‘Resident Evil Village’: Lock your door before playing these horror games

Not quite two weeks ago, Resident Evil Village came to Windows, Playstation, and Xbox. Whether you’ve got the newest generation of consoles or you’re still rocking last gen’s hardware, you’ll be able to dive headfirst into the horror masterpiece. Resident Evil Village is more action-oriented than previous entries in the series, but it’s just as scary as any other game in the franchise. 

The game’s story will take around fourteen hours to complete. After blasting through hordes of the undead, you’ll be craving another horror adventure, and we’re here to show you some of the best games the genre has to offer.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Biohazard is the predecessor to Resident Evil Village, and if you haven’t already played through the game, it should be your very next stop. Biohazard came out in 2017 and represents a return to form for the series. It emphasizes the survival horror elements of Resident Evil and dials down the action that had crept into previous games. Enemies in Biohazard can’t be killed, meaning players are constantly on the run and in danger.

The slow pace and focus on exploration melds perfectly with the game’s first-person perspective. Players feel like they’re inches away from the horror on the screen. The bravest souls have the option of playing the game in virtual reality. Altogether, Biohazard is the scariest Resident Evil game in years. 

Amnesia: Rebirth

Much like Biohazard and Resident Evil Village, this game is a survival horror that’s sure to keep your pulse pounding. The game takes place in desert caves and old tombs. Players will have to solve puzzles and search for their lost companion while being pursued by horrific creatures.

As players move through the environment, their sanity will begin to deteriorate. Anything from encounters with monsters to moving through pitch-black hallways will cause the protagonist to lose some of their sanity.

Rebirth and its two predecessors are some of the few games where the player character will hyperventilate, shake, and cry in response to the horror taking place on the screen. All of the character’s reactions are deeply unsettling and serve to make Amnesia one of the most terrifying video game series available.

Bloodborne

Bloodborne is a spiritual successor to the Dark Souls franchise. The game borrows many of its mechanics from Dark Souls, but it takes place in a strange world inspired by gothic horror classics. Few horror games have the variety of creatures & enemies that Bloodborne offers. Even the “regular” humans that players encounter are frightening, as they babble insanely about the creatures plaguing their homeland. 

Bloodborne is an action roleplaying game, but it doesn’t just use horror as an aesthetic. Battles in Bloodborne are tense and fraught with danger. At any moment a creature can jump out and end a player’s life in a single hit. Despite its focus on the action, few games are as stressful and unnerving as Bloodborne. 

Lone Survivor

This game proves that it doesn’t take fancy graphics to scare the pants off of people. Lone Survivor is a two-dimensional side-scroller where players take on the role of the only human left alive after a mysterious apocalyptic disaster. It was made by Jasper Byrne, who became well-known for adapting the Silent Hill horror games into 2D platformers. 

Faceless, flesh-colored creatures roam the streets, and players will have to avoid them as they gather supplies to keep themselves alive. Like the Amnesia games, Lone Survivor includes a sanity mechanic that ensures a constant feeling of living on the edge. As the game’s excellent story unfolds, players will grow wary of the very character they’re controlling. 

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Those are just a handful of the excellent horror games that have come out in recent years. What will you be playing after Resident Evil Village? Let us know in the comments!