Editorials
6 MORE Games And The Studios That Should Make Them!
A couple months back I listed a few horror games and the studios I’d like to see make them. A Silent Hill by DmC developer Ninja Theory? Yes, please. Resident Evil made by the studio behind Uncharted and The Last of Us? Don’t tell me that doesn’t get your nether regions aflutter with the possibilities.
Well, now I have even more horror games and the developers I’d like to see pick them up. Check out my picks after the break, and feel free to agree/disagree/offer your own pairings in the comments.
People Can Fly – The Suffering 3
People Can Fly brought us the marvelously over-the-top action shooter Bulletstorm, and lately they’ve been collaborating with Epic on the Gears of War franchise. To me, this makes them the perfect developer to breathe new life into the long dead The Suffering series. The bombastic action People Can Fly is known for would translate well to the equally explosive action horror franchise.
I also really want another Suffering game.
Visceral Games – inSANE
Visceral has made a name for themselves in this genre by crafting one of the best new horror franchises of this generation: Dead Space. Their games are well known for having copious amounts of gore, violence, and a lot of crazy. The dementia moments were first introduced in Dead Space 2 as Isaac Clarke started losing his mind after spending way too much time near the Marker, and they grew progressively worse for him and his companion John Carver in the third entry.
We don’t know much about Guillermo Del Toro’s first foray into video games other than it’s an action horror game that’s heavily inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. If any studio is capable of excelling in both areas, it’s the team behind Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.
Telltale Games – World War Z
Yeah, I know I already gave Telltale Alone in the Dark, but then I got to thinking… what if they made a World War Z game? Paramount has teased us with the possibility, and should the game ever see the light of day, I feel putting it in the very capable hands of Telltale Games — which brought us the amazing episodic series based on The Walking Dead last year — would be very a smart decision. In fact, we can just ignore the upcoming movie altogether and instead focus on the book, which has already been neatly divided into self-contained stories that would make it perfect as an episodic release similar to TWD.
Monolith – Manhunt
From 2005-2009, Monolith was doing a damn fine job in making themselves a real name in the horror genre. Between F.E.A.R. and Condemned, they quickly became one of my favorite studios. Since then they’ve made some solid titles — Gotham City Impostors was fun — but they’ve shied away from our favorite genre. F.E.A.R. and Condemned each deserve new sequels, but what I’d really like to see is how Monolith’s eye for the visceral would translate to one of gaming’s most brutal and sadly short-lived franchises: Manhunt.
Plus, Rockstar’s far too busy right now making games that sell well to return to it, so that means the reigns need to be handed over to someone else. I nominate Monolith.
Crystal Dynamics – Eternal Darkness
If you haven’t played the latest Tomb Raider, you really should. Crystal Dynamics proved themselves adept at telling an emotionally charged, action-packed, and often horrifying story with the latest reboot. If anyone can reinvigorate Eternal Darkness, which has sat untouched for far too long, it’s them. This game holds a sacred place in many gamers’ hearts, so if/when a developer finally does begin work on a sequel, it needs to be one that’s mastered action, horror, and storytelling. Crystal Dynamics fits the bill.
Platinum Games – Nightmare Creatures
This is a weird choice, right? Pairing Platinum Games, the studio behind wacky Japanese action games like Bayonetta and Vanquish, on a now practically ancient horror series like Nightmare Creatures? Who does that?
Apparently, I do.
Nightmare Creatures might not be the best horror IP out there — there are certainly other games more deserving of sequels — but I just really wanted to put this out there. Platinum is very good at delivering action and spectacle in their games. They’re capable of creating big, beautiful worlds filled with elegantly designed creatures, and they really know how to make a good action game (Anarchy Reigns not withstanding).
We came so close to getting a third entry, dubbed Angel of Darkness, but that fell into development limbo soon after its announcement over a decade ago. It was set in 19th century Prague and followed a young woman who could merge with her Raven companion to fight monsters. Replace the bird with magic hair and you have something that sounds a little like Bayonetta! (I said sort of)
What do you think? Did I miss a game? Are you not happy with a certain pairing? Let me know in the comments!
Have a question? Feel free to ever-so-gently toss Adam an email, or follow him on Twitter and Bloody Disgusting.
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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