Sometimes, simple concepts are scary as hell.
That’s a common trait with earlier ‘retro’ title; games from the early days of the industry
that used the more crude graphics of the time have the uncanny ability to scare the crap
out of gamers these days.
Part mastery of tone, part imagination fodder, these retro titles have managed to succeed
in places that some games these days still can’t accomplish.
So today we’re counting down the top 10 scary retro video games you need to play!
Let’s get to it.
10 Castlevania 2 Simon’s Quest Let’s begin with a classic; Castlevania
2, Simon’s Quest, released for the NES in 1988.
While the first Castlevania is arguably full of scares itself, Simon’s Quest really elevated
the formula of its predecessor by integrating more RPG elements, a day and night cycle with
grim implications, conversations with NPCs, inventory, etc; so many of the elements that
we associate with more modern games in the franchise.
Dark, gritty, eerie and filled with horrors, it’s an iconic retro title that any horror
aficionado needs to play.
9 Alone in the Dark A PC game released in 1992, Alone in the Dark
was the beginning of a survival horror series that has lasted the test of time, with the
latest release dropping in 2015.
But we’re here to talk about that first title; largely inspired by HP Lovecraft’s
work, along with the influences of voodoo, HR Giger and the wild, wild west, it was one
of the first two games to use polygonal characters versus pre-rendered backgrounds.
Considered the first ever 3D survival horror game, Alone in the Dark places you inside
a haunted mansion with the simple goal of just surviving.
There’s no one to rescue, no ulterior motive.
You just need to get out alive, all while solving puzzles to do so.
8 Go to Hell Go To Hell came out in 1985, and it’s weird
AF.
You find yourself in the depths of hell in search of seven crosses while you traverse
a series of hellish horrors.
At its heart, it’s a maze game, but filled with some really scary imagery.
There’s screaming skulls, dead bodies galore, straight up explicit torture, all of which
dance the line of legit scary yet quite comical.
Some critics have even likened it to a predecessor of Hotline Miami in terms of colours and aesthetic,
so hey, if that floats your boat, it's worth checking out.
7 Night Stalker From 1982, next up we have Night Stalker.
Night Stalker, also known as Dark Cavern on the Atari 2600, might be nowhere near impressive
as far as the graphics are concerned (by today’s standards), but back in the day, it was up
to par with the likes of Pac Man and Berzerk.
Placed in a creepy haunted cavern (because of course, it’s haunted), this shoot em
up is filled with a whole lot of violence and a whole lot of 8 bit terror.
In addition to that, each gun you acquire only has 6 shots, and if you run out, you
need to make your moves wisely until you can find another, adding some serious edge to
this old school classic.
6 Escape from Monster Manor From 1993, this retro first person shooter
is one that may be hard to come by, thanks to it being created for the 3DO Interactive
Multiplayer system.
You traverse through a maze, collect keys to open doors, collect pieces to a talisman,
of course, kill horrific looking monsters.
The latter bit is what puts this game on our list.
Despite the time, the monsters, creatures and entities you encounter are quite scary,
even to this day.
5 Alien This 1984 tie in game managed to accomplish
something that many early movie tie in video games failed to do; be good.
Despite being released a handful of years after Ridley Scott’s Alien hit cinemas,
this 8 bit game still does it’s namesake justice, and is genuinely scary.
For the PC, the game takes a different approach than you’d think.
It’s a strategy title where you have two options; lure the Xenomorphs to Nostromo’s
airlock, or escape the ship, with Jones the cat (because how DARE you leave Jones the
cat??!).
While the graphics might be lacking to some, it’s the slow burn tension that makes this
title a scary game worth your while, especially if you’re willing to put in the work for
it’s long haul play style.
4 Necromancer Another title from 1982, Necromancer is as
scary as it’s title implies.
Initially created for the Atari 800, Necromancer has been described by critics as an 8 bit
fever dream.
Compared to other titles on this list, each level lacks consistency in terms of narrative
and play style.
One level has the player as a dark wizard planting trees and beating up the goblins
who try to destroy them.
Another level puts you in the shoes of one of those trees, now sentient, needing to avoid
trippy hands that reach down and try to grab you.
The game’s premise is that you are trying to grow trees to defeat the evil Necromancer
Tetragon, whose evil minions are trying to take over a graveyard.
There’s a lot going on.
But for the time, it’s got some really impressive graphics and sound design work that makes
it definitely worth a play.
3 Wolfman Upon first glance, Wolfman, a text adventure
game from 1988, might not appear scary at all.
But take the time to actually partake in this text adventure, and you won’t regret it.
You play as Wolfman, a character who must learn to control their primal urges, and prompts
the player’s imagination to go wild.
The game begins with your character waking up in torn clothes, covered in blood, and
an angry mob of townspeople having crowded around the mangled corpse of a woman.
Yikes, right?
This is a prime example of how simplicity can be scary as hell; it’s like reading
a terrifying interactive novel, and it’ll leave you with chills down your spine.
2 Splatterhouse Splatterhouse is a long-running horror video
game series that began as an arcade game, and, over time, expanded onto console and
mobile.
The original Splatterhouse, which was released in 1990, had a release on the TurboGrafx-16
in the days of NES’ height of popularity, and was praised by some because of how much
it leaned into gratuitous violence.
It’s a beat-em-up largely influenced by slasher films and HP Lovecraft, with many
considering it to be an homage to the more violent parts of American horror cinema.
You play as Rick, a Jason Voohres look-alike, who is trapped inside a haunted mansion, searching
for his girlfriend, all while slaughtering terrifying monsters with an assortment of
weapons, like a machete and a shotgun.
1 Sweet Home Sweet Home may have a pleasant title, but
it’s anything but.
From 1989, this Japaense title is often seen as the spiritual predecessor to the Resident
Evil franchise.
A top down RPG survival horror, Sweet Home is actually a film adaptation video game.
The story of both the game and movie follows a team of five filmmakers exploring an old
mansion in search of valuable frescos (frescos being large mural-esque paintings the likes
of Michealangelo’s The Creation of Adam.
The building is on the brink of falling apart, too, which adds another nice element to the
gameplay.
It doesn’t rely on jump scares, but rather, builds tension as you progress, and uses claustrophobic
atmospheres to further increase the players discomfort during certain sections.
It’s also credited as being one of the first titles in the survival horror genre to use
mechanics the likes of limited weapons and items, and, scariest of all, the mechanic
of perma death; if one of the characters die during the game, they’re gone for good for
the rest
of
the story.