Modern horror games might leave their ‘90s predecessors in the dust visually, but more realistic gore and scares can only take a terrifying story so far. You don’t need photo-realistic graphics to create something truly horrifying. Instead, you need to master timing and tension, letting you build to the moments where you leave your audience cowering behind their couch. These five games are the best of the ‘90s and still hold up to modern horror standards. Sure, the controls aren’t as tight and the visuals might sometimes leave you chuckling, but those laughs will die in your throat when the scares hit.
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Here are the five best horror games from the ‘90s that still bring the spooks today.
5) Sanitarium
I’m very tempted to go with Roberta Williams’ Phantasmagoria in this fifth spot. It was a major hit at the time and proved that Williams is a master of point-and-click games, no matter the genre. However, Sanitarium‘s world-hopping and brain-bending horror just slightly edges it out for me.
In Sanitarium, you play as a character named Max who has been admitted to a sanitarium. As you uncover more about the facility, you’re taken to several otherworldly locations, making for a creepy journey through a world that shouldn’t exist. I won’t spoil the final twist, as it’s worth seeing for yourself. Simply put, Sanitarium is a must-play for point-and-click fans.
4) Silent Hill
The first Silent Hill isn’t as beloved by horror fans as the second entry, but it’s still a solid entry in the long-running series. Many players felt like SH was a Resident Evil clone at the time, and while that’s somewhat true in terms of gameplay, Silent Hill‘s horror is focused on creating a disturbing atmosphere over the action-oriented RE games.
In the right hands, that kind of horror can be even more effective (and distressing). Konami has proven to be masters of psychological horror, and even this first effort will leave you with that unnervingly anxious feeling in your gut.
3) Clock Tower
1996’s Clock Tower is technically the second Clock Tower, though the first game didn’t leave Japan until 2024. With that out of the way, Clock Tower‘s greatest addition to the genre is the terrifying Scissorman. It might sound comical that a man with a huge pair of scissors is chasing you around on paper, but it’s as spooky as running from Lady Dimitrescu.
Besides Scissorman, Clock Tower does a great job of making it feel like you’re playing through an interactive horror movie with exceptional full-motion video cinematics and a tense atmosphere. It is a little slow to get around the world, but that’s often used well to build the tension.
2) System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is significantly different from the other games on this list. It’s set in the far-flung future, putting you in the shoes of a soldier suffering from amnesia as you battle infected crew members to try and figure out exactly what’s going on.
Not only is the story deeply unsettling, but the gameplay was game-changing at the time. Ken Levine and his team dropped in a role-playing system that lets you play the game your way. System Shock 2 was a revelation, eventually giving rise to BioShock as a direct descendant, thanks to Levine’s involvement in both games. There have been plans for a sequel for several years, but nothing has ever materialized.
1) Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 took everything players loved about the first Resident Evil and made it better. Visually, RE2 takes a big step past its predecessor, and the team at Capcom used its audio chops to help create that dreadful atmosphere the game is so well known for.
Yes, it still has the tank controls that some players hate, but there’s a reason the Resident Evil 2 Remake performed so well. It’s based on one of the best and spookiest games in the long-running series. RE2 Remake is one of the best remakes of all time, but it’s still worth playing through the original to see the foundation of the game that took the world by storm a few years ago.
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