As the new millennium came, so did a new age dawn on horror in video games. The turning toward the 2000s brought us new ways to mentally terrify players, causing them to go crawl into a corner and sleep in a fetal position. There are so many to choose from, but here are our Top 5 Horror games from the ’00s!
#5 – Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005)
FBI Agent Ethan Thomas is framed for the murder of fellow officers. In order to uncover who murdered them with his gun, he has to do whatever it takes and fight his way through violent, psychotic individuals. This is not your typical Survival Horror game. Not only are you an FBI agent using crime forensic tools to find the killer, but you are also forced to defend yourself from possessed bums and cultist with only blunt objects. This alone really kicks your anxiety into high gear.
#4: The Thing (2002)
In The Thing, you play the part of a military team sent to investigate the incidents from the film. Your mission is to find out what happened at U.S. Outpost 31 and must face the Thing yourself. The game is just like the film, where you can’t trust anyone. One moment, you and a member of the team are acting normal, but then they turn into a mini-boss and make you not want to trust anyone ever again! I still don’t!
#3: Silent Hill 2 (2001)
After receiving a letter from his late wife from Silent Hill, James Sunderland makes his way to the town in an attempt to find her. Look, when you get a letter from your dead wife that tells you to go to a mysterious town, you know you messed up. Silent Hill 2 amps up what the first one did, but brings more of a sadness to the game. Everything from the eerie fog, horrific S&M Creatures, and the sound of the static radio brings dread to any person that plays it.
#2: Fatal Frame (2001)
Armed with a camera capable of fighting ghosts, a teenage girl searches a haunted house in search of her brother. Being able to take photos of ghosts was a very unique experience and the only way to continue was to face your fears up close. When you would hear the moans in the dark that would cause your palms to sweat, just to sit in silence waiting for the entity to show itself, hysteria would kick in.
#1: Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (2002)
Over the course of two millennia, twelve men and women are linked together by an accursed book known as the Tome of Eternal Darkness. This game goes beyond what a horror game should do. It not only scares you but also questions if what you are playing is actually real. The character and the player try to find answers to this mystery, but both end up being pushed into insanity, where glitches, disappearing main characters, and system breakdowns happen midway before a save point. Truly a mind-melting experience for any horror fan…one that should be played at least once in your lifetime.
