29 Dead Horror Game Franchises That Should Rise Again

Obligatory mention for Silent Hill, but there's plenty more that should come back.

Forbidden Siren
Forbidden Siren

Horror games were once the meat and potatoes of consoles, largely after the move from sprites to the three dimensional polygonal graphics. But over the course of the last two decades, they’ve become less and less mainstream and now many huge horror franchises have fallen by the wayside. Personally, I’d love to see all these dead horror game franchises return, so I’ve compiled a list and given my own personal opinion to whether they’ll return or not.

 

The Suffering

The Suffering game
The Suffering game

The Suffering was an action-horror game for the PS2 and Xbox released in 2004. The game was set in a prison besieged by horrific creatures, creatures that were based on various methods of execution. The game was a critical and commercial success, selling around 1.5 million copies. In 2005, MTV picked up the rights to produce a movie based on The Suffering, but like so many video game movies at the turn of the century, it never came to anything.

Midway was struggling at this time, and a sequel was rushed into production called The Suffering: Ties That Bind. Ties That Bind was released in 2005 and still managed to receive good reviews, however it was criticized for being too similar to the previous game. It also failed to sell as well as its predecessor and contributed to a $30 million loss at Midway.

Both games saw a 2017 release on GOG.com, but since 2005 the franchise has remained dormant.

Could it return?
I doubt it. The Suffering released at a time horror-action games were coming into vogue, but was shortly outdone by the likes of Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space.

 

Nocturne

I’m not sure having one game in your series classes you as a ‘franchise’, but that is what developer Terminal Reality were aiming for. Set in prohibition-era America, you take the role of The Stranger, an agent in a secret government organization called Spookhouse. Their role is to investigate cases involving monsters such as werewolves, vampires and zombies. It played like a Resident Evil-style fixed camera horror with pre-rendered backgrounds. It also showcased the-revolutionary shadow and material graphics.

Nocturne received solid reviews, but while sales figures aren’t easy to get hold of, you can assume it undersold. Spookhouse would return in Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr, an underwhelming addition to the Blair Witch movies. It is very possible that another Terminal Reality game, Bloodrayne, was either intended to be a sequel or spin-off to Nocturne, as a beta-version of Rayne looks similar to a character from Nocturne.

Could it return?
Sadly, aside from the initial game and Blair Witch crossover, Nocturne is very much dead.

 

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark

Oh my, Alone in the Dark, what a sad tale to tell. Talking about Alone in the Dark feels very much like talking about an elderly relative who has slowly lost their faculties. Once upon a time, it was the granddaddy of survival horror, utilising a fixed camera perspective to navigate a mansion filled with horror years before Resident Evil did. The original game sold a reported 2 million copies by 2000.

Alone in the Dark 3 would be released in 1994, and we wouldn’t see the next game until 2001. During this time, horror games thrived thanks to the 3D polygonal power of the PlayStation, Saturn and N64. Doom, Resident Evil and Silent Hill had all come to home consoles and Alone in the Dark was a little late to the party. Alone in the Dark: A New Nightmare was released on most major consoles of the day, and while it wasn’t as groundbreaking as the original games, it received good reviews.

Then came the 2008 reboot, and while they attempted to make the game a different and unique experience, they actually just made it awkward and janky. With poor driving, awful combat and that god awful fire mechanic, it was possibly the biggest letdown of 2008. And the less said about Alone in the Dark: Illumination, the better. This series needs a back to basics reboot.

Could it return?
Considering Atari has possibly the strangest business strategy in gaming history, I very much doubt it.

 

Fatal Frame

Fatal Frame 2
Fatal Frame 2

Fatal Frame is an interesting one. It is a much loved and well respected franchise, but has never managed to garner much mainstream appeal. Every game in the main series has received generally good reviews, but have seemingly failed to capture the imagination of gamers, at least outside of its core fanbase. While solid sales figures for the series aren’t available, rumours are that they never sold well.

However, Fatal Frame is most definitely what you’d call a cult classic. The series is based on traditional Japanese ghost story-style horror, and felt very different to other survival horror games of the early 2000s. The game also features the simple, but amazing mechanic which will easily put the willies right up you: the Camera Obscura. This is your tool for capturing ghosts, which often don’t appear unless you’re looking through first person.

The most recent game in the series, The Maiden of Black Water, was a little underwhelming despite being released for the Wii U, which should’ve been a perfect fit for it. Hopefully we’ll see a port for the Switch in the near future.

Could it return?
Never say never, this franchise has a loyal but small fanbase. Maybe we’ll see a remake or remaster, and who knows where that could lead.

 

Clock Tower

Clock Tower

Human Entertainment’s Clock Tower was one of the 90s horror games that spearheaded the genre toward popular gaming. While Clock Tower wouldn’t become as famous (or remembered) as the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, it certainly had its own niche. Clock Tower saw you navigating around a mansion,and finding ways to stop, or hide from, the antagonist, Scissorman.

One thing that Clock Tower did differently was that you had no way to directly fight Scissorman, instead you’d have to temporarily stop him, which could be done at various points around the mansion, and then make your escape. However, that is easier said than done as when you’re running from the Scissorman you can enter ‘panic mode’, meaning there’s a chance you’ll stumble and fall as you flee.

There’re many games in the series, including the initially Japan only Clock Tower (renamed Clock Tower: The First Fear in the USA release), then there was Clock Tower (‘96) and Clock Tower 2 both for PlayStation, with a third game developed by Capcom on the PlayStation 2. There have been no official games since 2002, but there has been a number of spiritual successors, namely Haunting Ground, also by Capcom.

A Kickstarter project called NightCry by original Clock Tower director Hifumi Kono was released to mixed reviews in 2016. Remothered, another game inspired by Clock Tower, was released in 2018 and proved more critically successful.

Could it return?
Unlikely for Capcom to take the plunge again. Clock Tower 3 wasn’t overly successful and they have the Resident Evil franchise to keep them busy.

 

Dead Space

Dead Space
Dead Space

The tale of Dead Space is one that still stings, even today. For those who aren’t aware, Dead Space was a claustrophobic survival horror set in deep space. You are tasked with guiding voiceless protagonist Isaac Clark through the horrors of the USG Ishimura. Dead Space also had a great dismemberment mechanic, meaning that merely basting monstrosities in the face will do little, and taking off their limbs is the only way to kill them.

Dead Space was followed up with an equally thrilling and tense experience two years later, taking the action to a space station and continuing the story of Isaac Clark. The sequel, along with some impressive spin offs, made it seem as though this was a franchise headed in the right direction. Then we got Dead Space 3. With its focus on action instead of dread and a co-op mode which flew in the face of the ‘alone in deep space’ set up, Dead Space 3 hit a brick wall and did not recover.

However, this is the one franchise on this list that could return to greatness. It needs a good development team, but more so needs support from the EA higher ups, who may well be understandably doubtful of the success of a single player horror game in 2019. Still, it could happen — Star Wars: Fallen Order proved that EA is willing to listen to the fans. Maybe Isaac’s return isn’t unimaginable.

Could it return?
Very possibly. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order proved that EA are willing to listen to the fans. Maybe Isaac Clark’s return isn’t unimaginable.

 

Dino Crisis

Dino Crisis
Dino Crisis

So I’ve not actually played Dino Crisis personally, but I do remember the excitement around its release back in the 90s. Resident Evil was easily the leader of the survival horror movement in the 90s, but what else was popular back then? One word: Dinosaurs.

Thanks to the likes of Jurassic Park, there was a huge revival of interest in these ancient reptiles and it seems that Capcom knew this, and acted on it. The idea of the Resi devs working on a dinosaur based horror game was, and still is, a very exciting one. Following Dino Crisis’ release in 1999, reviews were positive and it looked like Resident Evil had a sister franchise. Capcom followed it up quickly with a sequel a year later, also to positive reviews.

That’s where the wheels fell off the Dino Crisis carriage thanks to a first person spin-off not managing to spark joy, and a third game that had some neat ideas but was very different in terms of tone and didn’t really sit well with fans. Also, Dino Crisis 3 was an Xbox exclusive, and after the console’s failure in Capcom’s native Japan, it probably didn’t do the numbers.

Could it return?
Possibly. There are rumblings every few years regarding a Dino Crisis sequel/remaster/reboot. There could be life in this clever girl yet.

 

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead is beautifully simple: a 4 player co-op zombie FPS which sees your team battling to stay alive against the sprinting undead hordes. There’s no crafting, leveling up or nonsense, just tense battles as you try and make it to the next safe room. Left 4 Dead’s popularity has endured despite it being over a decade since the initial release.

A sequel was released shortly later and was equally well received by fans. Much of the game’s success comes from its unique ‘A.I director’, which knows when to pile the pressure on and take it off again, depending on how well the team is performing. However, Left 4 Dead has become a victim of Valve’s unofficial ‘trilogy curse’. Much like Portal and Half-Life, we’ve never had a third Left 4 Dead game.

It’s surprising that we haven’t seen a third entry, the series seems perfect with the current gen’s obsession with online gaming. Rumours suggest that Left 4 Dead 3 was in development at some point at Valve, but since developer Turtle Rock left Valve to work on the ill-fated Evolve, little work has been done on the threequel.

Could it return?
Yes! Well, sort of. After the disappointing Evolve saw its servers shut down in 2018, Turtle Rock announced they are working on a spiritual L4D sequel called Back 4 Blood.

D

D is another largely forgotten survival horror from the 90s. It was classed as an ‘interactive movie’, a genre which received a slew of entries due to advancements in CD-rom technology in the decade. What made D different was that it didn’t rely on out of work extras to act in its cutscenes. It used 100% computer generated animation, even if it was a little rudimentary. While cutscenes had become more common by D’s release, it was uncommon to have a game use as many pre rendered cutscenes as D did.

D did well enough to warrant a sequel, and so Enemy Zero was released a year later in 1996. It featured similar gameplay to the original, mixing first person exploration with a lot of FMV sequences. A third sequel, confusingly called D2, was released in 1999. D2 was built for Dreamcast and looked amazing before launch, showcasing wide open snowy landscapes, but there were some concerns over the quality of the game.

When it was finally released, the gameplay largely consisted of doing the same thing in that same-y, snowy landscape. It received mixed reviews.

Could it return?
I doubt it very much. The series is fondly remembered by some, but was hardly a big hitter. Series creator Kenji Eno also passed away in 2013.

 

Siren (AKA Forbidden Siren)

Siren Blood Curse
Siren Blood Curse

Siren was a PlayStation exclusive series that had a great mechanic. Players are tasked with travelling around the village of Hanuda, locating items that reveal the game’s story. This has to be done, while avoiding the Shibito, undead villagers that inhabit the town. The mechanic in question is a psychic ability called Sightjacking, meaning you see what the Shibito see. This allows you to work out where they are, and also makes for some tense gameplay.

Reviews for Siren were mixed, with people liking the story, characters and concept but finding the gameplay tedious. Despite the lackluster reviews, Siren returned for a sequel, simply titled Siren 2 three years later, released alongside a movie adaptation. While the sequel fixed many of the issues with the original, it still disappointed some reviewers.

A third game called Siren: Blood Curse was released for the PS3, and although it is the third game in the series, it’s technically a reimagining of the original game. The game seemed to receive better reviews too, so it is a surprise we never saw any more from this game series.

Could it return?
Doubtful. It’s been a decade since the last Siren game, and there are few calling for a return, so I wouldn’t bet on it. Although after P.T. I’d love to see Hideo Kojima take a stab at this.

 

Echo Night

Before FromSoftware started scaring our pants off us with giant monsters and difficult gameplay mechanics, they were trying to scare those undergarments away in an entirely different way — psychologically. The Echo Night series features first person horror games focussed around finding ghosts, as Richard Osmand (not the Pointless guy) tries to find his father.

There’s no details on game sales, but as the 1999 sequel Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares was a Japan only release, we can assume it didn’t do very well in North America. Osmand returned for the sequel, but in a similar fashion to D, this was a different character with the same name.

A third game was released in the mid-2000s, this time with a sci-fi twist. Richard Osmand was a newlywed separated from his wife during their honeymoon on the moon. The gameplay was the same once again, asking you to explore the space station and locate ghosts and avoid them, before figuring out a way to defeat them.

Could it return?
No. FromSoftware have their hands full with Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro and Elden Ring. Sadly, Echo Night isn’t the most memorable of their back catalogue.

 

Parasite Eve

Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve

What do you get if you do a mix up of Resident Evil and Final Fantasy 7? Parasite Eve, of course. That is not totally fair, but I’m sure you’ll see where we’re coming from. Squaresoft’s Parasite Eve used the fixed camera perspective of the Resident Evil titles, as well as a turn based battle system similar to the likes seen in many JRPGs. It was totally unique: there have been no horror titles to use a similar method, at least not to my memory.

Parasite Eve was released in 1998 to good reviews and while I’ve no sales details, it did well enough to warrant a sequel, and only one year later Parasite Eve 2 was released. However, Parasite Eve was already a franchise of sorts prior to its video game debut, the game itself actually being a sequel to the 1995 novel of the same name. The series also had a movie adaptation in 1997, and also a couple of manga volumes out in the late 90s.

Sadly, after the initial burst of interest in the franchise, it just seemed to fizzle out. The final release of any media for the series came in 2010, with the seemingly forgotten PSP spin-off The 3rd Birthday.

Could it return?
Probably not. Unless there’s some sort of remaster or remake, it’s unlikely. The series has been dormant since the 90s aside from the 2010 spin-off, and rumour is it didn’t sell very well.

 

Nightmare Creatures

Nightmare Creatures
Nightmare Creatures

Many original PlayStation gamers remember these titles fondly. Developed by little known French developer Kalisto Entertainment, Nightmare Creatures was probably their most well known property. There were only two games in the series, but both oozed style and saw you battle your way through hideous creatures in 19th century London.

No doubt that if this game were released today, its combat heavy nature would be a good fit Bloodborne style gameplay, blending swordplay, melee and guns into your combat style. Better yet, why not stylise it as a Dark Souls style game? The initial title released in 1997 and its sequel dropped a few years later in 2000.

Many of us had forgotten about Nightmare Creatures, until an unexpected trailer for a remake appeared in 2017, seemingly reigniting the fanbase. Since then, it’s been very quiet on the remake front, with the developers saying they’re waiting until they can get proper funding before they begin development, and to be honest, that doesn’t sound promising.

Could it return?
Unsure. I’m not holding out much hope for the remaster/remake, but if it does work, it could restart the whole franchise.

 

Dark Seed

Developer Cyberdreams had a fascinating concept to take creative individuals, generally from outside the gaming industry, and work with them to create unique games. And boy did they do that. While not all they touched turned to gold, they created a few titles that gamers still love today, and one of those titles was Dark Seed.

Dark Seed saw Cyberdreams team up with H.R Giger and in turn receive full access to the designer’s back catalogue. Giger also insisted that Cyberdreams make the game in a higher resolution than the 320×200 that most point and click games used in the early 90s. They agreed but this meant reducing the amount of colours used to only 16, which actually worked in their favour and gave Dark Seed a weird, black and white movie vibe.

Dark Seed garnered praise and was followed up with a sequel in 1995, the same year as Cyberdreams released another gaming cult classic, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. Sadly, they closed their studio in the late 90s, leaving a number of unfinished projects including Wes Craven’s Principes of Fear.

Could it return?
No, I don’t think it will. Considering all the online storefronts in PC gaming, it’s amazing that Dark Seed is not available anywhere. Also, considering that H.R Giger is no longer with us, making Dark Seed 3 without him surely wouldn’t feel right.

 

Legacy of Kain

Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver

Out of all the games on this list, there are few quite as tragic as Legacy of Kain. The vampire saga had five games in its main series, but they were actually released over a span of 6 years. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain kicked off the series in 1997 and was a top-down, 2D action adventure. It was well received and resulted in Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver being released in 1999.

The series seemed to burn itself out though, with Soul Reaver 2 hitting shelves in 2001, and Blood Omen 2 only six months later. The Blood Omen and Soul Reaver plots would come to a head in 2003’s Legacy of Kain: Defiance. While sales figures aren’t easily available, the lack of any sort of Legacy of Kain follow up speaks volumes.

Two cancelled Legacy of Kain games, The Dark Prophecy and Dark Sun, were canned in 2004 and 2012 respectively, and the only title that would see the light of day was Nosgoth an early access, free-to-play multiplayer game, which would later also be cancelled.

Could it return?
Possibly. Legacy of Kain is apparently part of the Square Enix Collective, which is a “service provider for indie developers”, so maybe we’ll get an indie sequel one day?

 

Silent Hill

Silent Hill 3

This list is filled with bitter pills, but this might be the most bitter. Silent Hill started life on the original PlayStation, and went on to become one of the most adored survival horror series of all time. While the games frequently never sold as well as the likes of Resident Evil, gamers found the Silent Hill games to be more affecting from a psychological horror standpoint. Many gamers still agree that Silent Hill 2 is the best survival horror game ever made.

However, following the first four games in the main series, the development was shipped overseas, leading to mixed results. Spin off titles Silent Hill: Origins and Shattered Memories were well received, but the fifth and sixth main entries (Homecoming and Downpour) less so.

A seventh game was in development at Konami from 2012 onwards and a playable teaser was released on the PlayStation 4 in 2014. Silent Hills would sadly be cancelled by Konami shortly later, leaving fans heartbroken. The franchise is not technically dead, as a new Silent Hill pachinko machine was announced in 2019, but I guess some fates are worse than death.

Could it return?
As a proper game? Doubtful. Konami said in 2015 that there would be discussions regarding future Silent Hill projects, but who knows what form they’ll take.

 

Blood

The Build Engine, was a software engine similar to the engine that was used for the original Doom back in the 1990s. The Build Engine powered classic FPS games such as Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior (90s version) and Redneck Rampage all use, as well as the more recent title, Ion Fury.

Developed by Monolith Productions, Blood was a fantastic little FPS that I actually preferred to Nukem 3D. Blood saw you take the role of Caleb, an undead gunfighter as he battles against a dark god and the occult, which was different to most FPS games of the 90s. Blood 2: The Chosen was released in late 1998, but by then, another FPS had come out and changed the way we looked at the genre for good, and that game was Half-Life.

Half-Life’s sudden evolution of the genre left many other games feeling old fashioned, and this really affected Blood 2. That, mixed with the fact that they swapped the early 20th century setting to a near future cyberpunk one, made the game feel a little bog-standard and ultimately didn’t live up to its predecessor.

Could it return?
Unlikely. There’s few clamouring for a new Blood game. Also, since Warner Bros own the IP and the distribution rights are owned by Atari, it’s unlikely we’ll see another.

 

F.E.A.R

Fear 3
Fear 3

You may notice that developer Monolith has a number of dead horror franchises under their belt. After the disappointment of Blood 2 and Shogo, Monolith had to focus its efforts to compete in the post Half-Life FPS genre. They created some real forgotten classics of the genre such as No One Lives Forever, Tron 2.0 and, of course, F.E.A.R.

F.E.A.R sees the First Encounter Assault Recon unit (I guess they worked backwards from the acronym) going after a power psychic called Paxton Fettel, who has psychically taken over a group of supersoldier clones. On the way to defeating him we meet video game horror icon Alma, who haunts the player at every turn with her ghostly projections. Not only was F.E.A.R spooky, it also featured solid and satisfying combat.

The game did well enough to earn itself two sequels, with F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin being released in 2009 and F.E.A.R 3 in 2011. Despite generally positive response to the trilogy, F.E.A.R has seemingly juddered to a halt. The last release was F.E.A.R Online in 2013, but it never left beta phase and was cancelled in 2014.

Could it return?
Hard to say. I could possibly see the remaster or remake treatment coming to the original, but, oddly, no one seems to speak of F.E.A.R anymore.

 

Aliens vs Predator

Aliens vs Predator game
Aliens vs Predator game

Many people don’t realise how expansive the AVP franchise is. Yes there’s a handful of games and a couple of movies, but there’s also multiple comic books, action figures and novels. The early AVP games took the form of side scrolling beat ‘em ups, similar in style to Final Fight. The first game that might be familiar to modern gamers is the Rebellion developed first-person shooter Aliens vs Predator for the Atari Jaguar.

AVP was an amazing Doom-style FPS which saw you take the role of either an alien, predator or marine, and it received an equally epic 3D update in 1999. Playing the game as a soft, fleshy marine was tense and nerve wracking, knowing any second your innards could become outards in only a few hits. A 2001 sequel developed by Monolith released shortly afterwards, then there were no titles until the 2010 remake.

Once again the remake was developed by Rebellion, but didn’t feel quite as good as the 2001 version. Nevertheless it sold well, and debuted at no.1 one in the UK charts in 2010. There’s been no word of any further games in the series since, and it seems that Rebellion has been more focussed on its Sniper Elite series.

Could it return?
Most likely one day, but who will make it is anyone’s guess.

 

Condemned

Condemned Criminal origins
Condemned Criminal origins

Poor old Monolith. They seemed to love creating horror based FPS games and they’re rarely spoken about these days, but boy did Condemned: Criminal Origins get people talking in the mid-00s. While I’ve already called this game an FPS, it really doesn’t focus on firearms. Firearms in Condemned are powerful, and unlike other games, you can take out enemies in a single shot.

Condemned focussed more on slow paced exploration and melee combat, with a really great combat system that saw you parrying attacks to create openings. You spend your time exploring derelict places as well as performing crime scene investigations, where you’ll use tools to uncover evidence such as fingerprints, fibers and footprints. A sequel was released in 2008, but this had a slightly larger focus on firefights, and also featured a multiplayer mode.

Sadly, Condemned 2: Bloodshot just didn’t sell enough copies to warrant moving forward with the series and today it’s been mostly forgotten.

Could it return?
One of the former developers said that there will be no Condemned 3 as the game didn’t sell enough. However, former Monolith CEO Jase Hall holds the IP, and did express an interest in an indie sequel back in 2015.

 

Manhunt

Manhunt game

Okay, well this shouldn’t take long. I think it’s fairly self explanatory why we don’t have Manhunt 3. Manhunt is an ultra-violent, stealth based horror. You take the role of James Earl Cash, a man seemingly executed by lethal injection, only for him to wake up in an unknown location and forced to murder various gangs of individuals while under observation via CCTV. The game was renowned for its brutal takedowns which scored players on speed, brutality and total number of kills.

Manhunt became more famous in the UK as it became the focus of a campaign to get it banned from stores due to the murder of a 14 year old, which the tabloids claimed was caused by his killer owning and becoming influenced by the game. This led to at least two major retailers removing the game from their stores. Later, police stated the game was actually owned by the victim and not the attacker. However, this didn’t stop American attorney Jack Thompson attempting to get its sequel banned outright.

Manhunt 2 didn’t have an easy ride of it. The game would be released in October 2007 in the United States, but it would take a year to get released in the UK. Manhunt 2 was submitted for classification and forced to make cuts. However, after the cuts had been made, the BBFC refused to classify the game, effectively banning it. Only after taking the fight to the high court did the game see a (cut) release. The uncut version of the game is still banned in the UK.

Could it return?
Nope. Despite the furore surrounding the Manhunt series, it remains one of Rockstar’s less remembered titles. I doubt Rockstar would go through the hassle of getting a threequel past the censors.

 

Alan Wake

Alan Wake remedy

I love Remedy. The former Max Payne developers just have a way of telling a compelling story in a third person action adventure, and still to this day, I feel that Alan Wake is the pinnacle of their work, although Control is now right up there with it. Alan Wake follows the story of a Stephen King-esque writer who is struggling with writer’s block.

Much like other Remedy games, Alan Wake takes the form of a third person shooter, Alan must use his torch to weaken the shadow enemies before he can damage them with his handgun. A spin off called Alan Wake’s American Nightmare was released shortly later, and while it continued the story of Alan Wake, its focus was on more of a sandbox experience, and saw Alan fighting waves of enemies.

A video of an Alan Wake 2 prototype demo was leaked a few years ago, but ultimately led to nothing. Likewise, in 2018 it was announced that Alan Wake would be adapted for television and the show would be shopped to television networks. As of January 2020, there has been no further news. While Remedy owned the IP, Microsoft owned the publishing rights and, ultimately, the final say on whether Remedy would create a new Wake game.

Could it return?
Very likely. In 2019, Remedy paid €2.5 million for the full rights to Alan Wake, and considering the slew of easter eggs linking the Control and Alan Wake universes, surely a sequel or crossover must be in the works?

 

SiN

At one time, SiN was the next big thing in the FPS genre. You’ve no doubt heard this story about many new first person shooters from the late 90s. SiN, Diakatanna, Jurassic Park: Trespasse; everyone wanted to create the ‘next big FPS’. For a while, it looked like that could be SiN, but then a little game called Half Life was released and that was that.

SiN was a standard first person shooter for the time. The game saw you take control of John ‘Rusty’ Blade (Really?!), the commander of the security force Hardcorps, as he takes on the evil Elexis Sinclaire, who wants to turn people into mutants, for reasons. While I mock, very few FPS games of the 90s had any plot whatsoever, apart from the ‘escape’ ‘kill everything’ or ‘rescue x’, SiN actually had a detailed plot. SiN’s initial sales were good, but dropped off quickly.

Despite the lackluster sales, SiN actually received a movie adaptation, with an anime sequel being released in 2000. In the mid-00s, there was a brief craze of releasing games in ‘episodes’, and SiN would return as SiN Episodes, but only episode 1, ‘Emergence’, would be released.

Could it return?
No, and it pains me to say it, but while I loved SiN, it’s a product of the 90s. Its cyberpunk aesthetic has aged badly, much like other games of the era. Also, Elexis, the lead antagonist, is also a product of the 90s, and some of her character traits are — how can I put this — a little troublesome in today’s world.

 

Gregory Horror Show

Gregory Horror Show
Gregory Horror Show

I am aware that this is one of the more obscure titles on this list, and those that do know about Gregory Horror Show are probably confused as to why it’s on here at all. There is only one game in the Gregory Horror Show series, so how is it a series at all? Well, you are technically right, but there was also a series of CGI shorts that were also released, and made it onto DVD years later.

Gregory Horror Show is such a unique horror game that it needs more attention than it ever got. The game is set in Gregory House, a guest house located deep in the woods. Lost, the player is stuck there and the owner, Gregory, will help the player escape, but only if he collects the souls of the other guests.

With a blocky cartoon style, GHS almost looks like a children’s game, but it’s actually far from it. When you are being pursued by a Mexican cactus gunman or a dinosaur-nurse called Catherine, the pace really picks up, and you’ll have to hide to avoid being captured and subjected to a horror show. The more souls you get, the more angry guests you need to avoid. It was a criminally overlooked game for the PS2 and UK PAL copies frequently go for more than £100 on eBay.

Could it return?
As much I would love to revisit the world of Gregory Horror Show, I very much doubt it.

 

Dementium

When you think of the Nintendo DS, the first genre that doesn’t usually come to mind is FPS survival horror. Developer Renegade Kid evidently didn’t get that memo however, as these maniacs developed two of the blighters for Nintendo’s successful dual screen handheld. Dementium: The Ward and Dementium 2 were released in 2007 and 2010 respectfully.

While neither game set the world on fire, they were both huge achievements, squeezing two atmospheric first person shooters onto a tiny DS cartridge feels like a near impossible feat. While they are both very much by the numbers horror action fare, they really do not get the credit they deserve. Dementium 2 did strive to increase the notoriety of the series, by releasing on both Windows and Mac, as well as the DS.

Renegade Kid did announce a third game in the series in 2014, however the studio went bust in 2016 before any official announcement. Info was released about a 3DS FPS game called Cult County, which could’ve been a codename for Dementium 3, but was more likely a different title.

Could it return?
With the developer now closed, unlikely. However, the Switch could do with its own unique handheld horror title, so who knows.

 

Ecstatica

The fact that Ecstatica has been forgotten by much of the gaming universe is a travesty. Ecstatica released in 1994 and featured familiar tank control gameplay, in a similar vein to Alone in the Dark and later, Resident Evil. However, it felt like a real step up in terms of graphics and presentation.

Ecstatica featured incredible in-game animation for something that was made in the early 90s, especially considering that the characters were rendered in 3D. What helped this was the fact that the characters were built out of ‘parts’, allowing them to be moved in various ways to create fluid movement. They looked strange, like early claymation models, but moved around unlike any other game of the era.

However, it is possible that as this was a PC only release, very few had a computer powerful enough to actually play the game, which might be a contributing reason as to why this game is largely forgotten today.

Could it return?
Doubtful. It’s a forgotten gem, but was not as influential as Alone in the Dark, nor as popular as Resident Evil.

 

Obscure

obscure game
Obscure game

It is surprising how unique many horror games are. Gaming often takes cues from the world of movies, and while there a few horror titles that do, many try to be more unique. Due to the fact that there aren’t too many games that follow stereotypical horror movie tropes, when one does, it actually feels original. This is where Obscure comes in. Setting itself up as a 90s teen horror movie, the game is set largely around Leafmore High and feels similar to the movie The Faculty.

Obscure has one hell of an ace up its sleeve though: co-op play. Players can jump on the couch together which is something very unique to the genre, even today. Honestly, the game wasn’t anything special, but the multiplayer aspect really saved the game from obscurity (pun not intended), and it is still played by players to this day. Surely, in the days of online multiplayer titles, there is room for a co-op, story driven horror game.

A sequel, Obscure 2, was released for PC, PlayStation 2, PSP and Wii consoles in 2007. A, um, ‘reimagining’ is the only word for it, of Obscure was announced by Mighty Rocket Studios, but swapped the teen horror for a monster based brawler. Naturally the fanbase was not happy and the name was changed to Final Exam. A HD remaster of the original title arrived on Steam in 2016.

Could it return?
With online gaming so easily available to most players it could be possible if a publisher wanted to take the chance on it. But as it only has a small fanbase, I’d say no.

 

Onimusha

Onimusha movie
Onimusha

I know that I am 100% not alone in the desire to see Onimusha again. For those who have never heard of this game, and since it’s been nearly 15 years since the last major new entry into the series, that could be many of you, here’s a quick rundown. Onimusha: Warlords released on the PlayStation 2 way back in 2001, and was one of the biggest selling PS2 titles of that year.

Set in the Sendoku period of Japanese history, Onimusha was originally planned to be something akin to a period version of Resident Evil, and it pretty much is that. While many aspects of Onimusha stuck close to its inspiration, including pre-rendered backgrounds and tank controls, much of the praise was given to the sword play and action aspects of the game.

There were four mainline games in the series, as well as a number of spin-off titles. The four main games each received critical praise, but the fourth title, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, underperformed when it was released in 2006. There’s been little rumour of another game since, apart from Onimusha Soul, a Japanese browser game. A film was also in development for a time, but this is now assumed cancelled. However, a remaster was released in 2019.

Could it return?
Personally, I don’t think so. Onimusha is just one of a number of Capcom survival horror titles that fans want to see return, but with them being pretty much tied up with Resident Evil nowadays, this looks increasingly unlikely.

 

Resident Evil Outbreak

Outbreak File #2
Outbreak File #2

Capcom and their list of long forgotten survival horror franchises, eh? While this one isn’t necessarily an entire franchise, it is definitely in the subcategory of unique Resident Evil spin off titles. While I could happily live my life without another Survivor or Operation: Racoon City spin off, there’s one that seems a perfect fit for modern consoles – Resident Evil: Outbreak.

Resident Evil: Outbreak was a multiplayer Resi game, first released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2003. Up to four players can make their way though Outbreaks five scenarios, with the ability to choose from a selection of different characters. While the USA and Japanese releases were played over the PS2 network, Europe didn’t get the online version of the game, and were forced to play offline.

Outbreak proved popular enough for a sequel, and Resident Evil: Outbreak – File #2 was released in 2005. Sadly, servers for the games have been shut down for some years now, so there’s little point to dig that PS2 out anytime soon. Fans of the game did manage to get a networked version of the game running on PC via an emulator and a server, so the game lives on in some way.

Could it return?
Maybe. Capcom have been attempting to make a decent Resident Evil multiplayer game for some years now to very mixed results indeed. Outbreak proved that multiplayer survival horror can work, so maybe they should give it another shot.

MORE HORROR:
Best PS4 Horror Games You Should Play (If You Dare
Best Multiplayer Horror Games
Best Switch Horror Games You Should Play

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