Does any genre benefit more from the video game format than horror? The genre first appeared in the Seventies and has been around ever since. And every time there is a jump in gaming technology, horror leaps forward.
Summer Game Fest 2022 served up a bunch of new horror games, some whimsical and others terrifying.
The Callisto Protocol [Steam Link]
Many people regard Dead Space as the pinnacle of video game horror, and it would take something borderline insane to dethrone it completely. A game so immersive yet terrifying that there might be a few lawsuits. I’m not saying games cause mental damage. Just don’t let Junior or Grandma play The Callisto Protocol.
Fort Solis [Steam Link]
Something’s going on at Fort Solis, a site on Mars, and you are the poor sap who travels there to investigate a routine alarm. What did you step in? The trailers don’t say, except that it will be disturbing. Fort Solis is a story-rich psychological horror with multiple endings – you can even choose where and how you want to go to progress the game.
Bramble [Steam Link]
Not all horror games feature body parts exploding into tentacles or headless horrors trying to drag you to hell. Bramble leans into folklore, calling itself a grim fairytale fashioned around Nordic myths. It’s an innocent-looking 3D cinematic adventure about a boy trying to rescue his sister. But the world is a dark and dangerous place with many deadly creatures.
Killer Frequency [Steam Link]
During the eighties slasher craze, several movie plots involved serial killers calling into talk radio stations. Killer Frequency sounds similar: you are a radio DJ, and someone is killing your listeners. Solve the mystery, stop the killer, but keep operating the switchboard and play some great 80s songs.
Zero Losses [Steam Link]
At face value, Zero Losses sounds like a stealth game. You drive a truck in a war zone, delivering materiel, medicine and whatever else your side needs. But it’s a game with a deeper meaning. Inspired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Zero Losses is a surreal road trip into a gloomy and ominous apocalypse with horror undertones.
Routine [Steam Link]
Routine has real potential, though we’ll have to wait for any concrete gameplay information. The trailers and screenshots say little about what Routine is about, though it sounds vaguely like System Shock. What we do see are locations and some robotic enemies in a faux-1980s future – and those elements work really well.
Choo-Choo Charles [Steam Link]
Don’t you just hate when your idyllic country lifestyle becomes upended because of a giant cannibal hell train? Finally, a game dares to tackle this crucial problem: get on your little train and explore an open world to procure guns, armour and other upgrades. Then try to kill Choo Choo Charles, the monster train – presuming he doesn’t eat you first. I can’t wait for the movie adaptation.
Layers of Fears [Steam Link]
Most horror games like to use jump scares. But Layers of Fear won fans over because of its unsettling atmosphere and unpredictable events as your character slowly descended into madness. The imaginatively titled reboot Layers of Fears starts a fresh chapter for the series and uses Unreal Engine 5 to make this psychedelic horror stick with even more victims.
