The Five Scariest Games of All Time

Done trick-or-treating? Tired of drinking in bars or parties full of foolishly dressed people? Get your All Hallows' Eve on with these five games.

[Walker]

Dead Space is NOT horror game .

[mjwood21]

I respectfully disagree. It definitely has all the elements. A super creepy infested ship in the middle of space where you never know whats around the corner. You have no where to go, millions of miles from home. You are basically all alone to take on the unknown. Dark, bloody, scary. A game can fall under more than one genre. If you were Isaac, would that experience not be the scariest $&!t ever?!!

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I disagree with not knowing where to go. Every time I clicked the analog it told me exactly where to go.

:-P

[darthv72]

dead space as suspenseful, not horror. Suspense implies on the edge of your seat because you dont know whats going to happen next.

There are moments of scare and gore but not to the extent of it really being classified as a horror game.

Its like in movies. would people classify the Saw movies as horror? They too are suspenseful but more psychological than straight up horror like say old school Friday 13 or Halloween (appropriately stated for today).

There are so many sub sub names like thriller and chiller that it makes it tough to really put things into the right place.

[Bimkoblerutso]

^ Well, it's still horror even if it doesn't technically scare you. "Horror" just refers to the aesthetic and thematic elements within the game, not whether or not you are subjectively frightened by those things. The game is filled to the brim with horrific imagery.

Admittedly, DS seems to want to disturb more than it wants to "scare," though.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

The fact that Slender or DayZ are on this list is what makes this article complete BS. At least Dead Space has horror elements and can be scary/nerve wracking.

But c'mon, Slender and DayZ? A glorified Jumpscareathon and a glorified COD death match with zombies? Get real.

[humbleopinion]

"Horror" and "scary" are two different terms. Many games can offer scare moments without resorting to actual horror, and horror games can be effective even without resorting to scare tactics (for example: Sanitarium).

[General Shrooms]

I agree, Dead Space wasn't scary at all.

Slender isn't very scary either.

[SilentNegotiator]

"Slender isn't very scary either"

.....what are you trying to prove?

[Locksus]

When I tried Fatal Frame which was included on a demo disk that came with a PS2, it was goddamn scary then.
I wasn't very old then, though so that's understandable.

[boyzilla]

No mention of Amnesia... but lists Day Z (which isn't even technically a 'game' yet) makes this article lose all credibility. Happy Halloween!

[mjwood21]

Yeah. Amnesia is definitely number one in my book. Turn the lights off and throw on a good pair of headphones and there is nothing like it.

[Phegan]

Have you actually played DayZ, it was the most tense game I ever played.

[boyzilla]

Absolutely, I love DayZ. I agree that it has some very intense survival horror elements when it comes to other players being in the same vicinity as you, and you don't know whether they're friendly or not. Then suddenly you hear the crack of a bullet land right next to you, and you know it's fight or flight. So don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking DayZ in any way... it's just the article is titled The Five Scariest GAMES of All Time, where as DayZ is still a mod. It's very tense, but Amnesia is definitely something else.

[schlanz]

Every time I see these lists Amnesia is at or near the top... was surprised it was omitted here, made me kind of dismiss it altogether.

I haven't yet played amnesia, I really ought to.

[Campy da Camper]

Amnesia is shit your pants scary. The water monster about half way though literally made me scream out loud like a school girl. Having to run and open doors and knowing it is right behind you will make your blood pressure soar.

[ZombieNinjaPanda]

Amnesia starts out scary but then loses its touch when you realize what's going on. After that it throws jump scares at you. But it doesn't keep it fresh enough to keep you in that 'horrified' state.

[ninjahunter]

Deadspace was pretty scary on the first play-through. People say its not scary because on the second+ playthrough you know where everything's at and you know all the tricks so its pretty much COD. But the first play-through man haha, I was scared to freaking scratch my nose on the first play-through.

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

For me... the Resident Evil series. Just a series that got to me as a kid and scared the hell out of me. I still loved it.

I remember playing a game called Clock Tower for the PS1. That game (when I was young) would gaurentee to make me crap my pants. Soooooo scary!

[Treian]

You mean 0-4.

[Xristo]

No Amnesia? It might not be everybody's #1 (it is mine but opinions vary), but it should be in most, if not all, Top 5 lists.

[Xristo]

With that said .... here is a trailer released today for Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs!

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Campy da Camper]

Wow! Good find! I'm just not sure my heart can take another Amnesia game.

[Treian]

REmake. Scariest Game Ever.

[BananaEatingSquid]

I'm planning on playing Amnesia for the very first time. Good choice? I want to be SCARED.

[Campy da Camper]

Play with lights out and headphones. I guarantee you that you will have to stop playing and turn on the lights at certain points. This game is so well made and the scares are not cheap they are spooky and creepy as fuck. There were times I just stood outside an area for 20 minutes and refused to go into it.

[silver350z94]

I could see where people are coming from saying Dead Space wasnt scary.

up the difficulty and add surround sound full blast, and oh boy it gets scary. They trick you with the surround sound how it is intended to work. I had to stop playing after an hour everyday because I got tired of having my heart pumping fast the whole time through out the game. Try it I dare you!

[bladesofagony]

for me its condemned criminal origins, the best horror game i ever played

[bumnut]

I gave you an agree, I don't think its the best horror game around but I nearly had a heart attack when photographing the body in the locker!

[bladesofagony]

touche, remember Bart's Department Store ??, the one with mannequin, it blew the shit out of me even the metro library stage, where you have to meet Rosa at door leading down to the basement, holy crap

[beerkeg]

Stalker is one of the scariest games ever made. It gets overlooked in favour of more popular games, but it is scarier than most of them.

[GTRrocker666]

People that say dead space isnt scary, chances are they are playing the game wrong. You need to play it on a hard difficulty, in the dark , at night , and with headphones on. That is the only way to play scary/horror games period.

Any body can play a scary game during the day or with the lights on and not be scared. With a genre like horror you need to set a proper mood to truly appreciate the game and the atmosphere that the developers are trying to create.

Also make sure no one else is home and leave the front door unlocked.

[Norrison]

I play all horror games like that, dead space is just for making you jump, it isn't scary at all. Even though the sound effects give it an eerie atmosphere

[GTRrocker666]

To me that is scary. What are games that scare you?

[Norrison]

Amnesia, silent hill 1 & 2, Penumbra: Overture, Fatal Frame series, etc.

[reznik_zerosum]

try condemned 1 & 2 !

[bladesofagony]

condemned for sure

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

No Haunting Ground love but glad to see Siren: Blood Curse get some respect.

[frjoethesecond]

I found Corpse Party very scary.

[reznik_zerosum]

FEAR 1 is best for me,horror can have 99% action and 1% scare but its still horror.

[Braid]

I don't think Dear Space is that scary. It's a great suspenseful game, does make you jump sometimes but to be honest, it's a cheap trick that almost every game uses nowadays. The game is leaning more towards being claustrophobic, just like Bioshock, if you ask me. It may just be me though, I just don't get scared by games too easily, but I do experience the feeling of disturbance just like you do. Maybe I'm getting old, heh.

Talking about disturbance, Silent Hill 3 is one of the most disturbing games I've ever played, due to the atmosphere. Sanitarium is right there from the oldie goldies, and don't forget Condemned from this generation, it's a quite atmospheric game as well.

[Psychotica]

How can Amnesia not be on the list at all?? It's scarier than any of those..

[Blues Cowboy]

Someone hasn't played System Shock 2...