Summary
The PS3 had a rough start compared to its counterpart, the Xbox 360, but eventually, developers got the hang of creating games for it. When that happened, the hits kept coming between third-party and first-party teams. Let’s take a look at the system’s horror selection. While not the greatesthorror library compared to other consoles, the PS3 still had some bangers for it.
Even if the games weren’t fun to play, they at least had interesting stories to tell or fun characters that made them memorable. So, whether these PS3 horror games were all-around good, or just had good stories to salvage them, they are all worth discussing decades later. There will be no spoilers.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2is not the best game in the series on the PS3 but one could argue it has the best story. It doesn’t focus on an outbreak so much as it does its mystery between two campaigns. Claire gets kidnapped and put on a prison island along with Barry’s daughter Moira and the two have to figure out how to escape.
Barry goes on a mission to find them and winds up partnering with a young girl, Natalia, who looks like she came from the set of some 1600s ghost movie. What’s going on between both parties should keep players glued to the screen throughout.
The Evil Withinwas the first game Tango Gameworks developed after being founded byResident Evilcreator, Shinji Mikami, who took on the director’s role. Instead ofResident Evil,The Evil Withinfelt more brutal and trippy like a cross between Saw and Inception. Sebastian is a detective who goes to investigate a hospital after a massacre.
What he finds inside is gruesome and supernatural as he gets transported to other worlds, turning reality upside down. While some of the twists may seem predictable or thrown out of left field, there’s no denying the memorability the story will have on players, especially during the last act.
Thefirst season of Telltale’s adaptationofThe Walking Deadput them on the map beyond pleasing adventure game fans. The episodic story was gripping, causing fans to be clamoring for the next chapter. It begins with Lee running away from the zombie outbreak, only to stumble upon a young girl, Clementine, who becomes his adoptive daughter of sorts.
While the zombie moments are terrifying given the lack of control options and time-based puzzles, what was truly gruesome in season one were the choices. Every decision made could cause players to have such a wrench in their gut that they felt ill. It’s good storytelling when players feel legitimate sympathy for characters in a video game.
BioShockis a great game, the best in the series, which still holds up from all perspectives. The only thing that may dampen the experience is thetwist at the endwhich won’t be spoiled here. Instead, let’s just say that it was a revelation that no one could have seen coming at the time.
Knowing the twist now with a replay won’t ruin the fun of exploring this dystopian underwater city as it’s just as horrific to explore. It just won’t be as impactful the second time through but players can still appreciate the atmosphere thatBioShockalmost chokes players with as they shoot Big Daddies, twisted tourists, and save Little Sisters who look like they came fromChildren of the Corn.
Catherineis one of the few games that thePersonateamat Atlus madethat wasn’t an RPG. Instead, it’s a light novel mixed with a block puzzle game which is a weird combo to be sure. The main hero, Vincent, is struggling with the idea of marriage with his girlfriend Katherine.
One night, he meets another woman, Catherine, and then starts having nightmares wherein he’s half nude, has sheep horns, and gets chased by horrific monsters. To escape, he has to push blocks around which is not that engaging truthfully but the story is. So while it may not sound exciting or even scary, those who jump in will know the horrors of these pursuing dream demons all too well.
Deadly Premonitionis not a fun game to play pure and simple from any point of view. However, those who persisted with the less-than-stellar controls were rewarded with one of the weirdest horror games of this generation.
Agent Francis York Morgan is a video game treasure and one of the best characters in the medium thanks to his charisma. He’s hard not to like as he is just as bizarre as the murders he’s investigating in this sleepy little town. For those itching for moreTwin Peaksmedia, especially in light ofDavid Lynch’s passing,Deadly Premonitionis a must-play.
The Last of Ushit a peak in video game storytelling in 2013 which the industry is still trying to recover from. It’s odd considering Naughty Dog used a lot of tropes that were done to death at this point. It was yet another zombie game but this time the zombies were caused by an ant-based fungus.
It was a journey across the U.S. with two main characters, Joel and Ellie, which played outLone Wolf and Cubscenario. There were a lot of things going against it from a synopsis point of few but those who played it could hardly put The Last of Us down thanks to the strong relationship between Joel and Ellie, leading to one ofHBO’s most successful showsin a postGame of Thronesworld.
