We looked back on 2023 as perhaps the best year in horror video games of all time, and yet, 2024 is looking scary-good, too. The year ahead in horror gaming is full of major series sequels and remakes, tiny indies to look out for, and everything in between. Scare-wise, you've got zombies, ghosts, mutants, twisted takes on Disney, and Killer Klowns, among lots else.
If you're one to turn off the lights, throw on a headset, and dive into something haunting, here's what you can expect to find in 2024 and beyond. Given the frequency with which games are delayed, we've organized this list alphabetically, but we've included release dates and platform availability wherever possible.
A Feral Night
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC
The first game on our list comes from Dan McGrath, the solo horror dev behind last year's incredible alien abduction game, Incident at Grove Lake. When I knew I would be writing this, I reached out to see what's next from McGrath because I've found his projects on itch.io are becoming some of the best modern horror games available. A Feral Night is set in his childhood home and centers around an entity that comes out in the dark, which you must confront. Fans of Skinamarink should take note. He also shared that a second game is in the works. Currently without a title, it focuses on you playing "a Priest sent by the Church to study [a nun's] claims that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the Next Messiah."
Alone in the Dark
Release date: March 20 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
For horror fans who go way back, Alone in the Dark is a familiar name. It's been nearly a decade since the last game in the series, even longer since the last single-player game in the series (2008), and even longer since the last well-received game in the series (2001). The original game goes all the way back to 1992 and this 2024 remake is a modern retelling of that, which allows for a much greater graphical leap than last year's Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remakes.
Bye Sweet Carole
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC
We've just begun, but spoiler warning: This is probably the most visually striking game on this list. Just look at it--amazing. Bye Sweet Carole is a 2D horror adventure game made to look very much like a classic-era Disney animation such as Snow White or Cinderella. That juxtaposition gives the whole project a Grimm's Fairy Tales vibe, so don't be surprised if you can never watch Disney hand-drawn movies the same after Bye Sweet Carole.
Clock Tower
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Another name that goes way back for horror fans is Clock Tower, and for players in the western hemisphere, the re-launch of the original 2D Clock Tower is likely the first chance they've had to play it since the game named Clock Tower that launched on PlayStation in 1997 was actually Clock Tower 2. The true first game in the series, once found on Super Famicom (SNES), is making its debut in many regions later this year. Players can decide for themselves how the horrors have aged in nearly 30 years, but it remains an interesting piece of genre history anyway.
Dead Letter Dept.
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC
Sometimes my colleagues get gently annoyed with my distaste for virtually anything retro-flavored, but I make exceptions for horror games, in which case I think fuzzy, lo-fi scares are actually pretty great. That's why, to me, Dead Letter Dept. looks like one to keep an eye on. It's already got a Steam demo, so you can see for yourself how creepy mail-sorting can be.
Hideo Kojima's OD
Release date: TBA | Platforms: Xbox
We'd be surprised if this one actually launches in 2024, but given rumors swirled for nearly two years before its official reveal in December 2023, and the way it's billed as some kind of game-movie hybrid project, it could be closer than we think. Like a lot of Kojima projects, it's what we don't know that is most fun to speculate about. What is Jordan Peele's involvement? Why did the set for the game's reveal resemble PT's opening scene exactly? Why were the actors in the debut trailer speaking such nonsense? It'll be fun to unravel while we wait.
Hollowbody
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC
If you loved 2022's Signalis for the way it borrowed from PS1- and PS2-era horror games, Hollowbody is one to watch. It's made to look quite like the horror games of that era, complete with fixed camera angles, tricky puzzles, and an emphasis on inventory management. It's also set in a post-Brexit dystopia, so it likely has something more to say than "Boo!"
John Carpenter's Toxic Commando
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
John Carpenter has never been shy about his adoration of video games, so fans of his should rejoice at the news that he's making another one himself. His first game since narrating and consulting on FEAR 3, Toxic Commando is a first-person zombie shooter with, judging by the name, some B-movie antics in play. It comes from Saber Interactive, which has been involved in many past horror projects already, like Evil Dead and World War Z.
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
Joining the increasingly crowded space of licensed horror games comes Killer Klowns, based on the cult classic Chiodo brothers movie from the '80s. Killer Klowns will be played in asymmetrical teams, putting it in the same proverbial bucket as Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Evil Dead, and Dead By Daylight. Given the game's modest stature, the game actually has a chance to be the biggest part of the IP to date.
Little Nightmares 3
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, Switch
After two unsettling entries from Tarsier Studio, the third Little Nightmares game is coming, this time from Supermassive, the horror aficionados responsible for games like Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology, and The Quarry. The debut trailer showed off plenty of, well, nightmare fuel, akin to the first two games, only this time it can all happen in two-player co-op. Maybe that will help reduce the terror, or maybe it'll make things worse when your co-op buddy gets dragged into the shadows.
Luto
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
The tendrils of PT's influence continue to reach out and touch new projects even today, nearly a full decade since the game's surprising debut. Luto is among the latest of the PT-likes, with a haunted house story that's very reminiscent of the once-planned Silent Hill sequel. I played the demo for this once myself and I'm eager to see more once I can.
Pacific Drive
Release date: February 22 | Platforms: PC, PS5
Take a little cosmic horror, a bit of management sim, and set it all in a jalopy embarking on a roguelite trek across the Pacific Northwest, and you have Pacific Drive. This is another that won me over with a demo session, thanks in part to the very hands-on gameplay that demands players maintain their vehicle's usefulness through a series of upgrades and maintenance mechanics as an oddly sci-fi dystopian world seeks to swallow them whole. The vibes are strong and the threats are real in this one.
Paranormal Tales
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC
This bodycam-presented haunted house story went viral on X/Twitter when its first gameplay footage was shown off, partly because it's one of a few different bodycam games that have displayed an incredible level of visual fidelity. We don't know a lot else about the game for now, which has led some to wonder if it's anything more than an eye-catching tech demo, but the developer says a full game is in the works. Its novel perspective could make it a trendsetter in the horror genre.
Reveil
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4
Not the first PT-inspired game on this list, Reveil mixes in a touch of creepy clowns and dark circus with the residential terrors of the PT-like subgenre. That difference could help set it apart from a crowded field of games that may at first resemble it quite closely. If you're down with the (creepy) clown, this could be one for you.
Routine
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One
Routine was previously shown off during an Xbox Games Showcase, giving the indie sci-fi horror a sizable stage to make a good first impression. With a space setting similar to the Nostromo of Alien and No Code's Observation, this one should appeal to players who like slow-burning atmospheric horrors set far away from the safe haven of Earth.
Silent Hill 2 remake
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, PS5
Silent Hill 2 is arguably the game with the most buzz around it, but that buzz has come in a few different varieties. After recent horror remakes have gone well, some players are eager for the next classic to be reborn in a modern context. Others have been dubious that Layers of Fear's Bloober Team is the right studio to reimagine such a classic. The stunning conclusion to this debate should come this year, as the game is pacing to launch before it's over.
Silent Hill F
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
For some Silent Hill fans, it's the oddly-titled Silent Hill F (stylized as Silent Hill f) that is actually the most exciting one. SHF is being made by a team in Japan that includes former Resident Evil devs, and given the series' lineage, it's this one--with its emphasis on music and curiously dark imagery--that has many fans most eager of all upcoming Silent Hill projects.
Silent Hill: Townfall
Release date: TBA | Platforms: TBA
And then there's this one, which comes from No Code, the team behind brilliant horror games Observation and Stories Untold. If those are any indication of what Townfall will be like, players can expect a non-traditional take on the horror hallmark, as the studio has done a lot with adventure-style gameplay that may ignore something like third-person character survival mechanics. But then again, we've seen almost none of it, so only time will tell.
Slitterhead
Release date: TBA | Platforms: TBA
Though it's not a Silent Hill game like the last three on this list, Slitterhead likely still appeals to the same fans, as it's got a vibe to it that's very reminiscent of early-aughts horror games where the ammo was scarce and the monsters were totally f***ed up. It also comes from Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, so it's got a pedigree to it that most games can't boast.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S
The much-anticipated post-apocalyptic wasteland horror-shooter has been delayed a few times due to the team's unfortunate displacement following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but through it all, the studio has led with a determined, at times even defiant, public image as it seeks to complete this major sequel to a game that fans of Metro 2033 shouldn't miss.
Still Wakes The Deep
Release date: 2024 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S
Another indie horror shown off on a big Xbox stage last year, Still Wakes The Deep comes from the team behind Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs (pretty creepy) and Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (not a horror game, but still kind of creepy). For this next game, something weird is going on aboard an oil rig in Scotland during Christmas of 1975, which makes for a novel setting for a scary story. At sea, can anyone hear you scream?
The Casting of Frank Stone
Release date: TBA | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
At the time of writing this, Frank Stone is one of the newest game reveals on this list--it's actually the newest of them all if you don't count the next one below. So there's not a lot we know for sure, other than it takes place within the wider Dead By Daylight universe. However, it comes from Supermassive, so it seems like it could be done in the vein of Until Dawn or another of the team's narrative horror games.
The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered
Release date: January 19 | Platforms: PS5
The Last of Us is now a series with two entries and three remasters, which definitely comes off as odd, but if you somehow missed one of 2020's best games, or are itching to return to it, this PS5-only remaster has a lot to offer, including updated visuals, a new roguelite mode called No Return, and more. If you already own the game on PS4, you can upgrade to this version for $10, too.
The Outlast Trials
Release date: March 5 | Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
The 1.0 launch of the first-ever Outlast multiplayer game coincides with its port to consoles later this year, which should give many more players a chance to see the nauseatingly terrifying series in a whole new light. I played this one for some hours last year during early access, but I'd like to get more time with it to see how I really feel about it--something I intend to do just as soon as I round up three others brave enough to join.
Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.