Halloween 2013 is here, and for gamers, you know what that means. It’s time to break out some of your scariest games to get you ready for tonight.
That begs the question: What are the scariest video games on the market today?
Scary doesn’t necessarily mean that it involves vampires or witches, but rather how unsettling the game is and whether it makes you jump out of your seat. Some vampire games like The Legacy of Kain weren’t really scary as much as they just starred a night walker with unnatural powers.
Without further ado, let’s get to the list of games that should get you in the mood for Halloween 2013.
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent for PC sticks you in a castle dungeon with no means of defending yourself. You’re told by a note from yourself to go after the man responsible, only to discover that you’re being stalked not only by a monster, but his minions as well. It incorporates a sanity meter which fills up more the longer you stay in the dark, and depletes in the light. As it fills up, you suffer hallucinations.
- Bioshock for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 puts you in the shoes of a man who miraculously survived a plane crash decades ago. When you recover and swim to the entrance of Rapture, you’re asked to help hunt down a man who was supposedly responsible for the downfall and degradation of humanity in its watery depths. It keeps the feel of claustrophobia going all the way through as you take down insane humans who might seem fine from their mutterings until they attack you, and massive machines bent on keeping order despite there being none left. The cheery old-fashioned music only adds to how creepy the game is.
- Dead Island for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is one of the few games out there which actually seems to give the player the realistic feel of an actual zombie apocalypse. If you’re not up to snuff, you will die quickly. The weapons break, the guns run out of ammo quickly, and the undead pop up out of nowhere at times. The addition of more guns is the reason its sequel didn’t make it to this list.
- Dead Space 2 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 pitted you against creatures you could only kill by severing their limbs, so there were a lot of spider-like aliens to encounter and kill. They could come from any direction as well, leaving you constantly on your guard. There was a psychological element that made your character experience freaky hallucinations, and the game even starts with an unarmed dash for your life as you try to escape certain death in a straight jacket.
- Doom 3 for PC may not have been that great of a shooter in general, but the shapeshifting monsters, the barely-lit surroundings, hallucinations, and the feeling of being truly alone in Hell made it a definite addition to our list of titles to play for Halloween 2013.
- Resident Evil , the remake for GameCube, was the standard by which all zombie games were judged into the future. The atmosphere, the undead which could come from anywhere, and the false sense of security worked together to scare you senseless.
- Silent Hill 3 for PlayStation 2 and PC was a trippy journey between the real world and a blood soaked nightmare, where the transition between the two really make for some creepy moments. The only way you know the monsters are around is that your pocket radio starts playing a lot of static. The atmosphere and sheer amount of genuine scares are what make this game one of the scariest ever made, and worth a try for your Halloween 2013 gaming plans.
- Slender: The Arrival for PC, and soon for next gen consoles, is one of the scariest games to date. It might appear boring at first, but that’s really just setting you up for when you start seeing the game’s villain. If you see the faceless suit-wearing creature with too-long limbs enough, it’s game over with a static-ridden screen showing only the creature you’re trying to avoid.
What game are you planning to scare yourself silly with for Halloween 2013?