The Suffering F.T.W.
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00:00Horror remains one of gaming's staple genres, with multiple enormous titles and franchises
00:05springing up over the years that everyone loves, and everyone loves even more to talk about.
00:10However, whilst many of these popular franchises still receive new entries to this day,
00:15plenty have fallen to the wayside, being cancelled, or just simply forgotten.
00:19With that in mind then, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com,
00:22and these are 8 Criminally Underrated Horror Video Games.
00:26Number 8, The Persistence
00:27The Persistence is one of the most underrated PSVR games you can play.
00:32Now, before you go and say, Josh, only like 10 people bought a PSVR,
00:36why are you kicking off this list with such a niche game, and then skip to the next entry,
00:40there actually is a VR-less port of the title that made its way to consoles and PC.
00:46Trapped on a space station, The Persistence's roguelike nature means that each new section
00:51of the station is procedurally generated, and as you venture further into the depths,
00:56you run the risk of losing the loot and gear that you've acquired
00:59to tackle the ship's various monsters out to get you.
01:02Despite the inherent repetition of the genre,
01:04The Persistence manages to constantly conjure up new content with each new run.
01:09If you like your sci-fi horror, and you like your roguelikes,
01:12then you should absolutely check out this game that you probably never even knew existed.
01:16Number 7, Visage
01:18If I'm gonna get a chance to shout out Visage,
01:20then you can bet your bottom ass that I'm going to take you up on it.
01:23Riffing on PT, Visage sees you waking up in an initially unassuming suburban home.
01:29It's night, the place is empty, and it quickly becomes apparent
01:32that you're being haunted by something.
01:35Through a handful of vignettes, Visage takes you on a whirlwind horror adventure,
01:39keeping you on your toes through unpredictable scares, and a small environment that is
01:44constantly changing and finding new ways to terrify you.
01:47Though initially small scale, like I said, the ambition of the title grows with each new chapter,
01:53until you're heading into dreamscapes filled with rivers of blood.
01:57The set pieces are inventive, the monsters frighteningly ghoulish,
02:01and the tale being told is suitably dark.
02:04If your sad PT got cancelled, then pick this game up instead.
02:08Number 6, Parasite Eve
02:10It's not too often that video games are based on novels,
02:13but there are some excellent examples of this, such as The Witcher and Metro series,
02:18and this next entry is right at home next to those.
02:21Parasite Eve is actually an unauthorised sequel to the novel of the same name,
02:26following New York City police officer Eya during an attempt to stop the Eve,
02:30a woman set on destroying all life on Earth.
02:33The survival game features a pausable real-time combat system,
02:36where you can move around to dodge attacks
02:38from the mutated monsters across the varying New York-based locations.
02:43What distinguishes the combat system is that the player is granted some strange powers,
02:47referred to as Parasite Energy,
02:50that allows the player to access some useful abilities in combat and in the story,
02:54as it binds you to the villain until one of you dies.
02:58The weapons and powers can be upgraded as well across the five-day spanning story,
03:02to give you the best chance to save NYC.
03:05Parasite Eve is an absolutely iconic title which should be remembered
03:09for some interesting story moments,
03:11such as an entire opera audience spontaneously combusting
03:15and dying at the beginning of the game.
03:17Number 5, Moondawn
03:19Unlike some of the games on this list,
03:21I can at least see why Moondawn didn't pick up much steam.
03:24It's a small indie horror game made by a handful of people,
03:28and it isn't your conventional jump scare fest.
03:31Instead, the title drops you into the middle of the Alps,
03:34as a character attending their grandfather's funeral.
03:36Upon returning to the secluded village of Moondawn,
03:39it's apparent that the death wasn't natural causes,
03:43and that there's something haunting this town.
03:45Brought to life by the beautiful hand-drawn artwork
03:48that makes up the character models and environments.
03:51Seriously, for as much as I like roaming around photo-real areas
03:55waiting for a monster to jump out at me,
03:57the atmosphere of Moondawn offers a different kind of horror vibe,
04:01one that is executed to perfection.
04:04If you enjoy stuff like The Witch and Midsommar and The Wicker Man,
04:07then get on this.
04:08Number 4, Siren
04:10Siren, or Forbidden Siren depending on your region,
04:13is a survival horror game released for the PS2 in 2003,
04:17following a supernatural disaster in a fictional Japanese town called Hanuda,
04:21you are thrust into the shoes of 10 survivors
04:23who are trying to escape the town
04:25and unravel the mysterious happenings in the area.
04:28The cataclysmic event has caused a strange affliction
04:32to some of the townspeople,
04:33leading them to bleed from the eyes,
04:36which, according to my doctor anyway, is not good,
04:39and become hostile towards each of the protagonists
04:42due to a mysterious substance known as the Red Water.
04:46Across 10 non-linear levels,
04:48you must sneak past enemies
04:49using a psychic ability referred to as sightjacking,
04:52which allows you to see and hear
04:54from the perspective of other characters,
04:56both hostile and friendly.
04:58Combat is not the focus in Siren then,
05:01so don't expect to be whacking fools
05:03with planks of wood or anything like that,
05:05as the game encourages you to avoid confrontation,
05:08since the undead enemies cannot be permanently killed
05:10and you are burdened with limited stamina for attacks.
05:14And just be careful, of the 10 survivors,
05:16not everyone is going to make it out alive,
05:18so be careful.
05:20Number three, Nocturne.
05:21The Prohibition and Great Depression era
05:23is not really a timeframe explored enough in video games,
05:26let alone horror video games,
05:28but Nocturne uses this unique setting incredibly effectively.
05:33Originally released in 1999 for the PC,
05:35you play as a character known only as The Stranger,
05:39who works for a fictional government organization
05:41referred to as Spook House,
05:43who are tasked with investigating and eliminating
05:46monstrous threats from the United States of America.
05:49Across Nocturne,
05:50you take on a bunch of different paranormal cases,
05:52each containing a new supernatural monster.
05:55Vampires, werewolves, zombies, and demons,
05:58the game has you covered
05:59no matter which sub-genre you prefer.
06:01It's a proper globe-trotting tale too.
06:04You'll find yourself battling the undead in a wild west town,
06:07accompanying a half-vampire to explore a castle in Germany,
06:11and even taking on Al Capone's zombie mobsters in Chicago.
06:15In terms of gameplay,
06:16Nocturne utilises pre-rendered backgrounds
06:18with 3D characters seen through fixed camera angles,
06:21you know, the classic Resident Evil model.
06:24With innovative camera angles though,
06:26stunning backgrounds for the time,
06:27and high-quality character models,
06:29Nocturne is a sadly lesser-remembered survival horror classic
06:33that serves up a campy but fun monster-hunting narrative.
06:37Number two, The Suffering.
06:38It's somewhat rare that games allow you to switch
06:40between third- and first-person perspectives,
06:43especially in the horror genre.
06:44I mean, The Evil Within eventually patched in a first-person mode,
06:48while Resident Evil has just announced a third-person mode for Resi 8.
06:52The Suffering, though, is a 2004 horror shooter
06:55that allowed you to do just this,
06:57following a prisoner on death row accused of murdering his family,
07:01although he has no memory of doing it.
07:04So, you control this dude called Talk,
07:06as you attempt to escape the prison,
07:08facing ghosts and grotesque creatures that you battle with melee and ranged combat,
07:13using a variety of weaponry.
07:15Like most of the best horror games,
07:16you have to manage an insanity meter as well,
07:19which fills as you defeat enemies,
07:21transforming the character into a monstrous form when full
07:23that allows the player to tear through hostiles with devastating attacks.
07:27While in this form as well,
07:28your health will start to deplete,
07:30and you will die if you do not transform back in time.
07:34There is also a morality system in place
07:36that allows Talk to make certain decisions throughout the story,
07:38to influence one of three unique endings.
07:41Number one, Cold Fear.
07:43Resident Evil 4 is considered to be one of the very best survival horror games of all time.
07:48Hell, it's considered to be one of the best video games of all time.
07:51And inevitably, all games in the genre were compared to it for years to come.
07:56And Cold Fear unfortunately released just a couple of months after Resident Evil 4
08:01and was overshadowed by it at every level,
08:03fading into obscurity over the years
08:05and becoming forgotten by the masses.
08:07Which sucks because while, yeah, it's obviously no Resident Evil 4,
08:11Cold Fear deserved way more than to be a one and done.
08:15This title takes place on a tanker at sea,
08:17which has become infested with zombie-like monsters.
08:21Visually, it still looks pretty impressive to this day as well.
08:24And while the over-the-shoulder combat is a little bit clunky,
08:27it is still serviceable.
08:28I mean, there's a reason that the people who played Cold Fear
08:31still talk about Cold Fear all these decades later,
08:34and that's because it absolutely ruled.
08:36So that's our list.
08:37I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
08:39Did you play any of these horror games or did they pass you by as well?
08:43Let me know and also give me a message if you do decide to check them out.
08:46But in the meantime, could you also please give us a like, share, subscribe
08:49and head over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single day.
08:54Even if you don't though, I've been Josh.
08:55Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you soon.