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The 25 Best Horror Games Ever Made (as ranked by IGN)

Ulysses 31

Gold Member
not-even-close-kate-mckinnon.gif
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
Their complete list, for those interested:

1: Silent Hill 2 (2024)
2: Resident Evil 2 (2019)
3: Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)
4: P.T. (2014)
5: Dead Space (2023)
6: Alien: Isolation (2014)
7: Outlast (2013)
8: Left 4 Dead 2 (2009)
9: Resident Evil 4 (2005)
10: Five Nights at Freddy's (2014)
11: Resident Evil (1996)
12: Forbidden Siren 2 (2006)
13: Clock Tower (1995)
14: Soma (2015)
15: Alan Wake II (2023)
16: Until Dawn (2015)
17: Dead by Daylight (2016)
18: Phasmophobia (2020)
19: Visage (2019)
20: Inside (2016)
21: Manhunt (2003)
22: Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005)
23: The Evil Within (2014)
24: Slender: The Eight Pages (2012)
25: Stay Out of the House (2022)
Now it turns out that IGN lists Alien isolation as a great game, and they gave it a 5 score.

Rule of rose???

Haunting ground.???

Five Nights at Freddy's... Eso que?? 🤦🤦
 
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deriks

4-Time GIF/Meme God
The fact a tech demo made the list honestly invalidates some of their credibility. P.T. Wasn’t that good, it just fucking wasn’t.
Kojimaboys will cry a lot for this, and not because of your comment, just because it's true
 

K' Dash

Member
Psychological/Sci-Fi/Cosmic horror are my favorite generes, so SH2 being number 1 doesn’t bother me at all.

I wouldn’t take IGN seriously tho.
 

K' Dash

Member
Now it turns out that IGN lists Alien isolation as a great game, and they gave it a 5 score.

Rule of rose???

Haunting ground.???

Five Nights at Freddy's... Eso que?? 🤦🤦

Bad game, bad game, pretty fucking bad game 🤷🏻‍♂️

I mean I enjoyed RoR and Hunting Ground at the time, but they’re nowhere near as good as the great ones.
 
Silent Hill 2 might be the greatest horror game ever made but I'd argue that, good as the remake is, it shipped with performance and polish issues that distracted from the experience. The same is true of the Dead Space Remake. Yes, it is excellent but I'd argue the original is better because it doesn't have severe traversal stutter (that the developers never bothered to fix on PC).

In my opinion, if I had to rate a recent game for contender of Best Horror Game then I'd pick Alan Wake 2 or Resident Evil 7. Alien Isolation, though not quite so recent, is another strong contender and really deserves a remaster to fix the game's awful anti-aliasing.
 
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Do people actually get scared or is it just a tense feeling and maybe jump from jump scares?
I get the tense feeling but I'm starting to think all scared reactions are just hamming it up for youtube.
 
Eh, replayed it around last year or soon after it released on PS5, for the first time ever in the Home-Theatre (release has amazing audio!), and the game is still unsettling to me.

There's something about it. Remake, which is one of my all time favorite games bar none, is almost too beautiful. I'm always floored by how utterly gorgeous it visually is everytime I replay it, especially on GC.

I'm attracted to 2002 game, whereas I feel the exact opposite for the wrong and rotten nature of '96 RE instead. OG Mansion has a Shining quality to it that's totally absent in 2002.
Well I gladly stand corrected.

RE96 is my GOAT, I get such a kick out of people revisiting it and sharing their positive gameplay experience. Such a good game.

I encourage you to try the true OG 96 release, I can't speak for PAL but in NA there was no auto-aim. The version on PS5 has auto-aim and it nerfed the hunters and final tyrant fight.

I should adjust my statement on RE96 not being scary, it doesn't scare me anymore BUT, the true OG NA release is still an exhilarating experience once hunters enter the scene and that final tyrant fight is always white knuckle. That version of the game makes you earn it, its so satisfying. I always say it too, it's a shame that version is lost to time because the NA 96 release, and it's brutal nature, is what caused the game to become a sensation. Director's Cut editions just don't capture that aspect IMO.
 
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Do people actually get scared or is it just a tense feeling and maybe jump from jump scares?
I get the tense feeling but I'm starting to think all scared reactions are just hamming it up for youtube.
Hard to say. For YT it's definitely theatrics, unless the person doesn't play horror.

In VR, it's legit terrifying with certain games. You get serious adrenaline dumps and it is mentally and physically exhausting. Propagation: Paradise Hotel will cripple you with fear, it's an amazing experience if that's your thing.

For me, I get legit scared/unease mostly due to sound design. Something like Homecoming still puts me on edge and the game isn't necessarily scary. The first Fatal Frame too, that game is legit scary IMO and the difficulty helps to keep you on edge. The Evil Within as well because that game hamstrings the shit out of you, you always feel vulnerable.
 

Dr. Wilkinson

Gold Member
It’s always eyebrow-raising when an outlet makes a proclamation like this right after something has just launched.

The only way to claim something like this with any credibility is to look back five+ years from now and see how it’s held up vs what else has launched since.
 
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Saber

Member
Remake did a great job, I give yah that. But the original SH2 still tops above all.
Face it, the remake used all the advance tech already available at the time and a story that already exist and did changes for "adults" like IGN, because we all know IGN love some mature shit.

Original SH2 made all that atmosphere out of love and passion, with little they had and on a fucking PS2. Not to mention they throwed all they made initially because the director wasn't satisfied.
 
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njs15

Member
How does Luigi's Mansion not make this list? Obviously it's a non-scary family game, but I'm not sure how the "sucking up ghosts and walking through a spooky house" game isn't horror.
 

peek

Member
P.T. stands for Playable Teaser. Glorify it what you want, it's not a game. It's a demo of a cancelled game, Silent Hills. Being on any list of games it's just stupid and bias.

As for the list we already discussed in the other thread. Lack of games like F.E.A.R., Fatal Frame or even Resident Evil 7 is questionable. And SH2 being the remake i can't agree with that.
Teaser, yes... but its fucking GREAT. Sad that a little teaser like that is more effective in atmosphere and scares than some major studio "horror" games.
 

Killer8

Gold Member
Crazy how Kotaku produced a better list written by Alyssa Mercante of all people.

To be fair that was only focusing on the last 20 years versus all-time for this list, but still - Left 4 Dead 2? Really?
 
Resident Evil Remake should be at the top for horror games

Fatal Frame 2 is one of the best games ever too

latest

I really hope this is the next FF remaster from Koei Tecmo.

I also hope we get remasters for 1&2, even if they were largely the same visually, just give me gyro controls and I will be completely happy. FF is such an underappreciated series.
 
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Teaser, yes... but its fucking GREAT. Sad that a little teaser like that is more effective in atmosphere and scares than some major studio "horror" games.
I'm not saying it's not good. In fact i love almost all Kojima's games.
I just can't agree that a 19 min demo / teaser is almost considered the best horror game ever made.

It's nonsense imo. What's next? The Matrix Awakens best game ever made?!
 
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