Top 10 Scariest Video Games of All Time

Since back in 1996, the survival horror genre had yet to be expanded upon except for the odd game with a slight horror element added to it. Once 1996 rolled around, Resident Evil released in Japan and literally defined what the survival horror genre of video games was.

Since then, companies have tried time and time again to successfully create what they believe to be a successfull scary game. Here is my top 10 list of what I feel were some of the scariest games of all time.

10 – F.E.A.R. Series

F.E.A.R. is one of the most popular games in the genre. The iconic scary little girl pushed this game over the top in the literal sense of fear. Unfortunately throughout most of the F.E.A.R. series you are armed which somewhat ruins the sense of horror as you have a weapon to protect yourself with (excluding those pesky cutscene events).

9 – Condemned Series

Explore the darkness and beat up bad guys with your rusted metal pipe. Condemned was originally released back in 2005 with its sequel soon following suit in 2008. This game really builds up the tension in the environment, especially in the considerably dark rooms where it’s hard to make heads from tails. Unfortunately the game still suffers from the same problem as F.E.A.R.  does which is equipping the player with some form of a defense mechanism to provide a sort of safety net for them.

8 – System Shock 2

Although this game may arm you, it certainly does a fantastic job of managing its atmosphere. System Shock 2 builds its horror through tension and storytelling as opposed to jump scares which players tend to get used to after some time. The audio for the game is stunning and very much something to experience for yourself.

7 – Haunting Ground

When they say this game isn’t for kids, they are dead serious. Haunting Ground takes place in a castle after you survive a car crash and you have one job: live. This game does a (creepily) amazing job portraying its storytelling, and invoking fear into the player.

6 – Resident Evil (Gamecube Remake)

It had to show up somewhere. Resident Evil literally laid the foundation out for the survival horror genre. There’s a reason it’s received so many sequels to the franchise. The difficulty, atmosphere, storytelling, you name it, are all great in this game. Unfortunately in my opinion, the games following and including Resident Evil 4 and its less than favorable sequels absolutely butchered the horror genre in my opinion. It’s turned from a horror survival puzzle game to an action packed shoot’em up and has affected many horror games that followed after it.

5 – Ao Oni (Blue Demon)

Don’t let the RPGMaker look deceive you. Ao Oni is a very terrifying puzzle game that will have you on the edge of your seat. Trapped in a house with a literal blue demon chasing you at every turn, you’re tasked with finding your friends after they’re split up around the house. Be wary though as the blue demon might catch you in your tracks.

4 – Doom 3

When it was released, Doom could be absolutely horrifying at times. The monsters were so abstract and ambiguous. Couple that with the fact they are shrouded in darkness and a horrifying ambiance and you have yourself a horror game. Not only is Doom known for its horror though, as its also one of the most popular shooting games of all time.

3 – Amnesia: The Dark Descent

 

What top 10 scariest video games list would be complete without this gem here? After a long period of less than satisfying games in the horror genre, Frictional Games unleashed this beast on the community and left its mark on horror game history. You wake up in the middle of the castle with a case of amnesia and find a note tasking yourself to kill an unknown man. With nothing else to go on, you embark into the depths of the castle. Little do you know that you aren’t the only one roaming the halls of the castle, though.

2 – Original Silent Hill

This game literally made the survival horror genre what it is today. Without it, you likely wouldn’t see many of the games that you do today out in the market. Escaping from yet another car crash, you wake to find your daughter missing and set out into the mysterious town nearby in search of her. Silent Hill is a very close second to my number one scariest game of all time.

1 – Fatal Frame (Project Zero) Series

When they say this game isn’t for the faint of heart, I wouldn’t recommend this to strong hearted people either. This game will easily deprive you of your sleep, and not in the good way. You aren’t armed with any weapons other than a photographic camera, which is the selling point of this game. To beat the enemies you literally have to stare them down and take a snapshot of them using your camera obscura before they can attack you. This game is about as horrifying as it gets which is why it lands the number one spot on my top 10 scariest video games of all time.

Honorable Mentions

Finally, here’s some honorable mentions that didn’t make it onto the list for one reason or another, but I felt deserved to still be mentioned.

• Outlast
• Slender: The Eight Pages
• Witch’s House
• Dead Space
• Afraid of Monsters / Cry of Fear
• (Forbidden) Siren
• Rule of Rose

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