Modern science is marvelous, but it can also be pretty scary. You could always eschew the woes of today with the technology of modern man, but in some cases, that seems to make things worse. The same goes for adventures into the next frontier, which, honestly, sounds more terrifying than impressive.
In honor of fearing both that empty abyss and other terrifying, giant voids, let’s give it up for some of my favorite sci-fi horror games. None of which were made easier by the conveniences of technology.
10. Alien Isolation
It’s pretty wild that the best Alien sequel is a video game, but that’s where we’re at. Yes, Aliens is great, but it’s more of an action movie, less a sequel to the greatest gothic horror sci-fi film of all time.
Also, Alien Isolation isn’t just a great horror game. It could’ve just gone the safe route of an Amnesia clone, but it changed things. Knowing that the Xenomorph can literally hear you is a game changer, one that makes it even scarier than the Xenomorphs from the movies.
9. Doom 3
Doom 3 might not be a great Doom — though it’s enjoying quite the renaissance — but it’s a great horror game. It’s claustrophobic, difficult, and beautiful, even. This game is scary even when nothing is after us because of all the shadows emanating from its beautifully directed machinery-filled setting.
This is a game that many more would love if it hadn’t come out associated with a brand that it rebelled against.
8. Prey (the original one)
Prey from 2017 rules, but you already know that. Also, I believe that the original Prey is even better, and nobody seems to care quite as much.
Prey (2006) not only featured a very original story brought to life by native American characters actually portrayed by native american actors, but it also featured a myriad of awesome mechanics that we never saw again. A sequel or remake is likely never going to happen, so you really should consider giving this one a chance.
7. Soma
Soma is likely the best game in the “first-person runner” genre, started by Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
The gameplay is rather simple, but it more than makes up for this shortcoming. You see, Soma tells a grim tale of psychological horror that will leave you thinking about various interesting concepts whenever it allows you to catch your breath.
6. Stasis
Not all great horror games need to be about fighting off or escaping monsters. Sometimes they can be about using the environment against them. Stasis is great at both things.
It’s like a classic adventure game where players get to enjoy the beautiful story and environment even though the story is pretty bleak and the environment is completely drenched in blood and guts.
5. System Shock 2
This is the one we immediately think of when talking about sci-fi horror games, and it’s more than deserving of this spot.
Interestingly, System Shock 2 focuses more on the sci-fi side of things than it does on the horror one, but it still manages to be quite scary. That’s a testament to how terrifying SHODAN, the mother of all evil AIs in games, really is.
4. Iron Lung
This beautiful game by David Szymanski goes to show that simplicity and a clear focus can do wonders for the genre. You can finish Iron Lung in under one hour, but don’t let the short length fool you regarding its capacity for carrying nightmare fuel.
Iron Lung is all about taking pictures underwater, in an alien location. And, as usual, depths into the sea like that always have a way of making us painfully closterphobic and isolated. Iron Lung provides a marvelous crescendo into pure horror, a very rapid one as the game’s length wouldn’t allow for anything else — and that’s great.
Here’s hoping we’ll see more of these zero-to-one-hundred indie games in the future.
3. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
One of the things that immediately elevates horror works is any sense of alienation. Feeling like either we don’t belong in that world, or that we’re up against elements that shouldn’t be there is spine-tingling stuff. Despite taking place on planet Earth, or on a very similar planet, Stalker never fails to let you know it doesn’t want you there.
This one might be an acquired taste as it doesn’t provide as smooth a gameplay experience as many other titles on this list, but the loose adaptation of Andrei Tarkovsky’s opus of the same name doesn’t miss a bit when conveying horror and isolation.
This single-player experience is a treat and likely a huge influence for hits that followed, such as DayZ and Escape From Tarkov.
2. Returnal
Returnal, the most original genre-bending blockbuster of recent times, does a great job of horrifying players through the inhospitable hellscape it takes place in, but its true horror lies much deeper. The game holds a literally infinite number of nightmares. I’d love to tell you more about it, but getting any less cryptic would be both much less cool of me and would also do a disservice to people who’ve yet to play the game.
Without trying to spoil it for you, I’m just going to say that you really should try it out for yourself. You’ll never forget it — because it’s great, yeah, but also because it might never stop haunting you.
1. Dead Space 2
Dead Space 2 is the best game in the trilogy and one of the greatest games of all time in general.
It features a better story and more streamlined gameplay. Hell, it even has all the hallmarks of a great horror movie! Do you know how God of War got a lot of praise making it all look like one long take? Well, Dead Space 2 does it too, and arguably even better because even its menus manage to not interrupt the flow of gameplay. You cannot escape the horrors waiting for you in this one — and you shouldn’t want to.
