#MacabroGamers: Top 10 – The Best Hidden Gems in Horror Gaming of All Time

Top 10 – The Best Hidden Gems in Horror Gaming of All Time (that aren't Silent Hill or Resident Evil). By: Mario Ayanami

For #Halloween2016, our gaming columnist, Mario Ayanami, took on the task of putting together a roundup of horror video games. Here's the result:

A Macabro Halloween to all our readers! There's nothing better to celebrate this date than a good dose of adrenaline and scares on our consoles. This time, instead of just talking about a single title or era, we'll share with you the ten games that, in our own experience, are the best of all time. To avoid repeating most of the lists already floating around out there, I'll leave out the two most popular franchises—not because I consider them inferior, but because it's also important to spotlight other works or series. We took into account their influence, innovation, and above all, their genre elements. If you're tired of replaying Resident Evil 4 over and over and are looking for a new way to spend your sleepless nights, this list was created especially for you.

1. Until Dawn. PS4. Sony Computer Entertainment, 2015.

This is the perfect tribute to the slasher and 1980s horror cinema. A group of teenagers decide to vacation in a remote cabin at the foot of a mountain, where two young people had disappeared a year earlier. Without much delay before their inevitable fate, they'll soon fall prey to a psychopath, whom they'll have to survive until dawn. Thanks to the moments where you had to make a decision that would affect how the plot unfolded, its chilling atmosphere, and fun dialogue, it earned a spot here. Too bad that in the second half, the story falls apart.

1. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. Xbox, PC. Bethesda, 2005.

Heads up, because Lovecraft will become a constant on this list. Based on the myths of our beloved Cthulhu and as a reinterpretation of the novel written in 1936, The Shadow over Innsmouth, the story tells of the journey of the troubled detective Jack Walters to the mysterious town cut off from the rest of the country. The rest is a descent into madness in a marathon confrontation with the creatures created by the American writer. Not only does Cthulhu make an appearance—Shoggoths, Dagon, and the Yith also show up in this first-person shooter.

1. Cursed Mountain. Wii. Deep Silver, 2009.

Amid the flood of exercise games and casual minigames, several gems were left buried in the Wii's library. One of them is Cursed Mountain, the story of a mountaineer searching for his missing brother after a failed expedition on Mount Chomolonzo, part of the Himalayas. According to legend, the place holds a link to the afterlife, since several monks and climbers perished there. To drive them off, you had to use the console's motion controls, performing different gestures to release the souls.

1. Outlast. PC, PS4, Xbox One. Red Barrels, 2013.

One of the most important indie phenomena in recent years. Reporter Miles Upshur receives an anonymous call revealing that dangerous experiments are being carried out on patients at Mount Massive Asylum. He decides to investigate, equipped only with a camera and a notebook, unaware of the presence of the Variants, psychopaths who roam the place killing without mercy. With no chance to flee, he must see it through to the bitter end. In Outlast, you can't fight or take down your enemies, so stealth will be your best ally. How is it that it took so many years to make the most of the technique of found footage?

1. Condemned: Criminal Origins. Xbox 360, PC. Sega, 2005.

One of the Xbox 360's launch titles, it also proved to be a testament to the best horror experienced on a console, despite its obvious gameplay flaws. FBI investigator Ethan Thomas is framed for a murder he didn't commit. Now he must wander through all of Metro City's abandoned buildings to find the enigmatic Serial Killer X, the true culprit. However, all the city's thugs have gone mad because of a hidden, blood-hungry force… which you'll also have to face.

1. Dead Space. Xbox 360, PS3, PC. EA, 2008.

As the tagline for Alien said many years ago: in space, no one will hear you scream. That's the premise of Dead Space, the adventure of engineer Isaac Clarke aboard the USG Ishimura. In the year 2508, the crew is attacked by aliens. Their corpses are reanimated and turned into creatures called Necromorphs. Like Ellen Ripley, Isaac must use his ingenuity to improvise weapons from his tools while taking down relentless hordes of the undead. As a fun fact, Dario Argento took part in the game's Italian dub.

1. Alone in the Dark. PC. Infogrames, 1992.

Without a doubt, the genre's turning point had to have a spot among the top rankings. Built on a foundation of The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe and Lovecraftian touches, you play detective Edward Carnby investigating the mysterious suicide of an artist inside the Derceto mansion, known for its reputation of being cursed. Alone in the Dark, was the first horror game in 3D, and although its graphics no longer impress, it was a revolution in its time that managed to hook players with its plot and intricate puzzles based on classic literature. Too bad each sequel was dedicated to tarnishing its legacy.

1. Fatal Frame II. PS2, Xbox. Tecmo, 2003.

Looks like this game is going to come up more than once! And no wonder, since we're looking at one of the most terrifying experiences out there, as well as the only Japanese creation to make our list. Beyond fighting for your survival like in most survival horror games, Fatal Frame draws you into its story, where the sisters' sense of loss, as well as a setting steeped in Asian folklore, are key to its immersive feel. To learn more about it, be sure to check out our previous Macabro Gamers column.

1. P.T. PS4. Konami, 2014.

We know, it's a bit of a cheat to include it since it was meant to be a sequel to Silent Hill. However, its impact remains the medium's most tragic story in recent years. It was shaping up to be a masterpiece: the fruit of a collaboration between the great minds of Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, with a protagonist played by Norman Reedus, P.T. (short for Playable Teaser) left its mark thanks to its cryptic puzzles and maddening pace. In this demo, you had to walk the same hallway of a house on a loop. With no clue what to do, the atmosphere gradually changes, turning hostile and unpredictable, with some nods to Eraserhead by David Lynch. As you progress, you must avoid the ghost of Lisa at all costs… whom we will never hear from again. A few months later, due to Kojima's departure from the company, the game was canceled, but P.T. has already influenced about ten works in just two years.

1. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Gamecube. Nintendo, 2002.

The first title published by Nintendo to receive an adults-only rating… and what a disturbing debut it was. Influenced by the works of Lovecraft, the bold Alexandra Roivas must uncover the mystery behind her grandfather's brutal death in a Rhode Island mansion. When she arrives, she finds a book (referred to as the Tome) about a series of characters haunted by dark deities: The Ancients. As you read each chapter, you take control of a story spanning from ancient Persia to the year 2000. Its great innovation was the sanity meter. If you took damage, you'd start to lose your mind to the point where the whole game would play tricks on you: the current character's gaunt face would appear in close-up muttering incoherently, the TV volume would drop, the controller would stop responding, or you'd get the classic “your save file has been deleted” prank. Due to its low sales, Eternal Darkness never got the recognition that, thanks to its narrative and horror elements, it always deserved.

Honorable mentions:

• Dementium: The Ward. (DS, 2007).
• Alien: Isolation. (PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, 2014).
• The Suffering (PS2, Xbox, 2004).
• Haunting Ground (PS2, 2005).
• Clock Tower 2 (PS1, 1996).
• Siren (PS2, 2004).
• Nightmare Creatures (PS1, N64, 1997).