The best season for gaming
So, it's autumn, Halloween season, dark nights and the winter cold is sinking in. In other words, the best time of year to be playing videogames! Lots of new releases, no guilt for refusing to leave the house and a perfect atmospheric backdrop for the scary games in your collection. I usually dig into one or two horror titles through the autumn and winter months, and probably will this year too. Last year, saw me replay the first Resident Evil, for the uncountable time again, uniquely enough on the Sega Saturn for the first time, and the sequel RE2 on PlayStation.
Let's take a look at some of my favourite horror titles then, warmly recommended to be played on a dark, freezing night, under a warm blanket, headphones dialled up loud and with the lights turned down low. These games hit the sweet spot between horror, atmosphere, unique elements and an interesting story.
So in no particular order, lets dig in:
Remedy's dark, Twin Peaks, Stephen King and Scandinavian summer inspired horror game takes it's own take on the genre and turns it into something unique and cinematic. Heavily narrated, you play the author Alan Wake as he's pulled into his latest novel and has to live through it. This is probably my favourite of Sam Lake's scripts in Remedy's games, where it's perfectly balanced between a captivating story and engaging gameplay.
It's as much about surviving the dark, as it is about the significance of light. Both when playing and understanding the story. The desperate fights against viscous enemies coming out of the dark, keeps you at your toes as you're not only required to shoot your enemies, but weaken them beforehand with a light source. This combination of attack methods helps the player from becoming too powerful and the game less of a typical third person shooting game. Juggling the torch for light and firing the gun at the right time is challenging in a tense and unique way.
Traversing the beautiful, american countryside with lakes and pine woods gives the player a great sense of how well nature is depicted. Giving an insight into how large and daunting it can seem and how dark it can become. Scandinavians alike, will recognise this atmosphere too with the same type of grand and unforgiving nature.
Alan Wake is one of my favourite horror games as it combines jump scares with a more desperate survival approach as you fight your way to the next light source, lost in woodlands or old buildings. All while feeling like you're actually taking part in some Stephen King like horror novel written about you playing and discovering things along the way. Alan Wake's strong side, lies in the atmosphere and the way it builds it up and conveys a believable world without necessary being having the most gameplay depth or variation.
Alan Wake is available on both Xbox 360, read my review here, Xbox One and in it's prettiest form on PC.
Alan Wake
Remedy's dark, Twin Peaks, Stephen King and Scandinavian summer inspired horror game takes it's own take on the genre and turns it into something unique and cinematic. Heavily narrated, you play the author Alan Wake as he's pulled into his latest novel and has to live through it. This is probably my favourite of Sam Lake's scripts in Remedy's games, where it's perfectly balanced between a captivating story and engaging gameplay.
It's as much about surviving the dark, as it is about the significance of light. Both when playing and understanding the story. The desperate fights against viscous enemies coming out of the dark, keeps you at your toes as you're not only required to shoot your enemies, but weaken them beforehand with a light source. This combination of attack methods helps the player from becoming too powerful and the game less of a typical third person shooting game. Juggling the torch for light and firing the gun at the right time is challenging in a tense and unique way.
Traversing the beautiful, american countryside with lakes and pine woods gives the player a great sense of how well nature is depicted. Giving an insight into how large and daunting it can seem and how dark it can become. Scandinavians alike, will recognise this atmosphere too with the same type of grand and unforgiving nature.
Alan Wake is one of my favourite horror games as it combines jump scares with a more desperate survival approach as you fight your way to the next light source, lost in woodlands or old buildings. All while feeling like you're actually taking part in some Stephen King like horror novel written about you playing and discovering things along the way. Alan Wake's strong side, lies in the atmosphere and the way it builds it up and conveys a believable world without necessary being having the most gameplay depth or variation.
Alan Wake is available on both Xbox 360, read my review here, Xbox One and in it's prettiest form on PC.
Update: You can read my review of the remaster here.
It may be the textbook answer to all things horror in gaming, but nothing quite beats that feeling of turning up at a seemingly abandoned mansion in the middle of the night after being chased there by wild dogs through a dark forest. There's a curiosity that constantly drives you further into the creepy mansion, even though you are scared as hell. You want to know what the hell is going on, and why you encounter zombies roaming the many rooms and halls.
I love the non-linear and open approach to exploring, where puzzles and enemies keep you at your toes throughout. Discovering keys that unlock the previously locked doors and so on. It's breath of fresh air from the A to B linearity of modern times.
RE1 still stands as amazing and unique even today, with a fantastic ambient music score to build the eerie tension and atmosphere even further. Although the control scheme may be dated, it works well with how the pace of the game goes and the fixed camera angles. While I always have the fondest memory of the original from 1996, the REmake from 2002 does an equally fantastic job for new players to convey the exact feeling of horror and excitement new players did back in the 90's.
RE1 is easiest available for the PlayStation and Saturn in it's original form, but I strongly recommend a CRT screen to play on, considering the pre-rendered backgrounds. The REmake is widely available for the Gamecube, though I'd strongly recommend the HD remastered version on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC as a easy way to play it with the best picture quality and even a simpler control scheme for those intimidated by the old tank controls.
Another PS1 classic I fondly remember, is Konami's take on survival horror following Capcom's huge Resident Evil success. SH1 takes the jump scares from RE in a far more psychological direction with a constant eerie feeling of the unknown. SH1 is more about holding the player uneasy in a world that gradually becomes more dark and weird. It shifts fantastically from the lonely, foggy town of the Silent Hill , to a harsh, dark and metallic other-world. These transitions make the game unique and incredibly unnerving. SH1 is very unpredictable, changing the game world as it pleases, never letting the player settle to safety or known variables.
Where the original RE trilogy was a scientific approach to horror, SH1 is a supernatural and haunting approach. Often delving into the consciousness of the main character, questioning if what you're seeing is reality or not. What I love about SH1 is how it puts you in this seemingly deserted town, then begins shifting between the light and dark, slowly pulling you deeper into the other-world. You want to escape, but you're simply pulled further in and become increasingly exhausted and worn down by being there, both for the main character and the player alike.
It blends a small open town, with different buildings to explore. Locations like an old school and hospital have their own mini-maps and help shift the environment locations around. While the main game moves you through determined locations, within each they feel distinctly non-linear, just like RE1 it's about being fairly open to players, with a constricted structure behind it to help drive the story forward.
SH1 is either available to play in the original PS1 format or as a downloadable game on both the PSP, Vita and PS3. It should fair better to emulated and boosted in resolution than RE1, as it's all 3D environments.
The first and best of a series, DS2 and DS3 went for an action approach that ruined the concept for me. DS1 places you on a spaceship where something has gone terribly wrong. Crawling with nasty alien creatures that transform the dead into horrendous creatures roaming the ship. DS1 looks incredibly disturbing at times; dark rooms, flashing alarm lights and creepy aliens crawling and shaking uncontrollably around. They'll rise up out of most open cracks in the walls, ceilings and from dead crew members and attack you. There are definitely many disturbing memories I have from this game!
The shooting mechanics make the game play differently from other third person shooters; it's about cutting up the aliens with your slicing firearms. A shot fired will chop off their limbs in the direction you aim your gun. It's about cutting off limbs and pacifying the enemy before killing it. A brutal approach to a shooting game that requires precision and leaves you vulnerable when your ammo is low. Key factors done right to keep the tension high and your character vulnerable and less over powered.
The space station is designed with lots of detail and interesting areas, there's also some really cool exterior, no-gravity, space walks along the way. Although you're always in one set locations they have made a lot of visual variety regardless. The only factor which brings a damper to atmosphere are mission screens for each area, breaking some of the tension. The strange thing is the whole spaceship is available to travel too, regardless of what the current mission wants you to complete.
Easily available for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PC. The latter is probably the way to go to get the prettiest result, but all versions work fine.
The best movie tie-in game I have ever played. Alien Isolation is blueprinted after the first and best Alien movie. The environments and spaceship interiors are painstakingly close designed to the 70's sci-fi interiors of the movie. Everything feels like you are playing and being in the sci-fi classic, only with a unique story that is a prequel to the movie. The atmosphere is done fantastically; the first few hours alone before even meeting the Alien are great, supporting the fact that this game is incredible at conveying fear.
You're stripped of weapons in Alien: Isolation and it's the key towards not only desperately feeling what survival is, but actually understanding vulnerability. The pure fear of seeing the Alien creep out of a ventilation shaft with the metal scraping sound as they open, is just something that sends chills down my spine. Constantly being hunted by a vicious creature that suddenly can start running towards your location is just terrifying.
The game brilliantly succeeds at breaking your nerves down as you are physically sweating while looking down at your radar and seeing if the Alien is nearby, as you are desperately trying to mend something for your escape. Probably the scariest game I have ever played. There were times I was completely nerve wrecked, giving no attention to being quiet anymore and simply running for an exit, while behind me were the sounds of the Alien running towards me! The immersive camera shaking and tilting around corners lets the player become really immersed into the surroundings.
It does outstay it's 20-25 hours lifespan in some parts and could maybe have done with some more variation, but it doesn't weigh down the sheer intense atmosphere this game delivers. Alien: Isolation is strongly recommended and available for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC. If you're on console I'd recommend going for the current generation versions though. You can read my review here.
Just like how the first Resident Evil pulled you into this unique setting, making you wonder what the hell is going on, Bioshock times this by ten. The impressive in-game graphics and playable intro that sends the player from a plane crash into the sea, discovering a lighthouse and then taking a mechanical lift to a city beyond beneath the surface; is just as incredible as it sounds. Standing there, in this 1920's inspired Art Deco world where everything has gone to ruin without the outside world knowing and wondering how you get out is just a perfectly unique experience and what horror games are all about.
While it may not be as horror focused as the other games here, there's a consistent atmosphere which builds an unsettling feeling throughout. There's always some new and messed up discoveries of the underwater world that takes your comfort zone away. It's about survival, exploring, fixing things with puzzles on your road to escape which makes Bioshock a perfect game for this list. There are jump scares here too though, keeping you at your toes. And what are these small, creepy little sister girls walking around, guarded by huge Bid Daddies wearing old fashioned diver suit and wielding a huge drill?!
Although Bioshock is first person shooter, it blends in a form of magic and limited ammo. The extra abilities like firing electricity or fire, make gunfights very different from your average shooter. Enemies standing in water? Electrify the water. Or maybe they're standing in oil? Ignite and burn it! How about sending an insect warm at them or hypnotising one of the Big Daddies?
Bioshock is available in original format on the Xbox 360, also backwards compatible on the Xbox One, PS3 and PC. There's also a remaster available on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Resident Evil
It may be the textbook answer to all things horror in gaming, but nothing quite beats that feeling of turning up at a seemingly abandoned mansion in the middle of the night after being chased there by wild dogs through a dark forest. There's a curiosity that constantly drives you further into the creepy mansion, even though you are scared as hell. You want to know what the hell is going on, and why you encounter zombies roaming the many rooms and halls.
I love the non-linear and open approach to exploring, where puzzles and enemies keep you at your toes throughout. Discovering keys that unlock the previously locked doors and so on. It's breath of fresh air from the A to B linearity of modern times.
RE1 still stands as amazing and unique even today, with a fantastic ambient music score to build the eerie tension and atmosphere even further. Although the control scheme may be dated, it works well with how the pace of the game goes and the fixed camera angles. While I always have the fondest memory of the original from 1996, the REmake from 2002 does an equally fantastic job for new players to convey the exact feeling of horror and excitement new players did back in the 90's.
RE1 is easiest available for the PlayStation and Saturn in it's original form, but I strongly recommend a CRT screen to play on, considering the pre-rendered backgrounds. The REmake is widely available for the Gamecube, though I'd strongly recommend the HD remastered version on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC as a easy way to play it with the best picture quality and even a simpler control scheme for those intimidated by the old tank controls.
Silent Hill
Another PS1 classic I fondly remember, is Konami's take on survival horror following Capcom's huge Resident Evil success. SH1 takes the jump scares from RE in a far more psychological direction with a constant eerie feeling of the unknown. SH1 is more about holding the player uneasy in a world that gradually becomes more dark and weird. It shifts fantastically from the lonely, foggy town of the Silent Hill , to a harsh, dark and metallic other-world. These transitions make the game unique and incredibly unnerving. SH1 is very unpredictable, changing the game world as it pleases, never letting the player settle to safety or known variables.
Where the original RE trilogy was a scientific approach to horror, SH1 is a supernatural and haunting approach. Often delving into the consciousness of the main character, questioning if what you're seeing is reality or not. What I love about SH1 is how it puts you in this seemingly deserted town, then begins shifting between the light and dark, slowly pulling you deeper into the other-world. You want to escape, but you're simply pulled further in and become increasingly exhausted and worn down by being there, both for the main character and the player alike.
It blends a small open town, with different buildings to explore. Locations like an old school and hospital have their own mini-maps and help shift the environment locations around. While the main game moves you through determined locations, within each they feel distinctly non-linear, just like RE1 it's about being fairly open to players, with a constricted structure behind it to help drive the story forward.
SH1 is either available to play in the original PS1 format or as a downloadable game on both the PSP, Vita and PS3. It should fair better to emulated and boosted in resolution than RE1, as it's all 3D environments.
Dead Space
The first and best of a series, DS2 and DS3 went for an action approach that ruined the concept for me. DS1 places you on a spaceship where something has gone terribly wrong. Crawling with nasty alien creatures that transform the dead into horrendous creatures roaming the ship. DS1 looks incredibly disturbing at times; dark rooms, flashing alarm lights and creepy aliens crawling and shaking uncontrollably around. They'll rise up out of most open cracks in the walls, ceilings and from dead crew members and attack you. There are definitely many disturbing memories I have from this game!
The shooting mechanics make the game play differently from other third person shooters; it's about cutting up the aliens with your slicing firearms. A shot fired will chop off their limbs in the direction you aim your gun. It's about cutting off limbs and pacifying the enemy before killing it. A brutal approach to a shooting game that requires precision and leaves you vulnerable when your ammo is low. Key factors done right to keep the tension high and your character vulnerable and less over powered.
The space station is designed with lots of detail and interesting areas, there's also some really cool exterior, no-gravity, space walks along the way. Although you're always in one set locations they have made a lot of visual variety regardless. The only factor which brings a damper to atmosphere are mission screens for each area, breaking some of the tension. The strange thing is the whole spaceship is available to travel too, regardless of what the current mission wants you to complete.
Easily available for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and PC. The latter is probably the way to go to get the prettiest result, but all versions work fine.
Alien: Isolation
The best movie tie-in game I have ever played. Alien Isolation is blueprinted after the first and best Alien movie. The environments and spaceship interiors are painstakingly close designed to the 70's sci-fi interiors of the movie. Everything feels like you are playing and being in the sci-fi classic, only with a unique story that is a prequel to the movie. The atmosphere is done fantastically; the first few hours alone before even meeting the Alien are great, supporting the fact that this game is incredible at conveying fear.
You're stripped of weapons in Alien: Isolation and it's the key towards not only desperately feeling what survival is, but actually understanding vulnerability. The pure fear of seeing the Alien creep out of a ventilation shaft with the metal scraping sound as they open, is just something that sends chills down my spine. Constantly being hunted by a vicious creature that suddenly can start running towards your location is just terrifying.
The game brilliantly succeeds at breaking your nerves down as you are physically sweating while looking down at your radar and seeing if the Alien is nearby, as you are desperately trying to mend something for your escape. Probably the scariest game I have ever played. There were times I was completely nerve wrecked, giving no attention to being quiet anymore and simply running for an exit, while behind me were the sounds of the Alien running towards me! The immersive camera shaking and tilting around corners lets the player become really immersed into the surroundings.
It does outstay it's 20-25 hours lifespan in some parts and could maybe have done with some more variation, but it doesn't weigh down the sheer intense atmosphere this game delivers. Alien: Isolation is strongly recommended and available for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC. If you're on console I'd recommend going for the current generation versions though. You can read my review here.
Bioshock
Just like how the first Resident Evil pulled you into this unique setting, making you wonder what the hell is going on, Bioshock times this by ten. The impressive in-game graphics and playable intro that sends the player from a plane crash into the sea, discovering a lighthouse and then taking a mechanical lift to a city beyond beneath the surface; is just as incredible as it sounds. Standing there, in this 1920's inspired Art Deco world where everything has gone to ruin without the outside world knowing and wondering how you get out is just a perfectly unique experience and what horror games are all about.
While it may not be as horror focused as the other games here, there's a consistent atmosphere which builds an unsettling feeling throughout. There's always some new and messed up discoveries of the underwater world that takes your comfort zone away. It's about survival, exploring, fixing things with puzzles on your road to escape which makes Bioshock a perfect game for this list. There are jump scares here too though, keeping you at your toes. And what are these small, creepy little sister girls walking around, guarded by huge Bid Daddies wearing old fashioned diver suit and wielding a huge drill?!
Although Bioshock is first person shooter, it blends in a form of magic and limited ammo. The extra abilities like firing electricity or fire, make gunfights very different from your average shooter. Enemies standing in water? Electrify the water. Or maybe they're standing in oil? Ignite and burn it! How about sending an insect warm at them or hypnotising one of the Big Daddies?
Bioshock is available in original format on the Xbox 360, also backwards compatible on the Xbox One, PS3 and PC. There's also a remaster available on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.