Summary
Horror and sci-fi are a match made in heaven or, more appropriately, hell. For as much as sci-fi is about exploring,it is specifically about exploring the unknown, something the horror genre thrives on. The medium of video games only serves to enhance this, putting the player firmly in the driver’s seat and letting them explore each game at their own pace, often putting the horrors right in front of them.
The longer length of video games means that themes can be explored more thoroughly and thoughtfully—themes such as hubris, humanity, and playing god, key staples shared by both genres. Another additional benefit is that players can directly interact with the futuristic technology in the games, creating a deep sense of immersion; making the upcoming scares all the more terrifying.
Another brilliant immersive simfrom Arkane (the studio behindDishonored),Preyinvolves Morgan Yu exploring the space station Talos I during an attack by an alien force known as the Typhoon. Players familiar with the genre will be right at home, looking for door codes and solving environmental puzzles in creative and inventive ways. The mysterious Typhoon will naturally stalk the player and attack them with various powers and those not paying full attention will be caught unawares.
One ofPrey’scentral mechanics allows Morgan to be upgraded with various skills, including those of the Typhoon. Players can beat the aliens at their own game, however, they may risk being listed as a threat by the station’s security measures. It also won’t protect them from mimics, which makes the player question every object they come across, as an unnoticed mug may suddenly jump out and attack them.
Based on the short story of the same name,I Have No Mouth And I Must Screamisa point-and-click horror gamewhere five protagonists, the last humans on Earth, are forced to face grueling, personalized trials after being tortured for 109 years. This is orchestrated by AM, a god-like sentient supercomputer, who does this because he hates humanity.
The player has to navigate each character through each scenario where they solve classic point-and-click puzzles. The kicker is that it is completely possible, and easy, to fail; the game is difficult without any sort of walkthrough. While this sounds frustrating, it only adds to the pure horror of hopelessness, making it a sci-fi horror classic. The game was even co-authored by the original writer, Harlan Ellison, who expanded on his original story. He also lent his voice to AM, creating a meta-context in the narrative where the player is effectively going up against the god of the story.
Horror and comedy have often been said to be two sides of the same coin and nothing proves this more thanLethal Company. It’s hilarious to watch a team member get eaten by an eyeless dog because they breathed too hard into their microphones by accident. It is significantly less funny when it happens to the player.
Players will work in a team to scour various moons for scrap to sell whilst avoiding various monsters including, but not limited to, the stealthy Braken, the Weeping Angel-esque Coil Heads, and pools of sentient slime. If players do not meet a quota before a deadline lest they face severe consequences from the company…
While the recent remake of the first game made a very archaic game much easier to play,System Shock 2is a much more refined and more important video game going on to inspireBioShockandPreyplus various other immersive sims. Going back and playing the game shows off mechanics that would become a staple in the genre, such as superpowers in the form of psi powers, excellent open-level design, and RPG leveling.
Its horror comes from the eeriness of the empty space station where no one else seems to be alive save for many of the abominations that have to be fought, and SHODAN’s return speech is just as memorable all these years later.
In 1979, the film,Aliencemented itself as one of the most tense and gorgeous looking sci-fi filmsof all time, so it’s only natural thatAlien: Isolationwould do the same but in the medium of video games. Putting them in the shoes of Amanda Ripley, players will search the Sevastopol Space Station for Ellen Ripley’s flight recording. Aesthetically, the game looks just like movies, having that iconic retro-futuristic theme that feels cold and corporate, creating a sense of dread.
Players will definitely feel vulnerable exploring Sevastopol with little more than the franchise’s iconic motion tracker, beeping faster and faster, warning them of their imminent demise at the hands of the titular alien, or it could just be another human. Either way, careful consideration must be taken as even the smallest sound can be detected, leading to a quick death if players don’t react appropriately. To make matters worse, the Xenomorph learns as the game progresses, keeping its bag of tricks fresh.
3Stasis: Bone Totem
There Is A Reason The Ocean Is Unexplored
Trading the first game’s space setting for an ocean one, the sequel toStasis,Stasis: Bone Totemgoes for a slower-paced point-and-click experience rather than full-on combat like some of its contemporaries. Despite this, it’s still very macabre, perhaps even more so,many of the challenging puzzleshave a gruesome twist, sometimes involving investigating cadavers or potentially killing the player if they fail severely.
In terms of narrative, two salvagers, Charlie and Mac, and their late daughter’s seemingly sentient super-toy, Mosses, come across an abandoned oil rig ripe for salvaging, but they soon discover some things were better left submerged as they discover the horrifying events that transpired while having their family ties tested.
An android-like being known as a replika, called Ester has just woken up and is forced to fight her corrupted, monstrous, brethren.Signalis’ gameplay is verysimilar to that of a classic Resident Evilgame with backtracking, safe rooms, and ammo management, not to mention various brain-scratching puzzles.
What makes it so compelling is its presentation(intentionally similar to classic 3D survival horror from the 5th console generation) and its story. A story that explores themes of dreams, the self, and identity, all wrapped in Lovecraftian-style horror. It’s classic sci-fi through and through.
If there was an award for “Worst Day At Work”, engineer Isaac Clark would win it by a mile. The protagonist ofDead Spacegoes through some truly awful stuff on the USG Ishimura, a mining vessel during an emergency mission. Players will have to navigate the ship’s various nooks and crannies, fighting off necromorphs using various engineering tools at their disposal, all in the hopes of finding a way to escape the horrors of the ship.
What makesDead Spacestand out as a sci-fi horror is the fact that the world the characters inhabit feels truly natural and fleshed out. Even without the monsters, it’s still exciting to see the various pieces of future tech, such as the kinetic module or the engineering suits Issac dons throughout the game. This technology even plays into the user interface as it is all diegetic, creating a great sense of immersion. The2023 remake only serves to improve the overall experienceoffering better zero-gravity gameplay and better audio among other things.
