Summary
- Horror games are typically short for maximum scares, making them perfect for a single sitting.
- Clock Tower 3 offers interactivity, holy water, and a well-acted story for a unique horror experience.
- Extermination is like Metal Gear but horror, with limited supplies and upgrades for action lovers.
Horror movies and horror games are tied to rental culture from the 80s, 90s, and onward. Renting a bunch of scary movies and gathering a group of friends or relatives to have a scary movie marathon was a high point in pop culture. While the gathering of friends aspect wasn’t part of horror game rentals, it was fun to rent a horror game for a weekend and then beat it in a single sitting, to replay it a few more times to see extras.
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Horror games are typically short because it is presumably harder to keep up the scares for a longer period. So, let’s highlight some of the shortest horror video games that are fun to beat in a single sitting or day, specifically on the PS2.
8 Clock Tower 3
The End Of An Era
Clock Tower 3
- Released
- March 18, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
- Completion Time: 6-7 Hours
This is the last entry in the series, not counting ports or remasters, and it was also a big departure. This series was known for starring young schoolgirls running from a serial killer known as The Scissorman without a way to fight back, but that was not the case in this entry.
In Clock Tower 3, players got to freely control the heroine, Alyssa, who belonged to a gifted family of paranormal investigators. Alyssa still couldn’t freely vanquish her pursuing killers, but she could stop them briefly with items like holy water, which could be refilled at save points. Boss battles had more interactivity, too, but the best reason to play the game today is the silly but well-acted story for a PS2 game.
7 Cold Fear
Boat-Based Horror
Cold Fear
- Released
- May 17, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Darkworks
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Third-Person Shooter
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS2, Xbox (Original)
- Completion Time: 6 Hours
Cold Fear is one of the rare horror games that Ubisoft published. It takes place on a boat wherein an agent, Tom, is investigating a Russian vessel, wherein he finds the crew taken over by parasitic monsters.
It’s a standard third-person setup, but the weather and water effects on the boat were outstanding for a PS2 game, and it’s one of the more unique settings for a horror game. While it cannot be played on modern consoles, it can be played on Steam and even works on the Steam Deck.
6 Extermination
A Deadly Premonition
Extermination
- Released
- March 8, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Deep Space
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Third-Person Shooter
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
- Completion Time: 6 Hours
Extermination is set in Antarctica and can best be described as a Metal Gear game, but a horror game. A secret team is sent in to investigate a lab that went offline, only to find the researchers transformed into monsters. This extraction team is armed to the teeth, so ammo is never really a problem.
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Also, to keep things light, players only get one weapon, a rifle, but they can upgrade it over time with different parts to alter its powers, like adding grenades or fire to the mix. To balance the ammo situation, monsters are fast, and health supplies are very limited, meaning players have to be extra careful. For those who prefer more action in their horror games, Extermination is well worth it.
5 Michigan: Report From Hell
Getting The Perfect Shot
Michigan: Report from Hell
- Released
- August 5, 2004
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
- Completion Time: 4-5 Hours
Michigan: Report from Hell fits right in with the rest of Grasshopper Manufacture’s games, as it was produced by Suda51. That is to say, the gameplay was experimental and also very weird. It was only released in Japan and Europe, so most North Americans have probably never heard of it. Players assumed the role of a cameraman who was investigating monster breakouts all over the city with a crew.
By pointing the camera at objects, the crew would investigate or, in some instances, shoot at monsters. There was not much combat in the game, as it can be described as a passive experience overall, but Michigan: Report from Hell certainly is unforgettable, with some of the death scenes and dialogue standing out in particular.
4 ObsCure
High School Horrors
Obscure
- Released
- April 6, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS2, Xbox (Original)
- Completion Time: 5-6 Hours
ObsCure was capitalizing on the horror trends of the late 90s and early 2000s by setting it in modern high schools. Fans can think of the game like Final Destination or The Faculty in terms of its visual style and tone.
Five students are trapped in their school, fighting monsters and investigating its mysteries. Players can choose any of the two five characters to play with and swap between them on the fly. They have certain skills, like lock picking, and they can die, altering the story, which makes ObsCure both short and replayable.
3 Onimusha: Warlords
Feudal Survival
Onimusha: Warlords
- Released
- March 14, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- Completion Time: 4-5 Hours
Onimusha: Warlords was a surprisingly short game when it was released on the PS2. Fans may have been surprised when the remaster came out in 2019 in North America that it was so much shorter than perhaps their memories recalled, but thankfully, Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny is longer, almost doubled, and the series only got longer from here.
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Shortness aside, Onimusha: Warlords is a good proof of concept that showed the Resident Evil formula could work with samurai. It had memorable bosses, cool weapons, and didn’t overstay its welcome.
2 Resident Evil: Dead Aim
The Lost Umbrella Chapter
Resident Evil: Dead Aim
- Released
- June 17, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom Production Studio 3
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
- Completion Time: 3 Hours
Resident Evil: Dead Aim is a forgotten entry in the series starring a newcomer, Bruce McGivern, who was sent to investigate Umbrella on a cruise. It’s a light gun, but instead of being on-rails, players could move Bruce around freely, and then they switched to a first-person camera while shooting.
While it doesn’t hold a candle to the best entry on PS2, Resident Evil 4, it is a good breezy afternoon’s worth of fun. It’s not even the shortest game, as Resident Evil: Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica, another light gun experience, can be beaten in about an hour.
1 Silent Hill: Origins
On The Road Again
Silent Hill: Origins
- Released
- November 6, 2007
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Climax Studios
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
- Completion Time: 6 Hours
Silent Hill: Origins, as the name suggests, was a prequel that was released first for the PSP. It made sense to make it shorter because it was built for a handheld, which then got a small upgrade for its PS2 version.
Instead of focusing on a character going to Silent Hill for a specific reason, Travis Grady was a trucker who stopped at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was more combat-focused and didn’t have as many challenging puzzles, but that didn’t make it a lesser experience, as it was still quite creepy.
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