Horror is a genre densely packed with video games of all shapes and sizes. Some of the most iconic franchises and characters in all of gaming have come from a much darker place, and the list of classic titles spans well over two decades, going back almost as far as the medium itself. With sequels and remasters becoming more and more popular, many players are turning back the clock and revisiting some of the oldest games in the genre, many of which had a huge impact on the development and inception of the best IPs in the business.
19 Horror Games Inspired By Silent Hill
Silent Hill inspired many games over the years with its expertly crafted puzzles and psychological horror, and here are some of the best.
However, a lot of these games have become borderline or completely unplayable, whether due to horribly dated control schemes, poor platform accessibility, or just being entirely removed for purchase or download. Despite this, there is certainly still some enjoyment to be had, especially for horror fans who prefer a more historic feel, and gameplay aside, it is hard not to praise some of these titles for the impact they had on the genre, leaving legacies that have lasted far longer than the mainstream attention.
8
Clock Tower
Pioneering Early Horror Design
Details:
- Helpless protagonist with genuine dread
- Expensive originals and slow mechanics
The original Clock Tower, and even the subsequent sequels, helped define survival horror long before the genre had its real breakthrough, introducing players into a world full of persistent stalkers with no real ways of fighting back. The Scissorman remains one of horror gaming’s most iconic antagonists, creating tension simply by existing in the same space as the player and frightening many fans to this day.
Unfortunately, the game has fallen into obscurity, but also shown its age over time. The original Super Famicom release never officially left Japan, and later ports are rare and expensive, and even on the PC version, the point-and-click interface is painfully slow by modern standards. Also, there are quite a lot of unclear interactions and trial-and-error deaths that feel more frustrating than frightening, so without quality-of-life updates or a full re-release, the game will remain in the past as an important relic that, unfortunately, couldn’t quite stand the test of time.
7
Sweet Home
The Resident Evil Predecessor
Details:
- Blend of RPG mechanics and eerie atmosphere
- Borderline impossible to come by
Capcom’s Sweet Home is a game that many horror fans will have never even heard of, yet without it, Resident Evil just simply wouldn’t exist. Its haunted environments laid the groundwork for early entries in the Umbrella saga, and a lot of the systems were decades ahead of their time, like the moral choice system and fairly in-depth RPG mechanics.
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Today, however, the game is nearly impossible to play legitimately. It was never released outside Japan, never remastered, and remains locked on the NES, meaning that even diehard fans will be struggling to find it. Even emulated versions struggle with archaic menus and a punishing design philosophy involving permadeath that serves as the primary frustration for those daring enough to give it a try.
6
Alone In The Dark
Genre-Defining In The Early Days
Details:
- Fixed cameras and puzzle-driven exploration
- Tank controls and awkward combat
Alone in the Dark is a name that players may have come across several times over the years, and for good reason. The first in the series was a revolutionary experience that introduced fixed cameras and placed a heavy emphasis on puzzle exploration, aspects that would later be adopted by a huge number of horror games going into the 2000s and beyond.
Those same elements that made it groundbreaking now make it incredibly difficult to play. The tank controls are nostalgic for some but incredibly infuriating for others, and the combat is far from enjoyable, being hindered mainly by the camera angles that become more of a problem than the enemies themselves.
5
Friday The 13th
Equal Parts Infamous And Influential
Details:
- Open-ended structure well ahead of its time
- Confusing design and relentless difficulty
The NES Friday the 13th has become infamous for its confusing design, obscene difficulty, and lack of clear objectives that leave even veteran players scratching their heads. Despite its reputation, it was an ambitious experience that featured multiple playable counselors and a fairly open-ended structure that was fairly unusual for its era.
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The survival horror genre has grown in popularity in recent years, but it can be unwelcoming to newcomers, an issue these games attempt to solve.
For those willing to take the plunge, the game is playable on PC sites and, of course, the original NES, should players have access to one, but even with a huge name attached to it, the whole experience feels closer to a kind of twisted torture than an actual enjoyable gaming session.
4
The Secret World
Another Gem Lost To Live Service Decay
Details:
- Lovecraftian myth woven into an MMO
- Original game taken offline
The Secret World delivered one of the most intelligent horror narratives ever seen in an MMO, blending Lovecraftian myth and real-world folklore into a series of compelling and deeply unsettling questlines. The tone was very unique in the space, offering something that many players had been asking for, and delivering on virtually every front.
The original game did see relative success, yet it was eventually replaced by Secret World Legends, which stripped out a lot of the systems and simplified the progression, ultimately doing more harm than good. Today, players are no longer able to experience the game as it was designed in 2012, and what remains is considered by many to be just a shadow of something far more brilliant and a reminder of how fragile live-service games can be.
3
D
Cinematic Horror Frozen In Time
Details:
- Disturbing story told through cinematic sequences
- Brutally dated by today’s standards
D was a bold attempt at incorporating cinematic sequences into the world of horror gaming, telling a disturbing story through pre-rendered environments and timed exploration that was unlike anything else made before it. The unsettling imagery and psychological themes left a strong impression on early PlayStation players, with many placing it among other cult-classics within the genre.
In the end, though, time was the game’s worst enemy, and today, it feels brutally dated thanks to the slow movement and clumsy interactions that create far more stress than actual tension. Also, its storytelling relies heavily on shock value rather than intelligent narrative devices, making it feel more like an awkward interactive movie than a game.
2
Enemy Zero
Hearing Is Seeing
Details:
- Invisible enemies that created tense moments throughout
- PC version is abandonware, and the only other port was for the Saturn
Enemy Zero is one of those games that is remembered for having some very interesting ideas and innovative design, but has otherwise been completely forgotten about in the years since. The invisible enemies take center stage, forcing players to focus more on sounds than ever before, creating a genuinely terrifying experience for those who played it when it first launched.
After all these years, though, a lot of the game’s charm has sadly faded. The primary mechanics rely heavily on precise audio cues that modern audio setups often distort, and when factoring in the stiff controls and punishing combat, the whole experience becomes quite a chore, with far too many issues that heavily conceal any potential positives.
1
P.T.
The Greatest Horror That No Longer Exists
Details:
- Reshaped modern horror design
- Removed from the store after studio cancellations
It is hard to mention horror without bringing up P.T., as, despite only releasing in demo form, many players consider it to be one of the most important and impactful games in the entire genre. With Kojima at the helm, the game looked to deliver an incredibly unnerving and deeply psychological experience, one distinct within a space that was otherwise crowded by copycats and familiar faces.
The initial praise was stellar, yet in the end, the game was canceled and removed from the PlayStation store, preventing anyone who wasn’t fortunate enough to have a copy downloaded from ever playing it. Countless other games have tried to replicate some of its elements and feel, but there has yet to be a successor that manages to deliver the same grueling horror and nail-biting tension. Nowadays, it stands as one of the rarest games on the planet, being found on only a few lucky consoles by those willing to keep it around far longer than the game even really existed.
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There are no flawless games out there, but these horror games land pretty close to it. Here’s what holds each of them back from complete perfection.
