hip sway when characters walk, which was a level of animation detail virtually unheard of at the time. This realistic animation is partially due to the game using the engine created for PN03, which also featured accurate hip sway without needing to motion capture for it.

Why Wanderer5 thinks you should play this game?

Wanderer5 said:
[Resident Evil 4] is a masterclass in many aspects, and such a thrilling ride fill with horrors to encounter. Best of all honestly was the killer pacing, as for a game that could take 15-18 hours on the first go, it didn't really felt like a drag. It just throws in many different stuff at you, and a lot of it really sticks, with some of the most memorable moments in any horror title . . . What a classic this is.

OST Composer
Shusaku Uchiyama
OST Highlights
Save Theme, Vacant Room, Plant 42

Trivia
"Real Survival" mode, which features unlinked item boxes and no auto aim, was actually the original way to play the game in its prototype build; the developers left this in as an optional difficulty mode for those seeking additional challenge.

Why re_chief thinks you should play this game?

re_chief said:
The Resident Evil Remake . . . is a perfect marriage between compelling horror and entertaining gameplay. Tonally, the game exudes creepiness -- it features its fair share of jumpscares, of course . . . but there's also plenty of instances of the more subtle, creeping horror that worms its way into your heart and doesn't leave until weeks after the game is over. [...] [E]very horror game that came out after Resident Evil owes it a debt, and, unlike many other games considered revolutionary, this one more than holds up today.

*Born from a Wish was introduced in the Xbox version of the game, re-introduced for PS2 in the Restless Dreams version and is present on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game.

OST Composer
Akira Yamaoka
OST Highlights
Theme of Laura, Promise (Reprise), True

Trivia
James' iconic green field jacket was actually produced in a limited run by Insert Coin. Unfortunately, it has long since sold out.

Why Vault Boy thinks you should play this game?

Vault Boy said:
The gold standard for horror games, and nearly perfect in every way. One of the few games I'd feel comfortable (and not ridiculous) in writing a thesis paper on its themes, motifs, meaning, etc. This is the one I point to when the "can games be art?" discussion comes up, with the answer being most definitely yes.

Gradon · Sep 14, 2018

Golden Honourable Mentions
This section of Honourable Mentions is for games that received Gold Votes from some of you but unfortunately did not make the list. I wanted to highlight the passion that some of you guys had for games that unfortunately didn't get enough votes to be showcased in the main list.

Unfortunately, not all games received writeups. So I've replaced those instead with a review excerpt.

*Catherine releases on Vita and PS4 in 2019.

Aigis said:
Catherine is a really crazy thriller/horror game that the industry really needs more of. Its an oddball puzzle game that has a story filled with mystery and choices that place your values to the test in fun ways, while still being a tense ride all the way through. The characters are what shine the most here as there really isnt a clear answer for the main character Vincent to move forward in his life and when he is trust upon into situations, he has to deal with all of his fears as it slowly drives him insane. An original game that I really hope people will check out when it comes out for the ps4 and vita in 2019.

*Subnautica releases on Xbox One and PS4 on the 7th of December, 2018.

FeedMeAStrayCat said:
One of my favorite games in recent memory and probably also the scariest game I've ever played. I definitely have a fear of the ocean and particularly the deep ocean, yet I couldn't stop playing this one.

Hardcore Gamer said:
"When it comes right down to it, The House in Fata Morgana is an epic love story but one which feels far closer to Shakespeare than a dating sim. MangaGamer succeeded in their herculean task of translating this genre-hopping tale with tremendous care and respect, which is more than could be said for some other publishers had they gained hold of the game."

ToastieMaster said:
The fast paced fun the original DOOM always was but crammed with even more fun. And fast.
I feel like I could have put any DOOM here (Yes, even 3) and still would have been happy but I'm still doing a play-through of DOOM (2016) at least once a year, so it's a winner for me.

Machinima said:
The excellent story hooked me in from the opening minutes and I didn't want to let go. With branching paths, multiple endings, and truly mysterious characters to interact with, Virtue's Last Reward will keep you thrilled for hours on end.

Silver Honourable Mentions
This section of Honourable Mentions is for games that received 4 points or more, but didn't make the list. These games would realistically be 52-61 on the list.

S.T.A.R.S Beret said:
At the time of this releasing, horror games had hit a bit of a lull for me. Things that I was looking forward to were disappointing and most other stuff wasn't jumping out to me. Leave it to this to show that horror games are alive and well while being in 2D to boot.

Zetsubou_ said:
A classic light gun shooter with some charming voice acting.

LaunchpadMcQ said:
While also not all that scary moment to moment, it is very effective at instilling dread and despair in the player, and has one of the better stories in this genre.

PensivePen said:
A game that is frankly a bit of a mess, it nonetheless succeeds in being a very enjoyable and very atmospheric retelling of several Lovecraft stories spliced together, and mixed in with concepts from Chaosium's beloved tabletop rpg. It may not be the best at anything it does, but the sheer variety of ideas on display and length of the game is something you rarely see in a horror product, and it can incite some truly genuine terror at times. With a new Call of Cthulhu game on the horizon it's the perfect time to revisit this great title.

re_chief said:
Known variously as Siren and Forbidden Siren depending on where and when you bought it, this game makes my list for two primary reasons. The first, of course, is that it is terrifying. The game utilizes the unsettling tropes of Japanese horror to great effect and often makes you feel just as uncomfortable as you are scared, whether you're frantically running and hiding from an insane, gun-toting police officer, or stalking through a thick mist, armed with a simple rifle but terrified to use it and attract the attention of an entire town's worth of gibbering, psychotic lunatics.

Joluli said:
A terrifying psychological horror experience that got me by surprise. I like the investigation tools and the cold atmosphere. Some jump scares are marked in my brain forever.

unoillnino said:
This game was such a pleasant surprise and remains one of the best contributions to horror from this generation. Getting chased by Jason used to make my heart race. While it may not race now as I am acclimated to the game, I still get that uneasy feeling because the game is great at sucking you into its world and making you feel like you are there. I also enjoy the single-player Virtual Cabin experience because it serves as a fun look at the history of the franchise while also serving as a sort of blend between an escape room and the style of games like Myst or Riven.

futurememory said:
A mysterious horror more in the line of Stranger Things and other 80s horror set pieces, Oxenfree is gorgeously designed and a real delight to play. More of a dialogue simulator, Oxenfree nails what it's like to be a teenager. It has fun with some of the typical horror movie tropes, and leans in to its teen cast. You've been invited to a party out on a mostly abandoned island, and things begin to get very strange, very quickly. Tuning your radio is a really interesting, tense mechanic. The voice acting is fantastic, and the narrative choices feel like they actually have good weight behind them. More creepy than terrifying, Oxenfree is a must for horror fans like me - those that want to dip their toes in the pool, but are unwilling to wade into the depths just yet.

capitalCORN said:
Horror FPS that really amps the atmosphere like no other.

Gakidou said:
Killer 7 might seem quite colourful and arcade-like for a horror, but it's a technicolour fever-dream punctuated by BDSM themes and rich in vindictive, unsettling characters. The precision gameplay of sharp turns and harsh time limits is nerve-wracking. The game is about ghosts. And politics.... I think? The sound bites are also QUITE SPECIAL.

One Vote Wonders
This section of Honourable Mentions is for games that received 1 singular vote. The reasoning for this section is so people can see the choices others think you need to play but may not necessarily be their favourite horror games. They are the obscurest of the obscure (on the list). Hopefully there are interesting games here that pique your interest.

Luminaire said:
Koudelka is a strange mixture of a JRPG and a horror game. It's like a Resident Evil game, except you get into battles that take place on a grid. Corpses shamble towards you, furniture flutters about, and terrible monstrosities scurry and skitter about. It plays with the occult and dives deep into the concept of bring the dead back from their unfortunate fates. Koudelka's enemy designs are incredibly memorable, and some of them continue to haunt the corners of my mind. It's hard to look at shards of glass the same way at times.

futurememory said:
One of my favorite subgenres of horror is the Victorian Gothic. This CYOA offering from Choice of Games (and written by Nissa Campbell) has everything you'd want from the genre. Seances, spirits, and mediums. A hero/heroine investigating a decrepit manor with an usual staff and an even more unusual master/mistress. Dreary weather, secret passageways. campy romance and thrills. Throw in some horror of the eldritch kind and you have a gripping, well-written mix. There's a surprising amount of choice in Heart of the House, and plenty of ways to customize your experience to your liking.

Gradon said:
Just play this game. Don't look into it. Just play it. There are two versions of it, a free to play game that was roughly an hour long released several years ago on the developers website, and the full version of the game the developer created which is available on Steam. The game is a pixelated 3D horror but that doesn't stop it being absolutely terrifying. Seriously, play this game.

LaunchpadMcQ said:
This game is an achievement for the atmosphere and chills it instills, in spite of its cute character models. Exploring this town is something I never want to do alone.

Geeklat said:
An often passed by survival horror from the early days of the genre. Back when psychic powered anime characters were still a big thing. The idea of having special psychoactive drugs to take in order to give you access to various psychic powers to fight monsters and other psychic children as part of this sci-fi horror mystery was just a really intriguing setting. The sequel not so much.

futurememory said:
The first of a set of obscure games on my list, Anatomy is a $2.99, indie, minimalist game by the solo creator, Kitty Horrorshow. It's also, by far, the scariest game on this list. You're dropped into a house. It's dark. Very dark. You're alone. You come across a tape recorder, and a tape. You pop it in and listen. You're left to explore the house. I don't want to give much away, but Anatomy is an extremely tense, frightening game. It's deeply unsettling, and also extremely melancholic. This is on the artsier end of the spectrum, and if you enjoy this game, feel free to give Kitty Horrorshow's other games a look. They're shorter, and free.

UshiromiyaEva said:
The Entity, a mysterious being, takes serial killers and stray humans from the real world, and drafts them into a world where the survivors are pitted to constantly escape its trials while being pursued by the worst that humanity has to offer, in a near endless game of false hope and sacrifice.

One of the textbook examples of an asymmetric multiplayer game, a 4v1 contest between four survivors and one killer allows players to play a frightening game of cat and mouse as tensions continually rise as the match continues and escape looms in sight. Though it's an often stressful game, it's very exciting to play with friends. Additionally features some of the strongest licenses in horror films possible, including crossover content with Halloween, Texas Chainsaw, SAW, and Nightmare on Elm Street.

UshiromiyaEva said:
An amnesiac named Steve finds himself in the town of Harvest, a strange 1950's town with much to hide. Though many mysteries lay in Harvest, it is promised all would be answered if Steve secures his entry into the massive lodge that stands in the middle of the otherwise quaint town.

Easily one of the most bizarre games ever released, with a legendary development that suffered much downscaling and a deep delay that caused it to flop. Not for the faint of heart, as even with its goofy live-action actors and early CG backgrounds, the game is infamous for its extreme gore and subject matters that hit possibly every single offensive topic possible for the time.

Zetsubou_ said:
An obscure Mega Drive/Genesis game with great spritework and animations released in 1993 and developed by EA. As the title implies you play the character Polterguy, a teenager that died in an accident due to a skateboard defect. He comes back to life as a ghost in order to take revenge on the business mogul Vito Sardini who manufactured these skateboards. You follow Vito and his family over the course of four different houses as they move from place to place due to you haunting them. Gameplay consists of an isometric view as you go room-to-room in the houses looking for family members and possessing over a dozen, household objects to scare them in fun ways. A really unique concept I haven't seen replicated.

ArmsofSleep said:
Euro jank? Sure. Terrible localization? Well, yeah. Looks like shit? Of course. Who cares about any of that, it's a dense and beautiful story told in a way entirely unique to video games. It rules.

Credits
The Team
PK_Wonder - For helping out with construction of the thread and being our threads resident accountant.
FiveSide - For Trivia and Game Writeups Selection.

Graphical
Logopedia - For the Console Logo's used in the Platforms section of the banners.
Mobygames - For the screenshots of games on the banners.
Halloween Icons in Thread Banner - Party vector created by Freepik
Chainsaw Icon in Thread Banner made by Freepik from Flaticon is licensed by Creative Commons BY 3.0

Inspiration
Kswiston - For the inspiration and giving me the idea to create the Top 51 Essential Horror games thread.

PK_Wonder · Sep 14, 2018

I can't wait to see the results. Have fun everyone!

Hanbei · Sep 14, 2018

I'll keep an eye on this thread, so I know what game I should play this spooktober.

violent · Sep 14, 2018

I cracked a beer just for this. Happy Halloween, folks. Quick summaries:

P.T. - Scariest thing ever ever.
Silent Hill 2 - Perfect combination of unsettling story and imagery. Bought it on a whim without prior knowledge and walked out a different person.
Resident Evil Remake - If the 80's were the metric of fun horror, REmake is the Mona Lisa that hangs on its wall.
Alien: Isolation - Not scary, but frightening. Effectively so. Also, I am an Alien nerd.
Resident Evil 7 VR - The spicy burrito of horror games. It's here to do one job.
Amnesia - Taught me that what I hear frightens me more than what I see.
Outlast - Simple scares. Cash it in.
Silent Hill 3 - After Silent Hill 2, I was bigger, stronger, more resilient. The fear of returning though is not easily hidden.
Eternal Darkness - If we were at a bar, I could probably talk about it for an hour. Fact is, it's the bathtub.
Dead Space - Space horror is the best horror. Plus when the babies made an appearance, it cracked my foundation. From that moment, even the simple things shook me.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
P.T.

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil Remake
Alien: Isolation
Resident Evil 7 VR

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Amnesia
Outlast
Silent Hill 3
Eternal Darkness
Dead Space
<Voting End>

Jawbreaker · Sep 14, 2018

Bloodborne - This may seem like an unconventional pick, but Bloodborne is a title that's oozing with grotesqueness from its environments down to the masterful enemy design. Fewer moments are as chilling as a chance abduction by a Snatcher and being awoken by the unsettling hymn of the Hypogean Gaol, a prison housed in otherworldliness. And who can forget the horrors that await in the Upper Cathedral Ward? This area in particular comes as close to a horror game as you can get, complete with jump scares and aggressive enemies that aren't afraid to engulf you in complete darkness before dining on flesh. All of this is set to a soundtrack that threatens as much as the world around you, pecking away with each jab of a string.

Resident Evil 4 - There's not much that hasn't been said about Resident Evil 4, a game that would influence many others that have come after and which redefined the series itself. While it shed its roots for a more action-oriented approach, the tension in the opening village, for example, cannot be denied. I'll never forget the sheer terror of encountering a Regenerador for the first time, or attempting to defend a cabin from a horde, with Luis, during the game's second chapter. There's a constant air of dread as you attempt to make it out alive with the president's daughter. A genre masterpiece.

deadly_premonition__directors_cut_wallpaper_by_christian2506-d5vj88t.jpg

Deadly Premonition - There's a lot to criticize this game for, from the combat mechanics to its janky, rudimentary open world. Despite these glaring faults, it manages to shine thanks to the horror-tinged intrigue of its murder mysteries and charming cast of characters, strongly evoking David Lynch's Twin Peaks. At some points, namely the more survival horror sections, it begins to feel like an awful hallucination that you desperately want to escape. Deadly Premonition manages to overcome its weaknesses by offering a memorable, moody experience led by an idiosyncratic protagonist with odd charm.

P.T. - While this isn't actually a full title, it managed to be one of the most frightening experiences I've had in the medium. There's something maddening and disorienting about constantly repeating sequences of events in the same corridor, wracking your brain over cryptic environmental puzzles. P.T. feels like a slow descent into madness, getting progressively perverse in its desire to toy with you.

Dead Space - There's something to be said about experiencing a feeling a utter solitude in outer space, and this is what Dead Space excels at. Thanks to its brilliant, minimalist UI that never takes you out of the experience and the fantastic sound design, it's easy to get drawn into the dreadful atmosphere of the USG Ishimura.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Bloodborne

<Silver - 2 Points>
Resident Evil 4
F.E.A.R.
Until Dawn
Eternal Darkness

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Soma
Deadly Premonition
P.T.
Dead Space
Resident Evil 7
<Voting End>

Vela · Sep 14, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Silent Hill 2

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill
SOMA
Fatal Frame 2 / Project Zero 2

<Bronze - 1 Point>
P.T.
Resident Evil Remake
Amnesia
Silent Hill 4
Parasite Eve
<Voting End>

ActWan · Sep 14, 2018

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Scariest game I've ever played, plus highly influencial on the indie horror scene (to this day). The Lovecraftian story and insanity mechanic are so good.

Silent Hill 2 - There's not much to be added that hasn't already been said. Masterpiece, one of the best stories in gaming and among my all time favorites.
Observer - Very underrated cyberpunk game from Bloober Team (who also made the good Layers of Fear), which involves a lot of exploration and world building, and the horror segments are very well done.
SOMA - Another one from Frictional Games, this time focusing more on the story and atmosphere rather than being scary, and it works wonders. Playing this felt like drowning in a sea of madness.
P.T. - Even though its a pretty short experience, it is extremely well done (So much so, that even though its only a "playable teaser", I'd consider it one of the best horror games ever) and even managed to have a small legacy and influence many games. The ways to get the ending or trigger different events are still murky and unclear, which just adds to the mystery aura surrounding it.

Eternal Darkness - So underrated...this Gamecube gem sports a Lovercraftian story with multiple character and really interesting gameplay mechanics, especially the insanity one that influenced Amnesia.
Outlast 2 - It was hard to decide whether to pick 1 or 2, and although 1 is better in a lot of ways - I feel like 2 doesn't get enough praise. The plot themes are really well made, but the height of the game for me is the atmosphere...it is dripping with it, which makes for unforgettable environments and all around really scary experience.
Resident Evil 1 Remake - Classic. It never gets old, might be the most "horror" RE game for me. Visuals are still gorgeous and the camera angles are brilliant. Nothing to add on the masterful level and enemy design.
Condemned: Criminal Origins - The combat and AI are so well done, and the use of said things to make the experience all the more scarier is genius. One of the most underrated horror games out there.
F.E.A.R - Darkness is the first thing that comes up to me whenever I think about this game...the scary moments are too good and the gameplay is just amazing - the two fitting together perfectly to create a very unique and polished experience.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 2
Observer
SOMA
P.T.

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Eternal Darkness
Outlast 2
Resident Evil 1 Remake
Condemned: Criminal Origins
F.E.A.R
<Voting End>

Big G · Sep 14, 2018

Awesome, thanks for doing this as it's my favorite genre.

Htown · Sep 14, 2018

You know, I honestly don't think I've played enough horror games to even make a list. I'll have to think about this for a while.

LonestarZues · Sep 14, 2018

I probably have several games that people won't consider horror or are borderline horror, but I feel they all bring something to the horror genre and have included them.

1. The Last of Us - The most emotional and intense game I've ever played and my favorite across any genre. Everything from the relationships to the complex storytelling along with the gameplay set it above the rest.

2. Resident Evil 2 - My favorite from the series and I have several on this list. The atmosphere in the police station and underground lab are top tier. The music and ambiance really deliver and make the game among 1 of the greats.

3. Dead Space - The fact that Isaac Clarke is just a regular guy and not an elite soldier is among one of the positives in this game. From having perhaps the best starter weapon in any game to the resource management really drives home the dire situation in the game.

4. Silent Hill 2 - The tension you feel as you walk thru the city and not knowing what's across the street or corner is among the best in the genre. Also one of the most memorable endings in any game.

5. Until Dawn - A game with insane twists and probably the most fun horror game I've ever played.

6. Resident Evil 7 - Was debating putting it at #5 for the extra points, but I already have 2 up there so decided against it. By far the best VR experience I've had to date and one of the best villains in any game and a real return to form for the series.

7. Alan Wake - Might be my favorite 360 game and really loved everything from the visuals to the psychological tricks.

8. Resident Evil - The game that put the genre on the map. I don't think I've ever been as scared as when the dogs came thru the window. Teenage me was enthralled by the game and couldn't put it down.

9. The Walking Dead - An adventure game on the list am I crazy? One of the best stories in video games and one of the most emotional moments as well. Having to care for Clementine was scary as you were trying your best to keep her alive and some of the decisions you had to make to ensure she survived were horrifying.

10. Dead Space 2 - One of the few games where I never felt comfortable playing. The baby scene terrified me and I still recall it vividly. Amazing setting and game. It's a shame well 2 never get additional entries in the series.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
The Last of Us

<Silver - 2 Points>
Resident Evil 2
Dead Space
Silent Hill 2
Until Dawn

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Resident Evil 7
Alan Wake
Resident Evil
The Walking Dead
Dead Space 2
<Voting End>

Morrigan · Sep 15, 2018

1. Bloodborne

Possibly the greatest game of this generation, Bloodborne is not just an amazing combat-driven action-RPG; I would call it horror because its setting and atmosphere are very much a mix of classic/gothic horror and Lovecraftian horror, and this is also felt through the gameplay and not just the story or soundtrack. Few things were ever as terrifying in games as the spine-tingling singing from those sentinent walking brains, or the brooding darkness of the Upper Cathedral Ward. Few things were ever as grotesque and chilling as the Cthulhu-faced brainsuckers or screaming black metal-looking ghouls from the Chalice labyrinths. Few things were as revolting as the giant bloodlicking ticks, the creepy misshappen hunchback old ladies trying to rip your eye off (literallY) or those living caskets full of slithering corpses lurching at you with unexpected speed.

And that's not counting the horrifying boss creatures like Ludwig the Accursed or the Blood-Starved Beast, or the cosmic Lovecraftian monstrosities like Amygdala or Ebrietas.

And of course you have the environments as well, from the somber, gloomy gothic streets of Yharnam to the Lovecraftian dreamscapes of Nightmare Frontier, with its intricate architecture, lighting and sound effects such as the screams of terrors of its denizens or the creepy laughter of the mad and the lost.

Bloodborne might not be "survival horror" in the purest sense, but it absolutely is a horror game still, and I shall fight anyone who says otherwise.

2. Silent Hill

The purest, rawest example of survival horror. The sequel is generally regarded as an improvement on every front and I can see why, but I still favour the first one for various reasons. Its atmosphere remains the creepiest in the history of gaming, and nothing, nothing in my 25+ years of gaming has ever terrified me more than that final part of the sewers area where all the creatures emerge and you have to run for your life. I will never forget this moment. Brrr.

3. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

While not strictly a Lovecraft adaptation, this is still Lovecraftian horror in its most faithful state, where protagonists slowly lose their sanity as their world is engufled by unfathomable cosmic horrors. The sanity meter and the sanity effects remain one of the coolest and most innnative game mechanic to date, as did its intricate rune magic system that relied on precise timing for some very tense moments. An absolute classic and the only one of its kind.

4. The Last of Us

I don't know what was more terrifying, trying to silently creep past a group of clickers or trying to elude that one boss (you know the one, in the Winter chapter). In any case, TLoU stands above most other games in terms of production values and writing, and its survival horror third-person combat gameplay is also more than solid enough to carry it.

5. Silent Hill 2

Pyramid Head. Enough said.

6. Resident Evil REmake

I will never forget how terrifying it was to see the first "crimson heads" come back to life. Nor how unsettling Lisa was -- whilst Silent Hill obviously drew some inspiration from Resident Evil, I think REmake in turn took some cues from Silent Hill, as I found REmake to be far superior in its atmosphere than the other RE games before it.

7. Silent Hill 3

I never did finish that one... but it was the last truly great SH game (Origins on PSP wasn't bad either though) and I give it a vote anyway.

8. Resident Evil 2

One of the classics, I played that over and over as a teenager. The alternating scenarios were a neat touch.

9. Prey

Prey 2017 was a pretty unsettling immersive sim, with a real feeling of foreboding and loneliness in that derelict space station. Those mimics freaked me out more than once for sure.

10. P.T.

Not my kind of game at all typically... but somehow this one small demo managed to really engross me. Possibly the only entirely combat-less horror game that successfully sucked me in, simply because its creepy atmosphere was so damn well done. What a shame it never went beyond that one, short-lived demo.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Bloodborne

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
The Last of Us
Resident Evil REmake

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 3
Resident Evil 2
Prey
P.T.
<Voting End>

PK_Wonder · Sep 16, 2018

Some great write-ups so far, keep 'em coming!

LifeLine · Sep 16, 2018

I loved the RPG thread, looking forward to this one as well.

Hope we get more after this.

Deleted member 4037 · Sep 17, 2018

Catherine is a really crazy thriller/horror game that the industry really needs more of. Its an oddball puzzle game that has a story filled with mystery and choices that place your values to the test in fun ways, while still being a tense ride all the way through. The characters are what shine the most here as there really isnt a clear answer for the main character Vincent to move forward in his life and when he is trust upon into situations, he has to deal with all of his fears as it slowly drives him insane. An original game that I really hope people will check out when it comes out for the ps4 and vita in 2019.

Probably the single best demo ever made and thats why I think it deserves a spot. The game was simply genius and what horror should aspire to be. While it had a jump scare in there, it was more about creating atmosphere, the game didnt make you feel scared of the thing that was there, but rather what could be there. It showed restraint in how many gross things it would show and gave you a feeling of dread because it was so simple, but you really didnt know where it was going.

A really fun game that subverts your expectations, the amazing this about this game behind all of the shock value and meta commentary, there were some really likable characters and some really complex ideas around their personalities. The payoffs were so good because the characters were so good and the idea presented where subversive to any expectation going in that thought it was going to be a cute dating sim around a poetry club

A real return to form for the series that had a lot more action focus. I played this in VR so thats probably a boost to why I love it so much, but the game really brings the survival aspect back to the series while still giving you options on how to survive. I never really felt like my shooting was handicapped like in other games, but I was always trying to keep my resources in check because there was so few places to actually get them. The real fear was sneaking around trying to avoid the bakers, knowing that there really wasnt much you could do to kill them.

Similar to RE7, Amnesia is not about fighting the monsters, but knowing that you are powerless and need to hide. The mechanics of this game are what I really appreciated, it added a level of immersion to the game when you had to pull back a closet door to hide in it. The mystery of waking up in a infested castle really was an experience because you really were unsure how to engage with anything or what awaited you deeper into the dark halls

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Catherine

<Silver - 2 Points>
P.T
Doki Doki Literature Club
Resident Evil 7
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Outlast
Alien: Isolation
Alien vs Predator (2010)
Until Dawn
Resident Evil 5
<Voting End>

ArmsofSleep · Sep 17, 2018

So excited for this!

Yume Nikki

"Inside of your dream, I am not there" Imagine a world where horror games gave more of a shit about horror and less of a shit about game. This one won't ever leave you alone.

Pathologic

Euro jank? Sure. Terrible localization? Well, yeah. Looks like shit? Of course. Who cares about any of that, it's a dense and beautiful story told in a way entirely unique to video games. It rules.

Resident Evil 2

BUY THE REMAKE MOTHERFUCKERS

Silent Hill 3

Listen, I get why people love SH2 more. I really do. I love it too. But one look at this game and you know there's something diferent about it. I find it hard to take my eyes off of it's blood stained walls.

Doom

Imagine not thinking this is a horror game. This game is the sum of it's parts, because every fanmade thing in this damn engine is a part of the overall experience. It's more of an etch n sketch than an engine, but in a scary way.

Resident Evil 4

It's the greatest action game of all time probably?

The Void

A complete destruction of anything but sheer imperfect desperation, maybe the most beautiful setting ever in a game.

Half Life

Lmao of course it's a horror game

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth

You came to the wrong fishing hamlet motherfucker

PT

I don't even want a full game at this point. The terror here is distilled and perfect. It will never get better than this game, in the dark, with headphones, without a guide.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Yume Nikki

<Silver - 2 Points>
Pathologic
Resident Evil 2
Silent Hill 3
Doom

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Resident Evil 4
The Void
Half Life
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
PT
<Voting End>

Psychonaut · Sep 17, 2018

Disclaimer: My taste in games generally skews very recent.

Alien: Isolation is the only game I can say terrified me from start to finish. Creative Assembly took the horror game tradition of making players feel powerless and ran with it. The active save system is an inspired choice that keeps the tension mounting at all times. Even as you begin to accrue useful upgrades, you never quite feel free of the Alien's imposing presence. The ancillary enemies, like humans and especially Working Joes, are horrifying in their own ways. The game goes on just a bit too long, and I must admit that I, like many others, abhorred the final mission(s), but for different reasons. What the game asks you to do at its conclusion was simply too frightening a prospect for me to feel in any way good about it.

Until Dawn perfectly recreates the campy teen horror film genre, while simultaneously showing us what it would be like if Quantic Dream games were at all good or self-aware. The characters are well-written, and the dynamics between them even more so. This is the only adventure game of this sort that I felt was actually worth replaying to see different endings.

DDLC is a controversial game, but I am clearly in the camp of people that love it. When you deal in themes of mental illness (as this, Team Salvato's debut game, does), you are playing with fire. The first act is in itself a masterpiece. The game forces you to come to terms with the real-life horror that you are not a hero, and that doing everything you can is still not enough to overcome some obstacles. For this alone, DDLC stands as a beacon of small-scale horror done right, even if later acts veer off into broader, less focused subsects of the horror genre.

Although the horror trappings of The Last of Us are not the reason why it shines, it is still certainly an essential game in the genre, just as it is an essential game in the medium. The first installment in Naughty Dog's fourth major franchise deals in familiar zombie fare while also ushering in some innovations of its own. The campaign is fantastically written, acted, and paced. The story is tough and touching. The stealth is good. These are the things I look for in a video game, executed to near perfection, and they just happened to be delivered in a game full of deadly fungus monsters.

I would be remiss not to include Bioshock, the first game to ever fill me with true dread. I was so scared to walk out of the game's first door that I stayed in there for ten minutes, waiting out the splicer on the other side. Again, this is not necessarily a game that excels due to its horror elements, but it is the vehicle by which the utility of fear in video games was exhibited to me.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Alien: Isolation

<Silver - 2 Points>
Until Dawn
Doki Doki Literature Club
The Last of Us
Bioshock

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Bloodborne
P.T.
Resident Evil VII
The Walking Dead
Left 4 Dead
<Voting End>

Wollan · Sep 17, 2018

Silent Hill was ahead of its time with its large 3D polygonal open-world, the chilling dynamic soundtrack which barely constitutes anything resembling music yet having some unforgettable key themes, a deeply complex & moving story that does not hold you by the hand, multiple endings and outcomes and the duality of the light-world and the other-world, survival gameplay where you are the common man not equipped for the situation and out of this world horrors & creepiness factor that didn't rely on shock frights. It ended up defining its own sub-genre and it's the definite self-contained horror epic and it's my favorite game of all time.
Silent Hill 2 while maybe less frightening and less epic than the original featured a more focused and deeply personal and moving story with an audiovisual presentation that put most all games of 2001 behind it. It still holds up just great today in 2018.
Resident Evil really kicked off the 3rd person horror genre (with all respect to Alone in the Dark) and it was a knockout. What helped separate it from other games in the genre besides the production values however was just how fun the gameplay experience ended up being and this has remained true for the series ever since.
Siren Blood Curse demonstrated perfectly how to do episodic gaming as all the content was made up front then drip-fed rather rapidly over a month. Each episode ended with a Lost-like preview of things to come and it never failed to entice you to keep playing or to look forward to the next content release with the forum community boiling over in their discussions. Game was a re-vision of the original game and arguably less unique and less unsettling but it was overall more enjoyable and still very special. Probably one of the best takes on cross-culture in a game with English speaking and Japanese speaking characters fighting the communication barrier in a really intense situation. My second favorite game of the PS3 era after Demon's Souls though I would deem Siren the better pure horror game.
Resident Evil 7 on PSVR was probably, together with P.T., the most frightening game I ever felt the desire to push on with. The virtual reality medium took the horror to another level but it was expertly balanced just below the level of intolerable unpleasantness and with close to no in-your-face jump scares. After some hours the intensity drops but like the original Resident Evil it is also backed up by excellent slower-paced gameplay which fit VR like a glove making it an enjoyable experience end-to-end. The best Virtual Reality game on the market.
P.T. is one of the most artistic & manipulative interactive horror experiences I've come across and it actually made me scream out loud like I've never done before & since. I really hope emulation immortalizes this experience some day as it's forever gone from availability and the number of PS4 owners having this installed is dwindling (I am yet among them).

I really need to finish SOMA & Alien Isolation some day.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Silent Hill

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil
Siren Blood Curse
Resident Evil 7 PSVR

<Bronze - 1 Point>
P.T.
Bloodborne
Resident Evil 2
Dead Space
The Last of Us
<Voting End>

LuckyLinus · Sep 17, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Eternal Darkness

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 4: the room
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil 2
Amnesia

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Silent Hill
Resident Evil Remake
Resident Evil 7
Clive Barkers undying
Alien Isolation
<Voting End>

whiskas_fanatic · Sep 17, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Bloodborne
<Voting End>

Zetsubou_ · Sep 17, 2018

Yume Nikki - A hauntingly beautiful game.

Haunting Starring Polterguy - An obscure Mega Drive/Genesis game with great spritework and animations released in 1993 and developed by EA. As the title implies you play the character Polterguy, a teenager that died in an accident due to a skateboard defect. He comes back to life as a ghost in order to take revenge on the business mogul Vito Sardini who manufactured these skateboards. You follow Vito and his family over the course of four different houses as they move from place to place due to you haunting them. Gameplay consists of an isometric view as you go room-to-room in the houses looking for family members and possessing over a dozen, household objects to scare them in fun ways. A really unique concept I haven't seen replicated.

Luigi's Mansion - One of the best launch titles of all time.

The House of the Dead 2 - A classic light gun shooter with some charming voice acting.

Silent Hill 4: The Room - A lot of inspiration was taken from this game for P.T. such as the ghosts and room hauntings. For me this was my P.T.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni - A fantastic murder mystery sound novel with a compelling story that takes place in the rural village of Hinamizawa where every year after the local Watanagashi Festival someone is murdered and someone disappears.

Escape From Bug Island - A campy, cheesy, so bad it's good third person survival horror game developed by Spike released in 2006 as a Wii launch title in Japan and released in 2007 in North America and Europe. The game stars Ray who goes on a trip to the titular Bug Island to accompany his friends Michelle, an aspiring entomologist, and Mike his old friend from high school. After Mike makes an impromptu love confession to Michelle she runs off and he chases after her leaving our hero Ray waiting until nightfall before he starts to worry when they haven't returned. Having waited long enough he goes to search for them only to discover Bug Island is filled with many dangerous secrets!

Michigan: Report From Hell - Released in Japan in 2004 and in Europe in 2005 with no North America release, this is another Spike campy, cheesy, so bad it's good survival horror game however this time developed by Suda 51's Grasshopper Manufacture company. Players take the role of a cameraman sent to Michigan to investigate a mysterious fog that has enveloped the city. Turns out the fog is turning people into monsters!

(Honorable Mentions)

Bloodborne - One of the best Cthulu mythos inspired video games.

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - The main character Junpei as well as 8 other people are kidnapped by a mysterious person who goes by the name of Zero and made to participate in what he calls the Nonary Game on a sinking cruise ship. Zero explains the rules of the game and states that each contestant has an explosive in their stomach that will activate if they try to break the rules. A tense visual novel slash puzzle game that you simply can't put down as you want to unravel the mysteries of why you were kidnapped and what Zero's ultimate plan is.

Lisa the First

Silent Hill 2 - Absolutely deserves to be on the essentials list, but I wanted to give some points and love to some lesser known games or games that probably wouldn't get all that many points.

Dead Rising - An early 360 title that epitomizes the scope and magnitude of what 7th gen games were striving for and evokes comedy horror aspects of the Evil Dead films.

Resident Evil 2 - Hideki Kamiya's directorial debut, While not an action game like the games he would later become known for, this sequel to 1996's Resident Evil still has his signature action-packed flair, but manages to maintain a balance between action-blockbuster and the tense atmosphere of being in a zombie infested city having to manage your health items and ammo as you try to escape.

Resident Evil Remake - Absolutely gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds that still hold up today. This is what remakes should strive to be.

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented

Vampire: The Masquerade

Lifeline - A unique game where you take the role of an operator giving voice commands to Rio as she makes her way through a monster infested Space Station hotel.

Deadly Premonition - A third person, open-world, survival horror game taking much inspiration from Twin Peaks. You play the role of FBI special agent Francis York Morgan as he investigates the murder of 18-year old Anna Graham in the little town of Greenvale, Washington. As you investigate you learn about the lives of many of the charming citizens of Greenvale as well as the seedy, supernatural underbelly of what seems to be an idyllic small American town.

D2 - D2 is the third installment in the survival horror slash interactive movie series D. The game takes place in the Canadian wildness after a plane your character, Laura Parton, was in crashes due to being hijacked by terrorists. Your goal is to try to seek contact with the outside world and other survivors of the crash, but the survivors are mutating into monsters! Unlike it's predecessors D and Enemy Zero which made aggressive use of FMVs, D2 forgoes some of this to make room for first person shooting, hunting, and RPG gameplay elements

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Virtue's Last Reward

<Silver - 2 Points>
Yume Nikki
Haunting Starring Polterguy
Luigi's Mansion
Silent Hill 4: The Room

<Bronze - 1 Point>
The House of the Dead 2
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Corpse Party
Escape From Bug Island
Michigan: Report From Hell
<Voting End>

LonestarZues · Sep 17, 2018

Psychonaut said:
Disclaimer: My taste in games generally skews very recent.

I was debating with myself if Bioshock would qualify. I should've voted for it. Shame on me.

Psychonaut · Sep 17, 2018

LonestarZues said:
I was debating with myself if Bioshock would qualify. I should've voted for it. Shame on me.

I wouldn't blame anyone for leaving it off. The ramp up on weapons and plasmids is such that you're just tearing through enemies by the time you're halfway through the game. It's easy to forget that the game was ever scary at all considering the most iconic fights see you going toe-to-toe with a Big Daddy. That early section left quite the impression on me, though.

Taruranto · Sep 18, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Silent Hill 1

It's really the quintessential Survival Horror experience for me. It hit all the right spots and managed to deliver a nightmarish experience that I still remember fondly 19 years later.

<Silver - 2 Points>
Clock Tower (SNES)
Rule of Rose

Honestly, RoR is an awful game. I can't blame anyone for not liking it. Slow, monotonous gameplay, unresponsive controls, the worst hit detection I ever seen. But miraculously the game sorta... works. Everything comes together, the monotonous, agonizing slow gameplay reflects the experience the protagonist is going through for one of the most original and profound plots videogames have to offer.

Also the OST is lovely.

Forbidden Siren
Resident Evil Remake

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Penumbra: Overture
Project Zero 2/Fatal Frame 2 (Original)
Hellnight/Dark Messiah
Silent Hill 3
Silent HIll: Shattered Memories.
<Voting End>

Gradon · Sep 18, 2018

Taruranto said:
Hellnight/Dark Messiah

I never knew anyone else played Hellnight nevermind vote for it aha. What a weird and very hard game. I never did complete it back in the day.

Next we'll see Michigan end up on someones list lol.
EDIT: Oops! It did! My apologies haha.

LonestarZues said:
I was debating with myself if Bioshock would qualify. I should've voted for it. Shame on me.

You can still modify your vote if you really like, see here:

Gradon said:
If you would like to change your ballot after the 24 hours is up then please PM @PK_Wonder to let him know.

I'd consider BioShock a horror game personally, but of course just to reiterate, anyone can vote for what they personally feel falls under the horror umbrella.

Taruranto · Sep 18, 2018

Gradon said:
I never knew anyone else played Hellnight nevermind vote for it aha. What a weird and very hard game. I never did complete it back in the day.

I had a phase in which I played a bunch of obscure PS1/PC horrors, eh. Hellnight really stuck with me over a lot of games.

Dnomla · Sep 18, 2018

Oh yeah. A horror one of these! I'll get to work on my list tomorrow. This will be much easier than the RPG one.

Gradon said:
I never knew anyone else played Hellnight nevermind vote for it aha. What a weird and very hard game. I never did complete it back in the day.

Next we'll see Michigan end up on someones list lol.

You got another one right here. I'll be adding it to my list as well. I'd like to get around to playing Michigan too someday.

Elodes · Sep 18, 2018

(I wish I could vote for Bloodborne, but I have no PS4 on which to play it. EDIT: I got a PS4 so now I can play it!)

Alien: Isolation is probably the single most immersive videogame I've ever played. It really, really felt like I was hiding from a xenomorph -- its behaviour erratic and always frightening; its appearance like a perversion of a wasp, penetrating the clean spaceship's interior. And the game itself has a slow pacing you almost never see in games (but which calls to mind the film in an excellent manner), allowing you to really soak in the world the game sketches out for you. Really an incredible work.

The Evil Within is the most deranged game I've seen. Its pacing and its level design feel like the works of an absolute madman; strange, unhinged, uncomfortable. The entire game is a journey of seemingly unbalanced encounters and situations, with the game having no problems throwing two bosses at you back-to-back after an excruciating gauntlet of terrors. Almost uniquely amongst games, it has this kind of spirit composed of horror, where the player really can't be sure what will be thrown at them next. (Plus the game is just fantastic y'all and so varied.)

Bloodborne needs no introduction. (Plus I'm still playing it, so not much to write yet!)

Resident Evil 4 is one of the best-designed games ever; every single system, every single mechanic, and every single encounter all work individually, and moreover interlock with each other to create a supremely solid adventure.

Lone Survivor I have never dared to finish; its atmosphere was too strong, too terrifying. I love its tone; you feel like you're half in a dream. It achieves very much with very little.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Alien: Isolation

<Silver - 2 Points>
The Evil Within
Resident Evil 4
Bloodborne
Lone Survivor

<Bronze - 1 Point>
SOMA
INSIDE
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
THUMPER
Dead Space
<Voting End>

MrWindUpBird · Sep 18, 2018

Why do some of you insist on writing your thoughts in black text? Have a heart for those of us on DarkEra. I want to read why you chose the games you did!

adinsx · Sep 18, 2018

Well, I love horror games!
Here comes my top:

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Silent Hill

<Silver - 2 Points>
Dead Space
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil 2
Alien Resurrection (yes the PS1 one).

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Resident Evil
Yomarari: Midnight Shadows
Amnesia
Lone Survivor
DDLC
<Voting End>

Shake Appeal · Sep 18, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
SOMA

<Silver - 2 Points>
Alien: Isolation
Condemned: Criminal Origins
System Shock 2
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Left 4 Dead 2
F.E.A.R.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
Alone in the Dark
<Voting End>

And an honorable mention that will be on no one else's list: The Painscreek Killings.

Big G · Sep 18, 2018

This was the first game I had played on my new surround sound system several years back, and I'll always remember it for that experience itself and in particular, for the game's incredible sound design. I'll never forget the beginning of the game, when you're all alone and helpless; all of the whispering, the ambient noise, objects dropping in the distance, monsters in the vents -- I loved it. Even in areas where you were technically safe, the music and other sounds supplementing it always made me feel uneasy. While the game did get action-heavy at times, it was not to the point where I felt overpowered. I still had to manage my resources well and not get careless with my saves, and consequently, the level of tension in the game never subsided. While I was not pleased with the direction the series went in with its more bombastic, big-budget sequels, that doesn't take away from how great the first game is. (EA Redwood Shores, 2008)

Resident Evil 3 tends to be the "forgotten" game among the early RE titles. It's not remembered as a classic in the same way that the first two games are, it hasn't gotten the benefit of being remade or remastered (yet) and features a thin story compared with RE2 and the actual continuation of its plot - Code: Veronica. But it's actually better than the two games that it's (Jill) sandwiched between, making RE3 the most underrated and underappreciated game in the series. It makes numerous changes and advancements to the gameplay; some work, some don't, but on the whole it's an undeniably more enjoyable game to play. It gets back to the more survival horror focus of the first game, with a higher degree of challenge in combat and the series' most difficult puzzles. And let us not forget the S.T.A.R. of the show - Nemesis - whose constant pursuit of Jill and tendency to show up unannounced makes this one of the scariest and most heart-pounding experiences that the RE franchise has delivered. (Capcom, 1999)

I'm admittedly not as big on the Silent Hill series as I am of many of its contemporaries. Mechanically, they've always left a lot to be desired and Silent Hill 2 is no exception. It earns its place here, though, largely on its artistic merits which are still unmatched 17 years later. On the presentation and storytelling side, it's fantastic. It's super dark and depressing and gritty and grimy. The music and sound design builds and maintains an unsettling tone that persists throughout. I haven't played anything else that even remotely captures this game's atmosphere and mood. Many horror games have played better and have been scarier and more intense, but very few are as emotionally impactful as Silent Hill 2 and none have done psychological horror better. It's an absolute treasure of the genre and the sort of game that we could certainly use more of. (Konami, 2001)

While numerous aspects of the Fatal Frame series have improved over time - it has gotten much easier to snap photos of ghosts, after all - my heart remains with the first game. Each subsequent entry has offered its own unique spin on the disturbing-ritual-gone-very-bad narrative, but at its core the series hasn't strayed very far from what the first game established, and that's where it made its strongest impression on me. Because the ground rules hadn't been laid out yet, I wasn't sure where things were headed and the brilliance of the original is how it plays off of those expectations in the way it's constructed. Himuro Mansion starts off fairly benign with spirits largely of the Casper variety, and between the game's young protagonists and "T" rating you'd be forgiven for expecting something a little closer to Disney's Haunted Mansion. I had no idea what was in store for me later. Fatal Frame continues to build and build and build suspense while at the same time ratcheting up the terror, and by the final act the atmosphere was so oppressive I almost had to stop playing. The rest of the series is good, but for me it could never reach these same heights again. (Tecmo, 2002)

Deadly Premonition is objectively the worst game on this list. I don't care what anyone says: "So bad, it's good" does not apply to this game. The bad stuff - especially the horrible combat - is rotten. But the things that it excels at are legitimately great, and it even puts many high-budget AAA open-world games to shame. I like to sell it as Twin Peaks meets Majora's Mask meets Silent Hill meets Shenmue, and if that sounds real good, it is. It's foremost a fascinating, bizarre love letter to Twin Peaks, and is without a doubt the closest thing to a video game version of that show. It's much more than that, though. Greenvale is a place I really felt a part of during my two weeks playing this game, filled with characters that I cared about and places I wanted to visit; where so many games feel lifeless, this one couldn't feel more alive. The story is a strange ride that runs the full gamut from horror to hilarity, to humanity and heartbreak. My time spent playing Deadly Premonition is among the most memorable experiences I've had with any video game, and one that I still think about on a regular basis. (Access Games, 2010)

This was my surprise Game of the Year in 2014, though not because it didn't show promise - it did - but because of the Alien franchise's rough track record. I wanted it to be great, but I feared that it would suck. Thankfully, it was the former. Alien: Isolation is survival horror at its finest, emphasizing the need for patience and careful decision-making, and the result is a game that is incredibly intense throughout and, at times, downright terrifying. The persistent threat of the alien coupled with a fantastic representation of the original film's sci-fi aesthetic works to create an unbelievably strong atmosphere, making this relentless cat & mouse game even more exhilarating. As a 20+ hour white-knuckle affair, it's one of the scariest games I've ever played, and a true fight for survival. It's the real deal. (Creative Assembly, 2014)

It's not always thought of as a survival horror game, but I sure played it like it was one. I wanted this to feel like a true war of attrition, and thankfully, the entire time it felt as though the game was always meant to be played that way. In every way that I had hoped that the game would be a brutal and unrelenting test of survival, it was. And that's just describing gameplay, the part of The Last of Us and other Naughty Dog games that often doesn't get the recognition it deserves. That said, the storytelling and presentation is as good, if not better. On a moment-to-moment basis, it has one of the most memorable single-player campaigns I've played. Each scene, area, and encounter feels as if it was meticulously constructed under the lens of a microscope. And the pace of the game is nearly perfect, building up suspense little-by-little as it goes along before reaching a fever pitch at its climax, while ending on exactly the right note - something most video games still struggle to get right. I felt satisfied but also completely drained, as though I had survived a harrowing ordeal: the exact thing I was looking for. (Naughty Dog, 2013)

The best game of this generation (thus far) also doubles as one of the finest horror games ever produced. As a newcomer to the Souls subgenre with Bloodborne, it was one of the things I picked up on right away: these games and survival horror games share a lot of the same DNA, from the punishing-yet-satisfying combat to the real sense of relief upon discovering a new safe area. And Bloodborne is horror all-the-way, whether it's the traditional werewolf/vampire-inspired brand of gothic horror that you're initially introduced to, or the game's eventual shift into cosmic horror. Yharnam and the surrounding areas are dripping with a macabre and foreboding atmosphere, and the game's cast of monstrosities can't be described as anything other than ghastly. Death and dread permeate every single facet of the world; each place you explore reeks of it. Bloodborne is a master class in game design, level design, art design, combat and progression; each plays an integral part in creating the ever-present and unending nightmare which serves as the backdrop for the entire game. It is a triumph of artistic vision becoming fully realized, and is one of the most immersive games out there. (FromSoftware, 2015)

Here is my ultimate "love/hate" game. On one hand, the transition away from survival horror towards action-focused gameplay removed many of the things I loved about the RE games, and started the franchise down a path that eventually led to mediocrity. RE 3.5 was also my most-wanted game ever, and I'm still a bitter old bastard about it! But on the other hand, it's "only" the best third-person shooter I've ever played. I don't have to like everything about it, but I can't take anything away from it - it is that impressive. Supported by its tremendous pacing and memorable set pieces (which I've dubbed "Mikami Moments!"), Resident Evil 4 has an unforgettable initial playthrough that was so friggin' good, I've probably beaten it a dozen or more times since then (far more times than I've played through any other game). The village area, in particular, is arguably the strongest five or so hours of any video game - ever. Because RE4 is so well-made and well-designed and it still looks great and plays like a dream, it's one of those games that just begs to be replayed over and over. It is unquestionably one of the greatest games of all time. (Capcom, 2005)

REmake is the greatest horror game ever made. It ticks every single box that any good survival horror game should, and then knocks it out of the park on all fronts. It features the most iconic setting in gaming, the Spencer Mansion, which carries with it a strong sense of place and believability, thanks in large part to gorgeous visuals that border on photorealism. It is the prime example of the labyrinthine, maze-like designs and non-linear exploration that used to define the franchise and genre at large. Whether it's the outstanding atmosphere, the well-balanced gameplay, or the constant feeling of dread of what lies around every corner or beyond each door, REmake always seems to hit the mark. It also accomplishes what any remake or sequel could only hope to duplicate, in that it far eclipses both the game it remade as well as all of its successors. The new additions include Lisa Trevor's subplot - among the darkest and most disturbing in the RE canon - and the re-animated Crimson Head zombies, still the most terrifying and menacing take on the series' trademark enemies. It is the ultimate Resident Evil game, in every which way that such a thing can be quantified. The word "masterpiece" gets thrown around more than it probably should, but it's justified here. I haven't played anything else that has come closer to achieving perfection. (Capcom, 2002)

Honorable Mentions: Resident Evil 2, Fatal Frame 4: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, SOMA, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Silent Hill 3

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Resident Evil REmake

<Silver - 2 Points>
Resident Evil 4
Bloodborne
The Last of Us
Alien: Isolation

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Deadly Premonition
Fatal Frame
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Dead Space
<Voting End>

Mauricio_Magus · Sep 18, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Saya no Uta

<Silver - 2 Points>
Bloodborne
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil REmake
999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Fatal Frame 4
Resident Evil 4
Dead Space 2
Doki Doki Literature Club
Demon's Souls
<Voting End>

I really wish it was easier to recommend Saya no Uta, it's so disturbing that other Horror games seem like a damn joke in comparison, but anyone that ends up diving into Gen Urobuchi's insane Visual Novel will get an unforgettable experience out of it.

There's just nothing else like it. Also the soundtrack is incredible.

Gradon · Sep 18, 2018

Dnomla said:
You got another one right here. I'll be adding it to my list as well. I'd like to get around to playing Michigan too someday.

Wow I really need to dive into Hellnight again at some point then haha. Michigan is.... an experience. I remember buying it blind like 10 years ago because Suda51 was attached to it, £10 for a sealed copy. It's hard to recommend but it's so weird and bizarre, I really enjoyed my time with it even though as a full package it really feels like a terrible game and there's basically nothing to the gameplay but recording scenes.

Mauricio_Magus said:
Saya no Uta

Oh wow, Saya no Uta. I never expected that one to appear either. I remember reading about all of the endings years and years ago before I knew it had a fan translation. What a really disturbing game.

Mauricio_Magus · Sep 18, 2018

Gradon said:
Oh wow, Saya no Uta. I never expected that one to appear either. I remember reading about all of the endings years and years ago before I knew it had a fan translation. What a really disturbing game.

I'm actually surprised that I'm the only person that has mentioned it so far, seems like a pretty important Horror game to me, and as I mentioned... there is nothing like it. I know it's a Visual Novel, and it's a VN in which you don't really make a lot of decision making, but I still think it's one of the greatest Horror games I've ever seen in the medium. As thisreviewof the game mentioned, H.P. Lovecraft would be proud.

I wonder if it could end up on Steam now that the floodgates seem to be opened.

The Silver · Sep 18, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
The House in Fata Morgana

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 2
The Chzo Mythos
P.T
Deadly Premonition

<Bronze - 1 Point>
The Cat Lady
Resident Evil 4
The Silver Case
LISA the First
Vampire - The Masquerade: Bloodlines
<Voting End>

I'll write up stuff later.

Deleted member 1265 · Sep 18, 2018

Resident Evil Remake - My favorite game of all time. I've played this 16 times and I still show no sign of getting sick of it. The mansion and overall level design is a master class in flow. Everything comes naturally even if it doesn't stand out that way at first.
Silent Hill 2 - Probably my second favorite game of all time. My favorite story and cast of characters in a video game. The only reason this one lost out a bit to REmake for me is that the subject matter can be really heavy and it's not something I can play at any given time. I have to be in a mood for it/prepared.
Deadly Premonition - I played this one before I ever saw Twin Peaks but once I started to watch that this just grew in my favor even more. For what this lacks in good gameplay/technical aspects it more than makes up for with character. I've never seen another game like it.
Dead Rising - A bit of an underdog pick but I love this one so much. This is the only entry in my list that can fall under more of an arcadey type gameplay/structure. Similarly to REmake, the mall is an absolute joy to explore and I love all of the secrets and shortcuts. The way the game is formatted with the timer rewards practice and really comes together. Doing a all survivors run is the most stressful gaming experience I've ever had.
Lone Survivor - At the time of this releasing, horror games had hit a bit of a lull for me. Things that I was looking forward to were disappointing and most other stuff wasn't jumping out to me. Leave it to this to show that horror games are alive and well while being in 2D to boot.
Metro 2033 - I didn't get around to this one until Metro Redux happened on PS4/XB1/PC. I wish I got around to it a lot earlier because it is truly and completely up my alley. Love the setting and world building here. Metro Last Light was also good but lost some of the charm found here for me. Hopefully Exodus is good even though I'm hesitant to get too hyped with the more open world shift.
Silent Hill - The PS1 was a great platform for horror games and this was easily the highlight. Hellish soundscapes, settings, and in the case of this game the graphical limitations work in its favor. Tears Of... is one of my single favorite video game tracks.
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly - One of the scariest games in my list. The camera based combat is ingenious and really pulls things together.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - A dark horse pick out of the original trilogy but this has always been a favorite of mine. I love the vast variety of locations and Nemesis really keeps you on your toes. This game has a pretty high level of challenge for me in comparison to the other 2 in the trilogy which can also be nice.
SOMA - The game that finally sold me on Frictional Games after liking but not being blown away by Amnesia. This is the most I've ever been scared while consuming any media in my entire life. Things started to ramp up at a certain point and then once that happened it was constant dread and fear for me. Really excited to see what's next for Frictional.

Honorable Mentions:
The Evil Within
Silent Hill 3
Alien: Isolation
Resident Evil 2
Silent Hill 4: The Room

---

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Resident Evil Remake

<Silver - 2 Points>
Silent Hill 2
Deadly Premonition
Dead Rising
Lone Survivor

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Metro 2033
Silent Hill
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Resident Evil 3
SOMA
<Voting End>

Deleted member 1265 · Sep 18, 2018

*double post*

Gakidou · Sep 18, 2018

I hope I'm doing this right. I haven't played many of the big staple horror classics (sorry), but of the ones I have played, here are things I think are quite influential and/or deserving of a look from horror fans. :)
Descriptions kind of in reverse order. I might add pictures but I already spent way too long on this :#>

Killer 7 - Killer 7 might seem quite colourful and arcade-like for a horror, but it's a technicolour fever-dream punctuated by BDSM themes and rich in vindictive, unsettling characters. The precision gameplay of sharp turns and harsh time limits is nerve-wracking. The game is about ghosts. And politics.... I think? The sound bites are also QUITE SPECIAL.

Earthbound - This goofy looking childhood nostalgia-theme JRPG was the inspiration for the equally emotional roller coaster game that is Undertale. When a mysterious meteor lands in your hometown, you and your lil' friends become privy to a dangerous forecast that the rest of your world seems blissfully unaware of. On your grand journey you encounter zombies, bullies, and a disturbing dark side of the world behind a jukebox. This game has one of the most eerie boss battles in gaming history.

Doki Doki Literature Club - Quite a modern entry and not the first game to really think outside the box with it's gameplay. But this subverted dating sim quickly became iconic with its well executed sugary sweet highschool romance themes that go off the rails and go from 0 to 666 faster than you can say "Why do you keep a knife by the bed, Yuri-chan?"

Dark Souls - With Dark Souls being so ubiquitous in gaming culture I find it weirdly easy to forget that it's also a spooky horror game with gruesome monsters and jump scares. A feeling of bleakness permeates this gothic world with its effective use of fires as your scarce resource of life and hope. Some particularly treacherous areas of note are the swaying scaffolding of blight town, the demon-filled lava pits of izalith, and the pitch black giant's tomb. This game also has some very good knight boys.

Bioshock - Picking up where Half Life 2 and System Shock left off in cinematic, story-rich FPS adventures. Bioshock exceeded expectations when it brought you into a refreshing setting - an undersea dystopia inspired by the fallacies of Ayn Rand's brand of Objectivism. This game wowed me with great sound design and expert timing and setpieces. Moreso than its predecessors, it wraps it all up in a very cohesive theme with an iconic twist.

Danganronpa - This is arguably another subverted dating sim on my list, but no regrets. You're invited to a special school full of students with unique and exceptional talent. And then a sadistic bear shows up and things get weird and bad and kind of murder-y. This game's brilliant story is so full of twists and turns. You might think at first that you don't care about this group of hostile animu shitkids, but in your efforts to figure out who you can trust you will PROBABLY catch the feelings. And then watch helplessly as the stupid bear breaks your heart and flips you off. DOES HE EVEN HAVE A MIDDLE FINGER? YOU DON'T KNOW.

Resident Evil 4 - This ridiculously fun zombies-and-mutants shooter ruined horror games for a good decade, but it was worth it. This game had it all: QTEs, escort missions, a boat section, and one of those light reflecty statue puzzles that are all basically the same. But this was the first console zombie action game to really take you on this extravagant journey through just about every staple horror location I could think of. The weirdly large number of deaths animated for the endearingly vacuous hero I think is a clue to how inspired this game really was. There's just so many "oh shit" moments. Also, I hope you like chainsaws.

Doom II - SPEAKING of chainsaws. The OG demonic shooty angery man game is very much a suspenseful horror. One thing the game really likes to do is put enemies behind walls and then you trigger a switch and BOO they are behind you. Very good. The monster designs in this pre-3D slaughterfest really hold up even today. You got your imp mans, goat mans, raspberries, rocket skeletons, a brain spider, a lich thingy that brings stuff back to life, floating heads that when they bark they shoot other smaller floating heads at you that are on fire, and giant cyber body horror satan with a rocket launcher. The rudimentary textures give this game a uniquely trippy atmosphere and sometimes theres a scrolling wall of human faces that are screaming. Big mood.

Clock Tower - This game's kind of slow and a bit of a chore to play in my opinion. But it's such a great example of the early alone-in-the-dark era suspenseful exploration horrors. Your friends all go missing in a big spooky mansion, and you have to search for them. But room you explore and door or cupboard you check, you risk bumping into SCISSOR MAN, a diminutive man with a massive pair of gardening shears. The only thing you can do is run and hide. There's P&C adventure aspects where you have find and use items to progress. The story eventually gets kinda wild. I also really like the art style. Fairly impressive for the snes, they manage to make an empty room be so... spooky.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - This game seemed to herald in some sort of horror gaming renaissance but it's still the scariest and most unpleasant and anxiety-inducing game I have played to date (in a good way! um... somehow.) Similar to clock tower, you have no means to fight back, you just have to hide in cupboards and hope for the best. The designers used amazing restraint to really harness fear of the unknown, making the monsters in the game relatively scarce, and utilising a seemingly brilliant AI system to make encounters completely unpredictable. The whole game takes place in a dank prison filled with horrific torture devices that you get to learn about, which is fun and educational. One time I thought I was safe and then a monster broke the door down. Absolutely unacceptable. I was hearing phantom monster sounds in my head for nights after I finished this game. 10/10 never want to play this game ever again.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Amnesia: The Dark Descent

<Silver - 2 Points>
Clock Tower
Doom II
Resident Evil 4
Danganronpa

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Bioshock
Dark Souls
Doki Doki Literature Club
Earthbound
Killer 7
<Voting End>

dancingphlower · Sep 18, 2018

Resident Evil 4-Not just the best horror game, but a strong contender for greatest game of all time.

Devil May Cry-The series eventually moved away from horror, but Kamiya's Devil May Cry still retained its horror roots. The oppressive atmosphere is palpable.

P.T.-Probably the most terrifying experience I've had in a game. Such a shame that we'll never see the full game.

Bloodborne-The ultimate intersection between Souls game design and a Lovecraftian Horror aesthetic.

The Last of Us-An emotional journey set in a zombie apocalypse backdrop.

The Evil Within 2-A haunting trip through a macabre dream world.

Dead Space 2-In space, no one can hear you scream. The pacing was immaculate, with highs and lows at just the right time.

Shadows of the Damned-A bizarre adventure through hell.

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly-When people think of scary games, they think of this one, and for good reason. It's utterly terrifying.

Until Dawn-A glorious combination of B-Movie Horror tropes.

Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Resident Evil 4

<Silver - 2 Points>
Devil May Cry
P.T.
Bloodborne
The Last of Us

<Bronze - 1 Point>
The Evil Within 2
Dead Space 2
Shadows of the Damned
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Until Dawn
<Voting End>

Dnomla · Sep 19, 2018

Still working on this. Will finish up later with write ups.

Haunting Ground

Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-r1kyzYbNU

Silent Hill 2

Trailer - https://youtu.be/dk7JkSArEdQ

Hellnight

Trailer - https://youtu.be/E7Td15kvzAk?t=477

An overlooked little gem only released in Europe outside of Japan. It's a first-person, sort of dungeon crawler-like game where you make your way through the underground of a near future Tokyo, after a strange creature starts following and chasing you. You'll meet several characters you can recruit as a traveling companion throughout the game. Each one has a skill that can help you, but they also act as an extra life, sacrificing them to get away and hoping you can meet another one eventually.

It plays similarly to Amnesia: The Dark Decent, but with actual consequences.

Atmosphere, soundtrack, and character designs are what really stood out to me. Easily became one of my favorite horror games.

Rule of Rose

Trailer - https://youtu.be/fKniF93wQFU?t=100

Echo Night

Trailer - https://youtu.be/xtDHtSFPNQk

This and Echo Night: Beyond are the games that made me From Software fans. The Echo Night series are simple first-person horror/mystery/adventure games, but all 3 have such detailed, interactive environments. Every room is unique and detailed. There's just tons of nice little details in this game.

I think this is a good series if you're not really into anything too violent or gory, but would like a good mystery/ghost story type game.

Fatal Frame

Trailer - https://youtu.be/7Toq0wlAdx4

Kuon

Trailer - https://youtu.be/5CRWO-8FB2E

I played this recently for the first time and it quickly became one of my favorite horror games. Sadly, I think it's often overlooked because of how rare and expensive it is, plus no digital release. The gameplay is about on par with the Silent Hill games, but Kuon has it's own very distinct, heavy atmosphere set during the Heian period of Japan. Another thing I love is that you get to play from the perspective of 3 different female characters.

I love From Software's survival horror games and really wish they made more.

Deadly Premonition

Trailer - https://youtu.be/_05U975Ft5U

Kind of a hard game to describe. I was under the impression this was a "bad" game when I first played it. Sure, it has some bad technical issues, but everything else is strange and amazing. Just playing it or watching some gameplay will do it more justice than any description I could give.

Silent Hill

Trailer - https://youtu.be/fwan7k3nOzg

I'm not sure what else to say about one of the classics. The game is dripping with atmosphere. The camera work, soundtrack, sound design, and environments all just blend together so well to give Silent Hill it's distinct strange, oppressive, uncomfortable feel.

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Trailer - https://youtu.be/NtGuOsuWCgg

A nice little story about a boy in a post apocalyptic world setting out to see if he's the last human alive in the world.

There's a few reasons this is last on my list, but I still wanted it to be on here. The gameplay is stiff and clunky, weapons break too easily, some areas get too repetitive and bland the further you get into the game, and the ending leaves a lot to be desired, but overall I still think it's worth the journey.

The environments are nicely detailed, has a very beautiful, mostly piano soundtrack (https://youtu.be/4UuAp6LUKaY), character models are nice and emotive, you don't spend much time getting to know many characters but what you do learn adds to the overall sweet and somber story.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Game 1 - Haunting Ground

<Silver - 2 Points>
Game 2 - Silent Hill 2
Game 3 - Hellnight (Dark Messiah)
Game 4 - Rule of Rose
Game 5 - Echo Night

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Game 6 - Fatal Frame
Game 7 - Kuon
Game 8 - Deadly Premonition
Game 9 - Silent Hill
Game 10 - Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
<Voting End>

Honorable Mentions

Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares
Echo Night: Beyond
Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Clock Tower (PS1)
Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (PS2)
Fatal Frame 4: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse
Zombi U
Bloodborne

Dazraell · Sep 19, 2018

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Until Dawn

<Silver - 2 Points>
Dead Space
F.E.A.R.
Alan Wake
The Last of Us

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Doki Doki Literature Club
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
The Walking Dead
Luigi's Mansion
Oxenfree
<Voting End>

Until Dawn
It's one of my favourite games on PS4 and one of best games to play with friends. I never expected to like it as much as I did. Until Dawn is a cinematic adventure done as a slasher. But boy, it was one of the best slashers I ever "watched" with a solid cast of characters, well-written story and a big focus on choices that shapes the narrative.

Dead Space
EA has done a lot of nasty stuff in the past, but Dead Space was one of the best things ever happened from them. It was a bold new sci-fi horror with solid gameplay, memorable encounters with Necromorphs, unique atmosphere and fresh take on the genre.

F.E.A.R
I always had a soft spot for F.E.A.R. It was not only a very solid FPS, but also had some neat inspirations from japanese horrors. F.E.A.R. was released 13 years ago and I still remember the jump scares.

Alan Wake
Remedy went through a lot of revisions and changes during development of Alan Wake, but the final effect was stunning. If you ever wanted to play a game set in a town with a similar atmosphere to Twin Peaks, this is probably closest you can get.

The Last of Us
A masterpiece from Naughty Dog, an unforgettable tale set in the post-apocalyptic world. If you heard a familiar click from The Infected, you quickly learn in how big trouble you landed.

Doki Doki Literature Club
This is one of the weirdest takes on the genre. When you start the game, it looks like a regular dating sim. When you play a little bit more, it still feels like an dating sim. Then something changes and you're forced to deal with some stuff that are scary, super weird and creative. Doki Doki has a very clever twist that couldn't be done outside video-games media.

The Lost Crown
I will probably be the only one who will ever mention this, but maybe thanks to that someone will check this gem. The Lost Crown is a point'n'click about a guy who ends up in a haunted town somewhere in England. What really impressed me was the atmosphere, story, puzzles and a unique art-style where every location is shown as a photos of actual places taken by the developer.

The Walking Dead
Telltale Games went a long road from their humble beginnings as a developer of episodic Sam & Max games to a highly-acclaimed The Walking Dead game. The First Season was a thrilling emotional ride with touching scenes, memorable characters and scary encounters with the walkers.

Luigi's Mansion
No one said that horrors can't be fun! Luigi's Mansion is a very memorable game about ghost-hunting based on a very unique concepts. It is one of my favourite Nintendo franchises.

Oxenfree
I've played it recently. It was a fun adventure game with a spooky theme and a well-written cast of characters. If you do enjoy narrative-driven games, Oxenfree is a must have.

ArmsofSleep · Sep 19, 2018

Bioshock obviously counts! I put Half-Life on my list, the barriers are broken down

Phendrana · Sep 19, 2018

Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Resident Evil Remake

<Silver - 2 Points>
Alien Isolation
Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
The Last of Us
Resident Evil VII

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Resident Evil 4
The Walking Dead: Season One
BioShock
Doki Doki Literature Club
Demon's Souls
<Voting End>

Will (probably) add thoughts later. I really have some notable holes that need filling when it comes to this genre. Silent Hill 2 and Dead Space in particular.

Also wish I didn't miss PT.

Wollan · Sep 19, 2018

Looking forward to Local Horror Enthusiast Dusk Golem blessing this thread with his input. :)

boybrushdRED · Sep 19, 2018

I've only played very few horror games in my life.

Left 4 Dead 2 - Out of everything on my list, this is the most fun I've had. Fun playing with friends, but not so much fun with randoms. The campaign of Left 4 Dead 1 is also included, so no need to buy the first game.

Manhunt - Its a 3rd person stealth based game. You play the role of a criminal on the death row who is forced to kill other groups of people, as part of some kind of TV show. Game is violent. Probably the most violent game I've ever played.

Alan Wake - Story of a writer who lost his motivation to write, and a supernatural entity that is turning his written work into reality. The story is good, although I find one of the chapters to be dragging for too long, but there are more moments that had me at the edge of my seat. This game definitely deserves respect.

TellTale's The Walking Dead Season 1 - Great story with amazing characters. Definitely recommended even if you're not a fan of the comic or TV show.

Dino Crisis - There was a time in my life where all I played was Dino Crisis 1, like I knew the game inside out. Even my classmates call me on the phone for help like I'm some kind of support while he plays. Also, dinosaurs. Gotta love dinosaurs.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Left 4 Dead 2

<Silver - 2 Points>
Manhunt
Alan Wake
Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 1
Dino Crisis

<Bronze - 1 Point>
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Parasite Eve
The Last of Us
Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 2
Resident Evil 1
<Voting End>

CJCW? · Sep 20, 2018

I tried to make my list based on a combination of overall game quality + outright scareiness, so while a game like PT is terrifying, as a game it's really clunky and (purposefully?) obtuse, whereas RE4 is a masterpiece of game design, but not as scary as some others.

<Voting Start>
<Gold - 3 Points>
Silent Hill 2

<Silver - 2 Points>
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 2
Bloodborne
Saya no Uta

<Bronze - 1 Point>
PT
The Last of Us
Resident Evil Remake
Alien Isolation
Bioshock
<Voting End>

Silent Hill 2 - I consider this to be the best story told in a video game. The way that its themes are reflected in the environments and enemy designs, and the personal nature of the story itself are the kind of thing games haven't really done before or since, at least not as well. The combat is iffy for sure, but it almost helps make the game better, especially when looking at later games in the series where combat makes fighting enemies a joke. It is THE definitive horror game.

Resident Evil 4 - I've probably written about this game a dozen times by now, so I'll shorten it to: this is the best game I've ever played. It's only at number 2 because its incredible combat makes enemies less frightening.

Resident Evil 2 - My first horror game, at the not-at-all appropriate age of 8 years old. It's the Aliens to RE1's Alien, where the action is kicked up a few notches, but I think in this case makes for the better of the two. The layout of the police station and its connecting areas should serve as a design lesson to anyone looking to make a Metroidvania-style game, and the zapping system puts a cool twist on what you thought you knew about the game's sequences. Really looking forward to the remake.

Bloodborne - Probably the best game this generation so far. The combat is as sharp as you'd expect, in the classic Fromsoft way that makes any enemy a potential death, which matches well with the horror asthetic to bring a sense of dread to the campaign. The way the story shifts between two distinct horror subgenres is brilliant, the bosses are awesome, the environments are gorgeous, and the enemy designs are disgusting in the right way.

Saya no Uta - Definitely the game that affected me the most out of any on this list. To say that it's disturbing is quite an understatement, and I wouldn't fault anyone for choosing to skip it entirely. The gut-wrenching feeling that things will just keep getting worse is strong throughout, and the story makes sure to deliver on that. There really is no happy ending to this game out of the three present, which I guess fits the tone perfectly. A game I will never forget, whether I want to or not.

PT - The most scared to move forward I've been while playing a game is PT, just waiting for some huge jumpscare to get me. I had already watched other people play through it, multiple times in fact, and that still didn't make it any easier. I love how it uses a sense of confusion and frustration to make you let down your guard before springing Lisa on you. It's just a shame it's been delisted, and that Silent Hills will never happen.

The Last of Us - A near-perfect combination of great story, combat, graphics, voice acting, basically anything you'd want. It doesn't rank higher here only because the tension caused by each enemy type drops a bit once you've gotten used to fighting them. That first subway tunnel with the clickers an hour or so in, though, is probably the most tense I've been while playing a game.

Resident Evil Remake - Exactly how a remake should be done, by taking the original and twisting just enough of what fans remember about it to make it feel fresh. Crimson heads alone are a concept worthy of designing a whole game around. Would like it more if the campaigns had more than surface level differences, like in RE2.

Alien Isolation - The AI of the Xenomorph makes this entire game. I can't remember any other time I had such difficulty predicting what an enemy would do in a given moment. Putting that into practice in a horror game is genius, and using the Alien property is a perfect fit for it. The game is a bit long and could balance its crafting system better, but it's more than worth playing.

Bioshock - My favorite FPS. Definitely not as scary as most of the others, but still plays very much like a survival horror game in first person, by emphasizing resource management between your ammo, plasmids, health packs, and money. I don't really care about the story, partly because I came to the game late and know the big twist beforehand, but the atmosphere of Rapture is top notch and quite creepy.

ResetERA'S 2018 Top 51 Essential Horror Games |One Vote Wonders!|

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