With Halloween just around the corner, everyone is looking for a good scare, and gamers are no exception.
Horror games have been around for a long time, but over the years have evolved to be considerably more immersive thanks to technological advances such as upgraded graphics and virtual reality. Horror games of old were almost comical, but with the photorealistic graphics possible in today’s games, some of them are downright terrifying. Of course, there are a few, like Dead Rising, that are still intentionally absurd. From creepy, story-driven games that will make your hair stand on end to games that will make you jump out of your seat every time you turn a corner, this list encompasses all the best subgenres that horror has to offer. Since humanity seems to have a universal fascination with being freaked out, here are the ten best horror games coming in 2016 and beyond.
Have a Happy Halloween, and stay tuned to Heavy.com for all your gaming news.
1. We Happy Few
Developer: Compulsion Games
Publisher: Compulsion Games
Platform: Xbox One, PC, Linux, Mac
Release Date: Available via Early Access
We Happy Few is an indie survival roguelike horror game that was first revealed at PAX East 2015 and is now available via Steam Early Access. The game is set in a dystopian, Nazi-occupied English city in October 1964, in an alternate timeline that deviated during WWII. The citizens of Wellington Wells take a psychedelic drug known as Joy to help them forget some unnamed atrocity they committed and keep them artificially happy. Except you, the protagonist; you __play what’s known as a Downer, or someone who has eschewed Joy, and the other denizens aren’t happy about it. Your goal is to sneak around and keep suspicion at a minimum as you attempt to escape, or the citizens and police will become downright hostile towards you. And since it’s a roguelike, if they kill you, you start all over again. The world and its inhabitants are also procedurally generated, which means that no two players’ experiences will be exactly alike.
2. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform: PlayStation VR
Release Date: October 13, 2016
The horror genre, in particular, seems to be perfectly suited to virtual reality. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is an on-rails arcade-style shooter coming exclusively to PlayStation VR that takes players on a haunted rollercoaster ride of terror. The developers want to emphasize that it’s not a sequel to Until Dawn, nor is it DLC; it’s a standalone game set in the same world as Until Dawn, with familiar enemies and locations. Simon Harris, executive producer of Supermassive Games, said in an interview with VG247, “This game charts the descent into madness of one of the characters from the Until Dawn universe.” He also says that players shouldn’t be put off by the fact that the entire game is on-rails, as this allows the developers to control pacing and help prevent players from suffering motion sickness.
3. Through the Woods
Developer: Antagonist
Publisher: 1C Company
Platform: PC
Release Date: October 2016
Through the Woods is a third-person psychological horror game about a mother and her missing son. Set on the Western coast of Norway and steeped in Norse mythology and Norwegian folklore, the game uses reactive narration to take players through the mother’s re-telling of the story about her son’s disappearance. According to the description on the official site, the developer aims to “capture the forest as they saw it as children, with all the frightening and mysterious feelings of roaming the woods alone”.
4. The Walking Dead: A Telltale Series – A New Frontier
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Platform: Xbox One, PS4, PC
Release Date: November 2016
The third installment in the episodic adventure The Walking Dead: A Telltale Series was unveiled at this year’s E3. A New Frontier is set about four years after the zombie outbreak at the beginning of the series. It follows a now-teenaged Clementine as well as newcomer Javier, a man fighting to keep his family together in the new world. Executive Producer Kevin Boyle said of the two characters in a blog post, “Years later, meeting her for the first time, Javier will begin to unravel the mystery of who Clementine has become, as her story intersects with his – both of them still driven by the things they value most long after society’s collapse.” Telltale is also releasing a Season Pass Disc for consoles which will include the first episode of the third season, with the others becoming available for download as they are released.
5. Dead Rising 4
Developer: Capcom Vancouver
Publisher: Capcom, Microsoft Studios
Platform: Xbox One, PC
Release Date: December 6, 2016
Once again, players will take on the role of Frank West as he returns to the town of Willamette, Colorado, where it all began, for the Christmas season; 16 years have elapsed since the events of the original Dead Rising, and now the Willamette Memorial Megaplex Mall and surrounding town are at the center of another outbreak. The open world sandbox survival horror game will feature a new type of zombie, the Evo, which is not only smarter and stronger than the average zombie but also exhibits a pack mentality. Capcom is also doing away with the timer system, which has been a highly divisive mechanic in previous games. Dead Rising 4 is a Microsoft timed-exclusive; it will remain a Windows exclusive for the first 90 days before coming to Steam, and Xbox One exclusive for a year before hitting PS4.
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