Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! What better way to celebrate this occasion by looking at some of the scariest and/or creepiest games we could play.
Do you know of a game that you feel should make this list? Let us know!
Dead Space
When you think of scary video games, most will always list Dead Space as one of the games that creeped them out. The story takes place on the USG Ishimura, an enormous Planet-Cracker-class ship, and Aegis VII, the planet being cracked. The player controls Isaac Clarke, an engineer attached to a small maintenance crew responding to a distress signal from the Ishimura. The Ishimura is inhabited by creatures known as Necromorphs who’ve taken control of the ship and spread an infection among the crew. As you’re not a soldier, you don’t have your typical weapons, but engineering tools used in an unconventional way. If those don’t work, you have your trusty fists and feet. It’s a bloody fun game with emphasis on the blood.
Dying Light
In Dying Light, you work for a mysterious organization that tasks you with finding a specific item (trying not to spoil things) on an island infested with zombies. Of course, something happens on your way in and you’re rescued by survivors who will help you with your quest, so long as you do the same for them. During the daytime, the game is all about running around and slaughtering as many zombies as you can. However, that all changes at night time. Should you leave a safe zone and explore when the lights are gone, the real fun begins. How long can you survive at night?
Siren: Blood Curse
You’re part of an American documentary crew who travel to Japan to investigate a village that mysteriously disappeared. Once you arrive, you realize exactly why the outside world lost contact with this small area, everyone has been mutated into bloodthirsty abominations. If there’s one thing the Japanese developers know how to do well, it’s make video games that are creepy as hell, and this is one doesn’t disappoint.
F.E.A.R. 2
While the first F.E.A.R. was considered a horror game, I always thought of it was a FPS with horror elements. I think Monolith was testing the waters to see how well it would do with their audience. F.E.A.R. 2 expands on the horror story and really brings it alive. F.E.A.R. 2 takes place shortly after the first one and we find out that Alma Wade wasn’t fully destroyed. Naturally, she’s a bit miffed about the whole being blown up part and sets out to take revenge on everything and anyone, especially the character you play, Michael Becket. Guns are plentiful and so are the enemies. This isn’t a game of stealth, but there are plenty of spots that can be rather spooky.
Metro: Last Light
Taking place in a post apocalyptic Moscow, you’re one of the remaining survivors that explore the city for supplies and complete a mission where you must find the location of a doomsday device. Humans and other creatures have mutated from the levels of radiation on the surface and went mad from its effect on their mind. While it’s somewhat safe in the daylight, as expected, the real fun begins when you need to venture into the subway system, where creatures called dark ones reside. They’re not a friendly bunch, to be sure.
Outlast
Outlast is a survival-horror game that is focused on evading enemies rather than defeating them. You control a journalist called Miles Upshur who explores an abandoned psychiatric institution called Mount Massive Asylum to find out the truth about the facility from a tip given to him by a former employee. Your only real “weapon” is your camera to give you night vision as you explore the long, dark corridors and hide from those out to harm you.
Alien Isolation
The Alien franchise has always been one of suspense and horror. After all, you’re fighting for your life against a creature with acid for blood, reproduces like a gremlin and moves like a cheetah. In Alien Isolation you take on the role of Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda. You’re aboard a space station who’s crew was wiped out by everyone’s favorite Xenomorph. You must make your way through the station gathering information and trying to survive on the way to the airlock. Play this with the lights out for a truly immersive effect.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Assuming the role of a character called Daniel, you explore an old Prussian castle called Castle Brennenburg. This is another game that doesn’t give you weapons to defend yourself with, but your wits and creativity maneuvering through the dark hallways using distractions and avoiding your foes. The game uses a “sanity” system that depletes when you move through the darkness, but the darkness also provides cover adding to the difficulty and ways to use your environment to your advantage without going complete insane.
