While many are horrific experiences,survival horror gamesaren’t known for being the most terrifying in the larger horror genre. This is arguably due to the fact that these games include combat mechanics. They rely more on the player feeling vulnerable and less on scripted scares.
As a result of this approach, how much the player is scared depends on how frightening they find the themes, tone, and atmosphere. Some survival horror games manage to create immersive atmospheres which help to draw players into their unsettling environments and put them on edge. Some locations in survival-horror games, however, are scarier than others. Gamessuch asCondemned: Criminal Origins, for example, aren’t particularly scary throughout the entire game.Amnesia: The Bunker, on the other hand, takes place in one continuous location that’s unnerving from beginning to end.
Home to an ensemble cast of shambling undead, terrifying “Lickers,” and the notorious Mr. X,Resident Evil 2’sprimary location — the Raccoon City Police Station — is a dark and unsettling house of horror. Mr. X, an invincible foe that stalks the player with ridiculously loud footsteps, does plenty of heavy lifting in making the station a terrifying place to be. However, the cinematic lighting and sound design, as well asthe environmental storytellingand dynamic enemies, make the Police Station a consistently creepy place, even when Mr. X is nowhere to be found.
Much of the Police Station is connected by long, dark, unsettling hallways that threaten to jump the player with a lurking Licker or Mr. X himself. The Kennel is a particular standout. The eerie atmosphere and lightning speed of the zombie dogs creates an intense scenario.
Silent Hill is packed withcreepy, unsettling locationsfrom beginning to end. Even the titular town of Silent Hill is a consistently unnerving place to be, forcing players to fumble through dense fog in order to get where they need to go. There’s no doubt that everySilent Hillfan has their own location they’re particularly spooked by, but Midwich Elementary School is one of the most unsettling places in the game. It also acts as a brilliant introductory area, setting the scene and giving players an example of what to expect from the get-go.
Midwich Elementary School is an abandoned, pitch-black environment, where players can only see by the limited light of their flashlight. The space is full of eerie classrooms and hallways stained with blood, and the building is populated by the infamous Grey Children. However, the less said about any location inSilent Hill, the better. Prospective players are better off enjoying this classic horror game without any prior knowledge.
Condemned: Criminal Originsis a survival horror game that takes place in a variety of grungy, grim, andabandoned urban environments. Plenty of these environments can be terrifying, littered with deranged enemies andemergent jump scaresthat can throw players off their guard. It could be argued, however, that none of the locations inCondemnedquite match the terror of Bart’s Department Store.
The environmental storytelling and the unsettling, abandoned environment itself creates a sense of unease. However, it’s the unique antagonists of this location — the mannequins — that make Bart’s Department Store so terrifying. These mannequins are scattered throughout the department store, but only some of them are animate. This leaves players guessing as they explore, constantly passing fleeting glances over their shoulder.
In terms of scares, theAmnesiaseries has gone up and down over its lifetime as a series. However,Amnesia: The Bunkercan bea terrifying experience, especially for newcomers to the survival horror genre. This is due to its immense scarcity of resources and, similar toAlien: Isolation,its dynamic AI adversary.Amnesia: The Bunkertakes place in the titular WW1 bunker, which is home to a horrific creature and an unreliable source of light.
Players must constantly work to keep the lights on inAmnesia: The Bunker.Without them, they are sure to fall prey to the creature that stalks them. This, along with the constant fear of setting off the creature, makes the bunker a terrifying location that gets even worse when the lights go out.
Although the Xenomorph can overstay its welcome towards the latter end ofAlien: Isolation, it’s nonetheless a terrifying opponent that makes exploring the dark and quiet halls of the Sevastopol Station an unsettling experience. The game’s excellent use of cinematic lighting also makes exploring Sevastopol Station’s many nooks and crannies an anxiety-inducing activity.
The constant sense of dread forced upon the player by the looming threat of the ruthless Xenomorph is perhaps the largest factor in what makes Sevastopol Station so terrifying. The environments are also extremely immersive and remain faithful to the source material. This helps to draw players into the world and, as a result, makes Sevastopol a lot scarier. Overall, this makesAlien: Isolationa must-play for any fan of survival horror andtheAlienfranchisealike.
