Editorials
25 Games That Horror Fans Should Look Forward to For the Rest of 2019
The business end of the year is upon us, and that means the steady trickle of games turns into a roaring avalanche once again. For horror fans there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the rest of 2019, (August alone is chock full). In the gaming world, it’s especially healthy in that department, with plenty of flavors of horror and horror-related titles worth investigating between now and the end of the year.
So we decided to highlight some of those titles here. Blockbuster adventures, mind-bending terror, classic cRPGs, tough as nails action, sci-fi strategy, and more await you for the rest of 2019. So what’s your particular poison?
Remnant: From the Ashes (Gunfire Games) Format: PS4, Xbox One, PC – Out: August 20
This third-person survival action shooter heads to a post-apocalyptic world (yes, another one), but rather than zombies and nuclear war, Remnant looks closer to Hell on Earth, and finds you and up to two pals battling against rock hard monsters and intimidating bosses as you try to scrape and struggle your way to survival.
The mix of challenging action RPG combat with survival mechanics is an intriguing blend, and the monster design looks pretty good too. It won’t be long until we find out just how well this mix holds together.
Control (Remedy) Format: PS4, Xbox One, PC – Out: August 27
Remedy’s trippy new title Control has grabbed the attention of the gaming community, and has shot higher and higher up the most-wanted lists of many a gamer.
It’s certainly looking like a visual spectacle, and with the team behind the beloved Alan Wake working on it, Control could well be one of the year’s standout titles. It’s looking decidedly creepy too, so that helps!
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan (Supermassive Games) PS4, Xbox One, PC – August 30
Until Dawn is a favorite at Bloody Disgusting, so Supermassive Games returning to that formula was always going to be welcome with us, but it’s what that has become in Man of Medan that really excites us.
Firstly, Man of Medan is the opening salvo in an eight-game horror anthology series called The Dark Pictures (complete with a host linking each installment), utilizing all the gleeful interactive horror adventure goodness found in Until Dawn’s formula. Secondly, there’s multiplayer for every game, and if our time with it back in July is anything to go by, it’s going to add so much.
Blair Witch (Bloober Team) Xbox One, PC – August 30
E3 2019’s nicest horror-flavored surprise was undoubtedly that of Bloober Team (Layers of Fear, Observation) revealing it was making a game based in the world of the Blair Witch.
Bloober’s twisty-turny, mind-bending horror games show it can handle the disorientating power of getting lost in the woods, but such open environments are certainly a fresh challenge for the Polish developer. It would be great to celebrate The Blair Witch Project‘s 20th anniversary with a brand new Blair Witch game that isn’t as messy and awkward as previous attempts.
Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Capcom) PS4, Xbox One – September 3 (PC TBA)
An expansion so gigantic that it should be hunted down and made into fetching armor like its many monsters, Iceborne is going to open up Monster Hunter World to new snowy terrain and a slew of frosty foes.
It’s cited as being almost as large as the base game, so that’s to be expected, and with that selling close to 13 million copies on its own, Iceborne could further boost the game’s enduring popularity.
Gears 5 (The Coalition) Xbox One, PC – September 10
The Coalition has the opportunity to make Gears of War relevant again, but it is admittedly a tough job given we’re at the end of a console generation and the last two entries in the series have, without being terrible, dulled enthusiasm for the series.
Still, Gears 5 does look like a bit more of a refresh than Gears of War 4 did, so maybe this can be the reset one of Microsoft’s biggest franchises needs.
Borderlands 3 (Gearbox) PS4, Xbox One, PC – September 13
It feels like forever since Borderlands 2, and the relatively short wait we now have for Borderlands 3 still feels like too long. There’s a need for more vividly-colored loot-shooting goofiness right now, and a month is way too long for that.
Games have changed a fair bit even in the seven years since the last full game in the series, so Borderlands 3 will have to offer something unique to appeal to the masses. Perhaps its strength is the fact it isn’t quite like all that many modern shooters. We shall soon see.
Devil’s Hunt (Layopi Games) PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch – September 17 (PC Only)
It’s not exactly a novel concept. A hack n’ slash action game where good and evil fight (Devil May Cry, Bayonetta), but those games never let you fight demons in Miami so Devil’s Hunt has that going for it.
In seriousness, Devil’s Hunt could turn out pretty well. It’s pulled its story from the novel of the same name, and you’re able to choose between siding with the angels or the demons. It would be great to have such a typically Platinum Games style title come from a different developer and succeed, so here’s hoping Devil’s Hunt‘s PC release goes well.
Baldur’s Gate I, II, Siege of Dragonspear/Icewind Dale/Planescape Torment (Overhaul) PS4, Xbox One, Switch – September 24
A whole host of classic cRPGs are coming to consoles, ready to consume your spare time for the foreseeable future. In fact, there’s probably enough hours of classic goodness here to avoid the horrors of reality for the rest of the year, especially if you grab them on Switch. Tempting.
If you fancy seeing what the fuss is all about with the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape, then you’ve got a great opportunity here. The hard part will be picking which one to play first.
Code Vein (Bandai Namco) PS4, Xbox, One, PC – September 27
The ‘Dark Souls‘ model for action RPG titles is a tough one to master, and Code Vein comes in after From Software themselves reworked that model for the sublime Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Luckily for Code Vein it has its own style, with a cyber-vampire anime aesthetic that helps it stand out next to its Bandai Namco stablemate. It just needs to provide something a bit different in its gameplay too and it’ll do well.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (Saber/Mad Dog) PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch – October 4
A surprising remaster in many ways, but a most welcome one. Ghostbusters: The Video Game is back on consoles ten years after its initial release, and has had the slime wiped off its jumpsuit, and given a nice little visual cleanup.
The most interesting thing about this is that it’s technically a sequel to the first two films, and yet it may be made non-canon by the events of the forthcoming cinematic sequel. So it’s a good chance to experience it while it still counts.
The Outer Worlds (Obsidian) PS4, Xbox One, PC – October 25 (Switch TBC)
Fallout fans who have lamented the increasing distance between what that series was and what it has become, have naturally latched onto The Outer Worlds, an RPG from Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment.
You can see why. The Outer Worlds looks like the spiritual successor to the popular New Vegas, especially in how it embraces player choice. While there’s plenty of excitement for it, there’s a good chance it could be one of the surprise hits of the year.
MediEvil Remake (Other Ocean) PS4 – October 25
MediEvil was a game that had been begging to be thrust into the modern era of horror gaming. That Tim Burton-esque charm made it an underappreciated hit on the original PlayStation, and now, we are just a short while away from Other Ocean Emeryville’s remake arriving on PS4 in time for the spookiest time of the year.
It will be interesting to see how Other Ocean has rebuilt a 21-year-old title from the ground up, but hopefully, it has captured the spirit of the original in doing so.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 (Next Level) Nintendo Switch – October 31
Horror gaming doesn’t have to be all blood, guts, and torture. Family-friendly horror is just as important, and Luigi’s Mansion 3 looks set to be an endearingly spooky fun time for all.
Luigi is back hoovering up spirits, and cowering around darkened hallways, but this time on the Nintendo Switch. Here’s hoping it makes for a Halloween treat.
Death Stranding (Kojima Productions) PS4, PC (Release TBC) – November 8
By the time Hideo Kojima’s first post-Metal Gear game arrives in November, it’ll have been over four years since his exit from Konami, and for all we do know about Death Stranding, we still know very little about it.
Proof is usually in the pudding with Kojima’s titles, so if we get anything close tot he near-perfect gameplay mechanics of MGSV, and throw in the utter unbridled narrative lunacy of MGS2 then it’ll have been worth the wait.
Doom Eternal (Id Software) PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch – November 22
Just typing the words Doom Eternal causes thuddingly loud heavy metal to start playing in my head, so playing the actual game for longer than our recent hands-on preview will probably finally deafen me into oblivion.
Look, it’s more Doom, probably even better than 2016’s revival, and I’m already contemplating investing in better headphones. Safe to say this is a game I’m very excited for, and so should you be.
Phoenix Point (Snapshot Games) Xbox One, PC – December
Firaxis doesn’t appear to be so much as teasing a new XCOM game anytime soon, so original X-COM creator JUlian Gollop’s Phoenix Point has looked like filling the turn-based alien-slaying gap nicely. It looks to have deeper strategy and tactical combat than XCOM too, so Gollop could end up usurping the franchise he created in the 90s.
It suffered a delay, unfortunately, pushing back its release from September to December, so I guess it’s back to the 133rd run on XCOM 2 in the meantime.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition (CD Projekt Red) Nintendo Switch – 2019
That The Witcher 3 is actually going to be on the Switch is pretty remarkable, and I’m sure fans wanting a portable version of what is considered a game of the generation will be willing to take a bit of a technical hit.
It remains to be seen quite how much of a hit that is, but it’s still weirdly enticing to think of having Geralt wading through a bog, dumping on foes with destructive magic while you’re on the bog, dumpi…
Those Who Remain (Camel 101)PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch – Late 2019
This game finally nabbed a publisher recently, so the vague release window may yet come into clearer focus, and we certainly hope so because Those Who Remain has our interest.
Those Who Remain places you in an up-close, psychological horror story set in the sleepy town of Dormont – a town wrapped and warped by darkness and the deeds of its citizens. As the disturbed John Edward Turner, the player will be confronted with a test of Turner’s sanity, morality and the shadows of evil that lurks below.
Maneater (Tripwire) PC – 2019
Killing Floor 2 developer Tripwire has put blood in the waters of excitement with early impressions of its Shark RPG Maneater, and we gladly took the bait.
While no set release date is there yet, we’re still hoping to chomp our way through the game’s open-world before the year is out.
Black Mesa: Xen (Crowbar Collective) PC – 2019
Half-Life may be dead/forever dormant in Valve’s hands, but at least we’re finally getting to go back to Xen. No, wait, come back! It’s a good thing this time! Crowbar Collective’s Half-Life remake Black Mesa looks set to finally be complete with the Xen update set to appear on PC before the year is out.
The much-maligned portion of the original game is reportedly going to be much improved, and it’ll be nice to see how the whole game fits together after all this time. The beta recently arrived so there’s a glimpse at what will be if you want it.
On to Half-Life 2 after that then, hey guys? You’ll probably get Episode 3 finished before Valve announces Half-Life 3 anyway.
What games are you looking forward to for the remainder of the year? Let us know.
College kids, strippers and vampires—those were Donald P. Borchers’ only requirements when he approached Richard Wenk about writing and directing a movie for New World Pictures. As requested, Wenk cooked up Vamp (1986), a tailor-made blend of the decade’s teen movie craze as well as its horror boom.
Grim and earnest stories were still very much a part of the ’80s horror landscape, yet Vamp is something of a comedy. One difference between it and, say, Saturday the 14th, though, is the former avoids using schtick. Wenk’s movie proves that horror comedies also don’t have to subtract thrills from their recipes. Of course, it takes a minute before reaching that point; college antics and culture shocks preface this one macabre misadventure.
Vamp‘s initial setup is apt for a typical college-set, sex-driven comedy; to bribe their way into a fraternity house, two pledges (Chris Makepeace, Robert Rusler) go looking for some adult entertainment. Without wasting time on any further exposition, the characters embark on an all-in-one-night trip that quickly detours into terror.
To procure their elusive MacGuffin—a stripper willing to gyrate for some frat boys—Keith (Makepeace) and AJ (Rusler), plus a third wheel named Duncan (Gedee Watanabe), trade the safety of their remote college campus for the seediness of some unnamed city. The setting is recognizably L.A. by day, but as soon as night falls, downtown, along with the characters, slips into a kind of surreal universe. Director of photography Elliot Davis gave this early entry on his prolific résumé an unusual yet distinctive look; that Mario Bava-esque, magenta-green lighting is omnipresent, so much so that it’s almost its own character.
Chris Makepeace and Robert Rusler in Vamp
The faint comparisons to Martin Scorsese’s After Hours are merited, although not just because of Vamp’s distinguishing nighttime aesthetic. Save for the primary characters, the supporting roles in Wenk’s movie are also quite colorful and transactional in their behavior. The difference here, though, is the additional urge to ruin Keith and his friends at every turn. Some of that harm is humorous and tolerable enough, whereas the moment Vamp dishes out its first fatality, it’s abundantly clear how this movie qualifies as horror.
Vamp falls into that category of horror movie that reveals its genre with a scream rather than a series of whispers. The opening scene can function as a hint of what lies ahead—things are not at all what they appear to be—but otherwise, Wenk is more than happy to hold off on the horror. When that time does come, though, it catches the viewer off guard. In addition to the pure shock value is that sudden decision to upend the movie’s foremost feature. Or so it would seem.
If afraid of major spoilage, those new to Vamp would be wise to stop reading here. There’s just no skirting around the fact that the central fellowship in this buddy movie hits a serious snag when AJ is killed. That development causes the story to become more of a “long, bad night” journey for Keith and his romantic interest. So while Wenk scores points for subverting expectations, there is also a touch of sadness in his decision. Because if Vamp does anything well, it’s making the characters likable.
Something that comes easily to Vamp—and other teen horror movies from this same era—is its ability to invent young characters worth caring about, or at the very least, are interesting and not so immediately off-putting. More impressive is how Wenk did all this without actually fleshing out those characters. Still and all, Keith and his kind are a grade above cookie-cutter, and in some cases, aren’t completely devoid of growth.
Grace Jones in Vamp
Vamp appeals with an assorted cast of characters. No two are the same, nor are they operating on the same wavelength. The cinematically extroverted AJ, whose actor conveyed charm and vulnerability in near equal amounts, comes alive when he’s at his most undead. Makepeace then makes the chronically cautious Keith a sympathetic fellow, even as he’s more and more affected by the night’s bizarre events. Meanwhile, Duncan is indeed the designated loser of the whole bunch, but Watanabe still manages to humanize him. As a bonus, the role didn’t require him to pull a Long Duk Dong.
As for Dedee Pfeiffer, she is plain adorable as the mysterious After Dark server nicknamed “Amaretto”. She spends all night fixing her dress strap while at the same time trying to get Keith to remember how he knows her. As their offbeat romance grows, it becomes another highlight of this movie. Whether or not Pfeiffer’s character is really a vampire also creates some welcome tension in the story.
Like a lot of its contemporaries, Vamp went on to become a bit of a cult classic. That current status is determined by several factors, but without a doubt, the casting of Grace Jones is the most considerable. The image of her writhing on that unique-looking chair, a Keith Haring original, springs to mind whenever this movie is brought up.
Chris Makepeace, Billy Drago and Paunita Nichols in Vamp
Prior to that first display of unequivocal horror, local vampire queen Katrina (Jones) took to the stage and delivered a strip show like no other. One would expect nothing less from that renowned model and performance artist. By now reports of Jones’ tardiness on set are no secret, yet it’s also hard to deny her commitment to the part of Katrina. It was, in fact, Jones who took charge of her character’s appearance—on top of Haring painting her body and that now-iconic chair, she had Andy Warhol handle her costuming. And not too many actors could seize a room’s attention without saying a single line of dialogue.
In 2022, Vamp received a retrospective novelization from Encyclopocalypse. This literary union of preexisting source material—Wenk’s original screenplay—and new ideas from author Christian Francis amounts to a more comprehensive visit to the After Dark Club. The basic story there is no different than what’s shown on screen; however, Francis gets creative with the characters’ origins and designs, and he enhances a number of key scenes.
The novelization expands on the urban and social decay of the main setting, and supplies a background for the After Dark Club. Sandy Baron’s character, Katrina’s emcee and familiar, is given ample motivation for sticking around; up until the fiery end, he is loyal to his friend and former business partner “Squeak”, who looks like he was “fed through a combine harvester, and left as nothing more than a heap of mangled remains”. Then there is Billy Drago’s character Snow, the leader of a street gang called The Dragons. His reason for menacing Keith and AJ is more altruistic than in the movie; he and his peers act tough to scare off any potential food for the vampires.
Lisa Lyon in Vamp
If not for all the backstories, Francis’ Vamp would be a hell of a lot shorter. Instead, this tie-in read dives into how AJ met Keith—the orphaned Anthony Joseph hailed from a broken home back in Brooklyn—and how their friendship flourished over the years. Keith’s archership is no longer just an assumed part of his entire being; it’s a confidence-building extracurricular for a boy who got picked on before coming into the protection of the new kid in town. These supplemental, in-depth looks at the protagonists, plus their close connection, are maybe unnecessary. The movie already did a fair and concise job of addressing their platonic intimacy without the need for flashbacks and insights, specifically in that scene where AJ lays it all out as he sacrifices himself.
Where the novelization gets off course is its approach to the minor characters. Intermittently backstorying the likes of Katrina’s indentured servants, Seko (Leila Hee Olsen) and Vlad (Brad Logan), ends up disturbing the flow of the writing. Was it absolutely essential that readers know Vlad was the Grand Duke of the House of Romanov, or how Snow’s accomplice Maven (Paunita Nichols) became so dentally challenged? No, not really. However, one’s mileage with these random biographies may vary.
The novelization is a more substantial experience, but for a movie like Vamp, less is more. And as plentiful as they are, it never simply coasts on its campy charms, either. The character work sits comfortably in that realm between cursory and meticulous, the script is sharper than first realized, and Greg Cannom’s vampire makeup is straightforward yet effective. Most of all, the movie didn’t squander its out-of-the-box concept. Richard Wenk made his vision of a “comic nightmare in which just about anything that can go wrong does” come true, and it is very enjoyable.
You must be logged in to post a comment.