The horror genre continues to evolve in exciting ways, regardless of its medium, but video games have been able to tap into the genre in unprecedented ways. Video games continue to pride themselves in their ability to immerse the audience into new worlds, and this experience gets amplified when it’s transferred into the unnerving world of survival horror.
Horror video games can be relentless, but few have been as effective as P.T. with the joint effort from Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro as well as Konami. P.T. was initially teased as a “playable trailer” for a new entry in the Silent Hill franchise but was canceled, and fans have been looking for a comparable experience ever since. Fortunately, some ambitious and terrifying video games have emerged that should satisfy horror fans.
10 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Bring The Series Back To Its Horrific Roots
Resident Evil has consistently been at the forefront of the survival horror genre, but the series enters a period of complacency during some of its middle entries where action gameplay elements overpower the franchise’s horror sensibilities. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a very intentional return to the series’ roots, and it’s helped push the horror franchise in rejuvenating new ways. Resident Evil 7’s turn to first-person gameplay and a notable period spent in the Baker family household bring P.T. to mind, but the game is full of frightening surprises.
9 Allison Road Finds Horror Within The Comforts Of The Home
Allison Road was specifically designed to fill the void left with P.T.’s absence, and this title also ultimately faced cancellation and remained unreleased. However, Allison Road still feels worthy of inclusion because of how effective it is in its brevity and that it's still able to release a creepy 13-minute video trailer that perfectly replicates P.T.’s type of slow-building dread. Allison Road begins in a mundane place, but a search for aspirin to relieve a headache soon teases supernatural predators and a dark story regarding the protagonist’s family.
8 Amnesia: Rebirth Will Leave The Player Lost In Dark Delusions
The Amnesia series doesn’t always receive the same acclaim as Resident Evil or Silent Hill, but it’s carved out an impressive, disturbing corner of the survival horror genre for itself. Every Amnesia title is highly stressful and the games know how to play with perception and sanity that will leave the player feeling unsure of what to trust.
Amnesia: Rebirth is an especially strong entry in the series. Its scope may be much larger than what’s explored in P.T., but it engages in a very similar style of first-person horror where it feels like something is after the player.
7 Silent Hill 2 Is The Ultimate Look Into Depression And Humanity’s Flaws
Silent Hill 2 continues to be considered the crown jewel of the survival horror series and that it achieves layered, emotional highs that transcend anything from out of Resident Evil. Silent Hill 2 is a third-person game that plays totally different than P.T., but James Sunderland’s search for answers reveals brutal truths and hidden secrets that reflect the same rawness of Kojima’s horror masterpiece. The gruesome details that get recounted through radio transmissions in P.T. run parallel to James’ own tragic situation. Both horror games aren’t afraid to look inward and present humanity as its own monster.
6 Layers Of Fear Picks Away At The Skeletons That Hide In Everyone’s Closets
Layers of Fear is another moody first-person horror game that explores the nooks and crannies of a house that hides dark secrets. Layers of Fear leans into the Victorian nature of the house and presents a more gothic style of horror. Layers of Fear is calmer than P.T., and it has the player work through a series of easy puzzles that provide details on the grim history that surrounds the central character. It trades in the same upsetting subject matter as P.T., but in a more restrained manner that gives the player control.
5 The Park Gets Lost In The Creepiest Of Settings
Amusement parks can often be perfect environments for the horror genre, and The Park takes advantage of this for a first-person psychological experience that's reminiscent of P.T. in both tone and gameplay. The Park gets rid of combat and external enemies and instead focuses on the horror of a frayed mind.
The Park creates obstacles and terror out of the amusement park's backstory and the memories that haunt its lost protagonist. The Park doesn’t overstay its welcome and it’s a sublime horror title to work through on a dark night.
4 Blair Witch Hides Horror In The Shadows
Video games based on popular horror films are nothing new, but there have been some more ambitious efforts in this department over the past decade. Blair Witch is an exercise in how less can be more, and it’s a game that will either terrify the player or fall flat. Blair Witch is sometimes dismissed as just a moody walking simulator, but it still conjures genuine moments of creepiness. It’s not as powerful as the feature film, but few games are, and it at least immerses the player in a comparable level of uneasiness as P.T.
3 Alien: Isolation Is A Masterpiece In Claustrophobic Horror
Video games have been messing around with the Alien franchise for decades, but it’s only been a recent development that any of these games are anywhere near as frightening as Ridley Scott’s horror/sci-fi classic. Alien: Isolation works as well as it does because of the exceptional A.I. that’s worked into the game’s Xenomorph. The player has to truly be careful with how they negotiate space, and the level of tension never persists. The terrifying feeling that the Xenomorph is advancing behind the player should satisfy any P.T. fan.
2 Resident Evil 2’s Remake Upgrades The Iconic Horror Experience
The success of Capcom’s next-gen Resident Evil 2 remake has kicked off a trend to continually remake the older entries in the Resident Evil series. Current gaming technology obviously allows Resident Evil 2’s remake to deliver a whole new level of fear, but it also makes changes to gameplay that accentuate the horror in certain ways. The improved treatment of the game’s Mr. X creates an enemy who’s consistently surprising. Mr. X and some of the tighter sequences encountered within the Raccoon City Police Department definitely bring P.T. to mind.
1 Visage Lets Loose A Lurking Terror In A Home Full Of Painful Memories
Visage is the next-best thing besides P.T., and it's an exceptional horror experience that's directly inspired by P.T. The indie horror title is set within a seemingly normal house as the tortured protagonist works their way through the building and pieces together disturbing details about their past and the inhabitants of the house. Visage provides intimate first-person horror, and its incorporation of sanity effects when the player spends too much time in the dark are well-handled. Visage is one of the scariest games of the decade and a must-play for the P.T. crowd.