Randy Robertson
Halloween is approaching rapidly, and what better way to celebrate than by experiencing the best horror video games out there? Over the next few days, we’re going to list off the best games to play no matter what mood you’re in. Whether you’re looking for the scariest, goriest, or most entertaining horror games, we’ll give you a few suggestions for every category. We will also touch on the best classics, and a few recent titles that are noteworthy as well. To help compile this list, we've enlisted the help of Rob Nielsen from RedGoateeRob’s Horror Pages.
Alright, so we’ve made you feel nostalgic, sick to your stomach, and scared to death. Today, we’ll relax a little bit and talk about which games are just straight forward entertaining. There’s nothing too extreme here, just lots of guaranteed fun. If you feel like you need a laugh, want a great story, or want something that’s really going to make you think about what’s going on, we’ve got it all here.
‘Bioshock’
“Bioshock” has a fantastic story. We don’t want to spoil the end, or even subtly hint at it, because there are probably still quite a few people out there who haven’t played it yet, but rest assured you'll be very satisfied at the end of the game. The sequel, “Bioshock 2” is also fantastic; however the third title in the series looks a little like it may have lost its way. To be fair, though, it’s not out yet, so we can’t really pass judgment on it. Still, the “Bioshock” series is a nice survival horror title that focuses on telling a gripping story in a wonderful fantasy environment, and it’s definitely something worth experiencing - at least to witness the astounding water physics - because there’s not much else out there like it.
‘Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem’
The most entertaining survival horror game ever made? Probably. “Eternal Darkness” gets its jollies by screwing with your mind. To really go into detail about this game would be a disservice, since the game is best enjoyed when you dive into it without knowing what it has in store for you, so do yourself a favor and avoid reading of the many spoilers that have been posted online if you manage to find a copy of this increasingly-rare GameCube disc. This game is hard to find for good reason, because no one lucky enough to have it in their collection wants to part with his or her copy.
‘Lollipop Chainsaw’
“Lollipop Chainsaw” is an all-around outrageous game from start to finish. It’s guaranteed to have you laughing out loud and asking yourself “did that really just happen?”. It’s definitely a standout on this list because it’s less about scare-tactics or shock-value and strictly about an incredibly humorous story. It also pays homage to classic arcade hack-and-slash titles. If there was ever a title that fit the “grindhouse” category, this is it. The game’s website says it best, “Lollipop Chainsaw” is “bursting with Sex, Blood, and Rock ‘n’ Roll”.
So now that you’ve got a few laughs in, it’s time to get serious again. Sure, most of the games on the list so far have been older titles from previous generations, but “Lollipop Chainsaw” and “Bioshock” prove there are still some awesome horror titles out there from the current generation of systems. We’ve got an innovative title, and even a couple series that have completely established themselves across only the most recent platforms. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have the classic systems sitting around, fear not. Tomorrow we’ll have a few games that have all come out relatively recently in the gaming world.