Few genres age more poorly than horror. Even when the story and scares still hold up, clunky controls, outdated visuals or limited camera movement can turn terrifying moments into frustrating ones. And yet, when done right, a remake can breathe fresh life into a game that was already ahead of its time – giving a whole new generation a reason to stay up at night.
10 Short Horror Games You Can Play in One Night
If a gamer wanted to stack their October to the brim with plenty of short horror games, where would they even start?
Some of thesehorror gemshave been buried by obscurity, some still maintain cult status, and others have long been the subject of remake rumors. But these all have one thing in common: their chilling potential hasn’t yet been fully realized on modern hardware.
6Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
The Game’s Name is a Warning
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Long before P.T. turned psychological horror into a mainstream fascination, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem was playing mind games with players in ways most games still don’t dare to try. Released in 2002 forthe GameCube, it didn’t rely solely on jump scares or grotesque monsters. It introduced a sanity mechanic that actively broke the fourth wall – lowering sanity caused everything from false save deletes to fake volume drops. At one point, it even pretends to switch the channel.
The story spans over 2000 years, jumping between different characters across time periods including Ancient Rome, feudal Cambodia and World War I-era Europe. Despite its Lovecraftian themes, the narrative remains coherent and tightly constructed, linking each protagonist’s fate to an ancient evil that transcends time. The visuals haven’t aged well and neither has the control scheme, but the core concept feels more modern than ever. If there’s one horror game that would benefit immensely from a technical and atmospheric overhaul, it’s this one.
5Condemned: Criminal Origins
The Game’s First Kill Still Haunts the Genre
Before Outlast and Amnesia made hiding popular, Condemned: Criminal Origins was out here making players fight. But the game didn’tmake combat empowering– it made it sickening. Set in the rotting underbelly of a city plagued by violent insanity, the game drops players into first-person brawls with deranged attackers, using anything from pipes to 2x4s as makeshift weapons.
What makes Condemned so haunting is not just the violence, but how it presents it. Enemies scream incoherently, hide in the dark and strike with sudden, bone-crunching intensity. The story leans into forensic investigation, allowing players to piece together evidence at crime scenes using then-groundbreaking crime scene tools. While the facial animations and textures are extremely dated now, the game’s sound design and pacing still hold up. A remake could keep its immersive brutality while sanding off the rough edges that make it less approachable today.
4Parasite Eve
Aya’s Nightmare Wasn’t the Only Thing Mutating
Square’s first M-rated title didn’t pull any punches. Mixing survival horror with a full-blown turn-based combat system, Parasite Eve was both a bold experiment and a genuinely disturbing horror experience. Players took on the role of Aya Brea, a New York City cop who finds herself battling a mitochondria-based mutation that turns people into spontaneous combustion victims, rats into grotesque monsters and, somehow, the Statue of Liberty into a backdrop for bio-terror.
The game’s horror didn’t rely on traditional zombies or gory deaths. It tapped into body horror and medical unease – blending science with something deeply unnatural. The mix of RPG mechanics, inventory management and cinematic cutscenes felt years ahead of its time. While its pacing and movement system show its age, the core design still feels solid. Given Square Enix’s recent success with Final Fantasy VII Remake, there’s no better time to reintroduce Parasite Eve to a world that’s even more fascinated with biotech horror than it was in the ’90s.
3Resident Evil Code: Veronica
the Only Resident Evil Game Still Trapped in the Past
Resident Evil CODE:Veronica
While Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 have all received incredible remakes, Code: Veronica remains the last major classic in the franchise’s golden age that hasn’t been updated. And that’s a shame, because it’s arguably the weirdest and boldest of the bunch. Set in an Antarctic facility and a prison island owned by Umbrella, the game follows Claire and Chris Redfield in a plot that involves clones, cross-dressing psychopaths and the Ashford family’s crumbling legacy.
But beneath its absurd surface lies one of the series’ most dramatic and ambitious story arcs. Claire’s search for her brother gives way to a multi-perspective story that shifts between protagonists, and introduces some of the best boss encounters in the classic RE formula. The fixed camera angles and early 2000s voice acting drag it down today, but a remake could elevate the emotional beats and explore the Ashford twins in a darker, more grounded way. It’s the missing piece in Capcom’s RE remake lineup.
2Dino Crisis
The Only Franchise that is More Extinct Than Dinosaurs
Dino Crisis
Capcom’s Dino Crisis was never aspopular as Resident Evil, but that doesn’t mean it was any less scary. In fact, being hunted through sterile laboratories and overgrown jungle compounds by a hyper-intelligent raptor that learns player behavior made for some of the most nerve-wracking moments of the PS1 era. Regina, the red-haired special forces operative, wasn’t just a palette swap for Jill Valentine either. Her quips, calm under pressure and fast reflexes gave her a presence that stood out.
10 Terrifying Horror Games That Use Your Mic
Don’t let the monsters hear you!
The original 1999 release focused more on puzzles and atmosphere than raw action, with some areas demanding that players navigate pitch-black hallways using a lighter and their memory. Its sequel leaned more toward gunplay but lost some of the suspense. Despite fan campaigns and constant rumors, Capcom has yet to remake or even remaster the game. Considering how far RE Engine has come in depicting lifelike creatures, a modern Dino Crisis could finally give Jurassic Park-level terror the treatment it deserves.
1Silent Hill
It Knows What Scares People – And It’s Not Just Fog
Silent Hill
What makes Silent Hill special isn’t just its setting or the creatures. It’s the way it portrays grief, loss and guilt through every crack in the sidewalk and every unnerving sound in the distance. Released in 1999 for the PlayStation, the original game introduced players to a fog-shrouded town that reacts more to trauma than logic. The darkness feels alive. The sirens signal not just a shift in reality, but in psychology.
Harry Mason’s desperate search for his daughter is simple on the surface but gets stranger and more personal the deeper into town he goes. Everything from the industrial soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka to the deliberately clunky combat adds to the tension. While Konami has announced Silent Hill 2 Remake, the first game still hasn’t been properly redone. Reimagining the original with modern design while preserving its subtle horror could be the reset the franchise really needs – especially after a decade of missed opportunities.
