One of my favorite video game genres is survival horror. They are tense, leaving players on the edge of their seat as they scavenge for limited supplies and deal with an unknown enemy force creating obstacles insurmountable. Over the years, many solid survival horror series have popped up, establishing strong franchises within the genre. If you're a fan of survival horror or are thinking about trying out some video games within the genre then check out the best twenty survival horror video games that are available right now.
Did we miss a survival horror video game title that deserves to be on our list? Let us know what video game is worth checking out in the comment section down below!
Released back in 2001 as the last video game that DreamWorks Interactive ever developed, Clive Barker’s Undying follows a paranormal adventurer Patrick Galloway. Galloway’s services are needed when Jeremiah Covenant lies on his deathbed with evil terrors within him. He is up against the clock, not only to save the world from evil by using his arcane magic and trusty six shooter but to also save Jeremiah before his time runs out. Released for the PC platform, gamers can pick this game for a bargain thanks to websites such as gog.com.
Clock Tower is a point-and-click survival horror video game. The series first kicked off in 1995 for the Super Famicom but has since released on a number of different console platforms. Not only is Clock Tower a classic survival horror title that has since spawned several titles within the Clock Tower franchise but it tosses players into a truly terrifying scenario. Players become trapped within a mansion with a madman known as the Scissorman. In order to escape the mansion, players will make their way throughout the location all the while hiding when the Scissorman happens to stumble into the area.
Another interesting point to the game is that it featured multiple endings which were only accessed by the choices players make throughout the game. If this video game sounds interesting to you then you’re in luck as Clock Tower is available through both Sony’s PSN and Nintendo’s Virtual Console.
Siren was bound to be a success as a fantastic survival horror video game title. The reason being is that Siren was created by Keiichiro Toyama, the director for the video game Silent Hill. Siren is based around a Japanese village known as Hanuda which chose to become separate from the outside world. During one of the villages ritual ceremony’s to bring their god back into the world, an earthquake stops them and curses the village into a different world. Now a total of ten survivors must prevent the cult from bringing their god back and return the natural order.
This of course is easier said than done. Those that didn’t survive the ceremony have turned into new subordinates known only as shibito. These shibito’s patrol the area looking for the last remaining humans to sacrifice. Originally released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2003, players can still pick up the title through Sony’s PSN.
If you haven’t played Slender: The Eight Pages then chances are you at least heard of the game. This is a freeware indie title that released for Windows and OS X back in 2012. Overall the story is about the folklore of the Slender Man who is ominous and adducts children if they wander alone into dense dark areas. Players start off in the middle of a forest where they must collect all eight pages located throughout the forest. However, the catch is that they must do it before being caught by the Slender Man.
Players only have a flashlight equipped on them along with having the ability to jog for spurts of a few seconds. Throughout the game, players may come across the Slender Man which is showcased by a loud piano noise and static screen. If they stare too long at him, don’t reach the page in time or if the Slender Man catches you then the game ends. Because players enjoyed Slender: The Eight Pages so much, developers released a sequel in 2013 known as Slender: The Arrival.
Eternal Darkness is one game that came a bit as a surprise. Survival horror games generally do not release exclusively for Nintendo but back in 2002 Eternal Darkness was one game that made the cut. Though Eternal Darkness wasn’t a massive commercial success, it’s praised by survival horror fans not only for its interesting storyline but also the psychological effects tossed towards players during gameplay. Players take on the role of Alexandra Rovias as she investigates her grandfather’s murder, roaming through his mansion and uncovering dark secrets along the way. Development studio Silicon Knights added in an element known as “sanity effects”: a false blue screen of death, unsettling noises, skewed camera angles, fake volume indicators, among other events, were created to mess with the player’s mind. Silicon Knights has since disbanded and Nintendo has shown no signs of reviving this video game series, so it is unlikely that we’ll ever seen another title. Writer and director of Eternal Darkness, Denis Dyack, have been looking to release a spiritual success known right now as Shadow of the Eternals.
Alone in the Dark, a computer game first released in 1992, is often referred as one of the pioneering video games for the survival horror genre. The game takes place in the 1920s and the player controls an investigator exploring a haunted mansion. This breakthrough title helped pave the way for future video games for the genre and inspired the development of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Being one of the first survival horror titles, players were subjected to tense gameplay filled with puzzles to solve and items to scavenge.
Dead Space takes place in the distant future where players control Isaac Clarke, an engineer for spacecrafts. When a ship sends out a distress signal, Isaac Clarke, and a team head out in hopes to fix the ship and bring the crew back up and running their mining operations. However, various difficulties and mishaps cause Isaac and his crew to be left with a very slim chance of survival. Players are up against a slew of Necromorphs, vile creatures that reanimate dead corpses. To make gameplay a bit more tense and horrifying, developers eliminate the heads-up display, rendering most of the vital signs and other other necessary info within Isaac’s suit.
Naughty Dog once again struck blockbuster gold with The Last of Us. It is perfectly executed both in gameplay and story. While the survival horror aspect isn’t necessarily the game’s most predominant feature, The Last of Us is one title that well deserves to be on this list. Set within a post-apocalyptic United States, the world is plagued with a fungal disease that spreads through bites of infected, setting the world into a massive lockdown. Players control a middle-aged man by the name of Joel and a young teenage girl, Ellie, as both are tasked of making their way across the United States. Expect twists and turns along the way with this game of year award winning title.
Fatal Frame sets players into the character of Miku Hinasaki who is on the search for her missing brother Mafuyu. During her journey, she becomes subjected to evil spirits and ghosts that can only be destroyed by capturing their image with a special weapon, the Camera Obscura. This is an antique camera that is capable of expelling spirits. Players are often tasked with searching areas for different image cartridges along with healing items. The difficulty of the game hinges on balancing the use of healing items with capturing an evil spirit on film, as supplies are very limited.
Parasite Eve is a survival horror game with RPG elements. This game follows a New York City police officer named Aya Brea who is attempting to stop a monster that causes humans to spontaneously combust. With the RPG elements, combat is a bit more unique as attacks are based on turns with set time limits. Fans enjoyed the video game enough that developers were able to release a sequel the following year in 1999 and a third title to the series in 2010, The 3rd Birthday.
Based off the novel of “The Call of Cthulhu” by H. P. Lovecraft comes Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. This game is based on Jack Walters, a private detective in 1922 who suffers from a mental illness. Jack must investigate a missing person case within Innsmouth, a mysterious town that has cut itself away from the rest of the world. Within the town Jack learns of entities that will test his ability to not only deal with his investigation but his mental stability.
The Evil Within was a highly anticipated video game from its very first announcement, largely thanks to they hype surrounding its director, Shinji Mikami, of Resident Evil fame. Our protagonist Sebastian Castellanos is a police detective on scene of a gruesome mass murder within a mental hospital. He is quickly thrust into a hellish world filled with gruesome creatures, testing his combat and puzzle solving abilities.
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a bit different than most other survival horror titles. The game is played as a brawler with a heavy emphasis on melee based combat rather than gunplay. Players will take on the role of Ethan Thomas, a crime scene investigation agent for the FBI. While, on the job, Ethan learns that he has been framed for a murder. To clear his name, Ethan will have to find an evasive killer known only by his codename Serial Killer X. However, his journey finding Serial Killer X is tough thanks to an evil force that has taken over the city. Now citizens are driven into madness, forcing Ethan to defend himself from their attacks while still following the trail of his prey.
Five Nights at Freddy’s took the gaming community by storm upon its release last year. This indie point-and-click survival horror video game is based around a pizza restaurant. Players take on the role of a new night security guard, who learns that the animatronic animals within the restaurant have started to malfunction and kill. Players will have tools that will keep them alive until their guard shift is over, like camera and audio feeds, and the ability to shut doors or turn on lights. Failure to keep track of the animatronics will result in their death and one helluva jumpscare.
The System Shock series didn’t really become a commercial success for developers Irrational Games but it did give them inspiration to later release the BioShock series. System Shock 2 plays out as a first-person action role-playing game with survival horror aspects. Storyline isn’t fully given to players until later on as our protagonist awakes in a cryo-tube and discovers that cybernetic implants have been grafted to their flesh. With the entire crew of the starship slaughtered and infected enemies roaming the halls, players will have to escape the area and attempt to unravel the mysteries of not only your discovered cybernetic implants but the starship infection as well. The game was recently re-released, after many years of fan outcry, on GOG.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is another title that was a massive success when it first released in 2010. The game first released as an independent download by developers Frictional Games. Players awake in a dark castle with no memory other than their name and that something is hunting them down. As players lurk throughout the castle to regain their memory they’ll be subjected to the main gameplay element, puzzle solving. However, within the castle are grotesque enemies that not only will kill the player character but also cause their sanity level to decrease. This sanity level acts as a health indicator. If not managed properly, the player will start to witness unsettling events, eventually leading to their death.
Outlast first released on Windows back in 2013 but is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, and OS X. The game follows freelance investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who decides to check out a psychiatric hospital. Once there, Miles learns that the hospital has become overrun by homicidal patients. As Miles has no combat background, players are forced to evade rather than confront the enemies, often running away or hiding in areas like lockers or under beds. One of the items Miles carries with him is a night vision camcorder, however, it requires batteries, forcing the player to constantly scavage for items.
Resident Evil 4 changed the way the entire series was played. It swapped out the gameplay mechanics for new elements, like interactive environments and laser sights for improved weapon aim. In this fourth installment Leon S. Kennedy, an American secret service agent, is tasked with rescuing Ashley Graham, the daughter of the U.S. president, who has been kidnapped by a cult and possibly subjected to a new deadly virus.
Alien: Isolation is an action-adventure tgitle based on the film series Alien. The game is set over a decade after the events of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien, starring the daughter of Ellen Ripley. The player’s journey into space is to solve the disappearance of Ellen but in the process, you will have to outsmart the alien creatures that lurk along the path. Gameplay strongly emphasizes on stealth gameplay mechanics.
The Silent Hill series is one of the most popular video game franchises for the survival horror genre. It is set within the town of Silent Hill, home to a hellish world housing a sinister cult and a legion of grotesque and evil creatures. Silent Hill 2 focuses on James Sunderland, who at the beginning of the game receives a letter from his deceased wife. Within the letter she reveals that she is in the town of Silent Hill, prompting James to head there in search for her, hoping that she is still alive. Similar to other Silent Hill titles within the franchise, players are given limited supplies and must use designated save points and solve countless puzzles in order to progress through the game.
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