Poll: What Is the best survival horror game out there?

[jackpackage200]

My friend and I were arguing over which horror game is best/scariest. So my fellow escapists, what Is the best survival horror game out there?

Edit: It makes me sad that people picked doom 3 and dead space... please be trolling and not serious

 

[Flight]

Personally, I think Eternal Darkness is the best of those options. It had several interesting concepts (multiple characters in multiple historical settings, the sanity meter, an eldritch abomination who really just wanted to be left the heck alone), and it was the first horror game I played with a female protagonist (who was dressed sensibly and wasn't focused on for fanservice, no less!). Years later, it's still one of my favorite games, and I occasionally brush off my GameCube controller in order to pick it up and play it again.

 

[Phlakes]

PFFFFFFFF-AHAHAHAHOOOOOHAHAHA-OOOOOH-HAHEHEHOHEHAHEHHOOOOooooh...

Yeah, not Doom 3.

I'd go with the Half-Life mod Afraid of Monsters. Scariest shit I've ever played ever.

 

[The Madman]

System Shock 2 is the only game that's ever gotten to me in terms of horror. It's just got this feeling of constant oppression and danger that digs at the nerves so that when finally something actually happens your heart is racing and you're near the point of panicking. I love it! The whole setting and story is also rather horrific and builds up fantastically without relying on 'gross out' horror tricks or jump scares.

SHODAN and The Many are also brilliant villains, easily some of the best in the entire gaming genre. For such an old game it's also got fantastic sound design, which is essential for any sort of horror experience.

 

[Gmans uncle]

Silent Hill 2, not a contest.
Amnesia's a close second.
It is bloody hilarious that you actually put Doom 3 and Dead Space in the same category as SH2 and Amnesia.

EDIT: lol after by the time I posted someone had actually voted for Doom 3! XD

 

[Spider RedNight]

Until I play Amnesia, I'm gonna be a pansy and say that Dead Space is the only game that's ever scared me more than once... 'till the last level when they decided to just spam you with bad guys instead. Maybe it's my fault because I never actually decided to raise my guard... Either way, after playing the game for an hour or so, the fear goes away, but for me, it comes back again after periodic breaks.

 

[jackpackage200]

Silent Hill 2, not a contest.
Amnesia's a close second.
It is bloody hilarious that you actually put Doom 3 and Dead Space in the same category as SH2 and Amnesia.

I knew people would pick them, which is kind of pathetic

 

[King of the Sandbox]

I refuse to participate on the grounds that RE is not here and that is BLASPHEMY.

(Ok, well not part four, because they pretty much went full Bruce Willis Action Movie in that one.)

EDIT: Thank you for adding RE to the poll. I will now vote for it.

 

[TheRussian]

Amnesia, without a doubt. Penumbra comes in second, but Doom 3, lol, no.

 

[The Madman]

I actually liked Doom 3...

Not a very good 'horror' game, the monster closets were as predictable as they come and the game did a poor job of building up tension, but the gameplay was tight and it was just a plain fun game. I didn't even mind the flashlight thing since it added a bit of ambience to the experience.

Graphics were also absolutely mind-blowing for their time, even still stands up well today. I remember the PC gamer magazine that revealed the game had a screenshot on the front page with the subtitle 'this is in-game' or somesuch because it just seemed so advanced for its time.

 

[solemnwar]

Clearly Dead Space is the best horror game to ever come out in the world.

Nah I'm just fooling you all. It's the best to ME, because I am a GIRL and cannot tolerate anything else. I am not a horror fan, hrrdrr.

 

[Arkley]

In terms of being the best actual Survival Horror game on the list, I'd call it a tie between SH2 and Amnesia. Amnesia's better playability but relatively unimpressive plot vs Silent Hill's awful controls/camera & stupid puzzles but exceptional universe & well told story make it too close to call in my opinion.

My favourite Survival Horror game, though, is the Resident Evil remake for the GameCube. It's plenty scary, has hands down the best graphics of the last generation (I don't care if you consider pre-rendered environments cheating, they still look amazing) and, unlike virtually every other game purporting to be "Survival Horror", it's actually goddamn difficult - in fact, a constant struggle - to survive.

Say all you like about Silent Hill 2's psychological horror, it can't come close to being faced with an enemy you likely can't evade, probably can't kill, and will just get back up later as something much faster and very annoyed if you do kill it. The overwhelming dread induced the game's incredibly small ammo supply and extraordinarily powerful enemies is unlike anything I've experienced since.

 

[shrekfan246]

Silent Hill 2, not a contest.
Amnesia's a close second.
It is bloody hilarious that you actually put Doom 3 and Dead Space in the same category as SH2 and Amnesia.

EDIT: lol after by the time I posted someone had actually voted for Doom 3! XD

While I agree they're different styles of game (Doom 3/Dead Space opting for jump scares and loud noises in dark environments with a small armory at your disposal, Silent Hill 2/Amnesia giving you either a crappy combat system or no combat and tugging more at your psyche), they do all belong in the "Survival Horror" overall genre. Resident Evil is considered a survival horror "classic", that's just as ridiculous as Doom 3 or Dead Space. And it has worse writing/gameplay mechanics (RE:4 excluded).

OT: I don't usually vote in polls, but when I do, it's for Amnesia: Dark Descent. I can't speak for Silent Hill 2 because I've never finished it, and while I have fond memories of a mutant leaping out at me from behind a random door in Doom 3 and I love Dead Space when it's actually pacing itself, Amnesia is the only game I've played that pumps on this non-stop oppressive feel of hopelessness (I'm pretty sure I would feel the same way about Silent Hill 2 if I could actually get further than beating Lying Figures to death with the wooden plank).

 

[RoboKy]

no love for the fatal frame franchise? For me, the best survival horror is still fatal frame 3. Ok, there is some fan service in there but it combined claustrophobic spaces with frugal inventory management and combat that required you to get a good look at the ghostly monstrosity in order to deal the most damage.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

Well, are we talking best game overall in the survival horror genre, or scariest game in the survival horror genre?

For scariest, I'd say either Silent Hill 2 or Eternal Darkness. Both are very good at what they do, which is to be scary/unnerving.

For best, and these games really stretch the "survival horror" genre, I'd say Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space 2 (both series were on the poll). I adore these games. Not because they're scary (RE4 really could have been, and it had moments), but because they control so goddamn well. They're controls keep me coming back to them again and again. I can't even count the amount of hours I've put into both games. I wouldn't classify either one as survival horror, but the general public would, so you know what, I'm counting them!

Oh, and I loved Doom 3. It wasn't scary, but it was a fun game.

 

[Vangaurd227]

I know its really really old but Clock Tower(Clock Tower 2 in japan) is probably my contender for the best a survival horror game out there

 

[backinthepresentfuture]

Amnesia, without a doubt. Penumbra comes in second, but Doom 3, lol, no.

X_X my gods the horrors!!!

 

[Mau95]

CASCORE!!

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I thought that the Source mod No More Room in Hell did a good survival horror job. Zombies can infect you with one bite, there's dozens of them at once, you have hardly any ammo (or even guns), and let me tell you, getting seperated from your team is fucking terrifying. The mod using what I call 'dynamic voice chat', meaning that you can only hear voice chat if you're standing close to a person, unlike other games where you can always hear them.