13 Alternative Horror Games to Play This Halloween

7. NightCry

I initially planned on putting Clock Tower 3 for the PlayStation 2 on this list, however I thought it would be in everyone’s best interests if I actually put a few games on this list that were easier to find, so this is the Clock Tower series’ spiritual successor. NightCry was funded on Kickstarter and created by the original designers of Clock Tower – it was released early in 2016.

Despite being one of the newest games on this list, NightCry is a throwback to the PS2 era, with similar controls and designs. This led to some mixed reviews, but if you don’t mind those sorts of controls, like me, than NightCry is worth your money. It involves you going on a cruise, which may turn out to be your last. Run and hide in this survival horror, because there’s no way to stop the Scissor Walker.

 

8. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

For years, this game was famous between myself and my friend Matt for its bizarre title. Based upon the short story by Harlan Ellison, who would actually go on to co-design the game and also voice a character within it. When the Earth’s three biggest superpowers develop supercomputers to wage war, the American computer, AM, becomes sentient, killing all humans bar four men and one woman.

AM used his intellect, with assistance from a scientist, to extend the prisoners’ lifespans indefinitely. AM amuses himself by torturing them, but after 106 years he find a new game for the group to play and sends them on quests that question dark secrets in their pasts. The short story is also worth a read, and Ellison voices AM himself. A strange and dark adventure game which was unavailable for many years until its re-release on Steam and GOG.com in 2013.

 

9. Forbidden Siren

Horror games are great for new and original ideas. Silent Hill used fog to cloud its own shortcomings and build atmosphere, for instance. Forbidden Siren had its own creepy mechanic for building horror: a psychic technique called Sightjacking. It allows you to view the world through the eyes of your pursuer.

It’s a terrifying yet simple mechanic, one where you can only sightjack enemies relatively close to you, allowing you to watch as some terrible spirit manages to find its way to you. The original game is set in a Japanese village called Hanuda, which is unique for survival horror games developed in Japan that were created in the 90’s/00’s as very few were actually set in Japan itself.

 

10. Alice: Madness Returns

Back in 2000, Rogue Entertainment and EA released American Mcgee’s Alice, a dark sequel to Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Alice was a cult favourite but it would take eleven years to see a sequel. This game sees Alice return to Wonderland to stop a corruption that is taking over the land. While Alice was always touted as a gothic horror, Madness Returns feels more akin to an action platformer and a good one at that!

Its combat mechanics feel somewhat similar to that of the console Legend of Zelda games and are easy to pick up. The best part of both Alice games is the art design, Madness Returns’ graphics are naturally better than its predecessor all round and really bring the world to life. It sold poorly but I would recommend this game to any platformer fan this Halloween. Better dust off those black and white stripy socks.

 

11. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth

H.P Lovecraft has inspired many forms of media including books, TV, art, movies and of course video games. While there are a few popular games based upon this early 20th century writer’s work, there are many more that were inspired by it. Alone in the Dark, The Secret World and Darkest Dungeon all owe part of their existence to the various works of Lovecraft.

Dark Corners was a first person shooter and to be honest, it was fairly by-the-numbers for an FPS. However, what makes this game worth playing is the first act. Very much in the vein of Half Life, Dark Corners’ opening sections see you merely exploring the creepy town of Innsmouth, before retiring to your bed and breakfast, only to be woken in the middle of the night by a group of Innsmouth residents wanting your blood. Escaping the B&B in Dark Corners is one of the most heart-pumping moments in gaming.

 

12. Nocturne

Released back in 1999, Nocturne is a game which attempts to bring the style of survival horror that Resident Evil and Silent Hill popularised back to the PC. Static, cinematic camera angles make playing this game tricky at times, but I struggle not to love it a bit. Its graphics were impressive for the time and featured realistic shadow rendering, seeing the main characters coat move as he walked was amazing!

You play as The Stranger, the lead agent for a top secret organisation called Spookhouse founded by President Roosevelt to fight vampires, zombies, werewolves and all sorts of monstery goodness. The game features four separate stories and you can play any act at any time. Sadly the game hasn’t seen a sequel, but the trilogy of Blair Witch games features a crossover with the Spookhouse agency and BloodRayne’s working title was Nocturne 2.

 

13. Neverending Nightmares

Neverending Nightmares is chilling and possibly the darkest game on this list. This is due to the game’s developer Matt Gilgenbach, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. Gilgenbach used his experiences to create Neverending Nightmares and my is it bleak. It’s also a unique horror experience, a side scrolling exploration game.

It has some of my favourite graphics of the past few years, a largely black and white 2D style very reminiscent of the works of Edward Gorey. The game follows Thomas Smith, who is undergoing nightmares that never seem to end, always waking up to find himself in the next one. Thomas always wakes up if he dies, comes across something that depresses him or commits self-harm. The game has three endings and I would love more people to show this title some love.