There’s endless innovation that accompanies the medium of video games and it feels like every year there’s a more substantial leap forward with what can be accomplished. One of the video game genres to grow in major ways over the past few decades is the survival horror niche of gaming. This used to be one of the more fringe genres of video games, yet advancements in technology and improved graphics, and enemy AI have allowed horror games to grow considerably more frightening and immersive.
Many modern horror games are truly terrifying, but that’s not to say that earlier efforts in the genre are meritless. Retro video games from the 1980s are much simpler than current titles, but there are still some that pack some serious bite.
10 1989’s Sweet Home Helped Establish The Core Staples Of The Genre
Sweet Home is an obscure title from 1989 for the original Nintendo Entertainment System that never received a localized release outside of Japan, but its influence on the genre remains incalculable. Capcom’s game combines horror and RPG elements as a team of five documentary filmmakers head into a creepy house where they’re plagued by the spirits of the deceased and morbid monsters. It’s been repeatedly cited that Sweet Home was a major influence on Resident Evil, which is felt here. Clever puzzles, punishing and permanent party deaths, and evocative visuals all make Sweet Home a winner.
9 Personal Nightmare Is An Ahead Of Its Time Satanic Mystery From 1989
The Amiga often gets overlooked as a footnote of gaming history, but 1989’s Personal Nightmare is an excellent horror outing that's several years ahead of the curve when it comes to the wave of creepy point-and-click adventure games that took over PCs in the 1990s. Personal Nightmare gives players four days to exorcise the Devil and his possessed minions from a seemingly ordinary town. Personal Nightmare ambitiously utilizes a day/night system and punishing expectations for what must be observed. The plot is strong, but it's Personal Nightmare's gruesomely detailed art and effective sound design that makes it a classic.
8 1988’s Splatterhouse Brings Action-Platformers Deep Into The Depths Of Horror
Namco's Splatterhouse series may have first hit arcades in the late 1980s, but it'd gone on to become a video game franchise with surprisingly long legs and the most recent entry in the series was released in 2010.
The Splatterhouse games are technically action-platformers, but they're so steeped in '80s horror movies. The protagonist, Rick Taylor, is decked out to look like Jason Voorhees and every level features tons of twisted creatures, body horror abominations, and extreme violence. Both the gameplay and the title's aesthetics still hold up.
7 1986’s Uninvited Fills An Endless Maze With Morbid Monsters
Uninvited is a 1986 title where a lost individual needs to make their way through an unsettling maze and find their sibling. It's a simple story, but reflective of the Phantasy Star-like first-person approaches to labyrinths at the time. Uninvited received an NES port, which made it one of the few first-person horror console experiences. Many of the basics in Uninvited are still used today and the first-person perspective gets the most out of the frightening enemies that are suddenly in the player's face and too close for comfort.
6 Alien From 1984 Creates Tremendous Tension With Its Limited Resources
Alien is one of the most revered horror films of all time and it’s led to dozens of video games that have attempted to recapture the movie’s claustrophobic terror. 1984’s Alien can’t compare to 2014’s Alien: Isolation, but it’s genuinely impressive how sophisticated the gameplay and characters are in this ‘80s game. Players need to consistently avoid becoming the Xenomorph’s next victim, but characters will ignore orders and rebel if they’re too frightened or the right circumstances aren’t fulfilled. It creates fear out of a lack of control.
5 Soft & Cuddly Is Bold And Bright Trippy Horror For The ZX Spectrum From 1987
Soft & Cuddly is a ZX Spectrum title from 1987 that intentionally wants to provoke its audience. It's an extremely odd experience that pairs together platforming and shooter elements, but it's the game's neon visuals and aggressive presentation style that makes the biggest impression.
There's a creepy plot that involves the collection of limbs, but Soft & Cuddly's grand and vibrant environments are what will quickly get under the audience's skin. It’s a strong example of how important atmosphere is in a video game. Soft & Cuddly just feels wrong and like it could rebel on the player at any second.
4 Maniac Mansion Brings Real-Time Terror To Audiences In 1987
Maniac Mansion is an early standout title from LucasArts, a studio that would go on to be one of the biggest names in point-and-click adventure titles for the next decade. Maniac Mansion leans into the horror genre with a large cast of characters, many of which can become expendable if the player isn’t careful. Maniac Mansion is endlessly weird and doesn’t shy away from its dark humor, but there are constantly roving obstacles that need to be managed. It’s a very deep style of gameplay where a lot needs to be simultaneously managed, which naturally increases the tension through it all.
3 The Atari 2600’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre From 1983 Lets The Player Control A Maniac
It goes without saying that the graphical fidelity of any Atari 2600 game is going to leave a lot to the imagination and isn’t going to frighten the audience in the way that modern graphics can. 1983’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game is very simplistic, but it manages to be an oddly effective adaptation of Tobe Hooper’s unnerving horror movie. The biggest selling point with this game is that the player controls Leatherface, not some innocent victim. This was revolutionary at the time and forces the player to gain points and success through rampant pixelated bloodshed.
2 1989’s Monster Party For The NES Elegantly Brings Classic Movie Monsters To Life
Monster Party is a fairly obscure monster-based NES platformer from 1989 that flew under the radar. There's such a clear love for the horror genre here and the game's bosses feature traditional creatures like mummies, zombies, Medusa, the Grim Reaper, and even a dragon. Mark's elimination of monsters from the Dark World is a lot of fun, but there are seriously impressive graphics for the time. Monster Party really gets to show off each of its monsters and makes them feel intimidating. It’s the same kind of anxiety that accompanies a giant boss in the Castlevania series.
1 1986’s Chiller Was Banned From Arcades And The Target Of Controversy
Some horror video games can engage with incendiary ideas and visuals but have a justified reason for exploring this dark territory. There are other games that purely want to exploit and provoke, which is what applies to 1986’s Chiller. Chiller is an arcade game that wasn’t considered for console ports because it was the subject of such controversy and actually banned from arcades. The game may have rudimentary graphics, but it depicts graphic dungeons and twisted objectives for the player to advance. It feels like a lost game that was made by a serial killer.