Even with Dementium out, there's not much in the way of horror gaming on the DS. In fact, there's just that, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, and, we guess, Touch the Dead. However, since we really wanted to talk about horror gaming today, we think we'll go outside the boundaries of the DS library for today's discussion.There's a pile of Resident Evil games, of course, and Silent Hills, as well as other survival horror classics like Clock Tower, Fatal Frame, and Siren. Not to mention the House of the Dead series, and its precursors Chiller and Corpse Killer. Castlevania is at least horror-themed, if not all that frightening. From Night Stalker to Phantasmagoria, games have been trying to scare us since the developers realized we could care enough to get scared.
What is your favorite horror game, and why? Is it because of the presentation or the gameplay? In our minds, horror is one of the few genres of gaming in which lackluster control schemes and not-so-great combat are less important than telling a good story and setting atmosphere. Which is why it should be no big surprise that Silent Hill 2 is our favorite game in the genre.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-31-2007 @ 9:12AM
Spectre (MPH) said...
I just realized something...
A whole new House of the Dead title on the DS would be awesome.
No... No "Touch The Dead" Controls.. More like a FPS control scheme.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 9:36AM
ShaneLucPicard said...
Friday the 13th on NES. That game is the essence of horror!
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 10:00AM
Dabbott said...
Haha, Friday the 13th was great. Exploring cabins at night and having Jason pop out of nowhere always got me!
To add to the list, Clive Barker's Undying for the PC, and a less common game Sanitarium (also for the pc) get my blessings. Even though Sanitarium isn't all horror, it certainly disturbing!
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 10:00AM
kevin said...
For me it's a draw between the RE series (especially RE4) and FEAR. I'd have to say FEAR right now just because that game really freaked me out the first time I played it through.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 10:07AM
pman1225 said...
I don't have much experience in the horror genre, so I am going to have to say my favorite horror game overall is Resident Evil 4. However the game that has scared me the most is F.E.A.R..
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 10:19AM
thisguyrighthere said...
I really liked Fatal Frame. The first Silent Hill blew my mind. FEAR is fantastic. The demo for Project Origin scared the crap out of me. I don't think I blinked once while going through it.
A good horror game is about tension and atmosphere not shooting zombies in the face over and over and over and over.... or gore for gore's sake.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 10:34AM
bombtrak said...
I've got one that very few people have probably heard of...Space Hunk. It's based on a Warhammer 40k tabletop game of the same name.
I first played it on PC way back in '94 or so. Recently I found the PS1 version used, and put a little time into it. Despite the antiquated graphics, the game held up extremely well, and still scared the crap outta me.
Of course, so did the original Doom when I was 16 and playing it in the dark. Ahh, the simple times...
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 10:58AM
Hame said...
Resident Evil 4, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, House of the Dead.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 11:09AM
flameofdoom666 said...
Eternal Darknesssssssss!
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 11:14AM
Squig said...
Easily the original Doom on the PC, followed by Silent Hill 1
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 11:17AM
thisguyrighthere said...
I forgot about Fear Effect. That was awesome. I loved it.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 12:38PM
danny. (fdf.) said...
The second Fatal Frame before you get the camera. I wish the whole game had been as good and camera-less...
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 12:41PM
Fullmetal Salchemist said...
Dementium is out? Are there no reviews?
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 4:12PM
Frastoglegnia said...
1. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, XBox version. Only the XBox version has first person camera mode, which makes the game far creepier.
2. Silent Hill 2, then Silent Hill 1. Atmosphere and prevailing melancholy make the games especially haunting. Resigned melancholy is the gateway to passive fear -- just ask Poe and Lovecraft.
3. Eternal Darkness (speaking of Lovecraft) for its horror's metaphysical resonance -- metaphysics that do nothing to obscure the clearly outlined story.
4. Clock Tower: The First Fear, for its groundbreaking transposition of Dario Argento's aesthetic into the province of games. The game deserves plus points for making irrationality frightening: the killer is inhumanly persistent and can appear anywhere, the impossibility of which actually makes him more frightening because it makes him a figure from nightmares.
5. Resident Evil 4: The enemies seem less like zombies than strangers who are unified in hating the protagonist, which awakens the deep-seated fear that everyone hates you. R4 features the most hostile zombies I've encountered in games, books and films. That's what makes it a convincing horror game and not merely a gruesome FPS with excellent controls.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 5:45PM
Archibold said...
I am a fan of Resident Evil games so I'd probably say they are my favorite horror games overall.
However, counting Horror-esque games, I'd have to go with Castlevania games. I know they're not exactly horror, but have a lot of horror elements. I like how I'm making this argument just to include Castlevania on a list of my favorite games.
Reply
10-31-2007 @ 6:47PM
Flippant Jibilla said...
I know it's been said, but Eternal Darkness just scared the bejeezus out of me...only game to make me literally put down the controller and back away slowly...Alex in the bath, anyone?
Reply
11-14-2007 @ 10:34AM
Danielle said...
Eternal Darkness. Best horror. EVER.
You must love the sanity effects. You must. I mean, it's not every game that tricks you into thinking you've just deleted all your saved files. Or that there's a fly on the screen.
Reply
1-25-2008 @ 8:53PM
The Theory said...
I know no one will read this since it is a 3 month old topic... but I'm posting anyway. Try to stop me!
One of my favorite games is Resident Evil 4, and I am enough of a wuss to really get freaked out by that game. Even on the second time through. Visually it is perfect-- or as perfect as one can get on the gamecube.
I have yet to complete Eternal Darkness Sanity's Requiem... however, while the early chapters weren't too freaky... I hit the WWX chapter in the church and that is just a serious mind****. I had to set that aside for a while. The next time I get in the mood for a scare I really do need to pull that out again and try and finish that son of a gun.
Reply