As video games have enhanced over multiple decades, we’ve seen the capability that these games can reach — not to mention how the gaming community has also grown. Thanks to video games, a variety of creators have been inspired by them. Seemingly, indie developers tend to focus on mixing the world of horror and nostalgia.
Exploring the ins and outs of horror, the creative minds in the community have utilized PlayStation 1 graphics. This style oddly makes these games enticing. The familiar mechanics entertainingly invade our nostalgia by making everything horrifying. In some way, these games feel cursed. They dare you to enter an unfamiliar territory that ultimately sucks you in. With limited movement and lower graphics, it’s interesting how PS1-style horror games accomplish something so frightening.
10/10 No One Lives Under The Lighthouse
Focusing less on jump scares, No One Lives Under the Lighthouse is solely a horrifying slow burn. The game strives to make you nervous and emit fear that slowly creeps up on you. There’s a lot to uncover, despite only having around one to two hours of gameplay.
Regarded as a true Lovecraftian-inspired game, No One Lives Under the Lighthouse was very ambitious. Its chilling atmosphere and the odd plot are strangely remarkable. However, the story itself feels hard to decipher at times. But, from its entertainment factor alone, any interpretation of the game’s story is captivating.
9/10 The Caregiver
Visually flooded with a VHS film aesthetic, The Caregiver follows the story of a caregiver. Watching over an elderly man, we get the chance to get to know him. But, after arriving, it’s clear that there’s something sinister under the surface. This causes you to be unsure whether he’s failing to heal from his disease or if he’s succumbing to something else entirely.
The Caregiver stops at nothing to make you feel like you’re losing your mind. Within a house inspired mainly by Japanese horror films, exploring this elderly figure’s home leads to twists and turns that question your reality.
8/10 The House In The Woods
Largely inspired by The Blair Witch Project, The House in the Woods is a nail-biting horror. Setting you out to find your friend who’s suddenly gone missing, you must travel through the fog and tall trees in hopes of finding them.
Along the way, you realize that you end up being lost yourself. Deep secrets are hidden within this forest, causing you to come across frightening information. Tense and atmospheric, the soundtrack and visual design are incredible. While The House in the Woods is a short game, it’s a game that hits you hard with its explorative terrors.
7/10 The Night Of The Scissors
The murky appearance and mechanics is strangely similar to the first Silent Hill game. Inspired by 80s slasher horror films, The Night of the Scissors takes you through the experience of a man on the run from a maniac. Wielding scissors, this mysterious enemy lurks around every dark corner.
Having barely any means of defense, stealth is your means of survival. The Night of the Scissors takes place in a small, enclosed space, and the playtime takes around 40 minutes. Despite the brevity, this game plays a true homage to what makes 80s slasher films so entertaining.
6/10 Babysitter Bloodbath
What was expected to be a normal night of babysitting turned out to be a night of pure terror. Frantically having you run around the house to do anything to survive, the killer stops at nothing to try and kill you. Babysitter Bloodbath isn’t the easiest, only giving you three chances of being attacked to fully live through the night.
It was originally a video game adaptation of Halloween. But, of course, some elements had to be changed due to legal issues. However, because of its main influence from Halloween, Babysitter Bloodbath is a perfect and short game for any Halloween fan.
5/10 Nun Massacre
Also known as Night of the Nun, this game is known as a lethal version of hide-and-seek. Appearing as a lost PS1 game, Nun Massacre resembles a campy yet horrifying slasher film. Out for blood, there’s nothing that stops the titular nun from capturing you.
The story takes place in a boarding school. After your daughter suddenly falls ill, you go on a trip to save her. But, after entering the building, everything goes wrong as a murderous nun chases you. There are multiple endings, each revealing a unique part of the story. Surviving in Nun Massacre is incredibly hard, but it isn’t impossible.
4/10 The Closing Shift
The Closing Shift centers on a barista trying to close down for the night. Working completely alone, strange customers walk in. They all mention cases of a stalker who hangs around outside the coffee shop. Unsettling events involving the stalker grow until the barista eventually confronts him.
The Closing Shift spends most of its time showcasing the real-life fear of someone constantly watching you — especially in a working environment, where you’re forced to stay and unable to completely ease your anxiety. Throughout this game, you’ll feel helpless as there’s little you can do to keep your safety in check.
3/10 Power Drill Massacre
Created by the one-person developer Puppet Combo, Power Drill Massacre is influenced by survival horror PS1 games and VHS slasher films. When a girl attempts to save her boyfriend, she ends up in a factory seeking assistance. But she’s in for a hell of a time.
Chased by a psychotic killer wielding a power drill, you must find a way to escape without the Drill Killer finding you. Known as a legend among Puppet Combo’s many PS1-style games, the current state of Power Drill Massacre is only the beginning. A fully fleshed-out version of the game is expected by 2023.
2/10 Murder House
Murder House pays an authentic and rightful tribute to classic PS1 horror games. It has reminiscent mechanics, such as a prolonged cutscene as you open each door. When a news crew invades the abandoned home of a serial killer, they get more than they bargained for.
Prepared to kill everyone one by one, the Easter Ripper is a ruthless antagonist. Gory and beyond bloody, the ways he’ll murder you feel inhumane. Including a cinematic camera and tank controls, Murder House is one of the best executions of a PS1-style horror game.
1/10 Bloodwash
Playing Bloodwash is reminiscent of watching a low-budget horror movie during a sleepover. With compelling characters and an Italian-horror-inspired plot, this first-person game makes you nervous even to look around. The protagonist, Sara, is a pregnant college student who has to do her laundry in a deadly quiet laundromat.
However, she later comes to realize that she must escape the lethal grasp of a serial murderer out to only kill pregnant women. Overall, Bloodwash is a great time killer and allows you to explore the entire haunting world created before you. After the credits roll, this game sticks with you for months.
