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The best horror game of all time is...

m4st4

Member
Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 are still on the very top for me, followed by Resi 4 and, to some extent REmake.

Shoutout to Fatal Frame series though, that takes the cake for being the scariest in my opinion, I couldn't play that game for more than half an hour at a time, too intense. Japanese horror in general is much better when it comes to video games; Dead Space 2 came close to that sort of intensity, loved that game and wish they made a remaster of sorts.
 

RevenWolf

Member
I judge scariest based on games where I was literally too stressed from the fear to complete, so here is my list:

Alien: Isolation- the feeling of being hunted and vulnerable is overpowering.

REmake: having played the remaster for the first time ever recently, I'm amazed at how well it holds up, so much stress despite a slow pace!

Dead Space: I don't know why, but the ishimura scares me to death. I beat the sequel but when
you return to the ishimura
I nearly quit lol


I've beaten SH2, fantastic game, very creepy but I never felt dread with every step.

And PT was scary but I beat it alone on the first night of release in the dark, so I guess it just wasn't that scary.
 

hao chi

Member
I'd go with REmake if I'm not considering how scary the game is. Condemned: Criminal Origins is my favorite combo of horror and fun.

HM's to Alien Isolation, F.E.A.R., and Fatal Frame 1 and 2.
 

bee

Member
i'd go with dead space 2 pc with the 3D vision fix ,the opening with the guy up close talking to you looks incredible and sets the scene for the whole game really well
 
If I had a way to play the first Silent Hill, I could have tried SH2. NA PSN doesn't have it as a PS1 Classic on Vita :c

Virtue's Last Reward if it counts, if not then 999. Runner up is System Shock 2 for me, legendary game
 

Neff

Member
Imo it's RE1 or the REmake. There's just no other alternative, they're that good.

I played Silent Hill 2 for the first time last year, having rediscovered the very enjoyable first Silent Hill, and I was really disappointed. After hearing so many good things about SH2 over the years, I thought it was crap, honestly.

For someone who has never played any of the resident evils besides RE4 and RE5, which RE would you guys recommend that is on PC?

The Resident Evil REmake is on PC. It's a great port. It looks, sounds and plays better than ever, and it's a true classic.
 

GrayChild

Gold Member
Resident Evil 6. The adrenaline rush of suplexing zombies, the stress of showering BOWs with rockets and napalm from a chopper, the tension of brawling J'avos in a Chinese castle. Best horror experience ever.
 
Scariest game for me is Fatal Frame, easily. The ghosts, the sounds, the mansion, the backstory. It's a very unnerving game and I love it. The sequel is also good but I think the first game is scarier.

Silent Hill 2 has a better plot and a great atmosphere though, so it's a close second for me.
This. Nothing tops the first Fatal Frame when it comes to sheer horror and scaring you shitless. Fatal Frame 2 is also one of the best horror games ever and belongs in every horror game top 5, shame that no one gave either the shoutout on the first page they deserve.
 

venom473

Member
For me Alien Isolation, REmake and Dead Space are up there.

I liked Silent Hill 2 but I never really regarded it as a conventional horror game. The atmosphere is more depressing and suffocating than scary.
 
Yeah, Silent Hill 2 is arguably the best horror game ever created, but not just because of how fun it was or the gameplay. The atmosphere, narrative, plot twist, etc imo were unprecedented, especially for it's time. That first encounter wit hPyramid Head was unlike anything I've experienced in any game and is so memorable even to this day. I still think SH3 was the better game and easily up there with the legends, but I think the story in SH2 was better to the point of pure erudition and I generally do not care about stories in most games. SH2 imo was creepy, but it was more depressing than scary while I think Sh3 was the more sinister and creepier game(mirror room). RE Remake was great also, but I honestly never found any of the RE games scary for some reason. Also, I am going through Siren 2 and the 3 Fatal Frame games currently. All excellent horror games imo. P.T. imo is the most unsettling of recent memory and that is coming from someone who isn't creeped out by anything. They do not make horror games like those anymore and it's upsetting. I do agree that the traditional third person horror games are dead sadly.
 

MrS

Banned
I lean towards the original Silent Hill because it was unlike anything I'd ever played before...and that intro was scary as fuck. In terms of story, Silent Hill 2 is the better game though and it did improve on what made SH so good. Both the undisputed kings of the genre imo.
 

bratpack

Member
REmake got that balance perfect IMO it has
Great

Gunplay
Location
Enemies
Graphics
Story
Defensive items
Creepy music

It cherry picked all the best parts of survival horror into one tight package.

For modern games I pick alien isolation so intense
 

Vindicator

Member
Yeah, Stalker. At night, seeing some stairs leading down to some laboratory was already frightening, not to mention what was going on inside.
Been playing REmake for the First time recently, truly great game, nice to see some similarities with Dark Souls as well.

In the end my vote goes for Frictionals games, Penumbra, Amnesia, SOMA - the atmosphere there hits you like a sledgehammer.
 

Atomski

Member
3rd person horror just dosnt work on me anymore. The lack of emotion in the players face and their stance just ruin it for me. It's like playing as a emotionless mannequin.. which is weird in sh2 cause you also seem to be killing mannequins.

I like first person horror even though they haven't hit story wise.
 

televator

Member
As amazing as REmake is, nothing in that game comes close to matching the creepiness and despair instilled in just one enemy from Silent Hill 2-


Oh, does your horror game have a mutated representation of familial gang rape? No? Just infected bitey monsters? Well then.


I've come to terms with it as well when I considered everything in the game, what it represents, the subtle and macabre way its presented, it's absolute dedication to adult horror without being too cheesy or placating for the player... Besides maybe the little girl- but even she has a purpose amongst the others you meet.

It's just perfect, and I know you and plenty others here have gone through horror of all kinds.

Wait, gang rape? I thought it was just her dad molesting her represented in that monster.
 

Aaron D.

Member
This thread reminds me of how strong the horror genre is as a whole.

Some of my personal faves:

Condemned: Criminal Origins
System Shock 2
Alien: Isolation
Dead Space 1 & 2
Resident Evil 1 & 2
Year Walk

Thief (Shalebridge Cradle level)
Half-Life 2 (Ravenholm level)
 

Bamboo

Member
Project Zero II

Fuck Japanese ghosts. Some frightning backstory to the ghosts themselves and some great scary, atmospheric moments overall.
Don't know if it's the best, but the spirit photography mechanic is the perfect in-between of being defensless and having an appropriate defense. Putting yourself at ever greater danger to get a better shot is ingenious. And the fact that those stupid ghosts can walk through walls scared me shitless several times.
 

renjworks

Neo Member
Silent Hill 1 was so scary it made me sick and experience nightmares.
I didn't replay it and never play any more sequel.
 
Silent hill 2 because everything in that game worked towards establishing the tone. Silent hill 3 was good but it lacked the personal struggle that sh2 had.
 

eliochip

Member
Doom 3 had some moments.
The "scariest" game of all time for me was probably SIREN. Silent hill 2 I remember being disturbing and depressing more than anything. I wasn't scared but it's atmosphere was suffocating.
 
In terms of disturbing story probably Rule of Rose.
In terms of genius Silent Hill 2.

A game that actually made me anxious was Siren: Blood Curse (the only Siren game I've played).
 

Necron

Member
Bloodborne might just be my #1. The lore in that game is so fucking crazy in so many ways. Eldritch horrors, horrific experiments and abominations, locations that get more and more surreal as you decend into the madness.

There are so many layers, there is so much happening behind the veil, only to be revealed once you start looking for it. I still can't fully grasp it all, or how anyone even comes up with stuff like this.

Thought the same, especially after reading the 107 page essay of Bloodborne that examines every layer and pieces it all together:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JL5acskAT_2t062HILImBkV8eXAwaqOj611mSjK-vZ8/edit
Learning what really happened in Yahar'gul makes the location even scarier... so many details that you can't understand or don't notice.

However, the absolute scariest game I've ever played is probably Alien: Isolation (or P.T. even though it's "only" a demo of sorts).
 
Silent Hill 1,2,3 even 4 "gets it" in a way that most horror games don't, although 4 felt half baked.. From there I'd say Siren, Fatal Frame, Clock Tower, Resident Evil 1,2,Remake.. Even games like Juon had a super scary feeling.

I like Dead Space, but it has no subtlety. It ultimately feels like a scary Cartoon. The western made Silent hill games feel the same. Too edgy or something.. There's this sense of subtlety or humbleness in game design style, atmosphere, I don't know, that you either have, or you don't, and most of them don't.
 

TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Silent Hill 2 holds a special place for me
Unlike other games most games it's more like a dark place I've been/experience, more Haunting then anything.
 

olimpia84

Member
Still the king:

Resident_Evil_2002_cover.jpg

Yes, REmake is the king of horror games.
 
The original Alone in the Dark for me, none of the sequels really equalled it. Slow, creepy with lots of interesting puzzles, and a Cthulhu mythos theme.
 

RangerX

Banned
I can't argue with you at all OP. SH2 is the most intense gaming experience I've ever had. The themes and atmosphere are handled absolutely masterfully. Can anyone tell me if the PC version is any good? Its actually been a while since I've played through it an my PS2 is long gone.
 

LUXURY

Member
SH2

Nothing I've played after it has been able to evoke the same feelings. Even the puzzle put me on edge. Truly is one of a kind.


Yep. Nothing besides 3 has ever managed to make me feel truly uneasy and frightened while engaged in the game. Horror is my favorite genre be it films, tv, games, books, or whatever. I'm still waiting for something to make me feel the same way. Those games made me feel like I was there. I was in the rusted, bloody, creepshow town. I miss that feeling.
 
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