Itās the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas ā itās October the month of Halloween. There is really no better time to scare yourself silly with videogames ā and weāre not talking about the rising price of them.
Horror games are my favourite kind. Seriously, should Magnus Magnusson ever rise from the dead and invite me onto Mastermind, horror games would almost certainly be my specialist subject. And, since thereās 31 days of this month in which to spook yourself, I thought it would be fitting to provide 31 incredibly chilling horror games for you to delve into ā one for each day of this most frightful of months.

There are, of course, a number of games that are dead ā pun absolutely intended ā certs. Resident Evil (1996), Resident Evil 2 (1998), Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999), Resident Evil ā Code: Veronicaā (2000), Resident Evil 4 (2005) ā which is perhaps the greatest video game ever made ā and, at least for the first few agonisingly claustrophobic hours,Resident Evil 7 (2017). Itās a curveball, but Iām going to add Resident Evil Zero (2002), an underappreciated frightfest and a glimmer of hope during an era where Capcom seemed obsessed with getting people to care about light guns. The remakes of Resident Evil 2 (2019) and Resident Evil 3 (2020) also make the cut.
Thatās already nine games so far, and itās unlikely any other franchise will dominate this list in such an aggressive manner. There is of course Konamiās Silent Hill (1999), Silent Hill 2 (2001) ā another contender for the greatest game ever ā and Silent Hill 3 (2003). I would like, however, to offer a reappraisal of Silent Hill 4: The Room, which took the seriesā DNA, significantly retooled it, and refreshed the entire franchise in the process.
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If youāve never played it before, you spend 50 per cent of the game in one room, peeking through a crumbling hole in the wall. Itās some creepy genius, though not as much as PT, the critically acclaimed āplayable teaserā for the now cancelled Silent Hills. which was supposed to be directed by Metal Gear Solidā creator Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.
Weāre now up to 14. Letās throw in Red Barrelsā Outlast (2013) and its sequel, Outlast II (2017). Theyāre a bit rough around the edges and peddling a dated asylum trope, but undoubtedly effective. Dead Space (2008) and Dead Space 2 (2011) also deserve to be in this list for keeping the survival horror genre alive through some lean years and amplifying the terror that is the vortex of deep space.
But really, when it comes to intergalactic fear, thereās one game that towers above them all: 2014ās Alien: Isolation, a game that conjured up such creeping dread that up to 90 per cent of people who ever played it are allegedly still hiding in an air vent or under a desk. While weāre exploring space, another oldie but a goodie is System Shock 2 (1999), aka what designer Ken Levine did before Bioshock (2007), which totally goes in this list too.

Thatās 21 games so far. Sticking with the retro vibe, letās add Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005), a nasty, disturbing offering from SEGA that would break the internet if it was released today. And, of course, Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010), because if you can get through what weāll simply describe as āthe water partā without screaming until your windows shatter, youāre braver than this writer.
Other throwback horror games that deserve a spot on this list include Forbidden Siren 2 (2006) and Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (2003), two bizarre titles from the golden days of the PS2, a machine that had more than its fair share of horror game highlights. Iād also like to give some props to Darkwood (2014) too. Itās not considered a retro game, but it certainly feels like one. Itās a top down survival horror thatās extremely unsettling, much like Doki Doki Literature Club! (2017), a visual novel that has to be played in the dark. Under a blanket and away from others.
Weāre down to our last four games. At number 28 is Slender: The Eight Pages (2012), which has seen better days, but few experiences in gaming are as frightening as when you first encounter the gameās titular antagonist. Letās also add in Hidetaka Miyazakiās masterpiece, Bloodborne and a game thatās unparalleled in its dankness: Dark Souls (2011). Finally, letās round things out with that wretched eel from Mario 64 (1996), which is, in truth, a moment scarier than anything any horror game can offer. Warning: donāt look into its horrible, soulless eyes. And with that, creep yourself out folks.
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