As a kid, if your parents didn’t let you watch horror films, there was always a backdoor to get your horror fix. Horror video games have been around since the ‘80s, entertaining and causing many a sleepless night for gamers. The interactive element that allows a player to live out the terror, immersed inside the story of the game, is what separates video games from any other horror platform.
As the video game industry has ballooned into the massive giant that it is today, so has the success of horror video games, becoming profitable and essential titles for companies like Xbox and PlayStation. Some become so popular that they get adapted into feature films like the Resident Evil series, while others get made into TV shows like the recently announced Castlevania series for Netflix.
Looking back at the games that made us play with the lights on or had us too embarrassed to play with friends due to the high-pitched screams, here are 10 retro horror video games that traumatized us (and still do)!
Honorable Mentions:
Sweet Home (1989)
Maniac Mansion (1987)
Castlevania (1986)
We start off with the side-scroller that introduced us to Simon Belmont and his vampire hunting ways. Created by Konami, Simon was pitted against the head vampire himself, Dracula, having to work his way through monster bosses inside Dracula’s castle. This game was hard, unless you had Game Genie. As a child, I knew many kids who had the game but only a handful that actually beat it.
Not only did you battle Mr. Big Fangs, but there was also Medusa, mummies, Igor and tons of flying bats. The original that launched a successful franchise with 33 other sequels also had amazing catchy music, right up there with favorites like Super Mario Bros. and Zelda.
Resident Evil (1996)
Looking back at the dated graphics now, it’s easy to forget how terrifying this game was. Back when it debuted in the mid-90s, no movie or television series was scarier than Resident Evil. Many kids would only play Resident Evil during the day, in fear of having nightmares or being unable to fall asleep!
The survival horror video game that became a pillar for PlayStation had you playing as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, investigating a mysterious mansion out in the woods owned by the Umbrella Corporation. Inside, nasty zombies and infected dogs would have you peeing yourself as they appeared down narrow hallways.
Friday the 13th (1989)
Nobody will ever confuse LJN’s Friday the 13th Nintendo game for the upcoming Friday the 13th: The Game by Gun Media — the new incarnation’s graphics and gameplay utterly destroy anything found in the clunky 1989 version. The NES offering has been listed by various reviewers as one of the worst video games of all time. With all of the shade being thrown at the first pixelated version of Jason Voorhees, the game has a soft spot in many horror fans hearts.
What was once bad is now good as an influx of 8-bit Jason merchandise has flooded the web. There’s toys, clothing and collectibles of the off-colored purple and turquoise version of the hockey masked killer. Consumerism at its deadliest!
Doom (1993)
While Wolfenstein 3D might have come before it, Doom is regarded as the most important first-person shooter of all time. Gamers can debate that, but there’s no denying the influence Doom made on the industry. Created by id Software and beginning as a PC only platform title, the game had players fighting their way through creatures from Hell on the moons of Mars.
The game became a phenomenon and created a must-play PC title in an era dominated by home consoles from Nintendo and Sega. Parents were scared by the violence, while kids were terrified by the deranged demons. If Nintendo was Top 40, then Doom — full of blood and gore — was heavy metal a la Alice Cooper.
Ghosts ‘n Goblins (1985)
Two things immediately come to mind when this NES classic is mentioned. First is the amazing box art from Capcom that has Arthur the knight surrounded by a collection of monsters, ghosts and goblins (hence the title). Second is that Arthur is left only wearing boxers after most of his health and power have been depleted. You don’t see many video game characters running around in their underwear, which gives the side-scroller some dark humor.
Fully embracing the horror genre, the levels are prototypical scary locales like graveyards, dark forests and castles. As enjoyable as the game is, it’s also regarded as one of the most difficult games ever made.
Silent Hill (1999)
If Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was a video game, Silent Hill would be it. While Resident Evil is the king of survival horror games, Silent Hill isn’t far behind, creating a franchise just as dark and popular with gamers. Its got its own film series to boot as well.
RE depended on zombies for scares, which Silent Hill has, but atmosphere was more important, helping create tension for what might be lurking in the fog. You play as Harry Mason, searching for your missing daughter as you enter the eerie, mysterious town of Silent Hill. The town happens to be cursed, filled with monsters, demons and nightmarish creatures that want to destroy you.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1990)
Back in the day, LJN not only snatched up the rights to Friday the 13th but they also got another big horror property with A Nightmare on Elm Street. People poke fun at 8-bit Jason’s game, but poor Freddy Krueger got it even worse with his bare-bones NES title. The gameplay was pretty generic as you battled skeletons, wolves, zombies and bats — things that had nothing to do with the Elm Street movies.
Even though Freddy’s video game world left much to be desired, the game is one of the few titles to use the NES Four Score. This accessory allowed for 4-player gameplay, perfect for a sleepover as you and your friends tried to defeat Freddy.
The 7th Guest (1993)
I wasn’t a PC gamer growing up, so I only played this game once. That being said, even I knew how popular and important this title was for video games in general. One of the first CD-ROM games, The 7th Guest was innovative for using live-action clips, top shelf sound design and music, 3D graphics and for being a killer app, helping drive the sales of CD-ROM drives for personal computers.
Created by Trilobyte and released by Virgin Games, The 7th Guest is a puzzle adventure game set inside a mansion, where it’s up to the player to unravel a horror mystery around Henry Stauf and his six guests that disappeared. Beyond the riddles, the nicely rendered environments and ghosts is what made the game pop!
Splatterhouse (1988)
Is Splattherouse a blatant Jason Voorhees rip-off? Absolutely! Is Splatterhouse a violent and bloody good time? That’s a yes.
Putting aside the slasher with a hockey mask connection, this game was the closest thing a kid could get to being in an ‘80s slasher horror film. Released by Namco, like any sick horror film of the time, Splatterhouse became a controversial game with parents objecting to the high volume of gore and violence. That resulted in a parental advisory label to be placed on the TurboGrafx-16 version, the first time ever for a game. To get the full unedited experience, the arcade version was the way to go with as you played Rick wearing the “Terror Mask” as he severed heads and tore through a variety of monsters.
Alone in the Dark (1992)
Alone in the Dark has a great title that instantly sells you on the game. You get to choose from two characters that investigate an eerie haunted mansion in Louisiana. The precursor to horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark established many of the elements commonly found in titles like those.
Created by French developer Infogrames, Alone in the Dark is notable for being one of the earliest survival horror video games that also used 3D graphics. Infused with a heavy dose of Lovecraftian storytelling, people cited it as a “cerebral” players game due to the slow pacing and clunky challenges. Just another way of saying that people with short attention spans wouldn’t last long.
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