Horror in itself is a genre that has spawned countless incredible titles, but there's one particular sub-genre that has managed to create some particularly spooky horror games. Psychological horror is a very specific type🐬 of horror focusing on the mind, and the slow dread that creeps in, rather than visceral gore or cheap jump scares.
The stories of psychological horror games might often feel strange or convoluted, but they actually serve as a way to confuse the player or even make them question their own sanity. Symbolism, deep stories, and shocking revelations that often involve the protagonist are just a few tropes that characterize this ever-popular genre. When it comes♔ to the top games of psychological horror, only a few truly made a mark, however.
10 Amnesia: Rebirth (Meta💧score: 84)
Although 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Amnesia: Rebirth came out only recently on October 20th in 2020, it has already left a lasting impression on the critics of Metacritic. With a Metascore of 84, it's a great start for a game that seeks to bring the Amnesia series back to the𒁏 forefront of the hཧorror genre. Still, it'll be interesting to see how the score develops in the coming years.
Taking on the role of Tasi, the game is set in a desert area where she needs to solve a range of puzzles and navigate caves and tombs in order to survive. Much of the gameplay is similar to the original Dark Descent game, but with minor upgrades. Darkness still dri🎀ves 🍎the character insane, and light is one's only friend.
9 💫SOMA (Metascore: 84)
SOMA is a game that has made huge ripples since its initial release as 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:an indie horror game, with a Metascore of 84. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:sci-fi survival horror romp makes the player completely helpless in the face of various corrupted robots and zombie-like, nightmarish c༒reatures that roam the depths of Pathos-II.
Following a brain scan, Simon wakes up on Pathos-II in the far future, with no idea of where he is and how he got there. His mission now is to find a way out and survive while assisted by Catherine, one of the surviving members of the Pathos-II crew. There's all sorts of twists and turns in SOMA, but the monsters especially are bound💖 to terrify the helpless player.
8 Fatal Frame II: 🌳Crimson Butterfly Director's Cut (Metascore: 84)
A franchise that met an unfortunate end, puttering out on the Wii U in 2014 with Maiden of Blackwater, was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fatal Frame, a revolutionary Japanese game series that introduced the idea of capturing ghosts with a special weapon k✱nown as the Camera Obscura. The game made paranormal and ghosts look good, which is a difficult thing to do in such a competitive𒁏 industry.
Fatal Frame II, in particular, really succeeded in this task and tells the story of two twins who wander into an abandoned and haunted village🐼 deep in the forest. The game is not only frightening, but it's also extremely heartbreaking and emotional, earning it a Metascore of 84.
7 🥀 Silent Hill 3 (Metascore: 85)
Cliché of an inclusion though it may be, it's impossible to compile a list of the best psychological horror video games without mentioning the Silent Hill games. That just goes to show how incredible this series is, especially with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:releases like P.T., and Silent Hill 3 is no diffe🍌rent in how it delivers potent frights and a claustrophobic environment, scoring 85 on Metacri🦂tic.
The third installment of the series focuses on Heather and acts as a sequel to the first game and the horrors that took place at the time. Silent Hill's environment is notorious for introducing 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:nightmarish, absurd areas and scenes, side by side with completely realistic yet abandoned counterparts. A plꦫayer never knows w🅷hen it's just a dream or the real thing.
6 American McGee's👍 Alice (꧟Metascore: 85)
Retro horror game fans might remember this incredibly old yet memorable game, which even received an 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:upgrade in the form of Alice: The Madness Returns. American McGee's Alice, however, was muc𒀰h more twisted and weird than any other game at the time, combining an old tale with nightmare and gore.
Wonderland is an e✃ntire psychological nightmare trip, and, in many ways, it reflects Alice's cr🍸umbling psyche as she wields a vorpal blade and slices through her previous friends with no mercy. There's nothing quite like this, which is why it made it to a score of 85.
5 💞 Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Metascore: 85)
The original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Amnesia: The Dark Descent was one of the most popular games of its time when it was initially released. Everyone was either playing or watching people play this game, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:beginner horror fan or not, and it received tons of modded content from a highlౠy dedicated fan com༒munity. No one can deny it defined a decade of horror with its style.
Amnesia starts off with Daniel's awakening in a dark, seemingly abandoned castle. Having lost his memory, he needs to figure out what happened to him, as well as get to the bottom of the castle's past by dodging vari🌞ous monsters that hunt him down. It's a wonder why a legendary game l🦄ike this hasn't scored higher than 85.
4 🐎 Obse✃rver (Metascore: 86)
A fairly new game, Observer is a futuristic tale of a special police officer who has the ability to hack into the b🅰rains o🐻f citizens to find out clues. Taking place in a dystopian Poland, it combines elements from a number of different gaming genres, including sci-fi and survival horror.
Given how recent this game is, it's incredible how much it 🔥has growওn. Its atmosphere and story are absolutely brilliant, which is why it definitely deserves its Metascore of 86.
3 ☂ Silent Hill (Metascore: 86)
The beginning of it all, the original 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Silent Hill was an 𓄧experience that no one has quite been able to replicate since its inception. There are all the classic elements of a horror game and story, however, that everyone loves: an abandoned town, monsters, and a bit of survival with cool weapons.
When🃏 Harry Mason arrives☂ at Silent Hill while in search of his daughter Cheryl, he has no idea what he's about to get into. The town is a nightmare of its own, wrapped in a thick fog that never seems to disappear. Earning a Metascore of 86, we believe most fans would rate it even more highly than that.
2 💧 F.E.A.R. (Metascore: 88)
Although psychological horror is usually characterized by the main character being unarmed and perfectly helpless against their assailants, there are some exceptions to this rule. F.E.A.R., for instance, is a fantastic combination of classic FPS elements📖, as well as a slow-burning t👍error that seeps through the screen into the player.
Haunted by the apparition of little girl Alma—168澳洲幸运5开奖网:remember the ladder scene?—and her immense powers that were designed for military use, the player must investigate the events taking place within Armacham following a member going insane. As a wonderful mix of everything that makes survival horror great, F.E.A.R. absolutely deserves its score of 88.
1 Sileဣnt Hill 2 (Metascore: 89) 𒀰
The all-time best psychological horror goes to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the Silent Hill franchise, but, surprisingly enough, it isn't the first game in the series as is usually the case with major franchises. In fact, Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece that was ahead of its time, leaving a mark on not only the players themselves but also horror as a genre ꦑin general.
When James arrives at Silent Hill after receiving 🍒a letter from his dead wife, he's hoping to find her and make amendments. As he traverses through the foggy, abandoned ruins of the city, however, he learns more about himself than the whereabouts of his supposedly dead wife. As the king of psychological horror, the game ranks at 89, which is the highest for any game of this particular horror sub-genre.