Evening guys, so of now, it's the night of Halloween and happens to be one of my favorite holidays of the year! It may not be a secret to some, but I enjoy horror, quite a bit actually. I enjoy reading scary stories, watching horror movies, and of course, playing scary games. The past year or so, I've already talked about quite a range of them, so I figured I'd try my hand at a personal top 10 list. These will just be based on games I've played, so if there's one you like that's missing from here, chances are I either haven't played it or I didn't find it to be as scary. So with that said, here's:

CLOUDMAN'S TOP 10 HORROR GAMES

10. LSD: Dream Simulator

     Starting off with a weird choice here. LSD Dream Simulator isn't really a horror game, but it sure does get pretty unsettling quite often. Actually, the whole thing is rather unsettling. Here's a game where its limitations actually enhance the overall horrific experience. With everything having basic polygon shapes and psychedelic colors, it makes you feel like you're in a strange world, like say... a dream? (Ahaha...) You're free to explore as far as you can, and anything you touch transports you to a new location. Where you'll end up is unknown, and that's part of the fun. You'll see some strange things along the way, like floatng elephants or flying dragon things, but then you may find yourself in a dark alley, with a strange woman in the distance. Your environments will get stranger the more you play, and sooner or later, you may find yourself being followed by a shadowy man... : )

9. Bevel's Painting

      Likely seen as another odd and obscure choice, Bevel's Painting is a type of RPG based indie horror game. In this game, you play as a girl who is an artist. She seems to be ignored by her peers, which results her being alone in a room with her painting, which she steps into it. At 1st, everything seems peaceful, with her enjoying a fabulous party in pretty dress and surrounded by cute animals. Shortly after, the atmosphere becomes a little strange and ominous, with her now being the only one in this world. As the player, you explore this world inside of a painting, trying to find an exit, and you'll later meet a strange girl who looks like you, but with black hair, and eventually, you'll meet the monster of this world.

8. Ib

    Likely the most well known RPG indie horror game known, Ib is a horror game about a girl who goes to an art museum with her parents. She goes on her own to look at the pieces on display when she finds she is suddenly alone in this museum and the whole area is dark.  The museum turns out to be a much bigger place than she thought as well. She must then find a way to get out of the museum, meanwhile avoiding strange things attacking her, like mannequins and moving paintings. She'll meet a friend to aid her in escaping, but she'll also meet another girl in a green dress, who will try to stop them from leaving.

7. The Witch's House

     And yet another RPG horror game, personally this is my favorite of the type. The Witch's House is about a girl lost in a forest and she is unable to leave. There's only one place for her to go, the Witch's House... The girl, Viola, must venture deep into the house, avoiding death at every turn while solving the puzzles of the house. As you get further into it, you'll find yourself meeting the witch herself from time to time, as well as likely dying a few times, haha.

6. Fragile Dreams

      Still in the realms of obscurity, here's one that was likely missed and forgotten with it being late into the Wii's life, Fragile Dreams was an interesting horror title with a bit of action mixed into its gameplay. Along with traversing dark, creepy settings, you can also find weapons to fight ghosts and other strange beings. What makes this one different is if you time your button presses well, you can do up to a 3 hit combo attack, making it feel more action based compared to other horror games. However, attacking is somewhat slow and cluncky, so you may need some time to adjust to it. There are still some surprising things you'll see during your quest to find another human being and end your loneliness, suchas the man in a chicken suit. He's cool, but still a little strange. If anything, aside from being scary, it's also quite a sad tale. You'll meet other friends along away, which you'll have to part ways with, often with a sad end. A difficult road for someone who just wants to find a friend in this lonely, empty world.

5. Resident Evil 0

     I'm sure this is considered an odd choice by most fans of the series, but personally, Resident Evil 0 is my favorite of the bunch. Perhaps it may be because this was my 1st title of the series, but I found this one to be the scariest of them all, and that is likely due to the leech monsters. It's something about these creatures that spook me the most. A memorable moment I recall from the game was searching a bathroom. Upon entering, nothing seems out of the ordinary, but once I turn back to the exit, a leech humanoid creature appears out of nowhere, followed by a paniced theme that sounds of screams and high pitched screeching. This genuinely scared me and cemented the enemy as something I feared to meet in the game. There were other intense moments, such as fighting a tyrant in a very closed off space, but out of all the RE games I played, this one I found to be the most frightening.

4. Eternal Darkness

          I'm certain this one is well known by now, for messing with the player directly with weird effects, like your character shrinking suddenly, losing your head, or even the blue screen. It was definitely an interesting title, and one I enjoyed for its weird antics. There were some genuinely scary moments, and exploring the mansion was something that filled me with dread everytime I opened up more of it.

3. Silent Hill 2

    The game that started my love of horror, Silent Hill 2 was the 1st horror game I played and one of the scariest games I had the pleasure of playing. It's a game that just keeps raising the stakes as you play further into it. Exploring the dark halls of the apartments and rooms was quite nerve wrecking for me, and after I completed that section I felt "There's no way it can get worse than that", to which the next location was a hospital. Again I thought I went through the worst of it, but then I reached the prison. Each new location became creepier than the last, which made it very difficult to play, and it was just... excellent. The way the game messes with your head with sounds playing in the background, as if something is creeping up on you, but only to find it never comes. It's as if the game is teasing you, but never revealing the mysteries of the dark to you. Not many games have been able to scare as well as Silent Hill 2.

2. Fatal Frame

      Another well known series in the horror genre, Fatal Frame is one of the most horrific series in the genre. Along with Silent Hill, Fatal Frame really delivers on fear, entering dark Japanese style mantions with very limited lighting, with only ominous sounds playing around you as background music, and the sound of your steps creaking on the wooden floors accompanying you. It also forces you to face your fears by allowing the ghosts to get as close as possible to you, doing the most damage while staring long and deep at their tortured, suffering faces. It's a game that never lets you feel safe, knowing that sooner or later, something is going to come after you, making it one of the scariest games I've ever played.

1. Fatal Frame 4

     This feels a little bit like cheating, considering I also included the 1st title in this list, but truth be told, Fatal Frame used to be my number 1 horror game, until I played Fatal Frame 4. While Fatal Frame delivered on a solid horrific game, Fatal Frame 4 nearly perfects it. From the setting to the sound to even a simple task like picking up items, it was all designed to be as fearful as possible. Traversing a dark, rundown hospital with only the broken beeps of the intercom acting as background noise and posters of distorted faces looking at you, it never allows you a moment of peace. Simply grabbing an item has a layer of fear to it. Rather than just grabbing it, you reach out to it slowly, with a sound that becomes louder the closer you reach it to the point of peircing your ears. Not only that, but there's a chance that a ghostly white will reach out to you to stop you from getting said item, and that's just for an item. This game is full of moments to shock you and send chills down your bones. Even enter a new room you gained access to becomes a difficult endeavor, as some things you come across in a patient's room will just make you want to rush the way back out. Even collectables scattered throughout the game have this layer of fear to them, playing this unsettling sound when you're close, and snapping a picture only gives you a disturbing image along with laughter. With something almost constant waiting around the corner, ready to spook you in some sort of way, Fatal Frame 4 feels to be the best horror game out there.

So yeah, that's my list. Agree with some picks, or disagree? What are your favorite horror games?

i've never played a horror game before (besides a bit of Alien Isolation). Some of these games though are definitely on my to-get-to list : ) Nice effort put into this!

Nice choice

I don't know what but Resident Evil 0 really grew on me, too. It was decent on GameCube but I ADORED it on PS4.

Thanks! I wanted to make this thread a good one I'd def recomment playing a horror game or 2. It def gives you a different feeling compared to other games, like a bit of a adrenaline and chills xD The sprite based ones are free so you could try those.

Thanks! I haven't played Until Dawn since I don't have a PS4.. : S

That's good to hear! Not many people talk about RE0 when it comes to the series D:

Good thing no one noticed the original error of the thread

Ahhh, it's heartwarming to see Fragile Dreams in this list. I generally don't get emotional with videogames, but that damn one heavily tried to make me cry, and it almost succeeded twice.

It actually had me crying a bit at least twice. I'm sure you can tell which moments those were ;_;

We're probably thinking of the same scenarios, yeah.

Ooh, some obscure choices!! Here are some great videos that document numerous horror games:

And here's a really interesting Silent Hill 1-inspired game!