5. Until Dawn
Until Dawn plays like a love letter to classic horror movie tropes. It’s an interactive drama, dependent on decision branches and quick-time events, as well as third-person exploration and puzzle-solving. You’ll play as several characters over the duration of the game - a small group of teenagers, who all share the dark responsibility for the sudden disappearance of two of their friends.
Even if you’re a lover of action survival horror, you’ve gotta give Until Dawn a shot. The interactive drama mechanics make the story incredibly engrossing, and the plot is genuinely fantastic - all the better thanks to the branching decision system, which means you can play through this game several times and always have a different story.
4. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia is legendary among fans of horror games - this critically acclaimed, award-winning survival horror game is horrible to play in all the best ways. You take first-person control of a young man from London called Daniel, who wakes up in dark castle with no memory of who he is other than his name, where he lives, and the knowledge that he is being hunted.
Although the gameplay is minimalist, Amnesia: The Dark Descent makes perfect use of the knowledge that the worst horrors imaginable are those we think up ourselves. You can’t fight enemies - you need to stay away from them to remain sane - so relying on hiding and listening means you’re always fearing the worst is waiting for you outside the door. But how will you know until you look?
3. Little Nightmares
The design team behind Little Nightmares are geniuses. Unlike games that like to hide the monsters and let you torture yourself with your imagination, Little Nightmares’ repulsive character designs are very visible and very, very creepy in a way that will make you want to throw the controller as you play.
Playing as a little girl in a yellow raincoat, in a world of stylised graphics reminiscent of an animated film, the tone in Little Nightmares is deceptively bright - you’ll find yourself forgetting what’s waiting for you around the corner. With a sequel planned for 2020, now is the perfect time to pick up Little Nightmares for yourself.
2. SOMA
SOMA is the kind of game that stays with you. It’s a survival horror game that focuses on avoiding enemies and solving puzzles to make your way through the story, which is fantastically voice acted and utterly immersive. Based in an underwater facility and relying on stealth means the game feels very claustrophobic - any sound at all is enough to send you running.
But the part that stays with you is the story. A fascinating narrative that is equal parts compelling and disturbing, SOMA brings far more than the traditional jump scares and hiding in cupboards. It’s genuine psychological horror, that forces you to confront your own ideas of identity and morality.
1. Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 5 and 6 had their moments, but to me, they definitely felt like they were moving too far into gun-toting action to really be among the best horror games. But that’s what made Resident Evil 7 such a brilliant surprise - a dark, terrifying return to the roots of the series. You take first-person control of a man named Ethan, looking for his wife in a derelict plantation.
Ethan is a civilian, not a soldier, and the combat reflects that. It’s the first main Resident Evil game to use the first-person view too, which makes the brilliantly engineered environments feel all the more frightening. Not to mention this game is also compatible with VR if you really wanted to enjoy a fright.
Jake James
