Though the scariest thing of all is having to deal with life’s myriad challenges as we grow older and older, the next best thing is scaring yourself silly from the comfort and safety of your living room with a well-crafted horror game. With that in mind, we thought that now would be a good time to run down five iconic horror game franchises that are pure nightmare fuel. So, why not come join us… if you dare!
Silent Hill
5 Iconic Horror Game Franchises That Still Give Us Nightmares
While Konami’s iconic survival horror series continues to lay dormant, it’s fair to say that the acclaimed franchise arguably peaked with its sophomore effort, Silent Hill 2.
Everything about the game’s atmosphere and tone has this disturbing and otherworldly David Lynch-esque quality to it. Whether it’s the tragic and emotionally traumatizing story, dark imagery and eerie symbolism of its creepy monster designs, or the legendary soundtrack from veteran audio maestro Akira Yamaoka, there’s a helluva lot to love about Team Silent’s 2001 pièce de résistance. (There’s also a lot to love about Christophe Gans’ movie adaptation, but I digress.)
Of course, while Silent Hill 2 may be the creative zenith of the entire series, 1999’s PlayStation 1 debut and 2003’s Silent Hill 3 are both highly regarded entries in the franchise as well. That said, if you’re new to the series and you’re looking for any overlooked games you may have missed, we’d happily give a shoutout to Silent Hill 4’s claustrophobic locked-in-your-apartment parable, as well as Silent Hill: Downpour’s criminal-turned-good redemption story and Silent Hill: Homecoming’s family-oriented tale about dysfunction and disconnection.
And that’s all without mentioning Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro’s P.T. from back in 2014 (RIP!), which is possibly one of the most iconic demos to have ever been stealth-released. Not only did it feature The Walking Dead alumni Norman Reedus as the main protagonist, but it was also just an incredibly clever piece of sleight of hand word-of-mouth marketing that felt like a legit cultural phenomenon in gaming. No small feat, indeed.
As for the here and now, let’s just hope that Konami finally puts to bed all these constant rumors, and does the right thing by resurrecting the beloved IP in a respectful and meaningful way at some point in the future. *Fingers firmly crossed*
