Game Informer's Top 25 Horror Games, Your Thoughts?

1. Resident Evil
2. Silent Hill 2
3. Dead Space
4. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
5. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
6. Resident Evil 4
7. The Last of Us
8. Left 4 Dead
9. Manhunt
10. Condemned: Criminal Origins
11. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
12. System Shock 2
13. The Walking Dead
14. Clock Tower
15. The Suffering
16. F.E.A.R.
17. Alan Wake
18. Sanitarium
19. Dead Rising
20. Slender
21. Day Z
22. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
23. Shadows of the Damned
24. Splatterhouse
25. Blood

i never really know what to say about these rank order lists. quite a few good scary games on there, however i'd like to mention Doom 3. it's a very scary game, and quite old now so it's pretty easy to render.

Silent Hill 2 should be #1 on any horror game list

Agree :). And even though I love the early Resident Evil games, it's not number one, the latest games in the series isn't even Horror any more. The Silent Hill series is.

L4D wtf? It's not horror, it's coop action.

Maybe they mean the horror when you are in a pub group against a clan and your tank rage quits.

Why is system shock 2 at 12?

Whoever made this list is someone who shouldn't make lists, due to making bad lists.

Silent Hill 2 is a truly amazing and tense game those Pyramid Heads are creepy.

Resident Evil 4 not #1?

ok

Some of those games just aren't horror games at all. RE4 being on there while Siren: Blood Curse is ignored? Thats just plain ignorant.

Resident Evil 4, The Last of Us, Left 4 Dead

These aren't horror games.

Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4 before Resident Evil 2.

Not like GameInformer was creditable before, but still...

@princeofshapeir

Yeah I don't understand why people couple up The Last of Us to the Horror Genre. There's nothing "Horror" about The Last of Us, more like Thriller.

resident evil 4 is a horror game

the last of us and left 4 dead not so much

yeah resident evil is on there but not doom 3.

and what about call of ctulhu, alone in the dark, dead space 2& 3, Resident evil 2 & 3, fear 3, dead island. aliens vs predator 2

this list is utter bs

A few games I dont think should be on the list at all

3. Dead Space - I guess it is a horror game, but its shite. There is no subtlety at all the enemies flaunt themselves all game and very quickly all fear turns to frustration. Jump Scares galore.

8. Left For Dead - Its not a horror game, its a frantic shooter built around co-op.

19. Dead Rising - Its not a horror game, more like survival and a battle against shitty controls

21 DayZ - More Zombie Co-op

Games that I think should make any horror game list

- Resident Evil 3 Nemesis - If you can include more than one from a franchise, Nemesis would make it, the game had that good Resident Evil atmosphere and Nemesis was terrifying as you never knew when he was going to chase you, and when he's stop. On Hard mode you were often under equipped to deal with him.

- Penumbra Black Plague - My Personal favorite horror game of all time, you felt completely helpless, at first enemies were terrifying, locations were very creepy.

- Outlast - When I first played this I wasn't sure if I could carry on, the first scene when you get into the asylum in the top window and the lights go off was brown trouser. My first instinct was too turn round climb back down the scaffolding go back to the car and leave. Then uninstall the game through fear. After a few good jump scares and chases the fear wore off, but it was dam good while it lasted.

SCP Containment Breach - Atmosphere is incredibly intense on this game and the AI is so aggressive, the back story to the game is brilliant and unsettling,

Call Of Cthulhu - Based on a HP Lovecraft novel you investigate a disappearance in a creepy village, Amnesia like game were you unarmed adding to the fesr as you cannot protect yourself.

Its not a horror game, it has a couple horror elements sure but it leans way to much into action to be taken serious in a horror game list. I was a well armed mercenary midway through the game confident I could take out anything in my path.

No Resident Evil 2?

Clock Tower hould be up there, too.

Two awesome games at the top. Love Resident Evil and Silent Hill 2. I've played the crap out of Sanitarium too, glad to see it's on the list.

@thehig1: It's a horror game. Not a "survival horror" one but then again so aren't a lot of games on this list. If Alan Wake, Left 4 Dead, and The Last of Us can make why the list then RE4 is indeed a horror game. I just think it should be higher. Besides, the list is obviously going for horror as a theme rather than a gameplay style. That should have been obvious but alas, users are having trouble realizing this.

I cant find a link the actual list, but the title says "Horror Games" not Horror themed. If we include Resident Evil 4 why not include Halo and Gears Of War.

outlast should be number 1

followed closely by slender the arrival

PT will be number 1

/thread

Don't remember much of the original Halo but I'd absolutely include Gears of War. The first game had an amazing atmosphere.

Why is not "Alien versus Predator" on the list?

Really?, I was suggesting both of those games out of sarcasm haha.

We obviously have different ideas of what makes a good horror game, I think games in a horror game list should be able to scare you to the point of it being uncomfortable to play.

Looking at what I said there makes me wonder why I like horror games, I want them to make me feel nervous and uncomfortable. No other scenarios in my life do I seek to feel that way.

I'm not sure that list makes a lot of sense to me. It seems like many of those games are a weird choice.

EDIT: I came in looking for suggestions, because I love creepy games (Rift cannot come soon enough), but didn't really find any.

Horrible list. Wheres SH3? SH1? Project Zero/Fatal Frame 1? I dont know if they said it was just a game per series but RE1 and RE4 are both in there... Are they telling me a game like Splatterhouse, Dead Rising or FEAR are better horror games than Silent Hill 3? GET... DA... FVCK... OUT...

That's probably where the difference lies. I've never been scared in a game because when I'm playing it I never really let my guard down enough to get frightened by something. Keep in mind I interpreted this list as games that have some horror-related theme, whether they be tropes, enemies, the story, or just overall atmosphere.

I like to think of "Horror" in the broadest sense as a collection of themes and/or common ideas rather than a set gameplay style o design. "Survival Horror" the genre that aims to make the player feel grossly inadequate to deal with the trials ahead makes more sense to me when I read your interpretation of horror. And that's okay, difference of opinions are perfectly fine and dandy when discussing any kind of art.

I can let myself get immersed to the point of feeling scared, even in some Movies I can do this too.

My perfect Gaming Horror experience is a Survival Horror game like Outlast, with headphones on, volume on max and using a 60 inch projector on the wall.

This at about 3am with the window wide open on a winters night so the room goes bloody freezing, I might take horror games a bit too far haha.

just beat Silent Hill 2 last week and that game wipes the floor not only with Resident Evil but with every horror game ever made. Period.

Thoughts:

• Respect for allowing Dead Space a spot toward the top, it well deserves it.
• I'd of placed Resident Evil 4 above the original, I also wouldn't have mentioned any others to make room for other notable games.
• Silent Hill 2 and Fatal Frame II Crimson Butterfly were worthy mentions, no complaint here.
• I'd of picked Condemned 2: Blooshot over Condemned: Criminal Origins, the game was much more improved and just as scary and unsettling as the original, but at least the series got some recognition.
• I'd of picked FEAR 2 of FEAR, I thought it had a better story, better and scarier paranormal segments, improved gameplay and better presentation by a long shot. Only hermits hating games going to consoles decided to get a stick up their ass about it and act like the sequel was regressive, it wasn't.
• Eternal Darkness is one I take issue with, but partially my fault, I didn't understand you purposefully have to keep the sanity meter low to experience the good stuff, I always just kept it up with the ability you have to do so because I thought it would be detrimental to playing somehow. So the whole time it wasn't that scary because I had my sanity meter high. I only discovered how I did it wrong after playing, I really need to go back and play it (luckily still have it).
• Dead Rising and Alan Wake, I enjoyed both of these, no problem here.
• Left 4 Dead, can't complain, it was a fun game, especially for competitive online gameplay. It was so fun playing as both survivors and infected, either the relief of making it through a level as survivors, or that great feeling of setting up the perfect ambush as infected.
• The Suffering, here's a game I just couldn't get into, I played it back when it released and even for its time I couldn't get into it and it just felt dated. But I was aware many people liked it, maybe I just didn't get far enough into it.
• Clocktower 3, this was a game I wanted to get but didn't while I could. It was only $10 at my local GameCrazy for like ever and I told myself I'd get it one day, but never did, now I regret not getting it.

Games I'd liked to have seen up here:

• Deadly Premonition
• Siren: Blood Curse
• Alone In The Dark - this is like the first survival horror game I ever played, and about one of the only early games of the genre I can recall myself, I'd of tough it would have gotten a mention.
• Darkwatch - just awesome action shooter for its time, just a lot of fun to play.
• Nocturne - this was a pretty good Resident Evil / Alone In The Dark like survival horror game for the PC, I thought it was a big deal back in its day, but nobody seems to remember

For the hell of it, old survival horror games I never got to play but wish I did:

• Rule of Rose - hell, even used copies of this game go for well over $100
• Clocktower 3 - mentioned already
• Fatal Frame IV - yeah, they didn't release it outside Japan
• Siren 2 - they released it outside Japan just not in North America

Anyhow, a somewhat solid list by Game Informer, don't agree with everything but it's better than other top X lists

Great list . Now give me Alan Wake 2 .

Not a bad, but classics like Project Firestart and Alone in the Dark should not be forgotten. Out of "modern" horror games, Penumbra and Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth are better representatives of the genre than most titles on the list.

#22 on the list, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream was worked on by David Sears who is currently the creative director for SOFs Studios (www.sofstudios.com) working on the game H-Hour: World's Elite, which is a spiritual successor to SOCOM 1 and 2 from the PS2. He was also the creative director for those two games as well.

I work as a moderator, so if you are interested in that game or his newest game H-Hour, come on over and have a look. Tell em' Wit sent you.

Love L4D and TLOU, but they aren't by any means horror.

I find the lack of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. disturbing.

fatal frame 2 should be number 1. That game is pure evil.

The only games I played on that list are dead rising which I enjoyed a lot and the suffering that game scared the hell out of me.