Vintage Horror Games You May Have Missed
|
The Lurking Horror (1987): A game that has pretty much disappeared in the mists of time. Only probably known to hardcore interactive fiction gamers and devoted fans of Lovecraft. Written by Dave Lebling, one of the innovators of early interactive fiction, best known for the classic adventure game Zork. Despite being a purely text based game, it has been described as one of the scariest games of all time, as well as one of the best text adventures ever. Released on the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum the Amstrad CPC as well as PC and Apple formats. It was later ported across to the Amiga, with the addition of sound effects.
The original game being purely white text of a black screen, the fear that this game instils in its players, comes purely from their own imagination. The scariest place of all. The pure horror of the Lovecraft inspired story is enough to draw players in, and take them on a nightmare through the Cthulhu Mythos. With no idea where the horror is lurking, the stripped down style of the game builds the tension to unbearable levels. Like the moto of the university where the game is set says, "Everything unknown is taken for magnificent." |
|
Sweet Home (1989): One that went under the radar, due to it only being released on the NES and based on a Japanese horror movie of the same name, at a time when both Japanese horror and horror games were no where near as popular as they are today. Considered as one of the earliest examples of survival horror, it was the direct influence on the king of survival horror gaming Resident Evil. In fact Resident Evil was originally developed as a remake of Sweet Home.
The game is a typical RPG style game of the period, where you play 5 characters in a team of documentary film-makers, trapped in a zombie infested mansion. And unlike many games of its type, when a character dies, they die for good. Making for an tense gaming experience. As losing a character means losing their much needed abilities, making the game all the more difficult to complete. The game never made it outside of Japan, and was shelved for release in the United States due to its gore 8-bit content being considered too violent for American gamers. Filled with wonderfully twisted bloody graphics, that even in low-resolution are enough to induce a genuinely creepy and unnerving atmosphere. A game that should be checked out, particularly for place in gaming history as one of the games that spawned a whole genre. |
|
|
The Dark Eye (1995): A game with all the right elements, for a creepy gaming experience, that went almost unnoticed on its release. Based on the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, with an eerie atmosphere created by the stop-motion claymation characters and CGI backgrounds, segments voiced by William S. Burroughs, and music by Thomas Dolby. What you get with The Dark Eye is much more than a simple point-and-click adventure game, it's like playing an experimental arthouse movie. And for that reason, may not be to everyone's tastes.
Another innovation in the game is that you play from different perspectives, both victim and protagonist. The game plays like an interactive puzzle based story, rather than a free movement adventure, in a way similar to other adventure games of the period, like Myst. Moving from plot point to plot point, players are presented with in-game video sequences that make the whole game so disturbing. The claymation characters are grotesque, having an unnerving presence that couldn't have been achieved by pure CGI alone. Shadowy figures, with a grey pallor, and sunken eyes that suck at your soul. Part game, part interactive story-telling experience, The Dark Eye is a game to switch off the lights and let the oppressive atmosphere draw you in, for a horror gaming ride like no other. |
|
I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream (1995): Cyberdreams published this point-and-click adventure game based on the short story of the same name, and was co-designed by the author Harlan Ellison. The aim of the game is to prove that humans are better than machines, through their redemption. Throughout the bleak an unremittingly grim game the player is confronted with ethical dilemmas. The ultimate aim of the game however is to shut down the computer controlling their lives. If the player fails, then the computer transforms the character into a "great, soft jelly thing", so that it cannot harm itself or others, trapped with your dark thoughts forever!
Based on the original post-apocalyptic short story by sci-fi author Harlan Ellison, published in 1967 and winner of the Hugo Award in 1968. It is infamous as being one of the most twisted and nightmare inducing pieces of fiction ever written. A claustrophobic tale of torture and unremitting despair, which translates well into this game, in which you must play through the story of each of the characters who is being tortured by the powerful all knowing and sadistic computer. |
|
|
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School (2001): A rare one from South Korea. Koreans have become highly regarded for their take on the horror genre. In movies, comic books and here in a game that perfectly captures the essence of why many people love the Asian style of horror coming out of Japan and more recently South Korea. This labyrinthine puzzle-solving adventure is set of White Day, the 14th of March, a day equivalent to Valentine's Day in Japanese and Korean culture. Seeing the main character seeking into school to plant chocolates for his secret love, things soon take a dark and malevolent twist.
The game graphics are slightly dated now, but that doesn't take away from the scariness of the game. After its release the developers created patches, to make the game less scary for those players who found it too intense and frightening to complete. Featuring many of the tropes that are now expected in horror gaming, White Day still stands the test of time. A rare find, as it was only released in South Korea. For a country that has a reputation for their obsession with horror and video gaming, it is one that is well worth the effort of checking out. If you do, switch off all the lights, and prepare yourself for a heart-stopping ride. Where hiding in the dark won't save you from the horrors that are lurking in the shadows. |
Xyzzy Is The Magic Word: Adventures In Interactive Fiction - The story of the first ever adventure game, "Adventure", that spawned a new genre in gaming, and a new magic word.
|
Phantasmagoria: Vintage Gore In FMV! - The controversial survival horror adventure game, and one of the first games to use Full Motion Video. Or just a bad b-movie you had to play!
|
Shadow Of The Comet: Spot The Famous Actors Faces - The Lovecraftian based game from 1993, that used real actors images for its characters. Can you spot who they used?
|
Ten Lovecraft Movies You May Not Know - There are plenty of movies out there that are based on or inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Here's a few that you many not of come across.
|