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When it comes to new horror games, there’s always a time of feast and famine, and this past year we’ve grown until our bellies are full and our mouths are dangerously greasy. In 2024, we received many dark experiences from independent producers, indie groups, AA producers and AAA studios in a wide range of colors and visual styles. There was an interesting one Silent Hill 2 re-edit and add updates to modern classics like Phasmophobia, Alan Wake 2 and Final Trialsand there was also an influx of new horror games expanding the genre in unexpected ways.
First, let’s take a moment to celebrate some of the hottest new universities of the year. In 2024, we had the following new titles:
This is not a list of the most dangerous new products in 2024, but it is a fair demonstration of the number and variety of offerings this year. Indie studios lead the way when it comes to new concepts and original mechanics, about Yesbut there are also plenty of references to old 2000s graphics and PS1- or PS2-era survival horror in this series. The new combination with the nose is especially successful in roles like Fear the Light, The Land of the Crow, Mouthwash and Hollowbody. The game infuses blocky 3D worlds with modern concepts and animations, resulting in an experience that evokes lasting memories of Resident Evil and silent Hill what lurks in our heads. This is how we want the game to feel, fixed camera angles gone – or, if Hollowbodya loving embrace.
We should also note that Fear the Light marks the debut of horror film maker Blumhouse as a video game publisher. Fear the Light is the first release in the Blumhouse series – which includes future titles from EYES OPENHalf Mermaid, Perfect Garbage, Playmestudio and Vermila Studios – and it’s a great exploration of teenage drama and horror. The horror game revolution is upon us and Blumhouse is about to get a piece.
The least dangerous game above would be Kunitsu-Gami: The Path of the Goddessand it also happens to be the only title from a AAA studio. I’ve included it because, as a dedicated horror game fan, I think so Kunitshu-Gami ticks a lot of boxes: It features giant, hideous demons and a murderous gore that covers entire towns with skeletal but incredibly sweet things. His monster designs feature scenes of lechery and physical horror, and there’s comfort to be found in his laid-back style of play. Kunitshu-Gami It’s not marketed as horror, and it has as many beautiful images as it does grotesquerie, but I wholeheartedly recommend it to any horror fan. I think you will be very surprised.
LOOK is another legacy that focuses on the horror, camp and cult genres, but contains a number of very scary images. Plus, the real devil is your best friend throughout the game, and that has to count for something. In the midst of sad events, violence and destruction, LOOK it’s a laugh riot, and it’s a classic example of serious themes handled well in video games. An additional folding version of 2024 is Simogo Lorelei and Laser Eyes. It has a very satisfying set of scenes in a hotel made of secrets – but the visuals get lost along the way, there’s a corpse in the back garden and every scene drips out of control. Lorelei and Laser Eyes it’s one of the best and least fun games of the year, period.
They still evoke the Deepthis time, they provide a familiar and beautiful symbol of monster-stalking fear on oil rigs in the middle of the angry North Sea. It’s a must-play game for any horror fan, serving as a vessel for The Chinese Room to demonstrate its ability to build virtual worlds and develop a never-ending tension with the fringes of the paranormal. Plus, it’s one of the best-looking games I’ve played on PS5 all year. Slitterhead is another one of those horror flicks out there, portraying a supernatural mystery in a Hong Kong genre filled with body-snapping demons, buckets of blood and close-up gruesome combat.
The year started with the release of Home Safety Hotlinea 1990s social media simulation where players help identify and treat household pests, including global threats such as Bed Teeth, Fae Flu, The Horde, Laundry Gnome, Mirror Nymph, Toilet Hobb, Unicorn Fungi and others . Home Safety Hotline it was actually a horror game thriller for 2024 – and Mouthwash and dessert.
All dangerous children these days they are playing Mouthwasha multi-limbed first-person character walks aboard a ship full of people about to be destroyed, watched over by a smiling crippled pilot with a bandage. Mouthwash it’s strange and claustrophobic, and it’s the perfect way to end the year in horror games.
But we haven’t talked about existing franchises. The Silent Hill 2 update from Bloober Team, the Polish studio behind the Fear Matrix is Blair Witchit was a huge success, even in the face of certain standards from fans of many years. The remake looks and feels like the game that players remember, it just spits them out and is smooth, too Silent Hill 2 It remains as dangerous in 2024 as it was in 2001. Maybe even more so. The Bloober team had a lot to prove with this one, and it turned us into serious Millennial gamers.
Alan Wake 2 he was one of the best games of 2023, horror or not, and it received two important sets of DLC this year: Night Springs it arrived in June and His house they stayed in October. Everything inside not only brings the hellish world of Alan Wake to life, but adds depth to the universe that Remedy is building between Control and Alan Wake. I personally always want more Alan Wake, and in this regard, 2024 did not disappoint.
Two live indie games, Final Exams and Phasmophobiahave also seen significant changes in the past 12 months. After my early entry in May 2023, Final Exams studio Red Barrels has been working to establish a strong streak of new products, and this year they really hit the ground running. Final Exams was fully launched in March 2024 and has received several updates since then, introducing new enemies, maps, game modes and temporary events to players trapped in the secretive Murkoff Corporation Sinyala Facility. The amount of work Red Barrels puts it in there Final Exams it’s endless fun, especially considering there are about 65 designers at the studio.
Phasmophobia they have a smaller team than Red Barrels, but they are traveling a lot. Staff at UK studio Kinetic Games kept it Phasmophobia has been alive since the launch of Steam in September 2020, and this year, they brought a ghost hunting game to console. Phasmophobia hit PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 29th, and it also came to PS VR2. Kinetic Games has big plans to continue to support and grow Phasmophobia in 2025 and beyond, so even if the release of the console took place four years after its launch, this is just the beginning.
So there you have it – our lowdown on horror games in 2024. It’s been twelve months of indie art and adventure, with lots of updates and big changes. Some new horror games push the boundaries of the genre, expanding our understanding of what horror is and why, while others find new ways to dedicate themselves to the classics. It’s a matter of modern cuisine versus comfort food, and on my plate, there’s plenty of room for both.
