Greatest horror games?

It’s that time of the year! Spooky movies and games. Ghostwire Tokyo is fantastic btw. But what horror games are among the greatest? To me, Silent Hill 2 is the GOAT. Played it for the first time this year and it’s still effective and amazing. What sets it apart is the story and the atmosphere and sound design. Along with the fact that your character isn’t a super soldier, but a regular dude dealing with his inner demons. As for other candidates, Resident Evil Remake, Resident Evil 4, and Resident Evil 7 all compete for the top spot. Remake was great in a claustrophobic kind of way. Resident Evil 4 invented action horror. Up until then, you wouldn’t think the two could mix. Then there’s Resident Evil 7, which in its opening hours were truly terrifying!

How about you, SW? Greatest horror games?

First Person - FEAR

Third Person - Alan wake

Alan Wake, it's written masterfully.

The Condemned series is great!

Bloodborne.

System Shock 2/Silent Hill 2

Games with horror elements - Vampire the masquerade/Stalker: SOC/Thief

A lot of people forget Thief has fairly strong and extremely well executed horror elements. One of the levels a direct inspiration for Halflife 2's Ravenholm.

• Silent Hill Shattered Memories
• F.E.A.R.
• Condemned Criminal Origins
• Resident Evil 4
• Dead Space 1 and 2
• Alan Wake
• Until Dawn
• Resident Evil 2 remake

Pokemon BDSP is a definite nightmare inducer

Silent hill 2 and fatal frame 2

I think The Evil Within is underappreciated.

You should check out Ghostwire Tokyo. Same developer. It’s not scary tho. It’s supernatural.

@uninspiredcup: Yeah the whole game isn't horror, but that one level in Thief is arguably one of the scariest levels I've ever played in a game.

Plus the general tension of sneaking around and being discovered is kind of scary as well. The enemy designs are really well done, whether it's a fanatical, hammer-swinging religious nutjub or a soulless automaton...you just don't want to run into them.

Splatterhouse.

- Resident Evil 1, 2, 4, 1 Remake, and 2 Remake

- The Evil Within 1 and 2

- Condemned

- Dead Space 1 and 2

- Alan Wake

Silent Hill 2

Penumbra 1 and 2

Resident Evil 1

Alien Isolation

Amnesia

There are a lot of them. Resident Evil, maybe even Fatal Frame.

But........ I think the greatest was that one Silent Hill that got away. P.T.

Really enjoy Bum murder simulator aka Condemned criminal origins.

Like dead space alot

Guilty pleasure: Shadows of the Damned

Condemned: Criminal Origins. The department store level was terrifying. I was convinced that one of the mannequins were going to come to life. I came close to screaming. It was very scary, but also had some decent combat.

Tons.

Maybe it being October I'm thinking of revisiting some classics. I could certainly give Alien Isolation another whirl these next couples weeks. Maybe replay Dead Space or Dead Space 2 on my Series S|X. Looking forward to Scorn next week. I never did play the Amnesia games and that's been in my backlist a while now.

Had good fun with last year's Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water re-release, look forward to the upcoming Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse.

In meantime, maybe some Alan Wake too. Or Control could be dope to revisit. Lots of Resident Evil to enjoy, if I had to choose either RE4 (maybe on last time before remaster) or replaying RE2R.

The asymmetric Friday The 13th is fun online. For light-hearted stuff I enjoyed the Ghostbusters game (the one Atari made 7th gen that got remastered 8th gen).

@jaydan: I wouldn't mind revisiting The Evil Within, I had good fun with it. Trying to remember if I ever finished the DLC expansions of first game, if I should go back to that, or go forward and replay the 2nd game. I still haven't been back to play 2nd game since they added the first person mode.

Silent hill 1.

There was one that took place on a boat in a storm years ago that is right up there,I can't remember the name,I might root it out and give it another blast for Halloween

amnesia was very unsettling. alien isolation is the only game to make me scream. bloodborne gave me weird dreams lol.

cryostasis? ukrainian psychological horror set on a ship discovered in the north pole that's been trapped in ice for decades. very much in the stalker / metro vein. non-mainstream too. surprised ghost doesn't shill it. ticks all his boxes

@Macutchi: The thing that's cool about these games (euro namely Ukraine/Russian), sometimes you have no idea what is going on, or what is going on or is going to happen. There's an unpredictability elements don't really get in many games.

Like, go into the factory in Stalker: SOC and start randomly getting items thrown at you with weird fucking, electricity phantoms.

This is something like a 12 - 18 hour game, and it's 1 section, never repeats again.

Outlast and Alien: Isolation. Outlast is definitely more scary, but Alien is up there too.

Sweet Home

Alone in the Dark 2: Jack is Back

Corpse Party

Resident Evil 1-2

Silent Hill 1-2

Higurashi: When They Cry

Resident Evil 4

Deadly Premonition

Not a horror game but SWAT 4 Fairfax Residence level.

@lamprey263: @Archangel3371: I love The Evil Within. I never played the sequel, but the first game at least, was awesome. It had one of the most interesting hub worlds I've played in a game.

Definitely a lot more horror games that I enjoy, but gotta give a shoutout to the underdog.

@uninspiredcup: yeah so many great moments like that in stalker.

one minor and random one that always stuck with me was exploring some underground labs in the darkness just with the torch, all silent, walking past doors in a corridor, exploring each as i go, then suddenly hearing this blood curdling scream come deep from within this one pitch black room and thinking nope nope nope not going in there lol.

bit like that clip you posted, "discover the code that opens the door" when youve got something that seems very angry on the other side trying to get out. you're like "oh fck do i have to?" lol

The entire Lab-x18 is one of the greatest moment in gaming.

I was blown away by this when I first play it. i mean HOLY CRAP!!!.

no wonder why its still FPS game of all time.

Come on warmie. you only play selected games. I mean SWAT 4 horror?

not that im bashing this game. SWAT 4 is fantastic game sure. but horror?? lol.

FEAR extraction Point have some of the most horror elements. the expansion pack actually done horror element better.

He said, above on the quotes: "Not a horror game..."

@DEVILinIRON: Warmblur is Ghost' mortal enemy.

The Goku to his Vegeta. But far more homoerotic.

Not sure what your issue is Ghost? I literally said it's not a horror game and I mention a handful of horror games earlier in the thread SWAT 4 Fairfax level is just a bonus.

Bloodborne I guess. Its not a horror game but its use of the usual horror dread of the unknown and lovecraftian trope is very effective. Heck why not bloodborne a horror game.

I don't play horror games.

But some people call Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 2 and Dead Space horror games, and I like those.

But yeah, STALKER is probably the scariest shit I've played, and it's not a horror game either.

My guess is that Silent Hill 2 is the best horror game ever. Haven't played it either (aside from the beginning). That was enough for me. **** that shit.

Resident Evil 7, Village, 2 and 3 remake. Lol at the fake RE fans that mention the remakes but not 7 and 8, it's possible to like both forms of Resident Evil.

@Macutchi:

Cold fear it was mate,it looks like it might have been remastered,it originally out in 2005

@simple-facts: oh shit yeah blast from the past. old school ubisoft. good game from what i remember but the pc port wasn't great (like a lot of ubi games from the mid noughties onwards)

I think almost the entire universe barring you two remembered Cold Fear existed up until then.

Shit, even I forgot I have it on Steam.

Stuff I liked:

Amnesia; The Dark Descent

Silent Hill 1 & 2

System Shock 2

Resident Evil 1, 2, 4 and the remakes

Dead Space 1 & 2

Penumbra series

Outlast

Soma

S.T.A.L.K.E.R, F.E.A.R., and Thief were excellent even as well even if they might not technically be considered as part of the genre.

Stuff I didn’t like:

The Evil Within

Alien Isolation

Pathologic

Silent Hill 4

Darkwood

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Layers of Fear

Penumbra is a good series.

Coke on guys!

Alan Wake

Dead Space
RE 1, 2 and 7

"Fake RE fans", lol. That is some cringe, my dude.

For me, the original Resident Evil 2 is far and away my favourite. I love the setting, the music, the gameplay. Followed by Resident Evil 0.

I'm trying to play Code Veronica, but I'm not really enjoying too much.

Leasure Suit Larry?

Oh wait, I read that wrong. lol :P