Silent Hills: P.T.
Created by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, Silent Hills: P.T. is an interactive teaser for the upcoming Silent Hills survival horror game. The teaser may only have you walking repeatedly down corridors, but it's enough to get several killer screenshots of Mary from GameSpot screaming her head off.
If you think in any way that perhaps Mary's gender had to do with her scarability, check out this video entitled "Silent Hill: P.T. 'Scared Black Man' Walkthrough". You will be scared, and you will love it.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
I once decided it was a bright idea to buy and play Amnesia: A Dark Descent. I lasted about 30 minutes until I locked myself in my room with all my flashlights, lamps, and household items that could be used as weapons.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs was even worse for me. The pigs are truly horrifying and disgusting, and I was never able to lead Oswald Mandus far enough into the game to learn what "The Machine" was. Those stout of heart may be able to complete the game, but not without questioning their dedication to this seat-jumping game.
Five Nights at Freddy's
There is something truly terrifying about large malformed animatronic animal dolls. Five Nights at Freddy's capitalizes on these to offer a simplistic survival horror game that builds your fear an paranoia through the use of security cameras and other gameplay mechanics.
Bottom line? I had to lock up my teddy bear in my closet for a week after just watching this Let's Play video. Even if you've been numbed by years of survival horror games, this indie gem brings something new to the genre and is sure to delight and fright in equal measures.
Outlast
What makes a first-person survival game truly horrific? When you're 100% unable to fight back. I'm not asking for a gun, but even Gordon Freeman got a wrench.
In Outlast, developed by Red Barrells, you must navigate your way through a psychiatric hospital filled with homicidal patients with only a notebook and a video camera. This has solidified my opinion that seekers of found footage belong in psychiatric institutions, but I wouldn't wish the inmates of Mount Massive Asylum on anyone.
Resident Evil: 4
It's almost blasphemous to label one Resident Evil game as scarier than the rest, and yet Resident Evil: 4 truly revitalized the series with new mechanics, better graphics and as always, scary monsters.
One of the roughest changes made in this game is that you can't move and shoot simultaneously. Standing your ground can be just as dangerous as running away, and you only have seconds to decide your best option. Good luck with that!
Dead Space 3
The best scary games makes it increasingly difficult to kill your nightmarish foes. In the Dead Space series, the only way to kill the horrendous Necromorphs is by slicing their limbs off one by one. Sure, you could shoot them, but that ultimately wastes ammo (which is scarce) and isn't nearly as effective.
Secondly, the game is set IN SPACE. This means that there is literally no way out besides killing all of your foes or committing suicide via airlock. The latter option will seem more and more enticing as the slow music builds to a terrifying crescendo and the necromorphs overwhelm you. Happy hunting!
Condemned: Criminal Origins
There's something to be said for a game that can get in your head. Condemned: Criminal Origins manages to do this in a big way by having lifeless mannequins seemingly follow your through one level, amping up the tension without even attacking you.
But really....don't blink.
Slender: The Eight Pages
I could find a scarier screenshot of Slender, but I'll leave that for you to experience when you try out this free indie game for yourself. You can download it for free here, and attempt to find all eight Slender reports for yourself.
Helpful hint: You really do not want to see the Slender man's "face" up close.
Doom 3
The Doom series may have helped pioneer first-person shooter games, but Doom 3 did its fare share to contribute to the horror genre. It holds a special place in my heart as the first game that made me loose sleep at night.
However, since you have a large weapon arsenal and occasionally meet friendly NPCs, this is a tamer game than others on the list. It will give you some thrills, while also allowing you to conquer them explosively. My kind of horror game.
F.E.A.R.
If you're wondering what makes F.E.A.R so scary (other than the ridiculous amount of time the devs must have put in to make an acronym that spelled out "fear") it's a creepy little girl called Alma.
Other games may scare you with jump tactics, but F.E.A.R hits the psychological horror hard simply by its choice of main antagonist. Basically, if you thought Samara from The Ring was scary, imagine having to go up against her in a video game.
Published: Oct 7, 2014 05:58 pm