With less than a month to go until the release of Until Dawn on PlayStation 4, I thought I would share my love of horror in video games by reminiscing about my favorite titles ever. There are so many over time that have been released, and I love a vast array of them; however, this list below covers five of my absolute best. Of course, some may disagree with a few or even all, but I’m going to be selfish here and tell you that you’d be wrong (don’t stop reading, I still love you); you need to play these titles if you haven’t before because they feature some of the best tension, jump scares and storytelling in the genre to date. There are many more that I could’ve included, but it is these five that I hold the fondest of memories for. Sit back, be nostalgic and enjoy as I tell you why these games put the horror genre right at the top of the pile.
Alan Wake
Alan Wake was one of those games that took me by complete surprise. It was released over five years ago on the Xbox 360 and two years later on PC, yet it still holds up gameplay-wise and the fictional town of Bright Falls still looks amazing. You are investigating the disappearance of your wife during a vacation to a small Twin Peaks-esque town known as Bright Falls, in Washington.
Alan Wake is a writer, and as he starts to uncover more of the mystery of his missing wife, sections of his newest novel (that he can’t remember reading) begin to come to life in a bizarre and terrifying way. The game wasn’t strictly survival horror, but it did take a lot to survive the main evil, known as the ‘taken.’ These enemies were shrouded in darkness and would race towards Alan at various speeds; some were slow, others fast—harbouring a variety of different weapons and appendages. To defeat them, you needed to shine your flashlight at them, which stripped them of their ‘darkness,’ allowing you to ply them full of bullets.
There were various lampposts and lights within Bright Falls that would be your sanctuary—if you basked in the light, the darkness would disperse, giving you a few moments of respite. The story was incredibly gripping—playing out in an episodic nature until the Lynchian finale—grinding your head in a vice and forcing you to replay the ending in your head over and over.
After its release, two additional chapters were available as DLC, allowing the story to carry on in an even more bizarre fashion. Alan Wake was a psychological and smart game that pushed the boundaries in horror and storytelling alike and I loved it very much.
F.E.A.R.
I have never to this day played anything as terrifying as F.E.A.R. Right from the very start, you are introduced to a completely new type of FPS game. You witness a plethora of supernatural happenings, including tiles flying off the walls, mysterious shadows flickering in your peripheral and distorted hallucinations that afflict the protagonist constantly.
There are parts of the game that can go thirty minutes without witnessing anything freaky at all. I remember slipping into a naïvely comforting pace as I moved through the Armacam facility, taking out enemy soldiers without a care in the world.
My greatest (and worst!) memory of playing F.E.A.R. came out of nowhere. As mentioned, I was making my way through the facility and nothing had happened for quite some time. You can easily forget that the game has this supernatural film layered on top. I approached a ladder that required me to climb down to progress. Without hesitation I started to descend, and upon turning around to make my way down the ladder, I was greeted once more by Alma, the psychic freak of a child. I had to put my controller down and take a breather—it wasn’t the first time that the game would make me do that and it certainly wasn’t the last.
Bloodborne
Easily the best title of 2015 so far. Bloodborne is a game that solely focuses on gameplay and combat above all else, rewarding you as a gamer whilst at the same time punishing you for your mistakes. The premise is simple—a hunter on the night of the hunt, your job is to survive until dawn, killing anything that stands in your way. Throughout the experience, you will encounter many bosses that require different tactics and weaponry to defeat them.
You will die over and over and over and over again, but it will be worth it. The exhilaration of killing one of these enemies is second to none. I remember breezing through the opening twenty minutes with a sense of arrogance. From everything I’d heard about how hard this game was, I sure wasn’t struggling—enter the Cleric Beast. He kicked my ass—a lot! I kept dying and I barely gave him a scratch. I couldn’t work out why I couldn’t hurt him. I tried everything from my hulking axe to setting the monster on fire, still to no avail. ‘Screw this!’ I thought, and I headed to bed in an angry rage.
The next time I turned on my PS4, I traveled through Yarnham and slaughtered copious amounts of villagers and monsters. Improving my skills and collecting blood echoes (a form of currency in this nightmare) so that I could level up and take another shot at the Cleric Beast.
I spent around two hours building my health and my strength—making sure I was ready to take him down. I approached it with a shade of trepidation, but at the same time I was ready. I absolutely destroyed him. He was dead within minutes and my heart had never hit such a high level of BPMs. I felt incredible; it was in that moment that I understood what this game was and what it was trying to tell me.
Bloodborne is made up of these moments and I faced many more bosses that made me even angrier than the Cleric Beast. However, I was improving and I noticed it—I was aware the journey was getting tougher, but I was ready for it 100%, even if I was going to die a thousand times more before I saw the sunrise.
Dead Space
Dead Space was a game that blended stunning lighting and claustrophobic atmosphere with a genuinely great story. As Isaac Clarke, you are tasked with searching through an abandoned ship called the Ishimura to retrieve parts that will save the stranded crew that were sent to investigate the ship for survivors. Most of the game takes place in darkness with seldom light, and you are never allowed to relax as the monsters you encounter are both vicious and relentless.
The best thing about playing through Dead Space is the air of the unknown. There aren’t hordes of enemies in the game and you aren’t constantly firing a gun or throwing grenades—you are surviving. Like Resident Evil, you are making the most of your equipment and the few scraps of items you recover from the ship.
There are moments that terrify you without even having to shoot a grotesque creature. I remember walking outside of the ship, trying my hardest not to disappear into the emptiness of space—moving in complete silence. As I looked to the right, I could see one of the assumed ship’s crew members floating off into the distance. It scared me; it was eerie and haunting—that could’ve been me and it still could. I was uncomfortable and alone, and strangely in awe of it. You never feel in control and that only enhances the survival horror experience of the game. It spawned two sequels and an anime, but nothing would ever be as great as the original.
Dino Crisis
I’ve purposely kept from including Silent Hill and Resident Evil in this selection because it’s a given that those series were home to excellent horror games (Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 3 are my favorites, in case you were wondering). I wanted to end the list with one of the forgotten gems of the PlayStation One.
Dino Crisis was essentially Resident Evil with dinosaurs, but it was executed in a way that was fun and scary at the same time. It was more action-orientated than Resident Evil and the dinosaurs were more frequently featured. The game was directed by one of video game’s elite, Mr Shinji Mikami and his style and finesse are evident throughout.
Unfortunately, the game isn’t on PSN anymore (in the UK anyway) so it has been some time since I have played it. But I’ll always remember seeing those dinosaurs for the first time and being utterly thrilled. Sony, do us a favour and get it back on the network, or even a remake…
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