Horror Games With The Best Openings

Summary

Until Dawn sets the stage with a tragic prank gone wrong, kicking off the horror game with a tense and grim atmosphere.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent intrigues players by starting with fragmented memories that slowly unravel as the story progresses.
Alien: Isolation plunges players into isolation and fear as Amanda Ripley seeks answers aboard a space station.

As a seasoned gamer with over three decades of gaming under my belt, I must say that the opening scenes of these horror games are nothing short of masterful. The way they slowly draw you in, building tension and anticipation, is a testament to the skill of their creators.

Kick-starting a narrative is crucial to lay the foundation for the events that follow in the coming hours. Let’s introduce the players, the settings, essential backstory, and the main topic right at the start of the game, ensuring we address all these elements effectively from the get-go.

Just as crafting an effective ending can be tricky, so too is creating a compelling opening. However, numerous developers have shown their ability to rise to the occasion. These specific horror game openings drew players into their chilling and frightening realms of terror, prompting them to shudder in dread and eagerly await what lies ahead.

7. Until Dawn

A Prank Gone Horribly Wrong

In the game known as Until Dawn, it skillfully balanced being both a horror video game and an interactive movie. The player’s role was primarily about exploring locations, gathering evidence, and making crucial decisions, often in quick time events that could mean survival or demise for the characters shown on screen. The Supermassive horror games, which followed Until Dawn, adopted a unique trait where two characters would meet an untimely end right at the beginning of each game.

Title Rework: A cluster of adolescents in a secluded log cabin concoct a malicious prank targeting Hannah Washington. Distraught and heart-stricken, she flees into the snow-blanketed wilderness pursued by her anxious twin sister, Beth. Their encounter with misfortune lays the foundation for potential deaths stemming from this sorrowful incident, while simultaneously serving as a driving force for one of the characters.

6. Amnesia: The Dark Descent

A Mystery to Unveil

One of the most memorable indie horror games ever made, Amnesia, excelled at immersing players within its narrative, sparking curiosity and raising intriguing questions. As the game commences, a nearly unconscious character expresses the necessity to regain their memories, providing essential details like their name and birthplace before embarking on a journey away from the collectors and through an impressive castle.

Starting the game this way is particularly engaging since clues about past occurrences and discussions are gradually revealed through letters hidden around the castle and flashbacks. The letter players come across immediately after the opening movie is especially intriguing because it raises even more questions, as it is penned by Daniel himself and explicitly states that he needs to assassinate Lord Alexander.

5. Alien: Isolation

Creates an Oppressively Isolated Atmosphere Immediately

In the gap between the narratives of the initial and subsequent “Alien” films, this game centers around Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley, who is determined to uncover the truth behind her mother’s fate and the lost spaceship Nostromo. The narrative commences with her being notified that the ship’s flight recorder has been recovered and transported to Sevestapol Space Station, where all the action unfolds.

Following encounters with fellow team members, the player finds themselves in solitude after an unexpected mishap during the space walk to the station. This persistent sense of loneliness dominates the game’s early phases and persists throughout, making “Alien: Isolation” a true embodiment of its title.

4. BioShock

Choose Rapture

Following his shipwreck in the heart of the ocean, Jack’s last resort becomes swimming towards a lighthouse. Inside this lighthouse, he finds a submersible known as a bathysphere, which takes him on a journey deep beneath the waves, uncovering an underground city that thrived and decayed, once inhabited by affluent entrepreneurs and high society figures. However, what now resides in these ruins are psychotic splicers and intimidating Big Daddies.

Before players get a glimpse of how Rapture has fallen into disrepair, they are first presented with its dazzling facade, which has endured through the years. The music escalates as marine life passes by, serving as a backdrop to unveil the stage for BioShock. Following a brief journey highlighting Rapture’s former prosperity, they then venture inside to discover that what appears to be a flourishing underwater metropolis has devolved into a horrifying reality they must struggle to escape.

3. Dead Space 2

The Player is Thrown Straight to the Wolves

At the start of Dead Space 2, there’s no guidance or assistance; quite the contrary. The story begins with Isaac finding himself in an unidentified location, restrained by a straitjacket. Franco attempts to help him, but before he can finish, an Infector intervenes and turns Isaac into a Slasher. Instead of being his rescuer, Franco becomes a threat to Isaac, forcing him to escape.

With no weapons and scant chances for survival, he dashes along a shadowy corridor while necromorphs shatter windows and hurl themselves onto his path in Dead Space 2 – a game that effectively conveys the intense terror of helplessness and fear that characterize the survival horror genre.

2. Silent Hill 2

A Soft Opening Disguises the Horror to Follow

Given its esteemed reputation among horror games, it’s only logical that Silent Hill 2 would begin with a compelling introduction to align with the rest of its high-quality gameplay. Instead of dropping players into the frightening setting right away, it starts by presenting an excerpt from Mary’s letter, which James ponders over as he gazes out at the view. What makes this letter unusual is that James claims it was written by his deceased wife.

The beginning of this story is skillfully paced, allowing for a gentle introduction to the title town and some exploration, before the players come across their first monstrous foe. This provides a momentary respite before plunging them straight into the relentless terrors that follow.

1. Resident Evil: Village

The Story Book Opening is Both Whimsical and Chilling

In the sequel to the outstanding “Resident Evil 7”, the Winters family reappears in the storyline. Following the occurrences of the previous game, Ethan and Mia have moved to Romania, where they are nurturing their baby girl named Rosemary. Ethan believes he is spending quality time with his family, but things soon take an unexpected and gory turn for the worse.

But before that, the game begins in a rather unexpected way, with Mia narrating the tale found in the pages of a children’s story book, with a whimsical art style to match, as a young girl gets lost within a forest, and gains the gifts of the local lords of the land before earning the ire of the horse by stealing the gear, believing it was a tribute to be given to her. It’s somewhat creepy to be reading to a baby, which Ethan himself remarks upon. Still, it is a striking opening that remains beautiful, and returns at the end of the game with some parallels to be drawn to the relationship between Ethan and Rose.

2024-12-18 16:35