Forget Silent Hills And Play These Games Instead

Kojima Productions and Konami may have cancelled one of the most anticipated games in recent years by halting production on Silent Hills. They may have even buried all evidence of its existence, by taking the well renowned Playable Teaser (P.T.) off the PlayStation Store. And in doing so, they may have robbed hopeful players of one of the best pieces of marketing material in video games, period.

Even with all of the above being the case, do you know what? I don’t even mind. We may eventually get to play Silent Hills and P.T. might even reappear on the PS Store but having spent the last week looking into horror game alternatives, there is a lot to keep us amused in the meantime.

Here is a short list of recent and upcoming games that are sure to give you goosebumps and scratch that Silent Hills itch.

Outlast (PS4, Xbox One, PC, Linux and OS X – Out Now)

First on the list is the game which I have been playing for the last two nights. I had already seem snippits of gameplay through watching YouTube and Twitch personalities as they squeel, arm flap and cry their way through the dimly lit halls of Mount Massive Asylum.

Although I had seen many of the game’s major plot points and jump scares, it wasn’t until I had the controller in my hands that the true horror of the game became apparent to me. Watching someone else play this game and actually playing it yourself is the difference between day and night.

Where as most horror survival games have you counting ammunition, your character in Outlast requires batteries to power the nightvision function on his camcorder, in order to see where he is going in the pitch black spaces of the asylum.

Being chased by a homocidal psychiatric, while armed with nothing but a camcorder and as many batteries that are required to power a television remote is something that needs to be expreinced first-hand, in order to appreciate the urgency and tension in Outlast.

With a story as intriguing as its premise, a sense of dread as you turn every corner and a constant panic as your resources quickly deplete, Outlast checks all the boxes for what makes a classic horror survival game.

If you like your games to have atmosphere and beautiful textures, then this is for you.

Alien: Isolation (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC – Out Now)

Forget the pile of dung that was Aliens: Colonial Marines and wash out the bad taste with the game that stays true to its source material, Alien: Isolation.

Set after the events of the original Ridley Scott directed cinema classic, Alien, the player assumes the role of Ellen Ripley’s daughter, as she searches for her lost mother. One thing leads to another, events play out and… well I’m not saying that aliens get involved, but it’s definitely aliens!

Amanda Ripley must navigate through a space station called Savastapol, which bears a striking resemblence to the Nostromo from the original film. Developer The Creative Assembly delved deep into the archives at 20th Century Fox and uncovered a treasure trove of artwork and sound recordings, which they incorporated into this game. If James Camereon hadn’t made the sequel film, Aliens, you would think that Isolation is the true successor to the original Alien film.

The use of genuine sound effects and art design from the first film add to a game that is so filled with atmosphere, that it is oozing from the walls. Of all the Alien tie-in games that have come before, Isolation is the real deal and the most authentic to its roots.

From a gameplay standpoint, it is very similar to Outlast. You cannot fight most of the things that are hunting you down in the game, you are forced to run and hide. Resources are also just as scarce as they are in Outlast. You will want to check every nook of the space station. You do so at your own risk, however, as the main antagonist of the game is a Xenomorph which is notoriously smart, with its own non-scripted AI, and it will end your journey with a single swipe.

Alien: Isolation isn’t just a must play for fans of the franchise, it also holds up as a compelling horror survival game.

Slender: The Arrival (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and PC – Out Now)

Although this sequel to the popular 2012 internet hit, Slender: The Eight Pages, recieved a lukewarm reception at the time of its release, I have to mention it in my list for one simple fact. This game freaked me out so much that I played it once, got caught by the Slender Man, and never wanted to pick it up again. Outlast and Alien: Isolation have their scary moments but Slender: The Arrival was the game that I actually dreaded continuing.

So while I can’t discuss how robust its story is, or how well the level designs progress from stage to stage, I can at least vouch for this game in the respect that it is relentlessly menacing. Even from the get go, you start the game alone in a forest, with no direction and the sun is going down. You eventually find an abandoned house but its walls won’t save you from the eerie sense that you are being watched and each step could be a poor choice.

What I did gather, from my short time with this game, is that it maintains its tone and doesn’t compremise. There is no slow build of tension, the game is tense straight away.

While it has been criticised for being overly simplistic (you ultimately spend your time trying to collect objects while avoiding the clutches of Slender Man and equally manacing entities), I feel that it is the atmosphere alone that makes this game worth playing.

Even though the task of collecting pieces of paper sounds easy enough, the enemies in the game can spawn randomly, unfairly and even right behind you. This will frustrate many completionists but it seems like Slender: The Arrival would be best played as an experience, rather than a mission.

The Evil Within (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC – Out Now)

Directed by Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami, The Evil Within takes some of the best of horror conventions and the gameplay feel of Resident Evil 4 and mashes them together in one of the most graphic and psychological horror games on console to date.

Although this game allows the player to use traditional means of fighting enemies, such as firearms and melee weapons, stealth plays just as must a part of this game. The Evil Within also uses hiding mechanics similar to those in Outlast and Alien: Isolation, enabling the player to hide in lockers and behind walls, to escape the enemy’s gaze.

With its perfect blend of stealth, combat, horrifying creatures and heavy use of scripted set pieces, The Evil Within is a nice alternative to the now tired Resident Evil series; not that there isn’t a chance for that series to become relevant again at some point.

Even though Silent Hills is in development limbo, there is no reason to feel sorry for the horror genre. The emergence of games like the ones I have listed are evidence that these types of games are here to stay and that the fate of the genre doesn’t just rely on any single game. It is up to the players to show demand for these types of experiences, so that developers and publishers will continue to provide content that has us jumping out of our seats.

Do you have any horror genre recommendations? Feel free to share your favourites in the comments below and be sure to stay a part of the conversation by liking our Facebook page, following us on Twitter and subscribing to our YouTube channel.