Prepare For One Hell Of A Headtrip
Not all horror games have to revolve around blood, guts and monsters straight out of the deepest pits of the inferno. Sometimes all you need to get under a player’s skin is a few sleight of hand tricks, an atmosphere drenched in unease, and the occasional well-time jump scare. Not every attempt succeeds, but when a game manages to achieve harmony between all these ominous elements, it results in a title that can leave an audience utterly haunted.
While each of these entries rely on different mechanics, they all fully utilise a sense of foreboding along with disturbing imagery, to the point that even years on we still shudder when recalling their most terrifying moments.
#3: “Inside” (2016)
Sometimes unanswered questions can be the scariest thing of all. As a nameless child, players had to outrun and overcome all manner of deadly obstacles, including rabid dogs, underwater hybrids, a myriad of remote-control corpses, and an ending that still has everybody scratching their heads. It’s a puzzle wrapped in an enigma set in a dystopian future that that will confuse you just as much as it will frighten you. Perhaps we’re better off not knowing the truth…
#2: “Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” (2002)
While the graphics and boss battles haven’t exactly aged like fine wine, we can’t give this game enough credit for what it accomplished with the sanity effect system. Should your in-game personas find themselves on the fringe of a mental breakdown, then the game will turn against the player by bombarding them with some truly spine-chilling scenes. A bath filling up with blood, people’s heads exploding, spiders crawling over the monitor, even a fake blue screen of death. That’s just evil.
#1: “P. T.” (2014)
It speaks volumes when a teaser for a cancelled video game managed to petrify the entire gaming community. With Hideo Kojima’s mad genius leading the charge, players found themselves trying to escape an endless loop, searching for puzzles in the most unlikely of places while also having to face some pretty hellish sights. A fetus degrading us for how we forced our wife to work several jobs? The sound of what we assume to be the protagonist slaughtering his family? Being manhandled by the corpses of our dearly departed wife? This was nightmare fuel of the highest order.
Be sure to check out the video below to see our picks for the Top 10 Horror Games So Scary You Forgot They Existed!