There are many diverse genres of video games that are able to cater to the different sensibilities of gamers, but survival horror games have slowly become one of the most popular genres in the industry. There are a lot of factors that make a successful survival game, but a primary concern of these titles is if they can actually frighten their audience.
Survival horror games feature all sorts of deadly threats, but zombies have definitely become the most prevalent evil force of the genre thanks to the success of the Resident Evil series. Zombies are frightening, but there are plenty of games that turn to more creative places when it comes to their monsters.
10 Alien: Isolation (Xenomorph)
The Alien films have been a touchstone of horror cinema since the ‘70s, but video games have faced a more difficult time with how to make the property work. Alien: Isolation brilliantly tries to create the same claustrophobic and suspenseful experience of the original movie with its Xenomorph design.
The deadly Xenomorph is equipped with an excellent AI system that frequently keeps it ahead of the player. A horde of zombies is definitely an intimidating sight, but the Xenomorph is such a precise killing tool that one of it is more than enough.
9 Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (Ghosts)
The Fatal Frame games have made a stronger impression in Japan and Europe than North America, but they’re still considered some of the scariest survival horror games ever.
The Fatal Frame series tackles ghosts and the inventive idea of a spirit camera that’s used to keep these invading entities at bay. Ghosts aren’t explored nearly enough in video games, but Fatal Frame understands how to make them effectively frightening. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is considered by many to be the apex of the franchise and it features some extremely vicious ghosts.
8 Dino Crisis (Dinosaurs)
Capcom’s crown jewel of the survival horror genre is its Resident Evil series, but around the time of the earlier entries in the franchise, the publisher also developed a sister series that swapped out zombies for dinosaurs.
Dino Crisis is a great subversion of standard survival horror tropes of the time. Even though the series progressively moved towards the action genre, there’s no denying that dinosaurs are a dangerous and scary threat. With any luck, Dino Crisis will get the same remake treatment as Resident Evil and get back on people’s radars.
7 Silent Hill 2 (Monsters)
The Silent Hill games have focused more on psychological horror and deep character studies than the Resident Evil games. The Silent Hill titles always involve grotesque monsters and scenarios that are supposed to be representations of the characters’ own guilt.
This results in dozens of different creatures that are disturbing in different ways, but Silent Hill 2 introduces some particularly upsetting monsters, most notably the infamous Pyramid Head. These monsters may be stranger and have less recognition than zombies do, but they’ve gone on to become popular in their own ways.
6 The Evil Within (The Haunted)
The Evil Within and its sequel come from prolific video game developer Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil fame. Mikami is not opposed to a return to zombies, but The Evil Within games explore something more complex and frightening.
There is an assortment of creatures spread throughout The Evil Within, but the most prominent are the Haunted, disturbing and erratic creatures that walk the line between dead and alive. They’re full of many upsetting surprises and aren’t as easy to dispose of as the standard zombie.
5 Dead Space (Necromorphs)
For a moment it looked like Dead Space could become the next big survival horror franchise of the generation, but unfortunately, the property has fallen into obscurity after a consistent trilogy of games. Dead Space distances itself from the competition with how it’s set in space and features a disturbing breed of alien known as Necromorph.
The disturbing Necromorph designs and the claustrophobic nature of the Dead Space games make these aliens effective survival horror threats that stand out so much more than zombies.
4 Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Gatherers)
The Amnesia series has quietly become one of the most disturbing gaming franchises of the past generation and the recent Amnesia Collection is giving new audiences a chance to experience these deranged tales.
Amnesia expertly explores psychological horror and a creepy environment that creates suspense around each corner. The threats in the game are known as the Gatherers and they come in two varieties, the Grunt and the more powerful Brute, both of which are disturbing in their own ways. They feel more like creations of William S. Burroughs or Guillermo del Toro than they do video game monsters.
3 Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (Monsters)
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is still one of the GameCube’s greatest achievements and its concept of the sanity meter is something that’s yet to be effectively replicated. It’s a genuine shame that an Eternal Darkness sequel never happened.
Eternal Darkness ambitiously tells a narrative that spans across multiple time periods and through many characters. The game takes a lot of its inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft, especially when it comes to the monsters that are on the loose like Ulyaoth, Mantorok, and Chattur’gha. Eternal Darkness also features killer skeletons and more generic monsters, but it leaves zombies off the menu.
2 Until Dawn (Wendigos)
Until Dawn is a terrifying video game, but it’s also a loving tribute to slasher films from the ’80s and ’90s. Until Dawn has a lot of fun with how much freedom it gives players and how members of the team can easily get picked off.
The monsters are humans who have been mutated through the Wendigo spirit and viciously consume the flesh of others, While this admittedly sounds similar to zombies, Wendigos don’t infect their victims and come with far creepier mythology.
1 Clock Tower (Scissorman Serial Killer)
The 1990s were a golden period for video games, but this was especially true for the survival horror genre. It seemed like every company made an attempt at their own survival property and even though the Clock Tower series has died off, it still saw a healthy life back on the PlayStation.
The Clock Tower games curiously mix together point-and-click gameplay with the tension of a horror game. Players are consistently chased by a serial killer who wields a giant pair of blades and is appropriately known as Scissorman.
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