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Jawmuncher

Crisis Dino
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
38,628
Ibis Island
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I'm currently playing through Silent Hill 2 and absolutely loving it. I plan on making a whole other thread about the Silent Hill series once I finish 1 - 4.
My current enjoyment of SH2 has me thinking about other titles I should take a look at in the future. I know of the general classics like Eternal Darkness, Haunting Ground, and Parasite Eve, but was wondering if there are more horror titles I should keep an eye out for, the lesser known the better.

Any system is a go, but I personally don't need any Resident Evil or Dino Crisis suggestions. Those I have covered to even the most obscure titles lol. I know a lot of these titles can get pricey, but I don't mind buying foreign versions for significantly cheaper prices or plunking down the cash if it's absolutely worth it.
 

MonsterJail

Self requested temp ban
Avenger
Feb 27, 2018
1,341
Michigan: Report from hell is a goofy fun time, can be a bit* rare though

edit: *a lot more rare than I thought

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Last edited:

Dust

C H A O S
Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,489
SNES Clock Tower First Fear
PS1 Hellnight
PS2 Rule of Rose
PC Devil Inside
 
Oct 25, 2017
5,749
Just so I'm clear, the recent SH2 chatter is due to a really popular fan mod of the PC version right? Some update to it?

I have the OG PS2 version and am making slow progress with what I hope is a spoiler free guide. Moved heaven and earth to find a copy.

I'd say look into Dementium.

You didn't mention Amnesia Dark Descent either.
 

Aurc

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,890
Silent Hill 2 is retro? Nah... retro horror would be like those old Clock Tower and Alone in the Dark games.
 

Gradon

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,485
UK
Must-play is definitely subjective, there's a lot of obscure horror games that most people would scoff at but others could find enjoyment in.

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+1 for Siren and Forbidden Siren 2 though, Forbidden Siren 2 is my favourite of the series and improves upon everything in the 1st game.

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I definitely suggest Project Zero 2 / Fatal Frame 2, especially if you can get the Xbox version for Xbox 360, this game is a horror masterpiece. Heck I'd even suggest the Wii remake if you can get a European version working.

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I'll also throw Gregory Horror Show as an 'odd one but still horror' suggestion, its cartoon aesthetic isn't really super scary, but the mechanics of the game surround stealth gameplay and puzzles whilst avoiding the spookies is really fun. Also has nods to Resident Evil as its Capcom developed.

All are on PS2.
 

Wrexis

Member
Nov 4, 2017
21,294
I'm on the fence about recommending this one, but if you're a fan of the movie, The Thing might be worth giving a try.



It is very, very clunky though.
 

explewd

Member
Nov 1, 2017
132
Sweden
Clive Barker's Undying was pretty neat when it came out.
Gregory Horror Show is a quirky but cute one.
The vidyagame based on The Thing was pretty neat.
+ the Fatal Frame series and Parasite Eve of course.
 

Mugy

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,424
Any Penumbra title should do the trick
Cold Fear
The Things (2002)
F.E.A.R (2005)
Galerians PS1
 
OP
OP
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Crisis Dino
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
38,628
Ibis Island
A lot of good suggestions so far, especially for the stuff I haven't heard about. Some of these I already own too so that works as well.
Will look and see what the Fatal Frame prices are like on Xbox, as i'd love an excuse to lug that thing out.
 

Aurc

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,890
This game isn't "retro" either, but since people are recommending shit like Amnesia and Shadows of the Damned, I'm gonna go for it: Lone Survivor. It's a 2D game that plays like a Silent Hill homage. Great atmosphere and survival horror gameplay.

 

Dusk Golem

Local Horror Enthusiast
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,816
There's so many I could recommend, but if really dipping your toes into older horror games for the first time (and already tackling the Silent Hill games), then some I'd throw out there (a few of these I'm keeping your taste in mind as well). Going to limit myself to the PS1/PS2/Dreamcast so I don't go overboard, and know there are more games on these platforms I'd recommend but I'm going to toss out some of my absolute favorites and some others I think you may be able to appreciate Jawie. I'm going to try and limit myself to 10-12 games.

This is in no specific order.

Hellnight: This game is simple but I really like it. First-person dungeon crawler with a few point'n'click bits (but very simple) where you get chased by a single monster that slowly mutates and evolves as the game goes on. Story branches based on who you have with you in a sorta' partner perma-death system. Story is pretty tame until the last third of the game, where it goes into very odd places.

Nightmare Creatures 1 & 2: These were old action-horror games, they may be a bit dated by today's standards but they're still pretty creative and fun, and are among the first action-horror games to exist in the 3D space, so I feel you might get some appreciation for them Jawie.

Fatal Frame games: See others are recommending them, but yeah Fatal Frame games are worth playing FF1 is flawed but has good stuff. FF2 is the fan favorite, but FF3 is my personal favorite. Fatal Frame despite not selling as well often gets mentioned in the same breath as Resident Evil and Silent Hill for a reason, it's well done for what it is, and the camera combat is a lot more fun than it may sound on paper (I think you may actually really like this one, it's got kinda' a point system not too dissimilar to Dino Crisis 2's, but per ghost encounter rather than per room).

Illbleed: This is a zany one and one of the weirdest games you'll play. You enter a horror amusement park to save your friends (who you can unlock to play as) and use a horror monitor to progress. Gameplay is weird, game doesn't always explain what to do, gameplay is so-so, but this game makes up for all of it for just how absolutely batshit insane this game actually is. You go to six different "attractions" each with a B-Horror movie plot, and each one with quite a bit to surprise you with.

The Suffering: There's also a sequel. It was a PS2/Xbox/PC action-horror game where you play an escaped convict on a prison island where Hell has been set lose and you go guns blazing through horrors somewhere between demonic and psychological. I think you'd get some enjoyment out of it.

Carrier: One of SEGA's attempts at a Resident Evil killer on Dreamcast. It's pretty decent actually, not RESIDENT EVIL quality, but it's got some interesting things (like there's survivors you can save or lock onto and accidentally kill if you mistake them for enemies coming at you). Has plant based enemies on a boat, but better boat setting than the RE games.

Cold Fear: This was kinda' a spiritual sequel to Carrier by some of the devs (and an older game, Deep Fear). Came out after Resident Evil 4, it plays somewhere between RE4 and the older Re games, but also set on a boat/oil rig. Rough spots, but it has its moments. Does this weird thing where it mixes behind the shoulder camera when aiming and in certain areas, but fixed camera in some areas you explore.

Extermination: This one you may personally enjoy, some of the people that worked and wrote the older Resident Evil games worked on this. It's kinda' a poor man's Resident Evil meets Metal Gear, but the novelty of a game somewhere between Resident Evil and Metal Gear still gives it appeal.

Kuon: Game by From Software before the Souls game, it's a sorta action-horror game in ancient Japan where you use spells to fight monsters in a Resident Evil-styled game. Three different character stories to go through (two main ones and a "final" unlockable one)

Clock Tower 3: You listed Haunting Ground, make sure you check out CT3. Haunting Ground is the better game, but CT3 is the older game that inspired it, and it is one of the funniest horror games you'll ever play. It was the first game Capcom used motion capture on, and the person who directed the cutscenes and story was a Japanese film director who loved this one type of Japanese overtly-express drama theater, and it fucking shows and the story is actually hilarious involving you becoming a magical girl to fight the ghost of murderers. I think you'd appreciate it.

I see someone mentioned Galerians, I'd recommend it too. It's an old PS1 Horror-RPG but you get psychic powers to blow people's heads off and it plays a bit like a Resident Evil game but with some RPG elements (not turn-based though and battles happen on the map like a Resident Evil game). I haven't gotten around to playing the PS2 sequel yet, but I hear many like it less, but I'll mention it exists and not sure the "popular word" is accurate or not.

I'm tempted to recommend more, but I'll stop there. Not on these platforms I don't know if you ever got around to playing Deadly Premonition, it's worth checking out. If you haven't played the Condemned games, you should (first one is on Steam and goes on sale regularly for like $4). Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is good, but can be a bitch to get to run on modern computers. God, I said I'd write some favorites but I feel I'm barely scratching the surface here, and some of these are kinda' rough recommends but I did find them incredibly charming and think you might enjoy them.

I saw you tried to play Forbidden Siren recently. I enjoyed it, but I warn it is one tough cookie to get into. It's quite long and takes a while to figure out how the game's "logic" works for progression, but there's a lot of good moments in it. If you still have your PS3 around I'd recommend trying Siren: Blood Curse. It's not a replacement for playing the first game as it's quite different, but it's a reimagining that's more accessible and I think might be a good option to sink your teeth into (it's not nearly as cryptic or hard as the first game, but the first game is up there as sometimes one of the most cryptic and challenging horror games, so it's still fairly challenging just on a more normal type of way).
 

MonsterJail

Self requested temp ban
Avenger
Feb 27, 2018
1,341
Are these still two of the most expensive PS2 games and not available anywhere else? ;)

Just looked how much Michigan costs now, woof

It came out as a budget game here in the UK, think it was in a tier of game that wasn't even distributed to Game stores, instead mostly sold in Supermarkets or directly online, so not too surprised that it's had to get now.

Got lucky with a cheap used copy close to it's release
 

Dusk Golem

Local Horror Enthusiast
Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,816
Which is superior, original Fatal Frame 2 or Wii remake?
There's going to be subjective answers to this. I personally feel the original game is better, but the Wii remake is not bad. The reasoning for this mainly has to do with three main factors.
01. I like behind-the-shoulder cameras actually, but I feel with Fatal Frame the fixed-ish angles of the original and then switching to First-Person when facing ghost adds more. There's also scenarios from the original game that don't feel like they translate fully to the camera at times.
02. The wii controls for FF2 which are mandatory are very awkward at times, they mapped some things out weird and not intuitively.
03. There's some dumb additions to the game, namely the ghost grabbing hands and longer time to pick up objects. I get what they were going for but it gets old quickly.

This said, there is endings exclusive to the Wii version, and there's a few improvements, so matter of taste does come into play here.
 

Gradon

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,485
UK
Which is superior, original Fatal Frame 2 or Wii remake?

I wouldn't say either were superior. A lot of people preferred the original and didn't like the British dub.

The original is fixed camera angles, and the remake is third person similar to FF4. It takes a lot from Fatal Frame 4 gameplay wise like trying to pick up items can cause a hand to grab you in a jump scare. And you have to use motion controls of the Wiimote to use your camera.

The remake was missing several unlockables like challenge mode from the original, and a lot of costumes. But made up with Nintendo costumes (Mario and Luigi costumes), etc.
 

Symphony

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,361
Well I was going to shill Haunting Ground again but that's in the OP, so I'll concur with others and say that Gregory Horror Show is a must play, don't let the cartoon aesthetic fool you as it has a great atmosphere that can be unsettling at times.

Michigan: Report from hell is a goofy fun time, can be a bit rare though


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"A bit rare" is a hell of an understatement, used copies go for over ÂŁ200 nowadays and it is PAL only. Wish I had bought a copy years ago while it was still possible to afford it.
 

Gorger

"This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,636
Norway
If you want to check out the point and click route.

Harvester - Perhaps the most fucked up, twisted and bizarre game ever made. To this day I still cannot fathom how such a game can exist.
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Phantasmagoria - It caused quite a stir when it was released in 95 for how gory and shocking some of the scenes was. An FMV game and the brainchild of Roberta Williams; where you get to explore an old mansion that has stod untouched for a century where you get to unearth its secrets and discover its tragic past.
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dskzero

Member
Oct 30, 2019
3,376
Did I really read this all and nobody mentioned Sweet Home for the Famicom?

One hell of a game.
 

BigDes

Knows Too Much
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,799
The Penumbra games are pretty good

Well the 3rd one is a bit of a disappointment but the rest of them are great. These are the games made by the Amnesia team before they made Amnesia.