Just like in movies and TV, horror games have been around in games ever since the beginning, spawning some of the biggest franchises in the medium. Whether it’sSilent Hill,Dead Space,Amnesia, orResident Evil, there are tons of big-name games that bring the scares to varying degrees of complexity and atmosphere. Even in2021, a year that many believed was awesome for horror game fans, the genre is alive and well among some of the other most popular genres in games.
On all levels of gaming, from independent developers, to AA and AAA studios and publishers, tons of horror games and horror-adjacent games impressed fans this year. The bigger examples likeResident Evil VillageorHouse of Ashes, paired with indie games likeLittle Nightmares 2orInscryption, altogether brought additions to the horror genre that fans loved for different reasons. There’s a promising future ahead for the genre, and 2021 certainly showed that there’s a place for all kinds of scary games.
RELATED:A Crossover Fighting Game With Horror Movie Monsters Could Be Great
Existing Horror Franchises Continue To Impress
Perhaps the most interesting examples of the best horror games in 2021 are some of the mainstay franchises, still iterating to this day.Resident Evil Villageis the prime example of this; the franchise made a significant change withResident Evil 7, andResident Evil Villagecarried that tradition while harkening back to previous entries as well. Capcom producer Peter Fabiano mentioned the game wasborrowing inspiration fromResident Evil 4, which is pretty clear in the setting and gameplay design as well.
House of Ashes, the third entry in the supposed eight-game-long horror game series, continues the series' ambitious stretch with a similarly successful entry. Regardless of whether or notThe Dark Pictures Anthologymeets the same acclaim asUntil Dawn,House of Ashesstill shows the series of games is still going strong.House of Ashescarried a similar degree of intensity asUntil Dawn, and even if it never reaches quite the same balance between thrilling and campy, it’s still a compelling entry in the series. WithThe Devil in Meset to end the first season of theAnthology,House of Ashescontinues to move the series along at a good pace.
Another surprise wasFatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water Remasteron Switch, a notoriously mediocre Wii U game that was recently remastered for modern consoles. Even if this wasn’t the most popular entry in theFatal Framefranchise, franchise producer Keisuke Kikuchi hopes and believes that this recent remaster could lead toa new entry in theFatal Framehorror franchise. Fans do considerFatal Frameto be generally underrated,Maiden of Black Waterincluded, but a new entry could help remedy that.
There’s also some horror-adjacent experiences, likeMetroid Dread, where elements of horror are injected in existing foundations. However, the mainline horror experiences like these (and others) have a bright future ahead of them, assuming 2021 is an indication of the future of existing horror franchises.
2021’s New Horror IPs Impress
2021 also brought plenty of new horror IPs into the genre as well; totally new horror experiences varying in inspiration from other horror games, or other horror media in general.The Mediumis the prime example of a completely new IPfrom a developer that’s cut their teeth on horror games such asLayers of Fear,Blair Witch, and the recently remastered psychological horror gameObserver. Many thought the short-but-sweet survival horror experience weaved an interesting narrative, something many want Bloober Team to bring to aSilent Hillsequel at some point. That being said,The Mediumwas an impressively scary game that kicked off the year’s horror offering.
There’s also some of the horror-adjacent games that came out in 2021, which didn’t necessarily innovate or iterate on the genre in a formative way, but were steeped in horror roots. To some extent,Returnalfalls under that category: The game is a roguelike first and foremost, but the elements of storytelling where Selene explores Atropos' trippy flashback sequences emulate games likeP.T.with its first-person segments.Back 4 Bloodis another title that is horror-adjacent, even if its ties to horror aren’t exactly conventional.Back 4 Bloodis an entertaining and light-hearted horror experience that’s moreso thrilling than scary in any particular way.
RELATED:Best Horror Games to Play on Switch This Halloween
Bright Future for Horror Games Beyond 2021
Of course, Indie games are where the horror genre tends to see the most growth, with experimental and ambitious titles exploring various ways to push the envelope of the horror genre.Little Nightmares 2continued its side-scrolling and platforming horror successby upping the ante with grander bosses and more challenging environments to navigate.Inscryptionwas an experimental deck-building horror game that subverted players' expectations with its unsettling narrative and constantly shifting mechanics.In Sound Mindpresented a comparatively lighter mystery that forced players to utilize all tools at their disposal to solve its secrets.
Plus, there’s plenty of future horror titles that fans are looking forward to as well.Scorn,The Outlast Trials,Martha is Dead,Quantum Error, and more are all unique horror experiences coming in the near future, all with different approaches to the genre. Even if these games aren’t coming in 2021, there’s still a bright future ahead for horror game fans, as the genre largely impressed this year. So long as horror games continue to iterate and improve upon another,there’s plenty of scary gamesto look forward to after this year.
