Halloween is just around the corner, and some people aren’t lucky enough to be invited to the parties. What do they do instead? They game. I’m usually one of those people, so here are five games that I plan to scare myself with on Halloween — After I watch Ash Vs The Evil Dead, of course.
5) Bloodborne
From Software’s latest game is scary in two ways. The first is its horrifying difficulty; You’re dropped into a Lovecraftian world with horrors beyond your imagination. You don’t know where to go, what to do, and all you have to save yourself is your wits — So I hope they’re very strong wits. Once you do figure out how to not die every second of the game, the terrors you discover are frightening, to say the least. There are feral dogs, huge rats, giant werewolves, hunters that have been overtaken, and so on. These creatures are so disgusting that some of them make your stomach turn. What makes the game even more unsettling is that in order to see the true ending, you have to find three pieces of an umbilical cord. No Reese’s Pieces for me, please.
4) The Evil Within
I want to say that I patiently waited for this game to be released, but that would be a lie. I counted the minutes down until Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami’s newest horror opus, The Evil Within, was released. There was not a single iota of disappointment to be found as I played this game. I loved that every level was varied; Some had you panicked because you were being stalked by a chainsaw wielding maniac, others made you feel claustrophobic, and some even made you feel outgunned with the limited supplies that would drop. This game was not only my GOTY last year, it was also this website’s GOTY, as well. I still need to get back to it and conquer all of the DLC packs, and then delve into NG+ with all the goodies I got for beating it the first time.
3) Dead Space
Expectations were low for Dead Space when it released. It was almost a throwaway title for me until I took over as the engineer on the Ishimura. I was blown away how the developers integrated the game’s HUD into Isaac’s suit so that there was never anything unnatural blocking your view. The map is replaced by a GPS trail you can activate with the push of a button. The enemy design shocked me; They were once human, but you could barely tell that as you battled them. The game even made sure you had to defeat them in a grotesque fashion as they wouldn’t die until completely dismembered. The amount of blood I splattered everywhere as I stomped on these creature throughout the game could probably fill the Grand Canyon, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The claustrophobia of the ship, the limited ammo and health, the fact that you were on your own — All of this helped game’s atmosphere become so intense that I dropped my controller at one point.
2) P.T.
This “demo” is something that needs to be played by all survival horror fans. It is sad that Konami took it off of the PlayStation Network and that only PS4 fans ever got a peek. However, I’m sure someone knows someone with this still on their hard drive. If you do still have this on your hard drive, like I do, perhaps you should host a Halloween party and and have everyone gather around your PS4 to have the crap scared out of them. I remember playing this one afternoon in a brightly lit room and having to pause it to walk away. I haven’t been that terrified from a game in years up to that point, but P.T. just nailed it. When the ghost lady makes her first appearance I set down my controller and got my mom into the room because I just couldn’t handle it alone. Imagine playing this alone or at a party with friends — There would be a lot of urine to clean up.
1) Resident Evil HD
Resident Evil is the game that brought me back into gaming in 1998 with its first release on the original PlayStation. The HD remake is by far a superior game to it’s older brother, which is why the original isn’t on this list. While the live-action cut scenes and terrible dialogue are great to giggle at, Capcom’s remake really brings on the horror. Just the fully rendered opening gives me chills knowing what Chris and Jill are in for, and that I must guide them safely through Spencer Mansion again. Capcom kept the game moody; The mansion looks frightening and the zombies are tougher this time around. Make sure you have a lighter and fuel handy so they don’t get you on the rebound! Many a night have been lost in the Spencer Mansion for me, and I can’t wait to spend time with Jill on Halloween.
Honorable Mentions
There are many horror games out there right now and sadly only one spooky day to play them, so I picked games that were readily accessible to gamers nowadays, and I couldn’t recommend a game I’ve not played with good conscience. The only new game that piqued my interest which wasn’t on the list was Until Dawn. It looks scary and I’ve heard great things about it, and maybe I’ll delve into it this Halloween. Dying Light could have been on this list but it never really scared me. Running around and smashing zombies’ heads was a blast, but other than that there was no real horror to it. Other games that could have been on this list but are harder to acquire are Clock Tower 3, Cold Fear, Obscure, Rule of Rose, Evil Dead: Regeneration, Fatal Frame, Parasite Eve, Eternal Darkness, this list could go on forever. I’m lucky enough to have access to these retro titles and their consoles, so I can play them should I chose to go the retro route on Halloween. What will you be playing as you munch on a Snickers this year?Will it scare you? Let us know in the comments!