HORROR GAMES – KNOW YOUR TYPES
HORROR GAMES - KNOW YOUR TYPES
Since it is October, and Halloween is fast approaching, I thought this would be the perfect time to go a genre analysis of horror games, explain the different types, and give examples. Typically speaking, horror games aim to scare, disturb, confuse, and frustrate the player. If you don’t have at least one jump scare, a frustratingly difficult enemy, or a weird dream/vision sequence, it’s probably not a horror game. Below is a list of the types of horror games, and notable examples of each (Note, some games contain elements of several horror categories, and will be treated as such.)
SURVIVAL HORROR
The most prevalent of the horror types, Survival Horror games pit the player against supernatural forces, zombies, mutants, ghouls, etc. and tasks them with gathering the resources and weapons needed to survive. Historically speaking, Alone in the Dark and the first Resident Evil are the titles that brought this sub-genre to life. Must-plays in this category include the Resident Evil Saga, Dead Space Saga, Silent Hill Saga, Alien Isolation, and The Evil Within 1 & 2.
PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR/THRILLER
The goal of Psychological Horror/Thriller games, is to absolutely screw with your head. These games are filled with ghastly visions, disorienting hallucinations, and dark secrets. Some games even take this a step further, with Eternal Darkness messing with your controller ports, save files, and other freaky examples of breaking the Fourth Wall as an example. Must plays in this category include Eternal Darkness, Alan Wake & American Nightmare, Blair Witch, Layers of Fear, The Evil Within 1 & 2, Dead Space Saga, Deadly Premonition, Outlast Trilogy, SOMA, PREY, and Silent Hill Saga.
RUN, HIDE, OR DIE
In this category, the goal is pretty simple; run, hide, or die. In these games, players are largely powerless against enemies, and must use distractions to escape, or find places to hide. Where a game like Resident Evil gives a player a chance to fight back against terrors, these games aim to instill overwhelming dread and paralyzing fear when a big bad enters the room. Alien Isolation is the unique game that is both a Survival Horror and a Run, Hide, or Die. In Isolation, gamers can fight back against most enemies, except the ruthless Xenomorph (at least till endgame, when one gets a flamethrower). Some must-plays in this category are Alien Isolation, Blair Witch, Outlast Trilogy, Amnesia Saga, and SOMA.
SCI-FI HORROR
Sci-fi horror games are titles involving aliens, evil A.I., space, research facilities, laser guns, and/or interdimensional realms. As the iconic Sci-fi horror film Alien famously put it, “In space, no one can hear you scream.” Whether its Dead Space placing you in the poorly lit corridors of The Ishimura, or the Orbital Research Facility in PREY, the cold silence of space is deafening and heightens fear. Some must-plays in this category are Dead Space Saga, Alien Isolation, PREY, DOOM Saga, and the System Shock Games.
LOCK 'N LOAD
Lock ‘n Loads are games where players are faced with overwhelming waves of zombies, aliens, or other legions of dastardly creatures. While the scare factors are turned down a notch, these still classify as horror due to the gruesome nature of the enemies and the fight for survival. These titles often let players play with at least one friend in coop; sometimes with up to three others. Some must-plays in this category are Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, House of the Dead Saga, World War Z, and The Zombie Army Trilogy.
VILLAIN VS. HEROES
This is a relatively new sub-category of horror games. In these titles, players are divided into two teams; one player is the monstrous villain trying to gruesomely slaughter the other players, and the other team includes players who must work together to defeat or escape from the villain. Two of the most notable games of this category are Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th.
CLASSICAL HORROR
Classical horror games are based on old literary tales about vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and other classical terrors. While most of these titles aren’t very scary per se, they do include classical elements, and deserve a mention. Some notable titles of this sub-category are Castlevania Saga, Vampyr, BloodRayne Saga, Dante’s Inferno, Hunter: The Reckoning, and Vampire: Bloodlines – The Masquerade.
LOVECRAFTIAN
H.P. Lovecraft was a brilliant horror writer, the Stephen King of his era. Lovecraft works are known for the fear of the unknown, descents into madness, the occult, and mythological dark gods such as Cthulhu (perhaps Lovecraft’s most famous creation). While games in this category are, in essence psychological horror/thriller titles, they are a distinct and unique category containing clear influences from, adherence to, and/or representations of the horror works of H.P. Lovecraft. Some notable examples of this category are Call of Cthulhu, The Sinking City, and Conarium.