The 23 Best Horror Games

• By Patrick Shaw and McKinley Noble
• October 23, 2008 19:42 PM PST
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Click here for more Condemned 2 screens!

#7: Condemned 2: Bloodshot

When a game series is so gruesome it's banned in an entire country, you know that there's bound to be a bountiful amount of bloodletting. Condemned didn't disappoint by any means, but Bloodshot managed to take the horror yet another step further. Blunt objects used in melee combat would eventually splinter and break under pressure, giving you a whole new reason to fear the criminals that hid in the darkness around you. And who could forget being attacked by a gigantic, snarling bear? As if the dark and murderous atmosphere wasn't distracting enough, the noise of a slammed door or a kicked soda can often meant that we'd be peering around corners with sweat on our brows.
Also Try: Condemned: Criminal Origins

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#6: Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

The sanity meter was a concept that made Eternal Darkness the must-have horror game for the Nintendo GameCube. What made things really harrowing was that you didn't know if the game itself was playing with you, or if the sanity had inexplicably crossed over into real life. Did the game just turn off your TV, or is it trying to get into your head? At times, you weren't even sure if you were in control or not, with further hallucinations beheading your character, turning the levels inside out, or simply trying to convince you that all your save files were being deleted. That, my friends, is true horror.
Also Try: Sanitarium

Click here for more Resident Evil 2 screens!

#5: Resident Evil 2

The first Resident Evil helped establish Capcom as masters of the survival horror genre but it was with this spectacularly ghoulish sequel that they cemented their reputation as the premiere gore-meisters of the PlayStation era. Spanning two interconnected discs, the game offered a deliciously spine-tingling mix of action and scares; it kept you constantly on your toes with a beastly menagerie of undead zombies, challenging puzzles and diabolical bosses. Most of all, it was actually scary, with an overriding sense of dread punctuated by moments of fright. But its best feature was its complex and intertwined storyline: depending on which disc you played first, the game offered different challenges and outcomes. It is truly one of the greatest survival horror games ever produced and served as a template for all future titles to come.
Also Try: Resident Evil 3

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#4: BioShock

It wasn't the Splicers, the Big Daddy, or even the gruesome, blood-stained corpses that scared us in BioShock. It was the story of a perfect utopia, and how it could literally sink into the depths of Hell with nothing more than the inherent, natural greed of man. Every decision you made in the world of Rapture could mean brief salvation or sudden damnation -- and no choice was more difficult or widely discussed than the fate of the Little Sisters. Would you save them? Or would your morals be silenced by your thirst for power?
Also Try: System Shock 2

Click here for more Dead Space screens!

#3: Dead Space

Literally turning the Resident Evil 4 formula on its head, Dead Space rewards you for thinking quickly in a crisis. Headshots won't harm the vile creatures in Dead Space: they must be dismembered bit by bit, or they'll get tougher to kill. Dead Space's storyline is closely related to cult classics such as Event Horizon. You play as Isaac Clarke, a lone engineer trapped on a crippled space station. Your enemies are the Necromorph, misshapen monsters who have infested the ship's human crew and now stalk the darkened corridors. A wealth of upgrade options -- you can salvage cash to buy weapon enhancements and better space suits -- and horrific violence make Dead Space the first game to match, and possibly exceed, the brilliance that is Resident Evil 4. Play this one with the lights off.
Also Try: F.E.A.R.

Click here for more Silent Hill 2 screens!

#2: Silent Hill 2

Just like Silent Hill's tendency to seep into the minds of the unwary, the games themselves will take extra steps to remind you that fear gets as real as you make it. Even completing the inventive complex puzzles couldn't have been more difficult, with the festering air of Silent Hill always closing in around you. From the constant fog obscuring your vision to the deformed denizens of this decaying town, the horrible imagery all contributes to a setting that haunts gamers long after console is turned off. Silent Hill 2 was even more unnerving as the first, which was no small feat.
Also Try: Silent Hill

Click here for more Resident Evil 4 screens!

#1: Resident Evil 4

Even though Resident Evil 4 had been in development since 1998, it wasn't until the famous E3 2003 haunted mansion trailer with "The Hook Man" that people sensed great changes to come in the series. RE4 not only put itself high above the perspective of what horror games should achieve, but it reaffirmed Resident Evil as a series that could still terrify gamers. With graphics that took full advantage of the consoles it was released for, an over-the-shoulder view, and much smarter enemies, Resident Evil 4 took several "Game of the Year" awards and infected every gamer who saw it in action. Even three years after Resident Evil 4's initial release, the first time you get savagely decapitated by the chainsaw of Dr. Salvador remains one of the scariest moments in gaming history.
Also Try: Resident Evil

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