Attempts to terrify us with video games have been going on since the early 1980s. Haunted House Atari, one of the early survival horror games, was suggestive of where the genre would one day go, despite its usage of pixelated ghosts and spiders that weren’t scary at all.
The survival horror genre would go on to produce some of its scariest works owing to titles like Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark, as well as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, Eternal Darkness, and Dead Space.
The genre is still alive and well today, and it’s just going to become better. With interactive horror films like Until Dawn and first-person horror experiences like P.T., the survival horror genre continues to distinguish itself as one of the pillars of the business.
Here is the list of the world’s most horror games:
1. Dead Space (2008)
Horror in science fiction is often built around the fear of the unknown. Sci-fi horror stories like Alien and Event Horizon show us what happens when we push ourselves too far and face something we don’t fully comprehend.
In Dead Space, that concept is at the heart of practically all of its brilliance. Even if the game’s ambiance and world-class sound design deserve all the accolades they’ve received, the ways in which Dead Space’s opponent design affects combat and storyline are where the game really stands out.
A Necromorph “playing dead” attack will stay with you forever, as it was a terrifying and unsettling experience that made it clear that you would never feel secure while playing this game, even in a safe room.
Once you’ve had your fill of grisly jump scares, the game’s visual and sound design make you feel as if you’re continuously in danger, making you feel as though you’re constantly in danger. You never know when a Necromorph may jump out of a vent or sneak up behind you.
2. Resident Evil 7 (2017)
If it hadn’t been for this, Resident Evil 6 would have been a disaster, with awkward, forced updates to a beloved series that left fans craving the grandiose insanity of Resident Evil 6.
In contrast, Resi 7 is a masterpiece, drawing inspiration from recent slasher classics while still managing to seem fresh and contemporary at the same time. The Bakers, your tormentors, are delightfully subversive, and the basic tale is fascinating. The mysteries are cleverly disguised.
There are certainly VR advantages to switching to first-person action for the sake of enhancing immersion, but it also makes the terror feel uncomfortably near to the viewer. What’s really clever about this is how Resi it all comes across.
When it comes to safe rooms, ammo feels like it’s running low and the boss bouts are full of luminous, bubbling stuff to fire. If you’re a lover of horror games, this is one of the best out there. A magnificent and chilling rebirth, it’s not the most frightening or subtle of the games on this list.
Check Out Some of the Most Popular Villains on Disney!
3. Silent Hill 2 (2001)
“The fog” is what most gamers remember about the first Silent Hill. In spite of the PlayStation’s terrible draw distance, there’s no doubting the success of making a player feel as if they’ll never know what’s coming around the next curve in the fog-filled streets of that game.
Silent Hill 2 relies a little less on fog, but it still manages to maintain its reputation as one of the most terrifying horror games ever developed by evoking a sense of dread. Because of the visceral dread of monsters like Pyramid Head and the game’s intricate psychological plot, you’ll be unable to find any solace in the solutions you do find.
Silent Hill 2 is one of the few games that may leave you permanently scarred. It stays with you long after the short scares of other games fade into a hazy recollection.
4. Layers of Fear (2019)
Most games can make you scream and jump, but few can get you to question your own abilities in real-life situations.
While exploring an eerie, dark, and vast deserted house in Layers of Fear, everything seems extremely familiar at first. As an anonymous artist returning to his hometown, you’ll experience a slow burn of a Gothic tale.
Madness has taken hold of the painter, and it manifests itself in the painting’s faulty depiction of the real world. Doorways vanish and corridors warp in your peripheral vision, and the game rearranges itself in such a way as to mimic the craziness of the main character that you’ll begin to doubt everything after only a few hours.
Look over there. Didn’t see that desk before? Why don’t you check? This is compounded further by the character’s condition, which is characterized by an obsessional painting painted from One of the greatest horror games of all time was born from such unsavory components.
Hunting for a Terrifying Netflix Movie? Check Out These Top 10 Horror Movies!
5. Outlast (2013)
Though Resident Evil and other early horror classics were rightly described as survival horror, the “survival” element in those titles mainly centered around managing limited resources. Even newer survival games are still mostly about item management.
The suitably named Outlast takes a fresh approach to survival horror. It deprives you of resources, but surviving Outlast is truly about finding a means to mentally endure the game’s constant horrors.
Some may reasonably ask what’s so exciting about a game that essentially consists of hiding and fleeing through the dark, but genre veterans will regard Outlast as a test of their resolve and ingenuity. The excitement of Outlast doesn’t necessarily come from playing it or even beating it but from getting to claim you survived it.
6. Alien: Isolation (2014)
From James Cameron’s space warriors to Ellen Ripley’s bravery to the frightening impact of stillness in a soundtrack, many video games have been inspired by the Alien trilogy. In spite of everything, Alien: Isolation may be the series’ best gaming accomplishment.
The original film’s lone Xenomorph evokes a gut-wrenching horror that is extended into a lengthy video game. Survival gameplay in Isolation gets the heart racing for hours on end.
While scouring a derelict space station for Amanda, you encounter the same creature that Ripley fought. You’re continuously on the lookout for your Alien hunter’s cinematic AI. Screaming in fright or holding your breath as you narrowly evade detection are examples of this.
While the game’s atmosphere is already remarkable, the Xenomorph, a movie monster that has become formulaic owing to overexposure, is given even more credit for being made horrifying once more.
7. Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)
“Run” is at the heart of most horror stories, and even the most low-budget films know this. If you run away from something in the actual world, you’re perceived as being cowardly. When confronted with a terrifying situation, the first instinct is to flee.
In comparison to other games, Amnesia has a greater understanding of the relationship between running and fear.
The lack of any true means of defense in Amnesia makes fleeing an act of bravery in a game where sound activates creatures and wandering darkness blindly drives you insane, but it also shows that horror games no longer have to integrate half-baked fighting systems to interest and scare players.
8. P.T (2014)
Were you disappointed if the world’s most eccentric game creator and one of the world’s greatest monster makers didn’t create one of the weirdest, most horrifying games ever made?
You begin the “playable teaser” for the now-canceled Silent Hills in a single, infinitely looping hallway, where you’ll encounter a thousand ways to frighten you… One of the GamesRadar+ staff members was unable to play this game in the dark and was forced to lower the volume to bearable levels.
There are only a few times when you’re in real danger. The uncertainty is what truly terrifies people. What might be waiting for us around the next corner? Maybe it’s just a new nightmare, or maybe there’s nothing there at all.
A simple jump scare or eerie noise can’t do justice to the dread you feel when your mind fills in the gaps. It’s the world’s shortest masterpiece of horror if you add in an underlying tale of household fear that would make any Silent Hill fan feel nostalgic.
Most Popular Sci-fi Movies: Why Are These Movies the Best?
9.BioShock (2007)
Horror film aficionados sometimes debate the definition of what constitutes “horror.” If Silence of the Lambs is considered a “thriller,” then others may consider it “horror,” etc. Many people appreciate anything that frightens them, regardless of the label attached to it.
BioShock may not be considered a horror game, but it’s one of the most powerful and disturbing representations of the genre you’ll ever encounter in gaming.
BioShock is really frightening when it needs to be, from its opening prologue, which instantly displays the gory wreckage of a madman’s illusions, to its intriguing concerns about the nature of control.
BioShock may not run on nightmare fuel, but it makes excellent use of the genre’s best methods to carry its brilliant narrative and fantastic world-building to great heights of achievement.
10. F.E.A.R. (2005)
When F.E.A.R. was launched, the “scary little girl” craze had just taken up in the United States thanks to the unexpected success of The Ring. The horrific tiny Alma remains one of the best examples of the “scary child” cliche in video games.
Even so, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the revolutionary action game F.E.A.R. also set a new benchmark for first-person shooter opponent AI.
Because of its blend of Western action and Eastern horror, F.E.A.R. stands out as a unique horror game experience that manages to keep players on their toes while still allowing them to blast their way through rooms full of foes with impunity.