Horror games have more or less been underground for the better part of the genre's existence. While there are a few games that have sold millions (like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, etc.), most horror games tend to become cult hits and these days the genre has begun to wane with the dissolution of Team Silent and the move towards action rather than horror in the Resident Evil series.
Keep in mind I did not write these summarys.
We'll begin with a general history debrief of the classics:
The first notable title to spark the horror genre in videogames was Sweet Home (1989), on the NES, which was also a role-playing game. Technically, it's survival horror, which is just one of the distinct types of horror available in videogames.
Sweet Home follows a group of five people who enter the deserted mansion of Ichiro Mamiya to take photographs of the frescoes contained within. Therein, they are trapped inside, forced to contend with the ghost of the Lady Mamiya as well as other creatures inside.
In 1992, however, the survival horror genre really kicked off. With Alone in the Dark, players were introduced to an almost-3D take on the horror genre through the role of either Edward Carnby or Emily Hartwood as they explore the haunted mansion of Derceto after dark. Alone in the Dark also introduced the ability to take out monsters via puzzles, and puzzles in general would come to weave its way into the genre as a staple mechanic; one could say this was cribbed from adventure games, which horror games themselves draw a lot from.
Survival horror itself de-emphasizes combat from its action-adventure origins, and most games in the genre give you little weaponry to fight off your foes, forcing you to either be stealthy, or make your shots count.
Clock Tower, released in 1995, was a primarily stealth-based survival horror game which follows a girl, Jennifer Simpson, on the run from a dangerous killer, the Scissorman. This particular killer stalks you throughout the game, and the concept of an ever-present threat/murderous stalker would be used again in games such as Resident Evil 3 and Silent Hill 2.
Not content to leave the horror genre as just an item management/jump scare adventure, Silent Hill brought the concept of psychological horror, the other prominent genre of horror in videogames, to the forefront. In 1999, players were introduced to Harry Mason as he explores the town of Silent Hill, a nightmarish otherworld whose structure, encounters, and experiences are all reflections of those who step inside of it. While searching for his lost daughter Cheryl, Harry unravels the town's true nature, as well as the real identity of his little girl.
While Resident Evil hadn't quite moved past its now-repetitive brand of gameplay, Silent Hill 2, in 2001, delved deeper into the concept of psychological horror through its protagonist, James Sunderland. James, unlike Harry, came to the town of Silent Hill in search of his wife. There, however, he learns that the town is a reflection of those who walk its streets, and through his nightmarish journey learns dark and terrifying truths about himself and the sins he has committed. It was with this game that the horror genre proved its mettle not only in providing a terrifying experience, but a well-told, well-written one at that.
In 1996, though, survival horror was no longer a niche genre; it had become something incredibly popular. Resident Evil, a series that still continues to this day, utilized (at the time) incredible 3D graphics with 2D backdrops, incorporating weapon management and jump scares to produce a truly scary experience in videogames. It wasn't without its issues, but for the time there was nothing else like it.
This game also received a remake for the Gamecube that fixes a lot of its issues and manages to be an improvement on just about every level, including being far more terrifying.
In 2002, Silicon Knights released Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, a game that took the horror model and tweaked it, using tricks such as turning off your TV, enlarging your player model's head, outright killing you, muting your volume, erasing your save game, and other such tricks to trip you out. Following the lives of 12 different characters across multiple time periods all centered around The Tome of Eternal Darkness, this game was truly ahead of its time in terms of loving with your mind.
Most horror games nowadays are influenced by a single title, Resident Evil 4, which came out in 2005. Blending horror with incredibly advanced third-person shooter gameplay, the genre began to take on much more of an action bent, which can be seen across the map these days from F.E.A.R. to the latest Silent Hill: Downpour. Utilizing a camera that remains behind the back but close to the character's shoulder, precision aiming and weapon firing adds a level of depth to the action at the expense of horror.
Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004. The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac OS X. Developer Vicarious Visions ported the game to the Xbox console, releasing it on April 3, 2005. British developers Splash Damage also assisted in design for the multiplayer elements of the game.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (previously known as Lux Tenebras or Unknown) is a survival horror video game by Frictional Games, who previously developed the Penumbra series. Released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, the game features a protagonist named Daniel exploring a dark and foreboding castle, while avoiding monsters and other obstructions as well as solving puzzles. The game was critically well received, earning two awards from the Independent Games Festival and numerous positive reviews.
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger. Fear is apparently a universal emotion; all persons, consciously or unconsciously, have fear in some sort.[1]. In short, fear is the ability to recognize danger leading to an urge to confront it or flee from it (also known as the fight-or-flight response) but in extreme cases of fear (horror and terror) a freeze or paralysis response is possible."Fear is the basic condition ... the job that we're here to do is to learn how to live in a way that we're not terrified all the time."- Luc Sante "The Heroic Nerd", 2006. Some psychologists such as John B. Watson, Robert Plutchik, and Paul Ekman have suggested that fear belongs to a small set of basic or innate emotions. This set also includes such emotions as joy, sadness, and anger. Fear should be distinguished from the related emotional state of anxiety, which typically occurs without any certain or immediate external threat.
Ao Oni is a Japanese survival horror game with RPG and puzzle elements where you run from a blue (appears purple) demon and try to escape from a mansion. Ao Oni literally means "Blue Demon" in Japanese.
The game revolves around the female protagonist, Miku Hinasaki, and progresses through four chapters (or "Nights"). As a result, players control her for most of the game except for the intro chapter, in which Mafuyu is a controllable character. The characters' strength is displayed in a life bar located in the lower left corner of the screen, and the game will end if the character's strength is drained completely. However, the character can find healing items throughout the progress of the game at different locations, which restore their strength to a certain extent. Plus, a special item called a Stone Mirror can be obtained by Miku in some parts of the game, which completely restores her strength automatically one time only if her strength bar is completely depleted. Miku and Mafuyu also have a flashlight to aid them in the exploration of the haunted mansion.
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