You're searching for them, we have them: the 15 best horror games for PC! But those expecting the same old stuff might be pleasantly surprised.
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“Best Horror Games,” this hellish trio of words is something every horror fan has probably typed into a search engine at least once. The problem is that even Google, the supposed top sleuth of the internet, mostly finds you a boring reunion of the usual stuff; from Outlast to Resident Evil to Silent Hill and back.
Our top 15 is a bit different. Since its inception, Guided has also delved into the works of half-starved indie developers, who often use their compiler wait times to pour all their sorrow into a single-ply tissue. Will you benefit from this too? Well, check out the results.
“It’s not a movie and not a game, it’s both,” says solo developer Curio Productions about their FMV adventure daemon_9. The gameplay involves shamelessly snooping on a stranger’s hard drive and the vastness of the real internet to solve the mysterious disappearance of a high school student. Impressive.
As a creatively inclined horror platformer, Little Nightmares didn’t get the attention it deserved. The sneaking, climbing, and jumping with the small protagonist Six is really fun. The game also shines with an outstanding soundscape and appealing graphics. The “hidden” story and short playtime led to a deduction in our rating.
This merciless first-person survival horror from Thailand really goes for it. Essentially a game of cat-and-mouse with a faded box-cutter jester, it’s so grimy and gripping that fans of Asian horror will be fully satisfied. Unfortunately, the level and mission design quality noticeably drops towards the end.
The remake of the well-known Korean survival horror classic can’t quite replace the original game from 2001. The originally extremely threatening hide-and-sneak has been toned down too much. Nonetheless, the captivating story of Yeondu Highschool remains a genre benchmark in this version.
No top list would be complete without a few big names: Resident Evil 7 says goodbye to previous action extravaganzas and serves up an unusually wholesome story. “Resi 7” works as a first-person horror game mainly thanks to the behaviorally unique Baker family, who unfortunately only hosts you for about six hours.
Want P.T. without the loop? Then try Caustic Reality’s horror drama Infliction – if nature gave you nerves of steel cables. With its outstanding sound and enemy design, as well as a relentless story, this haunted house brute knocks you out of your comfort zone so hard, you’ll long for your mom’s embrace at times.
Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn by Angry Demons is a nearly perfect first-person journey through the dark mythology of the Nordic world. The game’s design, a mix of adventure and survival horror, keeps you engaged with many dramatic moments for a good six hours. The only downside is the sometimes unconvincing graphics.
Gray Dawn, a heavily religious indie title from Italy, ranks high for a simple reason: it’s a digital masterpiece. The passionately crafted adventure by Interactive Stone invites even atheists to delve into the surreal world of a misguided priest. A must-play for all innovation-loving (horror) gamers.
Combining the gameplay of Resident Evil, the horror of Doom³, and the disgust of Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth results in Dead Space. This blend of dense atmosphere and technical brilliance almost inevitably lands it in the first place on our list of top-rated horror games. Congratulations!
Dead Space was developed by Glen Schofield (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) and the American studio Visceral Games, which closed in October 2017; last year, the exceptional game celebrated its tenth anniversary. With over a million copies sold in its release year, this third-person sci-fi horror was a considerable success.
What’s your favorite horror game? Feel free to write it in the comments.
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