Ghosts frequenting dark corridors, old mansions crawling with zombies – and it’s up to you to fight them off. The survivor horror genre has been striking terror into the heart’s of gamers since the 1980s. Today we take a look at three of the best games featuring some very spooky property. Enter if you dare.
Haunted House
- First game released: 1982
- Console: Atari 2600
This is the game that kickstarted the survivor horror genre. Released by Atari in the early 1980s, the game is set in the haunted four-storey mansion of the late Zachary Graves.
Your objective is to find three pieces of a magic urn. In the process, you have to ward off a series of enemies: tarantulas, vampire bats and the ghost of Mr Graves himself. There’s no escaping until all three pieces have been returned to the front entrance and the urn is again intact.
In 2010, the game was reimagined in 3D and re-released for Wii and Xbox 360.
Resident Evil
- First game released: 1996
- Console: Sony PlayStation
In the first game from the Resident Evil franchise, the player is a member of an elite task force known as the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.).
While investigating a series of strange disappearances and murders, the task force members become trapped in an old mansion crawling with zombies and other monsters. The player encounters a series of puzzles and traps along the way, all while battling the mansion’s creepy inhabitants.
One of the most successful video games of all time, the original Resident Evil spawned several sequels and spin-offs.
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
- Released: 2001/2
- Console: Nintendo GameCube
A story-driven psychological thriller, the game centres on Alexandra Roivas as she investigates the murder of her grandfather.
At her grandfather’s eerie Rhode Island mansion, Alexandra discovers an old book called the Tome of Eternal Darkness. She learns she has to continue the fight against an evil force known as the Ancients, who want to control the world.
While not a commercial success, the game received wide critical acclaim and won multiple awards.
