If you’re like me then your favourite time of the year is of course Halloween, Día de los Muertos for our friends in Mexico and from my corner of the globe Samhain.
There is something special about this time of year that just makes it perfect to enjoy something dreadful and spooky. We dress up as ghosts and ghouls (occasionally slutty ghosts and ghouls but no judgement … my legs just look amazing), we tell spine-tingling stories, we watch movies where masked knife-wielding psychopaths face down the final girl and we play scary video games.
I am going to go through a few old favourites that I think deserve some much-needed love while they remind you to not go out into the dark.
Silent Hill 1999
Before Pyramid head and overly buxom nurses there was the original cult classic that graced the PlayStation one. You are dropped into the shoes of Harry Mason, a widower looking for his lost daughter in the town of Silent Hill. The fog-filled streets where the monsters lurk but the real terror is when you hear that fateful siren and the lights go out.
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly 2003
When most horror games give us a monster you have two options. Fight it with your limited resources or run and hide.
The Fatal Frame series makes you stand still and look through a camera directly at the ghost coming to kill you, making you wait as it comes closer and closer until you can take that perfect shot but if you’re timing is off they will get you.
Eternal Darkness: Sanities Requiem 2002
When you think horror games rarely if ever would a Nintendo console come to mind but those who owned the GameCube know what’s coming. Inspired by the writings of H.P. Lovecraft Eternal Darkness throws you into a tale that spans centuries and will peel away the very sanity that the characters all hold close.
This is not an idle threat as with its sanity system the game will directly attack the player with volume cuts, channel changes and the most dreadful of all … wiping your save data.
Devil May Cry 2001
Horror isn’t always about running scared or scrambling to that single point of safety before the shadows close in. Sometimes it’s about seeing what lurks in those shadows and kicking its teeth in.
Let’s Rock Baby
From its beginnings as one of the several possible versions of Resident Evil 4 Devil May Cry evolved into a bombastic gothic hack and slash where you step into the boots of Dante, a half-devil demon hunter as he battles his way through possessed puppets, cackling shadow monsters and creatures from the depths of hell.
Resident Evil (GameCube remake) 2002
With the mention of Devil May Cry’s origin and the looming release of the Resident Evil 4 remake I thought I’d end this article with the first Resident Evil Remake.
Once again on the GameCube (seriously underrated for their horror library), we got to step back into the Spencer mansion and relive the horror inside. Be it while playing as Chris “Boulder Punching Asshole” Redfield or Jill “Master of Unlocking” Valentine you got to work through reworked puzzles, a beautiful reimagining of the mansion and brand-new enemies. I will always have a soft spot for Lisa Trevor but no more crimson heads, kill them with fire, please.
This of course was just my list but we would love to hear your suggestions for scary games to play in the dark. I must go now … I don’t feel so good … things are going funny … suddenly …
Itchy Tasty