Fifth Generation Horror Games
Resident Evil (PS, 1996)
The game that began one of Capcom’s flagship franchises and still one of the most relevant to this day: Resident Evil.
Survival horror games came before Resident Evil, but its greater focus on action meant that bad ammo and item conservation could mess up your playthrough. Used too many ink ribbons early on? Too bad.
The in-game world of the first Resident Evil is a point of praise. It featured multiple buildings with a large number of puzzles. Exploring each and every room felt good and was vital to your survival. Going back to an area introduced new enemy types. Even if you thought you were safe, you weren’t.
Sure, the writing and voice acting is cheesy, but it’s awesome. “You were almost a Jill Sandwich.” You can’t beat that.
The House of the Dead (Arcade, 1996)
If you thought the voice acting in Resident Evil was bad, oh boy, you’ve got another thing coming. It really transforms The House of the Dead from a good game into a masterpiece.
Games like Virtua Cop and Time Crisis were fun and all, but they just don’t provide the satisfaction of tearing a zombie to shreds with just a couple of small handgun bullets. It’s over the top, but it’s amazing.
Growing up in the UK, playing an arcade game was a luxury. For some reason, a single credit on most arcade games costs £1 over here, which was about $1.50 in the 90s (I’m eternally jealous of the term “insert quarter.”)
You had to really think about what you were spending that £1 on. But for me, it was no question: The House of the Dead every time.
Parasite Eve (PS, 1998)
On the PlayStation, Squaresoft (now Square Enix) could do no wrong. Seeing their logo on a game almost always meant that you were in for something special.
So, Squaresoft, the PlayStation-era king of the JRPG, decided to do what Sweet Home had done before it: add horror elements to a JRPG. The result was damn awesome, of course.
The battle system is a sort-of blend of Resident Evil and Final Fantasy VII; it uses an active time bar for attacks, but you can run out of ammo if you’re not careful.
Sadly, there really aren’t enough horror RPGs, but there are a couple of good ones out there, such as Koudelka and Shadow Hearts.
Silent Hill (PS, 1999)
Silent Hill was undoubtedly one of the scariest, if not the scariest, horror games —or, heck, pieces of media in general— to have been released up until this point.
Silent Hill is to psychological horror what Resident Evil is to survival horror: top of its class.
Silent Hill’s music, art direction, and enemy design all add up to create something that is just really hard to play if you get scared easily. I wouldn’t think any less of anyone for playing this game with the lights on.
