21 Great Horror Games
So this is a little list of horror games for people who like horror games or want to get into more. It's not in any rank or order, one game per franchise.
List items
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Whilst F.E.A.R is an excellent fun, shooter with incredible enemy AI, it's also a horror game at heart. It's not perfect with its horror marksmanship with some things being very cliche' but when it gets you, it gets you.
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As unnatural as it creepy, everything from the soundtrack to the way characters are animated and talk makes it feel like a bad dream you're experiencing vicariously. Being able to see through the eyes of the enemy is another brilliant mechanic that made this game as intense as it is.
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A tragic tale set in a desperate time, supernatural fear melds with government oppression and creates this masterpiece of horror atmosphere. A deeply disturbing game.
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The original Outlast is like a greatest hits of horror experiences, you've got terrifying chase sequences, experimentation, disturbing characters, derelict environments and nightvision to top it all off.
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A truly horrific experience. As the player goes after their service dog who gets lost in a sewer drain nightmare fuel creatures follow and psychologically break you down until you kill everything and leave. A seriously underrated, first person Silent Hill experience.
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Whilst it boils down to being basically an interactive teenage horror film where you choose who lives and dies, it really comes through with that, the story is fun and trying all the different possible combinations to get different story results is pretty entertaining too, though it relies on jumpscares and tension it is an enjoyable game.
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The evolution from Penumbra, to Amneisa and finally Soma is frankly astounding. Soma sits proudly on top of the pile of the greatest horror games ever made, not for being terrifying, or for having a great atmosphere, it has both those, but for it's story. A story that will mess you up and leave you wondering what it means to be human.
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A creepy indie game about videotapes... I think. It's hard to tell what is happening here, but it's unpleasant, daunting and keeps you guessing.
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The original Dead Space took what made Resident Evil 4 the game that it was and refined it down to create the most frightening over the shoulder shooter for it's generation. Disgusting monsters need to be dismembered to be stopped, while blood and screams fill the metallic halls of an abandoned space station, after graduating from Resident Evil 4, this is where you go next.
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Whilst it's goofy voice acting may have left a serious mark on what the game could have been, it's no doubt that the precursor to Amensia: The Dark Descent, is a decently frightening game in it's own right. Black Plague was the first to realize that you're better off unarmed, no really, you don't need weapons. Trust me, it's fine.
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An extremely stressful game that pushes the player to the limit with horrifically designed enemies screaming at you as they come out of the darkness and an atmosphere of dread so thick it feels like the nightmare may never end. It sets you up and knocks you down time and time again, for a mod of the original Half-Life, it's truly excellent.
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I mean, this is a good starting point for anyone. Probably the ultimate horror game, deeply disturbing and creepy, sometimes disgusting and overbearing, it's fantastic soundtrack slips into your ears and it's symbolism and story, once realized, leave a haunting mark on you.
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It's randomly generated layout and plethora of mysterious monsters, from the sudden, don't-blink-or-you'll-die SCP-173 to the menacing plague doctor that chases you through tunnels make this game especially terrifying. With so many unique monsters trying to end you and so many intriguing and deadly artifacts to investigate will make escape especially hard on the nerves.
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Probably the best game in the franchise if you ignore the earlier entries, which whilst groundbreaking where from when horror games were trying to find their footing. Resident Evil style combat in a mansion where nightmare's are breaking through into reality, it's creepy look and soundtrack make a moody alternative to the Resident Evil series that shouldn't be missed.
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It's frantic, first person melee and darkened environments make exploring it's world looking for a killer, a daunting task. The game revels in having you examine morbid crime scenes and gathering evidence before throwing you back in the deep end, in the dark, with a pipe and some mannequins that aren't mannequins.
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A throwback to the Atari & Commodore 64 era of games, Faith Chapter 1 see's you exorcise a ghost in a haunted house and through freaky retro animations and low fidelity sound it's instills dread from the word go.
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The easiest in the series to recommend, Crimson Butterfly has both the nerve wracking atmosphere and the frightening gameplay to make it easily a classic. Two girls trapped in a town that relives the night of a ritual, where the ghosts that haunt the street can only be defeated by you photographing them, a premise so ingenious it still works in freaking people out near 20 years later.
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A murky and mysterious game that abandons traditional jumpscares in favor of just being really weird. It's story resembles Silent Hill 2, but it's gameplay is like an interactive version of David Lynch's "Eraserhead". There aren't many games like this.
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The only game in the Alien universe that stays true to the original film, making you feel helpless in the presence of a terrifying predator. Whilst it may go on for ages, the AI of the Alien will leave you begging for it to die, so you can finally stop hiding under a table from it.
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Whilst the remake is "improved" with more gore and realistic graphics, it leaves the feeling the original had of impending dread at the door. This is the year of tank controls and poor voice acting, it's like the best B-movie horror film you've ever played.
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For those who prefer being scared to being creeped out, this is the game that sent many a youtuber into a screaming frenzy and convinced people to turn the game off and go outside; because it's safer out there. It's still a great experience for the uninitiated and I envy those who get to experience it for the first time.
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