5 Classic Games Every Horror Lover Should Play

When people mention classic horror games, most minds immediately think of Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

It is fitting since both series are the backbone of modern horror gaming. They are the original scary games. While they may not be the first of their kind, they are the games that shed light on the horror gaming genre.

Though both are some of the best horror games out, for this list, we will be taking a look at a few lesser-known titles. These horror games are all terrifying in their own ways, and though they may not be as popular as Resident Evil or Silent Hill, they have earned their place among the greats.

Sit back, relax, and take a journey into the terrifying world of horror gaming.

1. Siren: Blood Curse

Blood Curse is the re-imagining of the 2003 (Japan) — 2004 (North America, Europe) survival horror game, Siren.

In Blood Curse, you play as several different characters trying to discover the secrets and horrors of the small Japanese town, Hanuda, which was washed away by a flood years before the game’s events. What is left is used by a cult practicing the Mana religion, in which they worship a deity known as Kaiko.

Along with the creepy cult and their misguided delusions, there are several “corpse people” or risen dead that roam the town. These guys are called Shibito, and anyone that dies in Hanuda joins their ranks.

After a loop sends the characters back in time with the memories of their impending deaths, they all fight to survive and change their fates.

However, much like Silent Hill, people do not simply leave Hanuda Village.

Players must quickly learn to use everything around them, including weapons, in an efficient manner. Sometimes hiding is the best option, while other times, barricading yourself inside a room is the only way to survive.

Work quick and smart, but be cautious, or you just may find yourself stuck in the same unending death loop as your characters.

Playable Characters:

• Howard Wright — An American high school student currently living in Japan. He receives an email about fate that beckons him to Hanuda. Against his better judgment, he decides to go and see what the reason for the email is.
• Seigo Saiga — A man who knows a lot more than he is saying. Seigo is directly related to the original events that caused the dimensional rift in Hanuda to start with. He is both helpful and antagonistic at the same time.
• Melissa Gale — A television presenter in Hanuda with her cameraman, Sol Jackson, looking to uncover the mystery of what happened there years earlier. She is soon sucked back in time with Sol, her ex-husband Sam Monroe, and their daughter Bella.
• Bella Monroe — A little girl with a big role to play. Bella arrives in Hanuda with her father, Sam, only to be thrown mercilessly through time, more than once.
• Sam Monroe — A folklorist who receives an email with a job offer to travel to Japan and into the mysterious town of Hanuda. With nowhere to send his daughter, Bella, he decides to take her with him. It is only after arriving in the town that he realizes his ex-wife, Melissa, is also there.
• Amana — Previously known as Bella Monroe before she is pulled so far back through time that she encounters the extra-dimensional being, Kaiko, and becomes cursed with both eternal life and amnesia.
• Sol Jackson — A cameraman who works closely with Melissa Gale. After some time, he falls in love with her and quickly finds himself caught up in her personal life once they enter Hanuda.

2. Obscure

Released in 2004 in Europe and 2005 in North America and China, Obscure is an incredibly overlooked title. The game features an interesting couch co-op mode for two players and gives them options on who they wish to play.

There are five main playable characters, each with their own unique and useful skill. It is worth it to play each of them throughout the game, as they all have different reactions and dialogue for every scene.

You start the game looking for your friend, Kenny, in the Leafmore High School, where the characters attend classes.

There is something off about the school, though. Students disappear in alarming numbers, and as you make your way through, you discover the horrifying truth why. Now you must save your friends and make it out alive.

Do yourself a favor, and don’t bother playing the second Obscure title. It isn’t the same type of game, and it doesn’t flow along with the original. It turned out to be very disappointing and nonsensical.

Most fans pretend it never happened.

Playable Characters:

• Stanley Jones — Stan is a nonchalant stoner type that accidentally gets caught up in the events of the game. After the rest of the group gets together to find Kenny, they run into Stan hacking into the computer to change his grades.
• Shannon Matthews — A kind and smart girl that gets caught up in the game’s events after her brother, Kenny, goes missing. She teams up with some of her friends to find him, helping to uncover the insane and gruesome details about what has been happening in their school.
• Josh Carter — A journalist for the high school with an inclination toward investigation. After Kenny disappears, it is Josh’s idea to search the school after it closes for him.
• Ashley Thompson — A cheerleader and Taekwondo practitioner, Ashley finds herself in the school after dark searching for her missing boyfriend, Kenny.
• Kenny Matthews — Kenny is a fairly typical jock character that is lured away after basketball practice by his ringing phone. He then has his backpack stolen, and he gives chase. He follows the thief into the bowels of the school and ends up trapped there.
• Dan — Dan is a malnourished student Kenny finds locked in a cage under the school after chasing the thief. After releasing him, he becomes a playable character alongside Kenny for a short time.

3. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

Eternal Darkness is unique in the way that every game should be. It has a good story, solid characters, and a perfect twist.

You begin the game as Alexandra Roivas investigating the murder of her grandfather Edward Roivas in his mysterious mansion. Alex uncovers the Tome of Eternal Darkness, and the player embarks on a psychological, historically-based adventure through time.

Police and investigators are clueless as to what happened to Edward and choose to claim he simply was murdered and that there is likely no way to ever solve how or why.

Alexandra refuses to allow that and takes the investigation into her own hands. She moves into the sprawling mansion and delves head-first into the mystery.

There are twelve different characters to live through, Eldritch horrors to encounter, spells to be cast, and a mystery to solve: if you survive…

Eternal Darkness challenges you to use your mind as well as your controller. There are some fun extras for players as well.

Dig deep into the lives of twelve unique people to find the truth about your grandfather and why he was killed.

Playable Characters:

• Pious Augustus — A Roman Centurion in the year 26 BC searching for special ancient artifacts for the emperor. After finding them, however, he is corrupted and becomes an undead lich. He then begins stalking the player throughout the game.
• Anthony — A Frankish Messenger serving under, and fiercely loyal to, the Frank Emperor, Charlemagne. Anthony opens a letter intended only for Charlemagne out of suspicion that it might not be safe and is cursed to become a zombie for his effort. His story takes place in 814 AD.
• Maximillian Roivas — A colonial Rhode Island doctor and great ancestor of Alex and her grandfather. Maximillian inherits the mansion that will later become the setting for Alex’s misadventure and immediately realizes something is wrong. He soon discovers the ancient’s influence under the mansion. He tries to warn the world but is only locked up in an asylum.
• Paul Luther — Paul is a Franciscan Monk in 1485 AD on a quest to see the holy relic, the Hand of Jude. Upon arriving at his destination, however, he learns that his pilgrimage was a farce to lure in sacrifices. He is freed and learns the truth, choosing to fight his way to the betrayers.
• Peter Jacob — Peter is a resilient and observative field reporter stationed in France in 1916 AD during World War I. While writing about a battle he recently witnessed, he catches a nurse steal a living soldier away under the pretense that he was dead. Peter digs into the mystery around him and uncovers the secret of the ancients. It is because of him that Edward comes into possession of an artifact.
• Michael Edwards — A Canadian firefighter in the Middle East in 1991 AD, attempting to put out oil fires, finds himself the sole survivor in the Forbidden City. He meets Roberto and is entrusted with the Essence of an Ancient, which he guards with his life. He is believed to have later passed this on to Edward.
• Alexandra Roivas — While exploring the mansion, Alex comes across the Tome of Eternal Darkness, in which she experiences the falls to darkness through the eyes of other historical figures.
• Ellia — Ellia’s life begins as a servant, raised to be nothing more than a court dancer. Yet, in 1150 AD, she reads from the Tome of Darkness and ends up being chosen to bear the essence of one of the ancients, Mantorok. Subsequently killed by Pious, yet remaining undead, she gives the essence to Edwin Lindsey 800 years later and is finally able to rest.
• Karim — A swordsman in Persia in 565 AD searching for a treasure for the woman he loves, Chandra. Afterward, Chandra moves on while waiting for her treasure, and is killed by a jealous mistress. She learns that her desired treasure is actually the essence of an Ancient and spectrally warns Karim. Together, they make the decision to guard the essence in undeath until a chosen carrier comes along to retrieve it, which does not happen until 1460 AD when Roberto shows up.
• Edwin Lindsey — An archaeologist in Cambodia in 1983 AD, Dr. Lindsey becomes ensnared in a trap set by Pious, who tries to kill him. He escapes and comes across Ellia, still protecting the essence, which she then gives to him. He returns to the United States and finds Edward, passing the essence over to him.
• Roberto Bianchi — A Venetian architect, artist, and traveler. In 1460, Roberto is taken as a prisoner and forced to help construct the Pillar of Flesh by Pious. He encounters Karim and is given an ancient artifact before being thrown into the pillar with the other enslaved workers and buried alive.
• Edward Roivas — In 1952, Edward is working as a clinical psychologist. He encounters the spirit of his ancestor, Maximillian, who leads him to the Tome of Darkness. He is a wise and cunning man who calmly plans and calculates events so they will work toward the best possible ending.

4. Haunting Ground

Haunting Ground may come off as a typical jump-scare type, but it is so much more than that.

You play as Fiona Belli, a young girl that has just survived a car crash only to find herself locked inside a cage in a damp basement. It will soon become clear that this is a home with a lot of dark secrets to learn. Your first order of business, however, is to escape the cage.

As the story progresses, and you run for your life from all manner of terrifying homunculi (artificial people created through alchemy), you learn about the home and all the things in it. You also a lot about yourself and your family.

Depending on the choices you make, you can end up having an adorable and life-saving companion named Hewie. Hewie is a beautiful white dog that will help you in your greatest time of need.

Can you survive the simple-minded yet persistent caretaker? The crazy, jealous maid? How about all the other strange characters you meet on the massive grounds? Will you be able to lead Fiona safely through the tangled lies and deceptions and find a safe way out of the madness?

There’s only one way to find out.

Haunting Ground was created from another series and takes place in the same world. It comes from the Clock Tower series, though it doesn’t have anything to do with it. There are similarities, such as having different enemies, learning their stories, and having new places to explore with each. However, that is as far as the connections go.

Haunting Ground was developed by Capcom, the creators of Resident Evil. It is difficult to find and expensive to buy, but worth a play if you can get your hands on it.

Playable Characters:

• Fiona Belli — Fiona is a smart young woman of 18, traveling with her parents, who are all involved in a terrible car accident that leaves only Fiona alive. She seems fragile and easily frightened at the beginning of the game but becomes more confident and strong as the story unfolds. She remains compassionate throughout, which can lead to specific endings.

5. Fatal Frame

If you have never played the original Fatal Frame, you have no idea the terror you’ve missed out on. The sequels were great scary fun, but the first game was a labyrinth of horror that no gamer forgot.

You become Miku Hinasaki, a young girl searching for her missing brother, Mafuyu, in the haunted Himoru mansion. Ironically, Mafuyu is there searching for a friend of his.

Once Miku reaches the mansion, she finds the infamous Camera Obscura, and the horror begins.

As she learns of the mansion’s terrible and tragic history and her brother’s ultimate fate, she must also come to terms with her own.

The individual stories are haunting, the characters are memorable, and the ending is a little surprising.

Some of the more terrifying aspects were the ghosts that follow you. You can get rid of them for a little while by taking their picture, but they will always come back until you’ve solved their death.

The scariest spirit, in my opinion, was the Blinded Woman whose eyes had been gouged out. She roamed around the mansion, following you, and crying about her eyes in a ghastly manner that will send a shiver down your spine.

The entire Fatal Frame series is worth a play-through but start at the beginning to get the full effect. The stories all tie in with each game, leaving a lot to be missed and misunderstood if not all of them are played.

Playable Characters:

• Miku Hinasaki — Miku is a 17-year-old girl searching for her missing brother, both of whom have the sixth sense gift of seeing the dead. The powerful Camera Obscura, which can capture and exorcise spirits, is a family heirloom passed down for generations. It comes into Miku’s possession once she enters the mansion, and her story truly begins.