Many people share the awe of horror movies. They let us explore the darkest parts of human existence, raise our adrenaline levels and allow us to contemplate on our behaviour if we were to ever find ourselves in similar circumstances. Horror games take this experience to a whole new level – they allow gamers to actually take part of all the action and look fear right in the face.
Are you in for some nightmares? Which games should you play?
Aliens vs Predator 2
The game was first released in 2001 and has received much praise. It is in fact, still a favourite to many who enjoy shooting with big guns to pour their anger out. Since the game gives you three possibilities for a main character – an alien, a predator, or a marine, it’s like you have 3 different games. If you want to experience the true horror of unexpected attacks, dark hallways and creatures coming at you around every corner, try the marine. There is nothing like an alien jumping at your face at 3 in the morning and with the lights in your room turned off…
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
This game explores another side of the horror genre and is perfect if you are a fan of vampire stories. First released in 2004, this game doesn’t place you opposite the vampires but rather makes you one of them. It allows you to face your demons both literally and figuratively. It is an amazing combination of mystery, seduction and pure, unadulterated horror. Choose your clan and face its enemies head on or be killed.
Resident Evil
This game is considered to be among the originators of the horror genre as a whole. It was first released in 1996 but a very successful remake was done in 2002. It takes you to a world of hungry zombies and horrifying mutants where you can’t trust anything but your instincts and reflexes. Even if you have played it a thousand times over, this game can still make you jump up every time you start it again.
Dead Space
Dead Space was released in 2008 and quickly became a favourite to many horror fans. The game adds a whole new layer to the classic image of zombies by not only portraying them as reanimated human corpses but mutated ones as well. Do you think you know everything about zombies? Just shoot them in the head and they die? Well that’s not the case with the Necromorphs… You’ll be surprised as to what needs to be done to put these things to sleep.
Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark is also a true classic in the horror games industry. It has a long history of releases, the most recent and famous one being in 2008. The title says it all – you are walking in the dark paralysed by fear and battling the undead in a world inspired by many things including H.P. Lovecraft’s work and Voodoo. Doesn’t that sound like a creepy combination? It most certainly is!
Penumbra
Penumbra is a game trilogy with its first release in 2007. It is perfect for people who not only like to shoot stuff, but solve puzzles as well. It takes you into a world of mystery and questions that need to be answered while fighting with giant spiders, vicious dogs, humongous earthworms and many other hideous creatures.
Doom 3
Doom 3 was released in 2004 as a remake of the original Doom games. It takes you to the future, 2145 to be exact, on a futuristic base on Mars where a portal to Hell has been opened. As different kinds of demons come out and you have to stop them, you find yourself in a place where the future and the archaic coexist, where technology must be used to stop Hell from coming to Earth.
F.E.A.R.
This game is definitely not to be played by people with a faint heart. It is the epitome of all the magnificence of Japanese horror. It keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through as the silence is always tense and your main enemy is a creepy little girl named Alma who likes to show up unannounced when you least expect her.
Silent Hill
Silent Hill is another game with a long history with its first release in 1999 and the latest one in 2012. It is also another horror game that relies in the psychology rather than the big scary monsters. If you want to experience a world where the laws of physics don’t apply and all your thoughts and fears become reality, this is the game that will take you there.
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
The first release of the game was for Xbox in 2005 and 2006 saw the release of the PC one. It is solely based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft which is a horrific idea in and of itself. It takes you to a world of insanity, reality distortions and hallucinations, and if that wasn’t enough, you have to fight your way through the Deep Ones – humanoid fish-men hybrids.
There are, of course, many more games that could be placed here. These, however, are guaranteed to make you lose your breath on several different occasions if not make you forget to breathe for a long time…
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