Recommend a few horror games

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LightningRod

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I'm looking to play some new horror games this month. I had a few in mind but I figured some people would have interesting titles I could also take a look at. I'm looking for anything from survival horror to anything just plain creepy.
I was thinking about getting Outlast and the new Amnesia title. Also, does anyone have an opinion
on Silent Hill 4, or Shattered Memories? Those are the two of the series I haven't played and I don't know much at all about them.

Thank you in advance.
 

Savo

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It's older, so you might have already played it, but I'd gladly recommend the first Condemned game. There's some fantastic psychological horror and jump-scares in there, I still have chills thinking about certain sequences. The combat system is pretty damn fun too.

If you don't mind comedy-horror, Deadly Premonition is unbeatable, and I hear nothing but good things about the Penumbra series if you want more horror like Amnesia. If you like horror-themed shooters, F.E.A.R. is very good, but the scares wear thin after the first game in the series.

Silent Hill 4 is by far the weakest title that the original Silent Hill team produced, but it's still worth a playthrough. It feels a lot different from the other Silent Hill titles (it actually started development as a horror game separate from the SH series), but you might have some fun with it if you don't go in with high expectations.

A word of warning though: You are given an AI companion in sections of Silent Hill 4. The AI is so dumb that you will be tempted to let her do her own thing; don't give in to that temptation. If she takes too much damage, you get locked out of the best ending, leaving you with a cold, brief, and unsatisfying ending. Just try to take care of her and protect her against monsters and you'll be halfway to getting a good ending.

Shattered Memories is not only the best Silent Hill released in years, I would rank it up there as the second best SH game ever released. It's a fantastic re-envisioning of the original game that grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let go. It's very different from the games in the main series??there is no fighting, and the gory aesthetic is sacrificed for cold icy environments??but the story and overall atmosphere is almost unmatched.
 

LightningRod

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Interesting. Thank you, you really made me interested in the titles you mentioned. I'll definitely give them a go. Especially Shattered Memories, that's one hell of a recommendation.
 

BearShark

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You've probably already played it, but I really liked Cry of Fear. Lots of action, but not to much so that it takes away from the horror part.
 

SquidVicious

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I would definitely second the recommendation of Condemned: Criminal Origins being one of the better survival-horror games of this generation.

As for Outlast and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs I would recommend Amensia:AMFP first and then giving Outlast a try as a comparison. If you haven't played Amnesia: The Dark Descent or the Penumbra games I would actually recommend them first. There's also quite a few good horror moments during the three S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, but they can be few and far between, but definitely worth your time.

If you're after more psychological horror you could give the Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth game a try, but make sure you have the game patched otherwise it's a bit of a mess. Still once the horror gets started it's really something else, easily on par with Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Condemned: Criminal Origins.

Lastly I think you should give the horror mod Nightmare House 2 a try. It's a source mod and plays a lot like the first F.E.A.R game, but is actually scary. It's a little rough around the edges but there's some really solid game design and a lot worse games out there.

Hope that keeps you busy for the best month of the year.
 

LAGG

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Fatal Frame 1, 2, 3 and 4
Sire: 1, 2 and Blood Curse
Resident Evil: Remake
Penumbra: Overture and Black Plague
 

KoudelkaMorgan

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I would mildly recommend SH4. Its not that great but there ARE bits and pieces of it that are genuinely great.

I would *STRONGLY* suggest not playing Shattered Memories. I hated it, for a myriad reasons. Chief among them is that it just isn't fun to play. The psych evaluation portions are mildly interesting, and the big twist at the end was pretty novel though.

The game just fails utterly to be scary, for the puzzles to be interesting, or the chase sequences to NOT be a giant pain in the ass. When you aren't getting repeatedly gang raped by the same generic looking humanoid creatures, that comprise the ENTIRETY of the enemies, to actually be able to look at the map it pretty useless. There are MANY paths that lead you back over and around the ONE series of doors that actually takes you anywhere. Its all the fun of being a rat in a maze full of cats. Only everything is iced over, so it looks the same, and its snowing. At night.

Which sounds tense I'm sure. However when you are forced to run though the same generic snowy area for 20 minutes looking for the way out as your path keeps looping you around through identical looking doors, past identical enemies, and after finding it realize that you have to go all the way back to look at some stupid bird statue you didn't know you were going to have to recall in exacting detail...it just makes you hate yourself for buying it.

The characters are all terrible, the endings all suck, all the various changes wrought by your test choices etc. are minor. The game is also REALLY short. If not for getting lost in each chase scene, due to poor visibility, total lack of any visual cue as to which path to take, and the need to never stop running EVER, I would imagine you could beat the game under 90 minutes. Seriously, almost NOTHING happens. The last 5 minutes are the only decent part of the game.

The one reason I would recommend Shattered Memories is for the soundtrack that came with it. Its awesome.

As for horror games I WOULD recommend:

Siren: The ORIGINAL one. It has one of the creepiest soundtracks in ANY game, and apart from that the sound the shibitos make when you are sight-jacking them will really creep you out. They are also pretty loud so other people in earshot will wonder WTF you are doing. Its also really difficult, so surviving may be a problem. Which used to be the POINT of these games. The story is also really good, though weird. Really weird.
Siren Blood Curse: The remake of ^. It has a more user friendly attitude and interface. Its way easier, arguably way better looking, and the plot is a little less complicated due to there being far fewer characters. Though if anything its even weirder.

Kuon: Its made by Fromsoftware, aka the makers Dark Souls. Here is the trailer Good luck finding a copy.

Fatal Frame 1-3: The first one is the best, followed by 2, and I barely remember 3 to be honest.

Silent Hill 1 and 2: The best in the series by a WIDE margin.

Silent Hill 3: Its still a great game, but it has a few minor issues for me personally that probably don't bother other people. Most notably both endings SUCK! Anything else I had to say good or bad about it would be spoilers. Well it does have some pretty nifty weapons and enemies.

Silent Hill Origins: I really liked this game. I played it on PS2 though. One boss in particular scared the crap put of me the second time I saw it. It was the *big* one, and you will know what I mean.

Silent Hill Homecoming: Interesting plot, great graphics, AWESOME bosses, but a questionable combat system. You will either love it or hate it depending on how quickly you learn how it works. The first enemy in the game killed be repeatedly, but eventually I got really good at it. Then I trying playing it again recently and I had no idea how to NOT get my ass handed to me by the same enemy. I quit playing it in shame.

Silent Hill Downpour: AWESOME game! I loved it, almost start to finish. I say almost because while I really liked a few of the endings, the others are complete shit. One in particular, let's call it the one of the bad endings, makes ZERO sense. It ignores or contradicts pretty much everything that happened in the game. One SIDEQUEST, involving a heart is easily one of the tensest sections I've played in a horror game. There are many sidequests, and all of them are pretty sweet. The enemies are a little meh for the most part. Other than that I highly recommend it.

Koudelka: Its...different. Its a horror themed RPG with a frankly bizarre battle system. Basically you send out Edward as your designated meat shield which prevents enemies from getting at your other 2 character that use magic. Edward is best left unarmed to raise his unarmed skill which in turn helps you when you put a powerful and very breakable weapon in his hands for bosses. If you want to play a game with some of the most gruesome and twisted Lovecraftian horrors attacking you in a creepy monastery then play this game. Its sequels are straight up jrpgs and a bit more lighthearted. Koudelka is straight up depressing and at times actually scary.
 

saxman234

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For something different and a little self plug, I just made a horror type game for the Indie Speed Run competition called Cirque du Accro, which you can play on the internet http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/indie-speed-run/?game=536

But some of my favorites that other people seem to have mentioned include Silent Hill 2 (which is incredible, and you can still play the original xbox version on 360 so you don't need to buy the horrible hd collection). Also most of Condemned Criminal Origins and its sequel Condemned 2: bloodshot are very good. I would also recommend, if you have a wii (or gamecube), the Resident Evil remake. That game scared the bejesus out of me when I first got it.

Deadly Premonition is fantastic if you like bizarre weird games. And for something more modern? Probably Outlast is the most recent terrifying game that got pretty good reviews. Jim Sterling does a pretty hilarious Let's Play for it thats also worth checking out.
 

Corven

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Give Lone Survivor a shot it is a pretty effective survival horror even if it is in 2d.


Try the swapper as well, while it is more puzzle platformer that survival horror, the atmosphere of the game is creepy and unsettling as you navigate through a seemingly abandoned space outpost.


I'd recommend against both the new Amnesia and Outlast, reason being is that if you were a fan of the first amnesia you will be disappointed in the sequel, and Outlast is to reliant on jumpscares which I consider a cheap way of scaring someone.
 

Windcaler

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The best horror game IMO is still silent hill 2. Silent hill 3, 4, and downpour arent bad either IMO.

Aside from the silent hill series there are plenty of indie games out there you can look into. Outlast is one I recently played, very good story but has a love it/hate it ending (personally I liked it). A lot of people will say amnesia the dark descent and a machine for pigs, I never played them so I cant give a personal opinion on them. Lone survivor is alright if you can stand the graphics and get over that the character isn't smiling and has a surgeons mask on (I cant, he just always looks like hes smiling to me which turns me off from it). Anything fatal frame is worth a look, especially the earlier ones IMO. That said you can also check out Dreadout, which is a game that made it through steams greenlight with a similar sytyle but I don't recall if it was fully released yet.

If you can get ahold of the demo Amoung the sleep is also pretty good. I was fortunate enough to get it and its a game where you play as an infant and its genuinely frightening while still requiring problem solving skills. However last I heard its still in development

Cold fear, despite its many bugs, is another one I really like but it tends to have take it or leave it gameplay elements

Alan wake is also ok but the DLCs are kind of hit or miss

Im sure Im forgetting others but that's all I can think of off the top of my head
 

piinyouri

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KoudelkaMorgan said:
I would mildly recommend SH4. Its not that great but there ARE bits and pieces of it that are genuinely great.
Like...
when you come back randomly to the room one time and all the windows start shaking and you're taking damage from something you can't see?
That took me by complete surprise and made me drop my controller. ;-;
 

Mikejames

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Silent Hill 4 may be one of my least favorite of the series, but I still recommend going through it once. I love the theme and premise of it, even if there are issues with execution. Just be prepared to do a lot of backtracking, and slow escorting, and dealing with unkillable enemies that drove me to shamelessly put the game on easy mode.

Otherwise, the Fatal Frame series could really get to me when I'm looking for quality jump scares.
Savo said:
Shattered Memories is not only the best Silent Hill released in years, I would rank it up there as the second best SH game ever released. It's a fantastic re-envisioning of the original game that grabbed me from the start and wouldn't let go. It's very different from the games in the main series??there is no fighting, and the gory aesthetic is sacrificed for cold icy environments??but the story and overall atmosphere is almost unmatched.
While I don't think Shattered Memories had the same fear factor that the earlier games had, I'm glad to see it recommended. It's definitely in my top three of the series. The story's pacing between exploration and psychological bits coupled with its ending make it a very memorable title for me.

Heck, my sister despises video games, but she wouldn't leave after she saw me playing the intro. Wanted to see how the story ended.

KoudelkaMorgan said:
Silent Hill Downpour: AWESOME game! I loved it, almost start to finish. I say almost because while I really liked a few of the endings, the others are complete shit. One in particular, let's call it the one of the bad endings, makes ZERO sense. It ignores or contradicts pretty much everything that happened in the game. One SIDEQUEST, involving a heart is easily one of the tensest sections I've played in a horror game. There are many sidequests, and all of them are pretty sweet. The enemies are a little meh for the most part. Other than that I highly recommend it.
Downpour had its issues, but I think its heart was in the right place.
It's interesting that some of the more memorable bits of the game were in completely optional areas too. Not all of the side-missions were worth it, as I couldn't be bothered to do many fetch quests, and I may have preferred if some of them were incorporated into the main story instead, but there are some hidden gems to be found.
(Stumbling into a random basement during a storm only to hear someone crying in the far corner? Scariest bit for me.)
 

Specter Von Baren

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The Witch's House
Mad Father
The White Chamber (Turn off the voices before playing, for the love of all that is sweet and caffeinated)

All of these are free games that you can download to your PC.

Also, there are two endings for The Witch's House, one of them turns the game into a trully horrifying game and you need to see it before putting the game down.

I really really recommend you start with Ib, it's very good.
 

white_wolf

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Kuon

Siren (Forbidden Siren for US)

Alan Wake can be creepy but I will say there is some cringe moments

Fatal Frame especially if you can get ahold of the first one I thought 2 was also scary 3 is scary at times but as far as the trilogy goes I place this one low on the fright list.

If you don't mind playing games that go back a few years

Alone in the Dark

Clock Tower 1

Resident Evil

Silent Hill
 

InfernalGrape

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PS1:

Parasite Eve 1-2. While 1st is RPG, 2nd is kinda "RE4 many years before RE4". 1st has great plot and awesome music, 2nd is really epic.

Echo Night. Interesting title from From Software (Dark Souls/Armored Core). It's more an adventure game.

Hell Night aka Dark Messiah. It's first person, there are puzzles and you can't fight...But it's creepier than Shattered Memories, hehe.

Galerians. Some sci-fi mental things here. If you watched "Scanners" movie..

Dreamcast:

Illbleed. Oh, what a crazy game! Not strictly "horror", but "parody on horror". Has some interesting weirdness. Though gameplay is unbalanced.

D2. Again, it's "horror-themed" instead of actual horror. Also has weird moments. And it's pretty unique too. Soundtrack is very beautiful, and dialogues can make you cry sometimes (though overall plot is trashy a bit). Gameplay-wise it's mix of adventure, rail shooter and hunting sim.

Playstation 2:

Silent Hill 4. The most unique entry in series. This game full of many interesting ideas and mind-blowing concepts. Sadly, realisation could be better. But i love it. Oh, and psychedelic soundtrack.

Silent Hill Shattered Memories. It's an interesting project, even if it can't scare. I recommend trying it at least.

Fatal Frame series. Ghost photoshooting) Also, FF4 on Wii has AWESOME music!

Forbidden Siren 2. IMHO 2nd is the best. 1st was too stealthy and Blood Curse is cutted and simplified. If you liked dark atmosphere of first Silent Hill and interesting complex plots - Siren awaits you.

Haunting Ground. Not everyone likes it though. Again, it's horror-themed. If you loved Clock Tower, maybe u'd like it.

Echo Night: Beyond. This one is very interesting. You are on the moon, alone with ghosts of past.

Rule of Rose. I can't say much, but it has interesting story and setting.

Kuon. It was mentioned above. A bit boring imho but the most japanese of all maybe
 

Evonisia

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Silent Hill 4: The Room is an under appreciated game in my opinion. I mean some design choices were annoying (like backtracking and escorting) but it held up Silent Hill's high standard of storytelling and atmosphere and is a good game to play if you feel like being creeped out yet intrigued.

Shattered Memories is also very good, I like how it's atmosphere, story and characters blend so well together. It's a nice re imagining and is genuinely 'faithful' to the original 4 games; a worthy successor if you ask me. Granted if you don't like the Wii controls you're going to have a bad time. It's not scary, though, but let's be honest Silent Hill has more appeal than that.
 

InfernalGrape

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Also, statements like "SH4 is not really a SH" fails. Yes, it was going to be another game, but it ended up maybe the most "silent hill-ish" of Silent Hills. The bases of how overall Silent Hill world structure and conception works perfectly in SH4. Demanding Silent Hill town in game is unnecessary.

About Deadly Premonition..It's coming to Steam soon. Don't miss it if you're out of X360/PS3 :) Perfect "Twin Peaks" game (though they were also inspired by early Suda51 "Flower, Sun, and Rain" adventure game)