The horror genre has been around for as long as games have been in the mainstream, since the first creature crawled on screen when you least expected it. It comes as no shock that it’s such a popular genre, everyone loves a good scare once in a while.
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While they’ve been a part of every generation, horror games from the original PlayStation console are often overlooked compared to others. Quite a few great horror games can be found on the PS1, some that still brings frights to your screen and others that paved the way for what horror games are today.
Sometimes horror games like to balance out the scares with a bit of humor too. That’s where games like Evil Dead: Hail To The King come in.
Just like the cult-classic movie franchise, there are plenty of blood and one-liners in this campy undead-fighting game. Whether it’s in the series' synonymous cabin or in the woods that surround it, you’ll be chainsaw swinging and shotgun shooting the undead left and right. It may not be the most horrifying game, but it’s horror at its most light-hearted.
9Nightmare Creatures 2
Being a monster hunter isn’t a life for the weak-hearted. Nightmare Creatures 2 is well named as there’s plenty to be scared of in this title.
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Gothic London, an evil man and his army of mutants, armed with your axe you’re ready to take it all on. It’s a surprisingly good revenge story on top of a pretty creepy monster-horror game. This is one of those hidden gems of the PS1 era that you either love or you hate, but either way you can easily see how games have built off this title since.
8Dino Crisis 2
Time travel, dinosaurs, and everything else in between;Dino Crisis 2is a game that lives and breathes the PS1 era of gaming.
Dinosaur themed horror isn’t as common as some other sub-genres, but this game etches out its place as a theme to be reckoned with. Hordes of hungry dinosaurs hassle you at every turn. It doesn’t take long at all to realize getting back to the present time isn’t going to be an easy one. But it will be an adventure to remember.
7Overblood
Overblood was a big name in horror games for the time it came out. The graphics and plot were pretty cutting edge for the PS1 era.
It’s still worth looking back at too. It’s one of the first games that really bridged the gap between horror and science fiction, and one that focused on the setting too to help bring fear into the player’s mind. You know anytime there’s genetic experimenting going on in a horror game then you’re about to start a wild ride, and this game is no exception.
6Mizzurna Falls
There are plenty of gamers out there who hold Japanese horror games close to their hearts, and many of them will have fond memories of Mizzurna Falls.
Isolation horror is definitely at play in this game set in the titular snowy American town. It starts off simply enough, a local teenager seems to be missing. But, it doesn’t take long at all for the game to get all kinds of creepy. The townsfolk don’t seem to helpful, and the more you unravel, the more questions you’ll have.
5Clock Tower
Clock Tower is a simple side scrolling game the likes of which were common for the PS1. It is however, a game that is uniquely creepy.
Your character has recently been adopted by a wealthy family to live with them in their mansion, unfortunately the sinister Scissor Man has killed most of your adoptive family. Now you must travel the mansions many halls and avoid the killer, not to mention while trying to solve the mystery of why he’s hunting you in the first place.
4Koudelka
Horror video games sure do love creepy mansions, as you’re able to see in Koudelka especially. The Nemeton Mansion may be luxurious, but it’s also deadly.
Your protagonist has been drawn there by a mysterious figure, and it’s within those walls that she must search for clues to figure out what’s going on there. The mansion doesn’t take kindly to strangers though, even invited ones. This is a game that still holds up quite well in the horror genre, even after all these years.
3Alone In The Dark: The New Nightmare
Alone In The Darkhas been a cult classic for horror fans for decades now. This has lead to many sequels, remakes, and even movies.
The New Nightmare is one of the foundational gamesfor the series. You know it’s going to be a good horror game when the setting you’re sent to is called Shadow Island. True enough, this game still doesn’t disappoint for fans of the horror genre. Even if you don’t find yourself interested in the rest of the series, this is a great stand-alone game.
2Resident Evil
Everyone knows theResident Evilseries. It doesn’t matter if you’re a horror fan or not, you’re sure to have seen clips from one of the many gamesor movies now.
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Why not see where it all begin with the first Resident Evil game? It has everything you could ever want in a horror game. Creepy mansion, city full of zombies, bioengineered horrors, puzzles, and memorable characters aplenty. There are plenty of gamers that will talk fondly for hours about their first experiences in Resident Evil.
1Silent Hill
you may’t talk horror on the PS1 without talking aboutSilent Hill. It’s a game that has become practically a household name in horror gaming.
This game is a powerhouse as far as horror goes. You never feel safe, always having low resources and in unfamiliar terrain, you’re always just waiting for the fog to roll in and one of the horrific creatures to come shambling forwards. Speaking of monsters, no one who knows horror is unable to recognize Pyramid Head on sight. That’s how synonymous this game is with horror.
