Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Video games that every horror movie fan will love

If you can’t get enough gore and bone-rattling scares from horror movies, there are plenty of video games that you’re not going to want to miss out on. Here are the games that stand at the top of them all, packed with plenty of blood, guts and creepiness to satisfy your appetite for horror this Halloween.

Resident Evil (1)

The first entry of the critically-acclaimed series wasn’t the most beautiful or glitch-free, but it’s the game that revolutionized the survival horror video game genre. Stuck in a mansion, Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield are forced to survive against a horde of virus-infected zombies, while uncovering the twisted secrets of the corrupt Umbrella Corporation.

From crazy, blood-thirsty dogs to a tyrannical shark, this game has plenty of jump-out-of-your-seat scare-tactics. The timing of its scares, accompanied by the eerie soundtrack, is enough to make even the biggest horror film buff check underneath the bed before he goes to sleep. The PlayStation version doesn’t boast the best hardware compared to current-generation consoles, but the nostalgic experience is worth digging through your old video games for.

BioShock

2K Games created more than just a first-person shooter experience when they released “BioShock.” Players are forced into an underwater city called Rapture, where they’re forced to make sense of why insane, artificially-enhanced people (if they’re even people) have gone postal and have turned Rapture into a deadly free-for-all zone. The scariest part of this game is picking up primary documents located around the city, whether they’re audio clips or texts, because players must slowly put the pieces together of what happened themselves. You have absolutely no idea what’s going on until you uncover more and more secrets about the once-thriving, underwater metropolis. The sonic effects are also what make BioShock one of the scariest games ever produced. Demonic crying children, nails scratching against objects and distant wailing screams make for chilling gameplay that has raised the bar for first-person shooters.

Slender Man

The free PC game that has recently launched on the iOS owes a lot of its popularity to a thread created in the forums on the Something Awful website. The game is an example of how even a low-budget simple game can make you afraid of the dark. The game’s goal is to find eight notes about the so-called Slender Man, a name that was based on the faceless, suit-wearing man’s unnaturally tall, almost emaciated frame. It’s not so easy though. When the Slender Man appears, you better get as far away as you can because being in his presence for too long will drive you insane. Let’s not forget to mention that this all takes place in the dark. Yeah, good luck with that.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

This game has developed a near-cult following ever since its release. You play as Daniel, who wakes up in a dark castle surrounded by a mysterious and gory atmosphere. As you descend further into the depths of the castle, you’re greeted by horrifying creatures that will stop at nothing to kill you. The darkness is also your worst enemy in this game (when isn’t it?), and staying in the darkness without any source of light for too long will drive you insane. As you uncover the castle’s secrets, you also learn that Daniel isn’t as innocent as you might have first believed. Aside from the game’s terrifying narrative, there are also multiple, equally scary endings to unlock. Just don’t play this game alone.

Stephen Margelony-Lajoie can be reached at [email protected].

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  • D

    DanielOct 30, 2012 at 9:08 pm

    All good games, but Resident Evil is the best by far.

    Reply
  • Z

    ZiggyOct 26, 2012 at 1:49 pm

    A good list, but I think the scariest game I’ve ever played was System Shock 2.

    Reply