Infogrames | PC | 1992

You console kids always make Resident Evil your “oh crap, a monster jumped through the window game”, but this polygonal PC wonder did it earlier. While actual scare moments like when the possessed dog jumps through a window are a bit far and few between, the game models the sort of dread you get when reading an HP Lovecraft story. As you read more books, learn about why the house is so darn evil, and continue to dodge dogs, zombies, and even tentacled monstrosities, the game just builds and builds and builds dread until the point when some bizarre beastie shows up, you’re just as freaked out by its otherworldness as any fool in an HP Lovecraft book would.- Ray Barnholt

Acclaim | PlayStation | 1995

Released on the PlayStation and Saturn back in ‘95, the underrated Alien Trilogy was often viewed as a standard Doom clone with the Aliens license, which was absolutely selling it short. Loosely based on the first three Alien movies, developer Probe perfectly captured the mood and intensity of the films. And for fans of these movies, the game was frightfully authentic — from the accurate sound effects to perfect recreation of the LV426 colony setting. It was clear the developers understood what made the Aliens films so chilling: the pacing was just right to always keep you on your toes (and hearing an alien crawling near you and then seeing your motion sensor start to light up was completely unnerving). Alien Trilogy also featured one of the best soundtracks of its time — completely moody and atmospheric, it made use of such samples as a heart beating or various alien sounds to keep you spooked throughout.

Unfortunately, the game did suffer a tad from the technology at the time — the facehuggers appeared as giant pixelated blobs when they attached themselves to your screen. And yes, a lot of the gameplay was modeled after Doom, which was the hotness at the time (’sup, exploding barrels?). But what Alien Trilogy got right — capturing the spine-chilling mood of the films — more than made up for any of that.
- Sam Kennedy

2K | Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC | 2007

Is there a sound more frightening than grinding, bending steel when you’re on a plane 30,000 feet in air? It’s not an unearthly fear, it’s something that you can imagine happening every time you step onto a plane. And that’s where BioShock starts: you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean, and your only salvation is in a claustrphobic elevator that extends down to the ocean’s surface. In those opening, helpless moments, you’re assaulted by freakish, blade-weilding monsters. And, even though you’re safe, their impish voices don’t make your first step into the underwater city of Rapture a pleasant one.

But BioShock isn’t frightening just because it looks good, or because the only denizens you meet are deformed creatures who want to harvest the life-giving “Adam” from your dead body. BioShock works because the narrative is so good. As much as you might want to leave Rapture, you also want to find out what the hell’s going on. Like most horror games, as you get farther and farther, you grow increasingly more powerful, diffusing much of the fear and tension. But those dark, early moments haunted me throughout my entire journey, no matter how much I wanted to turn back.
- Justin Haywald

Bethesda | PC | 2005

Infogrames | PC | 1992

You console kids always make Resident Evil your “oh crap, a monster jumped through the window game”, but this polygonal PC wonder did it earlier. While actual scare moments like when the possessed dog jumps through a window are a bit far and few between, the game models the sort of dread you get when reading an HP Lovecraft story. As you read more books, learn about why the house is so darn evil, and continue to dodge dogs, zombies, and even tentacled monstrosities, the game just builds and builds and builds dread until the point when some bizarre beastie shows up, you’re just as freaked out by its otherworldness as any fool in an HP Lovecraft book would.- Ray Barnholt

Acclaim | PlayStation | 1995

Released on the PlayStation and Saturn back in ‘95, the underrated Alien Trilogy was often viewed as a standard Doom clone with the Aliens license, which was absolutely selling it short. Loosely based on the first three Alien movies, developer Probe perfectly captured the mood and intensity of the films. And for fans of these movies, the game was frightfully authentic — from the accurate sound effects to perfect recreation of the LV426 colony setting. It was clear the developers understood what made the Aliens films so chilling: the pacing was just right to always keep you on your toes (and hearing an alien crawling near you and then seeing your motion sensor start to light up was completely unnerving). Alien Trilogy also featured one of the best soundtracks of its time — completely moody and atmospheric, it made use of such samples as a heart beating or various alien sounds to keep you spooked throughout.

Unfortunately, the game did suffer a tad from the technology at the time — the facehuggers appeared as giant pixelated blobs when they attached themselves to your screen. And yes, a lot of the gameplay was modeled after Doom, which was the hotness at the time (’sup, exploding barrels?). But what Alien Trilogy got right — capturing the spine-chilling mood of the films — more than made up for any of that.
- Sam Kennedy

2K | Xbox 360 / PS3 / PC | 2007

Is there a sound more frightening than grinding, bending steel when you’re on a plane 30,000 feet in air? It’s not an unearthly fear, it’s something that you can imagine happening every time you step onto a plane. And that’s where BioShock starts: you’re stranded in the middle of the ocean, and your only salvation is in a claustrphobic elevator that extends down to the ocean’s surface. In those opening, helpless moments, you’re assaulted by freakish, blade-weilding monsters. And, even though you’re safe, their impish voices don’t make your first step into the underwater city of Rapture a pleasant one.

But BioShock isn’t frightening just because it looks good, or because the only denizens you meet are deformed creatures who want to harvest the life-giving “Adam” from your dead body. BioShock works because the narrative is so good. As much as you might want to leave Rapture, you also want to find out what the hell’s going on. Like most horror games, as you get farther and farther, you grow increasingly more powerful, diffusing much of the fear and tension. But those dark, early moments haunted me throughout my entire journey, no matter how much I wanted to turn back.
- Justin Haywald

Bethesda | PC | 2005