1. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (Xbox)
For any of you that ever read an H.P. Lovecraft book or know
anything about Cthulhu, you should know how creepy those stories could be. For
those of you that know nothing about Cthulhu, here is just the basic info about
him: Cthulhu is one of the “Great Old Ones” that ruled the earth long ago. Put
the world into darkness and is now resting and waiting to be awakened. This
first-person shooter will leave you on the edge of your seat with every moment
of the game. You have to look for clues on to what is going on in this strange
village, avoid being killed by the cultish townsfolk and avoid losing your sanity
by seeing some creepy stuff in the game. Note: There are multiple endings to
this game and they are based on your sanity level and it is not easy to keep
sane. Stay sharp and Agon Cthulhu!
2. Resident Evil 4 (Gamecube, Wii, Xbox 360, PS2 & 3)
For those that love the Resident
Evil series, there was just something that added that extra creepy factor to
Resident Evil 4 that tops the rest of them. This game puts you on high alert as
you play as Leon Kennedy, from Resident Evil 2, and have to try to save the
President’s Daughter in a Spanish town filled in not only just zombie
villagers, a crazed zombie villager with a huge chainsaw and robed cultists,
but you get to buy all your sweet gear from some sketchy guy in a huge robe and
not only seems to be just ignored by all the zombies but apparently isn’t
willing to just give you the weapons for free during a time of crisis. No, you
have to still pay him money. Resident Evil 4 added a new camera angle and 3D
environment to allow for the player to get more into the game than the previous
RE games. Not only that but the villagers will do whatever it takes to kill
you. SO find a house and board it up because it might be the only thing that
will help keep you alive in this game.
3. F.E.A.R. (Xbox 360, PS3)
I love the F.E.A.R. Trilogy but nothing compares to the very
first one. This game has everything you could want to give you the creeps: a
game that is mostly dimly lit environments, creepy sounds always off in the
distance and the scariest thing of all, this creepy little girl that will pop
out of nowhere and scare the crap out of you. It feels like she appears all the
time in the worst of places and every time she shows up, you just want to do
whatever it takes to get away from her. I don’t know about you but she was the
icing on the cake that gave this game that extra scary vide to it. The game not
only will attack your player but will psychologically attack you with constant
usage of never knowing what lurks in the shadows.
4.Bioshock (Xbox 360, PS3)
To be honest, Bioshock isn’t really a horror game but man
does it just make you want to scream like a little girl at times. Your player
wakes up with no idea where he is or how he got there. You get to move about
the city of Rapture trying to figure out what happened and who you are. A long
the way, you get to meet the lovely psychotic people of Rapture that want to do
nothing but end your life. Also, meet up with the Little Sisters and their
Guardians Big Daddy. Creepy little girls are always a great add-on to any
creepy game. You must venture through this one beautiful city with the fear
that a crazy resident could be around any corner, waiting to strike you. Not
only that but listening to the audio diaries do not add much comfort as you
learn more about what has happened to this broken down city. Do what you can to
stay alive and learn everything about who you are and why the once great city
of Rapture had become a stick hole of psychopaths and mutated freaks.
5. Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3)
With a title like Dead Space, you should know already that
you are about to open up a can of maybe it might be best to play this one with
the lights on…. You are Isaac Clarke, an engineer that is part of a maintenance
crew, sent to repair the communications equipment on a mining ship. Upon
arrival, you find that these unknown creatures have slaughtered the entire
crew. This is a game where you can’t just make a quick head shot to kill these
creatures, you need to actually dismember them to take them down. This is one
of the scariest game series I have ever played. The necromorphs will pop out of
everywhere at any given time. Just when you think you are safe, WRONG! Bam,
necromorph pops out of the ventilation system and tries to chew your face off.
This game is just straight up scare the pants off you. Your heart will be
racing from the moment you start the game to the end of the credits.
6. Condemned: Criminal Origins (Xbox 360)
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a unique type of game that scares you unlike other scary games. In this first-person thriller, you are Agent Ethan Thomas and you are out to stop the serial-killer known as Match Maker. The atmosphere of this game makes me think of the movie Se7en, the game is gloomy, dark and the murders are just brutal. You will have enemies constantly popping out and trying to kill you. You have to use your wits and your surroundings to stay alive. I can honestly say, I have not played a game that was like this one, one that isn't scary because of monsters, ghost or demons but it scares you because its realism gets you into the game and feel apart of it. That psychological type of scare that makes you do what it takes to try and keep your sanity.
7. Fatal Frame 2 (Xbox, PS2, Wii)
Ok. I am pretty sure that most of the people have seen the movie The Grudge. I just as myself this one question: What is with all of these haunted japanese homes? I mean seriously, you would think they would have had some ghostbusters type people around there by now or something. How would you like to be trapped inside a haunted old mansion
with nothing but a camera to help fend off the evil spirits inside? No sane person would like this type of situation that your character is placed in. Fatal Frame II is just chock full of sheer, abject
terror. Steeped in very Japanese horror style, the game is eerie as hell, with
tons of disturbing imagery and enemies. This game forces you to confront
the terrors in front of you by waiting until the last possible second to snap a
spirit's photograph. Doing so will damage the ghosts, but at the same time, it
will also diminish your will power. There's only so many times you'll be
willing to stand idly by while demons come hurtling at you at top speed. After playing this game, you might want to think about maybe investing in a camera.
8. Silent Hill 2 (Xbox, PS2, or in HD for Xbox 360 and PS3)
Of all the Silent Hill games, nothing scared you more than the introduction to Pyramid Head. Nothing else can compare to the first time running into a large man with a huge Pyramid on his head and a large sword itching to just cut you in half. Once you knew he was near, you heart was racing, palms sweating and you just wanted to hide and pray he would just go away. The psychologically disturbing atmosphere and inhabitants of Silent Hill will surely make your skin crawl and make you want to sleep with one eye open.
9. The Suffering (Xbox, PS2)
In The Suffering, dropping the soap is the least of your worries in this prison. Your character is Torque and you have been sentenced to death for the murder of your family, which you can't remember because you blacked out when it happened, and sent to Abbot State Penitentiary on Carnate Island, Maryland. On the night of your arrival, an earthquake shakes the island and the demons of the damned rise up and walk the land of the living again. You might survive and escape the island. Along the way, you are haunted by the visions of your dead family and learn the horrible secrets of the island. Along your journey to escape you will encounter the demons of people killed, those by injections, beheaded, shot, etc., and they will come out of no where and want nothing more but to have your innards become your outards. The atmosphere is dark and dim and you have to use your flashlight to see down creepy corridors, not knowing what is hiding in the darkness. You will be given choices along the way to either help people or not and these choices will determine how the game ends. Fight to survive and learn to release your inner demon to fight your way off the hellish prison.
10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (Gamecube)
Now lets be honest, when you think of Nintendo, you don't really think of them as creating scary games. With Eternal Darkness, that changed everything you once thought about Nintendo. Eternal Darkness is one of those games you either remember
fondly for messing with your brain, or you can't stand to talk about it because
of all the horrifying memories you don't want coming back to haunt you. Few
games used as many tricks and surprises to fool players into thinking they were
going crazy, and included a handy sanity meter to track just how far down the
rabbit hole they had fallen. Whether it was the creepy children screaming, the
bleeding walls, or your TV seemingly turning on and off at random, Eternal
Darkness pushed the limits of interactive horror in a way that hasn't been
replicated since.
Well there you have it. I'm sure you might feel that some games should be on the list or not on here, so let us know what your Top 10 are and from all of us at GameXCape, we hope your Halloween is a safe and frightful one.
