Horror games had come back big time, I mean, Fatal Frame is even getting a remastered version with HD textures, and reworked lighting and effects. Alan Wake 2 is coming, Silent Hill has 3 games on the way, Alone in the Dark, Dead Space, etc. A boatload of horror games have been revived by remaster/remakes and sequels, games that have been even long gone down in the annals of history for being bad or underappreciated.
Still, I have a few more to give. There are games that I want to play so badly to get the remaster treatment. Games that were real standouts of their own during the early to late 2000s. Games like these don't exist much anymore, and formed the genre fundamentals for other horror games in the current Steam market.
Guessing from the cover image, you'd think I would be talking about the Condemned series, but few of the games I want to cover are from the same developer too. I mean, it makes sense, they made so many of these before working on the Shadow of Mordor series. Past that, the well for lost games goes so deep, there are so many favorable ones to pick.
The Condemned Games
Yes, that is a mannequin, but it perfectly captures the viscera that the game series usually evokes. Condemned from the geniuses that made Blood, and No One Lives Forever. They understand Hollywood movies so well, they made this series highly inspired by David Fincher's Se7en film, with a bit of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Saw sprinkled in.
Condemned games are a mix of psychological and body horror, the latter becomes more prominent in the second title. The themes and atmosphere of the game revolves around this corrupted city, full of degenerates, and the evolving evil presence that is growing inside, spreading everywhere. Stuff straight out of a comic book like Gideon Falls.
I played the first one, and it was a lot for a 14-year-old kid at the time. But man, I was totally sucked in. The gameplay is a bit obtuse at first, before you get the hang of it. Though, what really makes this engaging is the A.I., they are unpredictable, as they are psychotic. Their way of fighting with you stays true to their psychological profiling. It sells the macabre nature from both the encounters and exploration bits. There were even these investigation segments that made you think once in a while.
They don't make titles like these anymore, but imagine if Sega, that is riding the Yakuza and Persona hype right now, did their western studios a big favor and remastered this. Sure, Monolith Productions is no longer independent to take that contract, but you can always hand it over to Creative Assembly, the studio well known for making Alien: Isolation. Not only would they be able to make the gameplay meatier and fine tune it, but do this game a service for its horror elements.
Then again, it could be wishful thinking just from me. The game series never sold well, even though it was developing to be a cult hit in the later years. Microsoft didn't even bother to BC them for Xbox One. I do wish it would come back, especially Bloodshot, I've always wanted to play the second game particularly.
There's Only One Good F.E.A.R.
Yeah, just forget the other two games. There's only great game, and that is the original FEAR. Yes, another one by Monolith, and this was their best one. It revolutionized the FPS genre in a lot of ways, from highly engaging gameplay, destructible environments, smart and adaptive A.I. to well, blending of genres.
Of course, this would need a really high profile developer to work on, since most FPS developers have their own thing going, and I don't think would be able to capture the bloodlust and destructive nature of the original. Would be a scary proposal for any FPS veteran dev. That is, unless they are Splash Damage. Creators of Dirty Bomb, and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. They're the only game devs that I know, that can actually touch this and do the project the justice it deserves.
I mean, look at the density and scale of destruction. In this age, most FPS titles are just made to be for E-sports or live service F2P. There's no focus on delivering this level of fidelity. That can all be fixed if the studio finally decided to take the mantle of bringing it back. Also, the horror aspects. I haven't forgotten Alma.
Makes sense that Monolith Productions still owns the rights, but they've stopped working on FPS for a longtime now. It would help if Warner Games considers this opportunity now. A remaster or full-on remake is going to make money, for sure.
That One Good Clive Barker Game
Ah yes, the early days of EA making good games. I missed those, especially a horror game of this magnitude by the great king of masochistic horror himself, Clive Barker. We got Hellraisers and Candyman movie remakes, nobody wants to touch on the video games? I guess EA is busy with Dead Space to care.
I don't know who is holding the license now, but please, I wish for a good horror experience with gun fights and spell casting. Another reason would be that, well, while it is fun, it doesn't really hold up today. But the concepts, the principle design around it, and the mechanics still all serve as a good foundation for a complete remake or least remaster of it.
I never played this, but after seeing videos made of it and lets plays, I would want this game reimagined in the modern era. It can do a for a vampire game, unlike a certain Vampire Masquerade sequel we can't seem to be getting.
It has gunplay and spellcasting, nuff said. It's a pretty unique FPS that was made by the studio that worked on Medal of Honor. The gameplay seemed a lot of fun, but with modernization, and that Clive Barker's touch, this will make any other horror games look tame in comparison. Just not sure which studio could pick this up on, if EA still holding it, I would really want them to take a gander at this. Maybe even get that cancelled sequel rolling even.
From Silent Hill To Siren
Anything Keiichiro Toyama touches is a gem, yeah, this was not a well-received series. It had flaws in certain areas, especially concerning gameplay. In fact, the first game was "reimagined" back in 2008 for the PS3 right after. I am mentioning this, because hey, Fatal Frame is getting an HD remaster. What would happen if, say, this game's remaster also got out.
The guy already has another horror game coming out, after the disappointing shutdown of Sony Japan Studio. This still has all the good blueprints of his work. In fact, Sony already has so many game development studios, they could just ask someone, especially Bluepoint who already remade Shadow of Colossus, and Demon Souls.
A remaster has been rumored for years now, but now it's high time someone does it. Like, come on Sony, what are you waiting?
Eternal Darkness Of The Sanity Kind
The best horror game of the early 2000s, and it was the Gamecube's only good horror game, in fact this game bested all the rest from its hayday. And is still considered a cult-classic. It's also one of the few horror games that Nintendo financed and published. What more could anyone ask for, other than a reimagining of this game?
What else is there to say? Third-person tank control games worked at the time, even the Resident Evil remake tried it and worked. Though, in this case, the game had several things going that made it really stand out. First one is making sure you stay sane, unlike Amnesia, you had to do certain things to make sure your sanity remains intact, but go on for too long without being able to deal with and you start to see the game environments change around you. Basically how to not be a schizo. There are surprising ways this mechanic will scare anyone that plays it.
This is also one of Satoru Iwata's first game being produced after being President of Nintendo games. In fact, the game has so many other great qualities, from the amazing production value, engaging gameplay, riveting story, to well, pretty dense atmosphere. Sadly, Silicon Knights, the people who made it, faded to oblivion.
Plus, Nintendo doesn't do horror games outside Luigi's Mansion. But that seems to be no longer the case, since the patent for the game has been renewed by Nintendo. Plus, Bayonetta 3 is coming out, and with the way they're going about with the Switch platform, I have a feeling they'll change their minds.
So, yeah, these are all of them that I've wanted to see if they'll be out or not. Least one or two of these, if I am being realistic. Amazing games, no one should miss out on playing them. Hopefully not even the devs. What a time to be alive, provided the economy and society itself doesn't come tumbling.
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