It’s that time of the year again when everyone turns their focus to scary games and starts looking for the best title to give them a good scare on All Hallows’ Eve. We asked the LifeIsXbox crew about their favourite horror titles and listed them for your reading pleasure!
The Evil Within 2
JIM: What started as a mediocre game, turned out as a fantastic franchise. I’m talking about The Evil Within. When the first one was released it had a lot of potential, but it had terrible performance and that weird-looking aspect ratio. With updates, it turned out much better. The Evil Within 2 used all that potential of the first title and added fun stealth gameplay. For me, the confusing story, gory moments and unique gameplay, makes the two The Evil Within games perfect for Halloween.
AARON: I highly recommend The Evil Within 2 if you haven’t had a chance to play it. Yes, the first one is great & it was created by the father of Resident Evil, but The Evil Within 2 fixes a lot of issues that the first one suffered from. It had an engine upgrade which resulted in better graphics, a decent open world to explore, new weapons & a ton of scary creatures that the first one didn’t have enough of. There were times during the game when I was genuinely scared to progress. Not only this, but the story & cinematic direction is great, with a lot of emphasis on character design & backstory. You feel connected to these characters & especially with the main character, you feel his pain. It’s a great campaign length of around 8-10 hours but there are also side quests to do in the world if you are feeling brave. An all-round great package for any horror enthusiasts.
OUR REVIEW: https://www.lifeisxbox.eu/evil-within-2-review/
The Quarry
ROBBY: While not my favourite game from Supermassive (that would be House of Ashes), The Quarry is the most recent and is currently discounted for Halloween, so it felt like a good recommendation. It’s a solid “choose your own adventure” style game with branching narratives and a few interesting set piece moments. You play as a group of young adults who just finished their gig as camp counsellors. But then things turn dark and they have to face unimaginable horrors. Perfect for a Halloween interactive movie night, especially since you can play it with multiple people!
OUR REVIEW: https://www.lifeisxbox.eu/review-the-quarry/
Watch a full let’s play here: https://youtu.be/lq6bG1VjrHA
Resident Evil: Village
COLOMBO: I haven’t played many horror games, but from the ones I did, singleplayer-wise, I’d recommend Resident Evil Village. The story, characters, environment, and soundtrack were all top-notch. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that it isn’t as scary as Resident Evil 7 is, so if you’re looking for a scarier experience, play 7.
Alien: Isolation
VICCI: The horror game I would personally recommend is Alien Isolation; currently on Xbox Games Pass! It certainly allows players to have both elements of shooter and stealth because of how you have to approach different enemies. I was always fully immersed, and the alien certainly made my experience whenever it was nearby; having to look out for it at all times. The crafting components also added extra depth. I will say, however, if you really want a challenge – play it on the hardest difficulty, using a headset with the noise detection setting turned on. You’re in for a real treat, with no risk of trick, with this game.
ROBBY: Extra info I’m adding here is that this is best enjoyed on The Xbox One X with a Kinect connected: you can use the camera to detect when you get up from your seat and your character in the game will peek from behind cover… and it captures your audio and makes the alien aware of your location if you make too much noise.
Carrion
MISSI: I don’t play many horror games, as I quite easily have nightmares, but one I played for sure and has the “horror” tag is “CARRION“. It does not feel like a horror game because you’re the bad guy. In CARRION, you’re some sort of weird creature that got kept in an underground base. You escape the case you were captive in and have to find a way out. In order to become stronger you eat the guards and scientists that are in the base, but it grows your body as well, so sometimes you have to slime down to be able to get through different spots. It is a great Metroidvania with reversed horror as you are the scary creature who scares the crap out of the people that work in that underground base. I don’t like horror games, but being the monster yourself is a lot of fun!
Outlast
VICCI: I also have to give credit where it’s due when it comes to Outlast and The Whistleblower DLC. This is one game I put off playing for the longest time as I knew the only strategy was to run or hide with no use of combat. That and the use of limited night vision had me interested yet terrified. It’s one-of-a-kind that you won’t find elsewhere in the horror genre, or at least not to its high standard in terms of atmosphere and mood setting. Play it with the lights off, limit yourself to one battery and play on insane for a challenge; best of luck!
Home Sweet Home
ROBBY: Not the most well-known game, but Home Sweet Home can really land the sense of fright. It’s a horror game in an Asian setting, with some similarities to The Ring, but here the bloodied ghost chases you with a boxcutter and that *click-click-click* noise she makes as she stalks the hallways is probably the single scariest sound in a videogame to me ever.
Watch this video: https://youtu.be/FdrhTrD0u9o
Robby lives and breathes video games. When he’s not playing them, he’s talking about them on social media or convincing other people to pick up a controller themselves. He’s online so often, he could practically list the internet as his legal domicile. Belgian games-industry know-it-all.