10 horror classics to enjoy this Halloween

Horror games are an interesting form of entertainment. It’s a broad term. There’s a definite thrill at being terrified, which is why we enjoy thrill rides at the funfair, and going through the haunted house. Gaming gives us a similar sense of danger. Whilst safety measures are in place to keep us physically safe at the funfair, we also know that the game isn’t real, but it still leaves us with our blood pumping and our instincts full of adrenaline.

Here are ten games – in no particular order – that will give you those shivers you know you love so much.

1. Outlast

This title redefined the genre, along with similar first-person atmospheric horrors released in the early 2010s. You’re given a claustrophobic space to traverse, sounds unknown follow you, and you’re scared pretty much out of your chair by the big bad when he pops his head round the corner. It’s a mechanic perfected in Outlast, and the horror comes from the images around you – criminally insane patients who have been tortured and driven to the most extreme of personalities – but the true feeling of terror comes from your lack of capability to deal with the monsters who would do you harm. You have to hide in order to survive, and dodge the attacks that come your way, rather than stay and fight. The atmosphere is rounded off pretty much perfectly by the handheld camera you have with you, set to nightvision in order to see through the shadows of the asylum.

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2. Resident Evil

The undisputed Queen of Survival Horror, the first Resident Evil title was a revelation at the time, turning Gen X into lovers of the third-person action puzzle with that extra dash of horror. Third-person was the new way to play and enjoy video games, as the technology finally allowed it, and whilst Resi spinoffs have seen the action turn first-person, the main titles have continued to bring the fixed action, evolving other elements such as story and enemies in order to keep bringing in new horror fans. However, Resident Evil 7 seems to be following the previous title on this list, and also of its spiritual sister in the world of survival horror – Silent Hill – in that the action is turning first-person, and far more claustrophobic in setting.

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Take your pick of the classic franchise, there is something for everyone. Be it the clunky yet b-movie wonderful of the first three games, or the ever fantastic and creepy Resident Evil 4, or the similar 5. 6 is debatable. Some liked it, some really didn’t. Maybe that’s why we’re taking a step in another direction this time around. Whichever it is, the horror of the first games is something that will stick in many of our memories – remember the zombie dog jump scare? Resi 4, 5 and 6 each have fantastic set pieces, and quick time events to keep you alert to the action, and nothing is creepier than when the monsters get behind your blind spot.

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3. Clock Tower

Another survival horror franchise, this one blends the mechanics of the first two games on this list in a really brilliant way. You’re in an inescapable environment, trying to find a way out, and something wants to scare you literally to death. You have no means of defence, other than to run and hide, praying that the monster can’t hear your heartbeat.

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The franchise evolved, similarly to other Japanese survival horror at the time, starting off as a point and click on the Super Famicom/SNES and onto the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Clock Tower 3 is still the scariest game I have ever seen. It’s got a similar creepy atmosphere to other games on this list, such as Deadly Premonition and Silent Hill, that is seemingly unexplainable – full of supernatural occurrences and ambiguous letters left behind by characters.

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But trying to escape from a scary dude with a hammer, who mumbles your name sadistically, when he can run faster than you? That’s some scary stuff. He tries to sniff you out, follows you relentlessly, and is unstoppable. Good luck trying to play more than a little at a time. My friend Steve still refuses to play it at all.

 

4. Silent Hill

Silent Hill was the first time I truly felt scared by a video game. Resident Evil had its jump scares, and there was Nightmare Creatures, which was full of gore and scary monsters, but nothing quite lived up to the horror of Silent Hill. It felt like a real place, and as though the descent of madness would look more like this than werewolves and giant spiders.

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These games get right inside your head, until even you aren’t sure what the truth could be. Indeed, many of the games have infamous “joke” endings, which I won’t spoil, in order to breathe a little reality back into it. You’re crudely reminded that this is simply the product of someone’s imagination, and not real. Thank goodness for that.5ae5703a23a6987647e8ccae15cc510d8e139c49

The franchise was brought to a heartbreaking halt, after we thought that our dreams were going to come true. I remember discussing how amazing it would be if Silent Hill got the Kojima treatment, and it was going to happen. It was going to be the best thing ever too, I know it. However, we were left with the scariest demo of all time, never to be topped – P.T.

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5. Five Nights at Freddy’s

In this world of instant entertainment and YouTube celebrity, the indie game industry has seen some great exposure. Casual or short story games make for great content, and it’s a bonus when they have an element of horror attached to them. The only thing people like more than being scared, is watching others get scared instead.

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Five Nights at Freddy’s fit that demographic perfectly, especially as the jump scares came for the audience as much as the person playing it. The story became a worldwide phenomenon, much in the same way as “Who shot JR?” the mystery surrounding the haunted (possibly) children’s restaurant was riddled with rumour and theory from the fans and others over the internet. The true story is for you to interpret in the end, so I believe, and many theories are still being investigated and substantiated.

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That’s what makes the game what it is really. As simply gameplay, the only mechanic is to use your senses and be quick enough to save yourself from the creepy-as-all-heck animatronic animals who want you dead, for some reason. That’s the terror, but the horror is in the idea that this could all be in your head, or that some sinister serial killer(s) plot is behind it, or even more weirdly, that the animals are haunted by dead children. The true story is apparently made clear in the last title, but what links them all together? Why do the enemies get progressively more demonic looking as the game series goes on? Formulate your own conclusions, but please don’t poop your pants whilst doing it.

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6. SCP Containment Breach

There are plenty of ugly yet haunting games, made over a short period of time by one bloke in his bedroom. It’s what one might call “YouTube fodder”, but it works in much the same way as FNAF. It’s wonderful to watch others fall apart at ridiculous, cheap scares. I don’t like to write off jump scares, because most of the games using this mechanic that are worth playing have something else that sells them.

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In SCP Containment Breach, it’s the unnerving feeling given in the bleak, beige facility, and the darkness haunted by the creatures that follow you. One only moves when you aren’t looking at it, which makes for terrifying face to face encounters as you turn a corner or go through a door. You’re left staring at a creature which resembles a goth’s teddy bear, frozen to the spot, wondering how you are going escape without turning your back. How does it get you with those stumpy arms? Another will kill you if you look directly at it. Don’t get them confused, okay?

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7. Deadly Premonition

Going back to quirky Japanese horror that messes with your head, let’s take a Twin Peaks style stroll through Deadly Premonition. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t worry. The game has become a cult hit as the years have gone on, having left an unsavoury taste in some people’s mouths, resulting in poor sales when it was first released outside of Japan. However, Deadly Premonition was developed by a small team, published around the world by various third-party publishers, and not released at all in Australia, for fear of clashing with censorship laws. So, we can forgive the rather poor graphics and clumsy controls.

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Set in smalltown America, you play as an FBI agent with a penchant for speaking asides to an unseen character called Zach, and being torn between the “good” and “evil” parts of his subconscious as he investigates a rather ritualistic looking murder. In a rather unique fashion, the horror is in the real-life murder – it’s pretty nasty – but the supernatural elements are the inner demons your character has. He alienates people around him with his cool demeanour and imaginary friend, and he doesn’t seem to realise that it might be a problem.

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Deadly Premonition is a comedy horror, and takes elements from other survival horror and open world behemoths, as well as the obvious Twin Peaks influence. It’s on the list thanks to its weirdness. If you can concentrate on the story, it’s worth it for the atmosphere. You end up feeling as though you’d been a part of something rather special and unreplicable.

 

8. Slender

The first time I experienced Slender was in broad daylight, in my mate’s living room. He told me this was going to be the scariest thing I’d ever seen. I shrugged him off, saying that jump scares might get me, but they certainly don’t leave a lasting effect, and what else could I expect from an indie game set in the forest?

I was wrong.

The soundtrack is what does it. I think the subsequent games in the Slender “series” didn’t have the same impact, though changing the environment and tasks was a great way to keep the tension amongst players. Nothing has come close to the first Slender experience though. The mechanic is pretty standard and easy when you know the tricks, but for me, I’d not seen the game before, and had no idea what to expect.

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The tension builds as you come across each piece of your puzzle, and you truly feel as though the danger is getting closer and closer. You might spot something in the trees beyond, but the aim is to quickly turn away and pretend you didn’t see it. The risk in that is, when you turn, he might have been right behind you the whole time.

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9. Alien: Isolation

Named by many as the scariest blockbuster game of all time, Alien: Isolation takes the best of first-person survival horror, and adds in one of the greatest horror movies of all time, keeping within the lore, and following on from its story in a way that warms the heart of any fan.

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The technology that you use in order to navigate your way around the game look straight from the late 70s, and I can’t tell you how much I squealed in delight. It would be so easy to try and bring the green text and the analogue static of the computers into the modern age, but then what would be the point in setting the story on the Nostromo? Then that would take the joy and experience out of it being an Alien game in the first place. It’s tried and failed before, so living this story is something really special. Unlike Dead Space or Doom, facing monsters (or in this case, one big Alien) was never about defeating them in order to stay alive. The key in this title is to hide, and prey that the Alien is not wise to your technique.

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The horror is done so well thanks to the graphics, and the presence that the Alien has when she’s in the room (or indeed not in the room). There are lengthy periods of no action, and you just know it’s coming, but then there are moments when it is literally the last thing you expect. She’ll pop out of the ceiling, or grin at you through a window, and your heart is no longer where it ought to be.

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10. Dead Space

I thought an action shooter should be on here, and whilst Alien has elements of that, as does Silent Hill and – most predominantly – Resident Evil, Dead Space’s selling point is the action. Weapons can be upgraded, as can other items, and you pick up bigger and badder guns on the way. There’s a classic shooter base, but in the same way as the later Resident Evil games, you have a blind spot, and the horror is in what might be lurking just to the left of you.

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The alien monsters are terrifying and gross, with brutal attacks that take your character’s breath away, leaving you stunned as a player. The darkness is fantastic; a classic technique, and the stress you can truly feel from Isaac as he tries to make his way out of the situation is so well delivered. You start to think that this is exactly how it would all play out if it was real.

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Gore is a big part of Dead Space too. nothing is as satisfying as watching the alien who’s trying to claw you to death lose his various appendages through beefy gunfire. It’s a battle of force, and the winner is whoever isn’t lying in a pool of their own innards, grunting in pain and sense of loss.

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So, I hope you have enjoyed some of these games, and know that the ones you haven’t should be on your list to play as soon as you can. Halloween is a great time to get together with others and have a great play through a classic horror, but why not dim the lights, get the comfort snacks out, and see how far you can get before the chills up your spine threaten your night’s sleep. Happy Halloween, everyone!