Best Horror Games of 2019
Honorable Mention: Days Gone
Senior Editor Alex Gibson: Judged next to genre-topping open-world games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, it has to be said that Days Gone falls well short of the mark. It’s a fine sandbox experience, but not one that pushes the genre forward in a meaningful way across any particular element of its design.
That was a harsh introduction for an award nominee, I know, but it needed to be said; we aren’t huge fans of Days Gone here at Twinfinite. There is, however, one particular aspect of the game’s design that, when it clicks into gear, provides one of the most unique and terrifying experiences of 2019.
I’m talking, of course, about the “Freaker” hordes that roam the high desert setting of Days Gone. It’s the game’s showpiece mechanic, which sees small clusters of zombie-like creatures pile together to form a huge, intimidating single wave hellbent on ripping you to shreds.
It starts with that foreboding, cold drum beat rumbling in the background, and you know you only have moments to react before three become eight and then eight becomes twenty. Before you know it there’s an army of them grabbing at your back as you flee in terror. A truly thrilling, if not traumatic, experience every time.
Sure, the moments in between aren’t so hot, but when Days Gone really turns it on it’s unlike anything else out there, and that’s enough to make it one of the most memorable horror games of 2019.
