Halloween 2014: 13 Horrifyingly Terrific Video Games From the Vaults

Video games are known for their ability to immerse players into varied worlds, from medieval fantasy to realistic modern warfare.

However, when horror and games come together, they leave even the bravest of souls sleeping with the light on.

Here is IBTimes UK's list of the 13 best horror games to play this Halloween – but before we dive in, we would like to give honorable mentions to the recent smash hit game Alien: Isolation, because being stalked by an alien who can hear you breathe is never fun, and the playable teaser for the upcoming Silent Hill 4 PlayStation 4 game, which managed to scare the pants off of everyone who played it.

If a little bit of blood and psychological trauma puts you off, then now is the time to look away.

Silent Hill 2

Year: 2001
Platform: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows
What made it so good: The game features some of the most iconic video game enemies ever, such as the Bubble Head Nurses and the infamous Pyramid Head.

Six different endings (including the notorious 'dog' ending) and the use of metaphors and psychological horror have made this game iconic to fans of the genre.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Year: 2010
Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
What made it so good: Throughout the game, the player's sanity is gradually degraded due to unsettling events or being trapped in the darkness for too long. Coupled with having no way of defending themselves from the lurking abominations, Amnesia made sure that every player was on the edge of their seats as they plunged deeper into horrifying psychological madness.

F.E.A.R.

Year: 2005
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows
What made it so good: The player takes up the role of First Encounter Assault Recon's (FEAR's) Point Man, whose superhuman reflexes ostensibly slow down time, making for some spectacular combat moments.

Point Man is on a mission to uncover the secrets of Alma, a terrifying little girl – who bears a striking resemblance to Samara from The Ring – with supernatural powers capable of easily warping minds and taking down a crew of soldiers at the same time.

Slender: The Eight Pages

Year: 2012
Platform: Windows, Mac OS X
What made it so good: The relatively simple mechanics of the game along with various surprise glimpses of the Slenderman as he stalks the player through a dark forest are terrifying. Players were left wondering if the thumping sounds were footsteps following them or the sound of their own hearts beating in their chests.

Manhunt 2

Year: 2007
Platform: PlayStation 2, Windows, Wii, PSP
What made it so good: A gore-filled stealth game hooked on a story of psychological torment, the original version of Manhunt 2 was considered too violent and explicit, and was given an Adult Only (AO) rating in the US and refused classification in the UK. The game was then edited, having its execution scenes blurred and the "brutal killing" scoring system removed.

The US finally gave it a Mature (M) rating, but the UK's BBFC still refused to give the game a classification. After an appeal from the game's developers, Rockstar, Manhunt 2 was eventually given an 18 certificate.

Outlast

Year: 2013
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows
What made it so good: The use of a video camera's night vision to navigate a mental hospital's dark corridors and vents, had players going slightly crazy themselves. Many players have said that they laughed throughout the game, not from having fun, but because they couldn't believe how scared they were.

Alan Wake

Year: 2010
Platform: Xbox 360, Windows
What made it so good: It's more about the plot than the jump scares in this survival horror, which is similar to a TV show and runs over six episodes with cliffhangers and twists. Some may say that the game wasn't really scary, although the reminder of their first encounter with a dark, shadowy axe murderer at the beginning of the game, is enough to give them the shivers.

Haunted Memories

Year: 2013
Platform: Windows 7 or later, Mac OS X
What made it so good: Inspired by the Slender-style survival-horror genre, Haunted Memories is very similar to others in its class. But what makes this free game stand out is the introduction of mannequins in a haunted mansion, which move very quickly to sneak up behind the player while their back is turned.

Players would find themselves dashing for a save point, only to turn around and find a mannequin frozen in time mere moments from killing them.

System Shock 2

Year: 1999
Platform: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
What made it so good: System Shock 2 has been called more disturbing than scary, and many players cite the game's innocent victims turned enemy as the reason. They are known as the cyborg midwives, which had been modified against their will to become half robot and half human.

The verbal threats towards the player such as "The children don't like you", or "I'll tear out your spine", were delivered in such a nonchalant, flat tone, that it was enough to give every player goosebumps.

Alone in the Dark

Year: 1992
Platform: PC-DOS, Mac OS, iOS
What made it so good: The original game in the series was based on the writings of horror author HP Lovecraft, and it was awarded the title "First Ever 3D Survival Horror Game" by Guinness World Records.

The claustrophobic camera angles and intense atmosphere of Alone in the Dark paved the way for future famous survival horror series, such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

Condemned: Criminal Origins

Year: 2005
Platform: Xbox 360, Windows
What made it so good: Condemned focusses on first-person brawler elements and puzzle solving, such as fingerprinting and gathering evidence from crime scenes.

The artificial intelligence displayed by the enemies was hallmark of its time, with foes able to run and hide from the player and set them up for a surprise attack.

Inspirations for the game were taken from the serial killer films Silence of the Lambs and Se7en.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Year: 2002
Platform: GameCube
What made it so good: A unique feature of this game is how it would simulate errors and anomalies on the console and the TV, as the character's sanity gradually depleted. The idea was to affect the player's sanity as well.

Effects would include skewed camera angles, the TV changing volume, and a blue Gamecube "error screen".

Dead Space

Year: 2008
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Windows
What made it so good: This game includes a fantastic storyline and jump-scares galore, as the player fights corpses that have been reanimated into multi-limbed necromorphs.

To make corpses look more realistic in the game, developers studied pictures of real-life car crash victims and war scenes.

Xbox World 360 magazine gave the game 91/100 and described it as a "nail-biting experience".