Nearly Perfect Horror Games

The horror genre covers a wide range of games of all different shapes and sizes. There are so many exceptional games out there that just nail the scary aspects, creating an unsettling and terrifying experience that keeps players on the edge of their seats right up until the suffering finally ends.

However, sometimes a game manages to execute almost everything perfectly, but falls short in some crucial areas that keep it from being a true 10/10. This can be problems with pacing, a certain segment that detracts from the main flow, or a poor handling of horror that makes it feel less like a scary game and more like an action movie, with some spooky monsters thrown in the mix.

Resident Evil 2

Two Stories That Never Quite Feel Equal

Details:

• 2nd run often feels a bit underdeveloped
• Lack of replay value

Resident Evil 2 is a fan favorite in one of horror’s most beloved franchises and for good reason. The tension builds slowly and flows perfectly with the more intense moments, and the settings are all equally memorable, ensuring that players feel constantly at ease regardless of whether they are in the station or deep underground.

However, the biggest issue comes from the 2nd playthrough, where players can experience the whole game again from the other protagonist’s point of view. While there are some different moments and scenes, it still feels quite the samey, with not enough variance to be as enjoyable, and some predictable encounters that don’t hit nearly as hard as the first time around.

Dead Space

From Horror To Action In A Flash

Details:

• Becomes more like an action later on
• Enemies feel a bit too obviously placed

Dead Space is a titan in the sci-fi horror space, effortlessly capturing the horror that comes from isolation, combined with some of the genre’s most intense examples of body horror. The atmosphere plays a big role in instilling fear, as every crack of the hull and subtle movement can be just as scary as the enemies within the ship.

But as terrifying as the setting and creatures are, at times the game can feel a bit more like an action-adventure than a full-blown horror one. By the later chapters, players are pretty well-armed, turning any threat into a cake walk, and the lack of danger removes a lot of the initial worries that make it so compelling in the first place.

Phasmophobia

Gamifying Ghosthunting

Details:

• More about mechanics than scares
• Knowledge and skill remove any fear

Phasmophobia brings ghost-hunting to the video game world in a creative and incredibly unique way. Rather than fighting spirits or running away from demons, players are instead tasked with figuring out what kind of entity is haunting the various buildings, using tools and gadgets to help them narrow it down and avoid danger.

At first, the gameplay loop is pretty terrifying, as the lack of weapons or real ways of defending oneself makes each haunt pretty damn scary. But as players get more used to the mechanics, they can pretty much walk into a house and figure out the answers in a matter of moments, knowing exactly what signs to look for and removing any potential harm that would otherwise come their way.

Scorn

Great Visuals, But Not So Great Gameplay

Details:

• Puzzles that can be more frustrating than fun
• Exploration can feel meaningless

Scorn is a love letter to the early days of sci-fi body horror, being heavily influenced by the art of Alien to create a grotesque world where flesh and metal become fused into one. Each area houses terrifying creatures and contraptions of unknown origin, and a lot of the terror comes from the lack of direction and understanding of exactly what is even going on.

The problems begin to creep in fairly quickly, as many of the puzzles are pretty basic compared to the complexity of the world around them. Also, some of the areas can be quite tricky to navigate, feeling like mazes with no end in sight, which turns the tense exploration into a frustrating journey to find the way out.

Karma: The Dark World

Focused Too Much On Grander Ideas

Details:

• Unclear narrative at times
• Chase sequences require little input

Karma: The Dark World is a pretty exceptional indie horror game that explores the world of psychology in ways that no other game ever has. The sequences feel dreamlike and trippy, while the more grounded moments are filled with suspense, with no indication as to whether or not the player is ever safe.

What brings it down is primarily the run time. The whole game is pretty short and linear, meaning that despite how impressive the world-building is, players only get to spend a short time actually exploring. Additionally, a lot of the ideas feel pretty abstract and disjointed, which can make certain scenes feel confusing, especially given how open to interpretation the narrative and the themes within it are.

Mortuary Assistant

Scares Can Quickly Become Silly

Details:

• Janky cutscenes that remove the fear
• Narrative often takes away from the horror

Mortuary Assistant players with the idea of perception and reality, taking a mundane routine of embalming a corpse and filling it to the brim with scares and unsettling moments. There aren’t scripted moments or ways of foreseeing the scares, so players are always in a state of tension, looking behind them and bracing for the next sudden movement.

The biggest issue in the game comes from the more built-out sections and the sections with other monster models. Some of the cutscenes or hallucinatory segments look quite cheap and silly, as, despite having good ideas at heart, they turn out to actually be a lot less scary than just having a demon sitting in the corner at a random moment in the night.

The Midnight Walk

Cute But Not So Frightening

Details:

• Threats are mostly avoidable
• Mainly puzzles rather than actual enemies

The Midnight Walk is a beautifully frightening game that uses stop-motion visuals to create a dark aesthetic with more than a few rough edges. The visuals are where the horror really shines, with each monster having a unique design, and the Tim Burton-esque art style manages to unsettle players through unnatural movements and proportions alone.

Even though the art style is incredibly distinctive, it isn’t enough to carry the scares alone. A lot of the areas are filled with pretty simple puzzles with very little danger, which means that players can often find themselves walking around for long stretches of time without ever feeling threatened or scared at all.

No, I’m Not A Human

One Playthrough Is All It Takes

Details:

• Repetitive playthroughs despite several endings
• Dialogue is scripted, so single interactions feel less impactful

No, I’m Not A Human is what happens when skinwalkers and home invasions are blended into one unsettling pile of horrors. Players find themselves in the midst of an apocalyptic event, forced to choose whether to let people in, as while they may look normal on the outside, they could be hiding a dark truth underneath.

The game has quite a few different endings that can be achieved, but the problem comes from actually replaying the game. After they have seen most or all of the NPCs, their presence no longer becomes scary, as players can pretty much know exactly what lines they are going to say, and even if they are a Visitor before they even let them inside.

Silent Hill 2

Enemy After Enemy

Details:

• Action can feel quite frustrating
• Enemies feel more like obstacles later on

Silent Hill 2 is about as good a remake as can be. The game preserves much of the original’s emotional weight, whilst updating the visuals to deliver an even more disturbing and suffocating atmosphere that ensures players feel trapped in the fog from the moment they set foot into it.

Despite the praise, many players felt like the experience shifted away from traditional horror and more into the realm of action. There are more enemy encounters, many of which are pretty underwhelming, and the slow, gradual dread gets replaced by constant fights, which can detract from the overall fear factor of the playthrough.

ROUTINE

Impeccable Atmosphere, But Dated Level Design

Details:

• Maze-like areas that can be annoying to navigate
• Lack of intelligent enemy AI

It may have taken over a decade to release, but Routine is finally here, and the wait was certainly worth it. The game uses some very clever mechanics, like a diegetic HUD, to immerse players in the world, and the visual style makes it feel like an old-school VHS recording, which turns even simple walks into terrifying plunges into the unknown.

The problems arise when looking at how certain sections are designed. Later on, there is a very confusing and convoluted set of rooms and corridors that takes a good chunk of time to get through, and can be pretty frustrating to explore even without a monster on the loose. Adding in a threat to avoid, and the stress turns to anger, putting a damper on what would otherwise be a faultless horror game.