I’ve shared my picks for the best and the worst horror games of 2014, but because I’m not only voice here on Bloody Disgusting, I thought we’d take a minute to see which games my fellow staffers liked and/or disliked. There are some solid picks here, and some unconventional ones, too. But then, this hasn’t necessarily been a conventional year for gaming.
Whereas the last few years have been mildly uneventful, 2014 came brimming with exciting announcements, reveals and teases of things we’ll have to continue to wait for. Before we get into that, let’s take another look back at more of the year’s best and worst games, as chosen by a few of our lovely contributors.
Vikki Blake
Favorite Game of 2014: P.T.
I know you’re going to call me out for cheating because, technically, it’s not a full game, but can we talk about P.T.? Because let’s face it: it was all kinds of incredible.
You don’t have to know me very well to know that the Silent Hill franchise has been stamped irrevocably into my DNA. It’s that game – THE game – that shaped not just what I play, but who I am. Unlike some, I haven’t been wholly table-flippy at the twists and turns the franchise has taken, but I’ll concur that the latter half of Silent Hill’s legacy is nowhere near as potent as the former.
Enter Kojima.
I went into that teaser blind. The demo had yet to soak through public consciousness, and so I stepped into that corridor with no prior knowledge that Kojima was waiting at the end of me. Not since Silent Hill 2 have I been so terrified of turning a corner, and not since Silent Hill 4 have I been so thoroughly distressed by an unfurling story. P.T. is a pitch-perfect symphony of panic and pathos.
Oh, Silent Hills. I cannot wait to play you a visit.
Pat Torfe
Favorite Game of 2014: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
Now I know that Adam and others will talk about games like Alien: Isolation as being the best games of 2014, but me being me, I had to reach back for a blast from the past, that this past October received a big 20th anniversary makeover, complete with new content.
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers was originally released way back in 1993, and is considered by many gamers and critics as one of the best games ever. Legendary adventure game designer and creator Jane Jensen wove a masterful blend of horror and mystery into the game’s story, as well as a variety of eclectic and interesting characters.
For the 20th Anniversary release, the game was given an overhaul in the graphics and sound departments, with a few extra challenges thrown in. Granted, some of the changes are a miss (timed puzzles, some awkward animations and a few glitches), but the core story and characters are so enveloping that it’s a minor complaint.
Gamers who weren’t around for the glory days of Adventure games who are looking for an awesome story don’t have to look very far with this update on a classic.
T. Blake Braddy
Favorite Games of 2014: Neverending Nightmares, The Long Dark, Five Nights at Freddy’s
Neverending Nightmares plays like a motion comic from Hell. Featuring a black-and-white visual aesthetic enhanced by splashes of color — mostly red, of course — Matt Gilgenbach’s very personal horror adventure game manages to be poignant, tense, and horrific at the same time.
It takes some interesting chances on not just narrative experience but also uses game mechanics and art design as metaphor to further underline its themes. Neverending Nightmares accomplishes plenty in its brief run-time, and so many other aspiring horror titles could learn much from this game’s particular approach to horror.
The Long Dark, I think, has been somewhat overlooked in the grand scheme of the gaming year 2014. It is subtle and quiet to its approach to the survival sim subgenre, but the middlebrow manner with which it tackles the end of the world is precisely what sets it apart. It is neither too dry and numbers-obsessed, nor is it overly filled with grim imagery, but rather manages to strike a comfortable balance. The art style, too, is something the likes of which I have never seen in a game.
It allows for some wonderful exploration, and the manifold ways that people can be dispatched is kind of amazing. Anyone looking for a game to become easily attached to should check out The Long Dark. It is a great one to pick up this time of year, too.
If my other choices are tone-adjacent to horror games, then Five Nights at Freddy’s is the most distilled expression of fear in gaming form I can muster for this feature. It is unbelievably simple and effective, almost devoid of anything but gameplay.
The dread that accompanies the act of clicking through a variety of security cameras throughout Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza is inimitable. It is easily one of the most purely frightening games I have ever taken up, not to mention that robotic, anthropomorphic woodland creatures are innately horrifying, and at $5 full-price, it is a no-brainer.
Least Favorite Horror Games of 2014: Alien: Isolation, DreadOut
This one might be a controversial choice, I know, but hear me out. I don’t think Alien: Isolation is necessarily the worst game of the year, given the franchise’s recent track record, but the disparity between its potential and follow-through is so vast that it can at least be in the running for most disappointing.
Isolation is at least five hours too long for what it attempts to achieve and is in reality probably overstays its welcome by ten hours. The gaming community at large was incredulous that a survival horror game involving a single Xenomorph tracking down Amanda Ripley could be sustained for ten hours, let alone fifteen or twenty (or even twenty-five). Lop several tedious, ship-traversing hours of Alien: Isolation and you are probably looking at a hands-down game of the year.
Still, to the team at Creative Assembly’s credit, this game is proof that the Alien franchise is capable of being viable again. It is tense, unnerving, and sometimes shockingly good, but these stretches are so muddied by tedium and monotony that the game becomes difficult to recommend. Perhaps future iterations will capitalize on what this game promised and then delivered in excruciating excess.
DreadOut suffers from being a relatively undercooked experience. It is brief and yet repetitive, mechanically shallow and yet frustrating. There are traditional myths and some quite terrifying moments in isolation, but they are minimized by annoying puzzles and confounding narrative sequences.
The game’s tone veers wildly from deadly self-serious to cheeky, and the sections are sometimes so jarringly initiated that it feels like the game was created by separate teams and then hastily patched together. However, the team at Digital Happiness could not be more excited about the project, and they have consistently supported the game, so with some updates and a forthcoming second episode on the way, there’s hope for DreadOut yet.
For the rest of our 2014 recap, check this out!
