Best Survival Horror Games That Aren't Too Scary

The survival horror genre is known for its elements of resource management, limited saves, and unsettling atmospheres that often immerse players in their dark and creepy environments by making them feel consistently vulnerable. Games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill are staples of the genre, featuring hallmark mechanics of the survival horror genre.

Related

Best Survival Horror Indie Games

There are plenty of smaller, indie games that scratch that spooky survival horror itch. From Darkwood to Signalis, here are the best of them.

Posts

By  Harry Ted Sprinks

While not every survival horror game is the scariest of experiences, players who scare easily are likely to bounce off of certain titles. However, there are a handful of great survival horror experiences that dial down the horror, usually in favor of action. As a result, these games tend to sacrifice authenticity for accessibility, allowing non-horror fans to enjoy survival horror gameplay.

5 Dino Trauma

FPS Survival Horror Inspired By Dino Crisis

Taking heaps of inspiration from the iconic Dino Crisis, Dino Trauma is a 90s-inspired first-person shooter that features a retro aesthetic and gameplay to match. While its gameplay and visuals may be a bit rough around the edges, it's certain to offer a nostalgic experience for Dino Crisis fans. Dino Trauma is a relatively action-packed game, taking equal inspiration from games like Turok, but the survival horror influence is also clear as day, with enemy ambushes and somewhat limited ammunition.

Dino Trauma isn't the scariest game, though; despite scattering a few mild scares throughout its levels, the game is a largely mild experience. Furthermore, the gameplay features some arcade aspects, such as a combo meter and damage numbers, that steer it further from the horror genre. However, this makes Dino Trauma tremendously accessible, both as a retro FPS and as a survival horror game.

4 DOOM 3

An Action Game That Polarized Fans With Survival Horror Elements

DOOM 3 is arguably closer to action horror than survival horror, but it still maintains a combination of survival and horror in its gameplay. Players will still have to manage their ammo — especially when playing the original version of the game from 2004 — but they're unlikely to be left without a weapon to shoot. DOOM 3 isn't the scariest survival horror game, either, but it features plenty of nasty creatures and spooky, dark hallways that are sure to thrill without urging players to turn off the game.

What allowed DOOM 3 to feel closer to survival horror than typical DOOM FPS action was its addition of laborious reload animations and slow movement speed (both uncharacteristic of DOOM), which often make the player vulnerable to enemy attacks. This, along with DOOM 3's infamous flashlight (forcing players to put away their weapon in order to see in dark spaces) makes for a relatively constant sense of dread. However, thanks to the game's focus on action, it never gets close to the scares of survival horror staples.

3 Resident Evil 4

A Survival Horror Game That Focuses On Action

The original Resident Evil 4 was a stand-out entry in the Resident Evil franchise thanks to its innovative over-the-shoulder gameplay and focus on action. Despite being an action-packed experience, Resident Evil 4 still included the cornerstones of survival horror in its design, with limited resources, designated save rooms, and hard-hitting enemies working to make the player feel vulnerable throughout the game.

Although the opening sequence of Resident Evil 4 comes close to being scary, providing a memorable set-piece to start the game, the scares are few and far between as the player progresses. The B-movie narrative and exaggerated dialogue between characters is also more up front than previous Resident Evil games, which makes the villains far less scary.

2 STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl

An Immersive Experience That Focuses On Survival Over Horror

STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl is a niche, at-times inaccessible, and extremely rough-around-the-edges experience that tasks players with exploring the dangerous environments of the "Zone," battling mutated creatures and bandits as they try desperately to stay alive. STALKER features RPG mechanics, horror elements, and survival gameplay that has players managing their resources carefully as they explore the Zone. Limited ammunition and health drops, deadly gunfights, and horrifying monsters all work to create an unsettling experience that combines survival and horror in unique ways.

Related

8 Best Survival Horror Games Only On PC

Survival Horror games deliver some of the most satisfying (and hair-raising) experiences in gaming.

Posts

By  Harry Ted Sprinks

STALKER is, however, more intense than it is scary. There are some unsettling locations and, as mentioned, some creatures that players may find frightening, but STALKER's inaccessibility comes from its rough edges rather than its horror. STALKER is a one-of-a-kind experience and can be tremendously immersive, making it a game worth playing for those that enjoy the survival and vulnerability aspects of the survival horror genre more than the horror itself.

1 Alan Wake 2

A Cinematic Survival Horror Masterpiece With An Unsettling Tone

This cinematic survival horror experience from Remedy Entertainment (of Max Payne fame) takes players on a wild ride from the perspective of two distinctive characters. Alan Wake 2's greatest strengths are arguably its visuals and overall presentation, which blends live-action and in-engine cutscenes with richly detailed environments and dynamic lighting to great effect. Fans of Remedy Entertainment games looking for a survival horror experience will almost certainly get a kick out of Alan Wake 2, as it blends Remedy's love for supernatural horror with light survival horror gameplay that gives players just enough room to breathe.

In terms of horror, Alan Wake 2 leans hard on its consistently creepy atmosphere and sci-fi thrills, coupled with a few admittedly killer jump scares. The survival horror gameplay is clear and present, limiting the player's health and ammo pick-ups while inhibiting the player's ability to save outside of designated rooms. Thanks to its focus on an unsettling, eerie atmosphere, Alan Wake 2 offers a horror experience that's closer to a sci-fi thriller than pure horror, allowing it to be accessible to those that scare easily.

MORE

Survival Horror Games With The Best Graphics

Survival horror games, whether they're using state-of-the-art or retro graphics, can nail their atmospheres when designed properly.

Posts

By  Harry Ted Sprinks