Top 10 Horror Video Games That Scared No One

Top 10 Least Scary Horror Video Games

-Yawn- when does it get scary? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be taking a look at some not so scary horror video games.

For this list, we’ll be taking a look at various horror games that have released to very few screams of terror. These games may not necessarily be bad, but when it comes to scares, they fall pretty flat. Since horror games try to be pretty gruesome, a mature warning is in effect.

#10: Agony

On paper, Agony seemed like a no brainer when it comes to horror. After all: It’s a game set in hell with some of the most gruesome monsters and disturbing body horror imagery you’ll ever come across. Unfortunately in execution; the game is marred by a series of problems. For one the enemy A.I. is not the best, often making absurd movements that don’t seem logical. In fact it’s so bad that you are actually able to run through stealth sections and clear the area no problem. It also doesn’t help that the game is sorely lacking in enemy variety, so even the few scares the game does have get monotonous after a while.

#9: “Saw: The Video Game” (2009)

Movie licensed games haven’t had the best track record, though it usually lies in the fault of rushed schedules to make sure they release near the film. Yet Saw’s video game was six movies past its due date -and still came out of the oven terrible. Since the series preys on grotesque imagery, the video game didn’t really offer anything new to gamers. Even if the grotesque imagery broke new boundaries, in its graphical state, we don’t think it’d scare anyone. This is one game we don’t think anyone would like to play.

#8: “Clive Barker’s Jericho” (2007)

As an author of horror, Clive Barker has contributed some amazing stories -remembered greatly for their movie adaptations, Hellraiser and Candyman- having him onboard for the narrative of a horror game is a sound choice -especially since his first foray with Undying was a success. Sadly, a scary narrative can easily be made weak by the gameplay. Squad-based action really tones down anything horror related and since everyone is a badass super soldier, that doesn’t exactly help the label. Jericho only further proved that story isn’t everything in game design.

#7: “Dead By Daylight” (2016)

When it comes to multiplayer games, scares end up being few and far between due to these titles being more spontaneous. Then again the game wasn’t prioritizing scares to begin with. While this 4 v 1 game wears its horror inspiration on it’s sleeve, don’t get into this game expecting to scare the bejeezus out of your friends. Most you’ll probably get are a few laughs or perhaps the one off angry gamer who shouts his frustration down a mic. It’s still a really fun game to try though, so even though its not scary, we can still recommend this one.

#6: “The 7th Guest” (1993)

Horror has come a long way in entertainment -what some may consider scary at the time, others may find cheesy or just odd years later. In the case of The 7th Guest, it’s a wonder how this was even considered scary in the 90’s. To give a more immersive feeling, older games incorporated live-action cutscenes -unfortunately, gaming was still in its infancy and actors willing to participate were… less than stellar in performances. While these poor performances led to some hilarious scenes, fans of the genre would rather be screaming in terror rather than howling in laughter.

#5: “Aliens: Colonial Marines” (2013)

One could argue whether Aliens was an action or horror movie, but everyone can agree it incorporated both elements fairly well. Following an abysmal development, Aliens Colonial Marines continued to promise us that same combination, but failed to deliver. Horribly designed AI had Xenomorphs walking past us; and even when they did see us, it only took a few bullets to put them down. With laughably easy gameplay, and lacking intelligent AI, we felt more like we were taking pot shots at oversized cockroaches than alien creatures. No, scratch that, even a cockroach is smart enough to avoid danger and would be scarier.

#4: “Dead Island” (2011)

Originally announced in 2007, Dead Island looked to have much promise as a brutal survival horror game. After a four-year disappearance, it rose from the dead with a CGI trailer that tugged at our heartstrings, convincing us this would be a dark, emotional horror experience. What we got was… none of those things. Terrible story and voice acting, and gameplay so silly that you’d think you were playing a first person Dead Rising game; it felt more like a cheap B movie production -yet it didn’t feel intentional. The zombies lacked any real scares or challenging gameplay, and the technical issues didn’t help either -though with an electric machete in hand, it doesn’t seem all that shocking.

#3: “Dead Space 3” (2013)

Dead Space has seem to gone the road of Resident Evil, starting out as an intense and claustrophobic survival horror, to an action game that likes to pretend it still has any real scare factor. Being able to create your own makeshift weapons gave you a much better arsenal -no need to be afraid of the dark when you have a flamethrower assault rifle. Since co-op horror seemed to be a trend, EA thought it’d be a good idea to include the feature -while it was fun to beat down on Necromorphs with friends, it lost its last remaining horror feature: loneliness.

#2: “Resident Evil 6” (2012)

No horror game series has fallen so high from grace so much as the Resident Evil series. Gamers have been notably mixed about the transition, but most can agree that 6 is the worst offender. Still labeling itself as a horror game, it is anything but -with huge action moments like flying a fighter jet and MMA fighting against the undead threats, horror fans will find no scares here. After this flop, many fans thought the series dead, until someone discovered a strange moldy plantation home…

#1: “Alone in the Dark Illumination” (2015)

How do you take an obscure horror series from the 90’s and bring it into the mainstream after a failed attempt? If you thought capitalizing on a more popular game series and throwing away everything that made up the original series, then you’d be correct! Similar to Left 4 Dead, you’ll be running from point A to point B, gunning down any dark nasty baddies along the way… with up to 4-player combat. Aside from the title, this game has almost nothing to do with the original series… or being a survival horror game. Buggy, bland gameplay, and yet another horror series turned action, what the hell are devs and publishers thinking?