The Best Games That Feel Like Horror Movies

Key Takeaways

Horror games have evolved to emulate the cinematic essence of famous horror movies, providing a unique gaming experience.
Games like The Evil Within, The Quarry, and Dead by Daylight blend horror elements inspired by classic and modern horror films.
Titles like Dead Space and Alien: Isolation recreate iconic aesthetics and atmospheres of space horror, showing the longevity of the genre.

As a seasoned connoisseur of terror, having survived countless haunted asylums and alien-infested spaceships, I must say that these games have left me with more scars than my late-night horror movie binges ever did.

As a passionate gamer, I’m utterly thrilled about the recent releases of remakes for Silent Hill 2 and Until Dawn. These games are shining examples of how far we’ve come in incorporating cinematic elements into horror gaming since their rise in the ’90s. It’s fascinating to see how certain titles have been inspired by iconic horror films, making this genre one of the most cinematographically engaging in the gaming world.

Horror video games often strive to resemble watching a horror film in terms of the challenges faced by characters, visual aesthetics, and narrative structure. In some instances, these games have achieved such success that they gain recognition equal to or surpassing the movies that inspired them, offering an engaging gaming experience along the way.

8 The Evil Within

Mixes Multiple Horror Genres By The Creator Of Resident Evil

Right from the get-go, “The Evil Within” has a cinematic vibe, with a persistent letterbox on screen to mimic the widescreen look of a movie. The terrors that Detective Sebastian Castellanos experiences are reminiscent of classic horror films, blending elements of sci-fi, supernatural, and psychological terror seamlessly together.

The game The Evil Within captures the mood of numerous 2000s horror films, including the swift editing and grisly scenes characteristic of James Wan’s horror movies, along with adversaries like a brutal chainsaw-wielding antagonist reminiscent of Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Furthermore, it offers robust third-person shooting mechanics, which helped establish The Evil Within as a modern gaming classic.

7 The Quarry

Homages 80s Horror Movies And Tests Player Decisions

Title “The Quarry” is created by Supermassive Games, the same team behind “Until Dawn”. In this game, players are tasked with making crucial decisions that steer the narrative of a chilling tale. The significance of these choices cannot be overstated as they can result in various outcomes – ranging from a joyful resolution to a grim ending – for different characters. Some of the death scenes are so impactful that playing through again becomes necessary to uncover them all.

In contrast to Until Dawn, which gave off a contemporary horror vibe, The Quarry is designed to emulate the grainy video quality of 80s movies. It’s an extra treat for horror enthusiasts as it boasts a star-studded cast from multiple generations, including Lin Shaye, Ted Raimi, David Arquette, and Lance Henriksen.

6 Dead By Daylight

Asymmetrical Love Letter To Slasher Movies

Instead of just focusing on outrunning killers and monsters, Dead By Daylight has emerged as a peak experience within the asymmetrical horror genre, empowering one player to assume control of the killer. This game boasts a distinctive backstory, drawing inspiration from numerous horror films in its past, with The Trapper bearing resemblance to Jason Voorhees and The Legion taking on the appearance of Ghostface.

Each of these characters originally hails from distinct films of yesteryears, making it an enjoyable aspect when employing them in online multiplayer contests. But the popularity and triumph of Dead By Daylight has led some legendary movie figures into the game’s roster, such as the Xenomorph, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, Hell Priest, Leatherface, and more.

5 Silent Hill

The PS1 Game That Revolutionized The Survivor Horror Genre

One significant influence on the initial creation of Silent Hill was the film Jacob’s Ladder, according to its creator Akihiro Imamura. The main character in both works grapples with terrifying scenarios born from their personal traumas and regrets. Notably, one of the standout features of the Silent Hill series is its inclusion of multiple divergent endings, a characteristic that has gained widespread recognition.

In the eerie fog that cloaks the town in Silent Hill, you’ll find echoes of John Carpenter’s The Fog. Moreover, the warped and grotesque Otherworld evokes memories of horror films such as Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, with its characters scarred by barbed wire and monstrous entities that resemble the Cenobites and their chains. These cinematic horror elements have persisted throughout the series, even in the latest remake of Silent Hill 2.

4 Dead Space

The Gruesome Pinnacle Of Space Horror Games

In Dead Space, a team finds themselves stranded aboard a spaceship due to an alien infestation, drawing inspiration from numerous sci-fi horror films. The somber and ominous ship layout of the Ishimura appears to have been inspired by the Nostromo from Ridley Scott’s Alien, using ambiance and sound design to instill fear in players as effectively as the creatures themselves.

In numerous aspects, the 2023 reboot of Dead Space stands above its predecessor. The protagonist, Isaac Clarke, navigates through a spacecraft, encountering Necromorphs – grotesque creatures birthed from mutated corpses. Armed with claws and tendrils, these monstrosities strike their victims in a terrifying manner reminiscent of John Carpenter’s The Thing. This blend results in an exhilarating survival horror game that seamlessly incorporates the most compelling aspects of the initial trilogy.

3 Outlast

Found Footage Horror Game Inspired By Movies Like Blair Witch

At one point, found-footage horror films were extremely popular, ranging from “Blair Witch” to “As Above So Below,” and among these, “Outlast” stands out as an impressive effort to emulate this genre within video games. The narrative revolves around a journalist who secretly infiltrates a creepy asylum, only to fall prey to the terrifying patients who now inhabit it.

In this game, players rely solely on the camera as their only weapon. This camera boasts night vision capabilities, creating a realistic “found footage” atmosphere since there’s no combat option. Instead, players must navigate by running or hiding – resulting in pulse-pounding scenes that contributed significantly to the game’s popularity, leading to an expansion DLC and two follow-ups.

2 Alien: Isolation

A Proper Sequel To The Original Alien

Following numerous attempts by other “Alien” games to emulate James Cameron’s “Aliens”, the game “Alien: Isolation” returns to the aesthetic of Ridley Scott’s original “Alien”. This results in a game that is now an official sequel to the first movie, one that was as stunningly beautiful as it was eerie due to its almost flawless visual representation of the film and the sophisticated artificial intelligence that enabled the Xenomorph to learn.

The intense sensation of claustrophobia and confinement experienced within the space station during Alien: Isolation made it seem more like a true sequel to the original Alien film, rather than the actual sequels. In fact, this game was such a strong influence that many concepts and features from it were incorporated into Alien: Romulus.

1 Until Dawn

Redefined Story-Driven Horror Games Forever

Just like “The Quarry”, “Until Dawn” is an interactive horror drama where players are required to make decisions that shape the narrative. Distinct from its predecessors, “Until Dawn” and its 2024 remake have set themselves apart with a seemingly simple plot and characters combined with unexpected twists, stunning visuals, and gruesome deaths that appealed to gamers as an immersive cinematic experience. So captivating has it become that it is being adapted into a live-action movie in 2025.

In the game titled “Until Dawn“, elements are drawn from numerous horror films such as “Friday The 13th“, “Saw“, and tales by Stephen King. The characters in this game have set a high standard for Supermassive Games’ style, with even their most notable characters in other games having difficulty competing due to the familiar archetypes being subtly reimagined to make them distinctive.

2024-10-08 04:34