Horror-themed games are just unbeatable. The suspense makes them a pleasure to play and the last 10 years have seen some truly marvelous titles. With us starting off a new year, we thought we would take a look at five of the best horror games to have delighted games fans in the last 10 years.

Alien Isolation

The game continues 15 years on from the events of the original Ridley Scott movie. You’re playing as Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda. It’s a first-person game and a xenomorph is on the hunt for you, searching for you in the darkness while you try to find your mother in the space station. The vibe of the game is simply brilliant, capturing what it was like to watch the movie for the first time, and there’s always the unnerving feeling that the Xenomorph is somewhere close by. You just don’t know where.

This game was a real experiment in virtual reality, combined with superb artificial intelligence for the alien itself. It also met the challenge of taking the xenomorph, which had suffered from overexposure and lost a lot of its impact. It’s a classic and the type of game to which you could really get quite addicted.

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard

Six games into the Resident Evil series and things are pretty stale. Then along comes the next one ‘Resident Evil 7: Biohazard’ and it’s a complete and welcome breath of fresh air. This game rises to the challenge of keeping the distinctive Resident Evil feel while bringing modern aspects of gaming and horror into the piece. The makers have nailed it.

‘Resident Evil 7: Biohazard’ switches from third person to first, which increases the fear factor, making the player feel the danger much more immediately. Meanwhile, you always feel as if you have less ammo than you need to make it through the game. The virtual reality elements in the game transform the gameplaying experience and ramp up the fear factor even further. 

 

Blood Lust

The gambling industry has also been inspired by the horror genre by incorporating horror within their games to try diversifying themselves from their competitors. Online slots in particular have become increasingly popular in the United States now that many individual states are legalising online gambling.

Slots are best known as a game that is host to a variety of themes usually inspired by TV and film so there are no surprises that a selection of casino sites now offer slots with horror themes. Some of the most well-known horror theme slot games are ‘Halloween’ or ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’, which take their inspiration from classic horror movies. 

One of the best slots out there has been ‘Blood Lust’. This vampire-themed slot from Elk Studios is a five reeler and features 99 different pay lines. The game contains random symbols on the reels, but if you land the Respin symbol on the fifth reel, you can hold any bonus symbols in view and trigger a respin.

It’s the bonus game where the big money is and there are no limits on how many bonus games you can play. It’s all a question of how many bonus symbols you land and you can win up to 15 free spins. The game will count all high-value symbols in view, whether you hit them or not, and if the high-value meter fills up, these symbols become top-value ones. You’re going to be one happy player when this happens.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

The Amnesia series from Frictional Games is a clever set of games and ‘Amnesia: The Dark Descent’ is one of the most notable. The horror comes from the sheer discomfort you feel while playing. It’s a game of immersion, with you as the central character, Daniel, waking up in a castle but not knowing how you got there or even who you are. As you walk around the castle, you must come to terms with your past (whatever that is). The only problem is you don’t know what is real and what is an illusion.

There’s little light. There are monsters running around. You have no weapons and can’t fight these monsters. Each room is home to spooky events of which the player has no idea. This is a scary, atmospheric game. Chilling, in fact, and you could say it requires a certain level of mental toughness to play it because you never quite know what’s going on and can only stay alive with sound maneuvering.

 

The Evil Within

‘The Evil Within’ has something of a ‘greatest hits of horror’ feel about it. The game recreates moments of horror from the past but also creates its own moments of horror, bringing about a unique feel to the game. 

The story is of a detective investigating the scene of a mass murder. While there, he encounters a mysterious force and, after witnessing the murder of several officers, he is knocked unconscious and wakes up in a strange world. In this world, frightening creatures wander amongst the dead and the detective’s job is to work out what is behind this force, all while trying to stay alive, of course.

Horror game fans may feel as if they’ve seen it all, but they haven’t. This game delivers scares. Anyone who grew up with ‘Silent Hill’, ‘Resident Evil’ or similar games would love it. There’s a hint of nostalgia while bringing something new to the mix.

These last 10 years have delivered titles that will remain classics for as long as they’re around for players to enjoy. They also show how game makers are in tune with the times, creating fresh games that retain some of their magical original formula while offering something new for horror game fans. You can guarantee scares and suspense and enjoy the hallmarks of a good horror game.

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