3 Horror Games Inspired by Classics That You Should Play This Spooky Season
Just like the best of horror movies, there’s always something special about playing a solid horror game during the Halloween season. It’s not enough to watch someone in a movie make awful decisions that bring on the frights and terrors. Sometimes, it’s better that we take control ourselves and follow that disturbing baby’s cry in the distance or head down the blackened corridors of the R.P.D. Just maybe, there’s a thrill in bringing sheer horror upon ourselves. It’s what video games do best, after all. And there’s no shortage of options to choose from. This Halloween season, the horror genre continues to expand with Halloween: The Game, Hellraiser, and Silent Hill: Townfall. However, the best horror titles are games that are heavily inspired by what has gone before. Gaming has a great legacy of hallmark horror titles to draw from, including Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, and Alone in the Dark, among others.
With that said, there are some recent releases on modern hardware that expertly recall a seemingly bygone era in horror. These games offer fans a glimpse into the past while still maintaining the high standards of visual and mechanical fidelity we’ve come to expect with the current generation of video games. This Halloween, consider giving these titles some attention. For any fan of the genre, they truly won’t disappoint.
3. Hollowbody
In the late 90s and early 00s, Silent Hill was a dominant survival horror series rising through the ranks in gaming to compete with the likes of Resident Evil. The series became a fan favorite, with several entries in the series, including multiple film adaptations. In 2024, British studio Headware Games brought horror fans Hollowbody for the PC. It has since come to consoles earlier this year. The game is a third-person survival horror that places players in the shoes of Mica Holloway, a smuggler who goes in search of her missing partner, Sasha, after having disappeared during an expedition to the British Isles. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and Mica’s airplane fails, stranding her in a small town overrun by strange mutants.
Intentionally, the game is designed to look like an up-res or remaster of a PS2-era title. The models are clunkier-looking than modern gaming might have you used to. The textures and detail aren’t pristine, but this isn’t a flaw. It’s a design choice that’s meant to bring players back to 2001. Hollowbody is highly atmospheric and forces the player to explore haunting and derelict buildings with a flashlight and weapon in hand. Does that sound familiar? Once in the middle of play, fans will instantly recognize the Silent Hill trappings, in particular, Silent Hill 2. It’s a game that does a stellar job paying homage to Konami’s hit series. But keep in mind, this game is a survival horror through and through with plenty of emphasis on survival. Resources are scarce, so head into Hollowbody with conservation top of mind.
2. Tormented Souls
Want to party like it’s 1996? Well, look no further than Tormented Souls. Developed by Dual Effect, this game brings classic Resident Evil to modern systems with a new skin. Forget Resident Evil: Requiem; I’m talking about Resident Evil on the PlayStation in all of its 32-bit glory. Tank controls, fixed camera angles, bad dialogue, save rooms, and running for your life are all part of the package. Now, if you don’t like tank controls, what kind of survival horror fan are you? I kid, of course. Using the D-pad lets you relive the rigid and clunky control scheme of the classics. The analog stick provides modern, fluid 3D movement.
The game follows Caroline Walker, who is investigating the disappearance of twin girls at a creepy hospital. Upon arrival, she is knocked unconscious. When she awakens, she finds that she is hooked to medical equipment in a bathtub and is missing an eye. Caroline must get her wits about her and explore the terrifying hospital to uncover sinister plots afoot, including grotesque human experimentation and creepy cults. If you’ve played Resident Evil 1, 2, or 3 for the original PlayStation, then you’ll be right at home with the inventory system, the save rooms, and campy voice acting. While that might sound like a negative, it’s actually quite charming and intentional. And if you like Tormented Souls, be sure to pick up Tormented Souls II.
1. Cronos: The New Dawn
In 2008, EA unleashed the necromorphs on unsuspecting gamers with the claustrophobic space horror, Dead Space. It’s a game that clearly had its own set of inspirations, including the legendary sci-fi horror film Alien. Isaac Clarke, an unfortunate engineer, is given the task of boarding the USG Ishimura, a planet-mining ship that has gone dark, and finding out what transpired. Isaac and his crew are subsequently beset by hostile, twisted, and mutilated corpses of the crew. They’re zombies with an even creepier twist. Thanks to someone’s quick thinking in their dying breaths, bloody messages on the walls informed us that we had to sever the limbs of the critters to defeat them. From that point forward, Isaac would be cutting, blasting, and stomping his way through the Ishimura.
Cronos: The New Dawn, developed by Bloober Team (the same studio behind the stellar Silent Hill 2 remake), grants fans a spiritual successor to Isaac’s bloody travels among the stars, only this game is set in the bleak setting of a ruined Eastern Europe in the distant future. You play as the mysterious Traveler who is part of a group known as the Collective. You must discover the secrets behind an apocalyptic event known as “The Change,” which ultimately left infected people as twisted monstrosities known as orphans.
Like necromorphs, these horrific mutants are devilishly hard to defeat and require being torched with fire to completely put them down for good. Believe it or not, fire isn’t always readily available. So you’ll have to make do with hitting them hard enough that they won’t get back up for a time. The mechanics and gameplay are very similar in style to Dead Space. The player character is outfitted with a bulky suit reminiscent of Isaac’s engineer outfit. And yes, they can stomp anything and everything, including enemies and crates. As you progress, you’ll upgrade and collect new weaponry. It’s a game that will surely bring the tension and please the hardened fans of its inspiration.