Editorials
Over 25 New Horror Games We Can’t Wait to Play in 2020
It’s a big year in gaming. The start of a new console generation, and the return of some juggernaut franchises are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Horror looks to be well serviced in the medium too, as a mixture of intriguing indie and heavyweight blockbuster horror games are going to be fighting it out for your attention in 2020.
While there will no doubt be some more big reveals as the year goes on, the games we already know about make for an impressive list. So on behalf of Dead Pixels, I’ve selected some of the most anticipated horror and horror-adjacent games set to release this year (hopefully!).
Carrion (Developer: Phobia Game Studio, Release Date: 2020 on PC and Xbox One)
If the demo late last year is anything to go by, then Carrion is going to be the closest we get to an actual video game version of The Blob. It’s that rare case of a horror game giving you control of the bad guy, which in this case is a giant sack of meat and teeth that grows as it consumes.
It’s not quite horror Katamari levels of destruction, as there’s a need to hide and surprise those out to stop this meat blob, but even in its 2D retrotastic form, Carrion is very, very gory.
Resident Evil 3 (Developer: Capcom, Release Date: April 3 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC)
After Capcom finally caved and gave us a remake of Resident Evil 2, and then had the gall to actually make it good, it was inevitable we’d clamor for Resident Evil 3 to get the same treatment.
And lo, Capcom, as it has done so often in recent years, is delivering what the people want. Resident Evil 3 Nemesis is being reborn, and the nightmares of 20 years ago are probably going to come along with it.
Another remake in the mold of the one Resident Evil 2 received would be just fine, but Capcom is also throwing in an asymmetrical multiplayer mode that reeks of Left 4 Dead and Dead By Daylight, but also has just a faint whiff of the marvelous Outbreak spinoffs.
The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog, May 29 on PS4)
The Last of Us was a defining game of the 2010s and gave the PS3 a great big swansong exclusive. Nearly seven years later, could Part II do the same for the PS4 and ‘20s?
Wanting a sequel to The Last of Us and needing it are two different things, so the fascinating problem Naughty Dog must tackle is making something that doesn’t tarnish the reputation of what is a beloved classic to many.
Of course, it’s easier to trust a developer such as Naughty Dog to do it right. The time jump, and focus on Ellie over Joel should make that ‘Part II’ moniker seem meaningful.
Zombie Army 4: Dead War (Rebellion Developments, February 4)
Do you know what should be old and tired? Zombies, and Nazis. Do you know what isn’t? Zombie Nazis, and shooting them right through their eye sockets.
Which is why Sniper Elite’s Zombie Army spinoff series is back with a fourth entry, ready to provide you with more co-op crackshotting of necro-Nazi bastards.
There looks to be some fresh variety to the undead too that further embraces the concept.
Maneater (Tripwire Interactive, May 22 on Epic Games Store and Consoles)
Carrion isn’t the only game to make you the toothy chomper of humanity in 2020. Maneater should finally be swimming onto various gaming platforms this year.
Best described as ‘Saints Row, but you’re a shark’, Maneater will let you role play as a surprisingly spry terror from the deep, out to tear every living thing to bloody pieces.
We can’t wait to dive in this May, but Nintendo Switch owners will have to wait until later in the year to sink their teeth in.
Dying Light 2 (Techland, Spring 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
Dying Light is one of my favorite zombie games. Its day/night cycle made every looming sunset something to dread, as you know you’ll soon hear the screeches from the more aggressive strain of undead.
It’s been five years since that (with a damn good expansion in between) and the wait for Dying Light 2 is almost over.
Techland promises a much deeper experience this time around, with your decisions changing the landscape and power dynamics permanently, but the important thing will be if it can recapture that brilliant atmosphere of the first game. Oh, and lots of zombie-slicing, please.
Remothered: Broken Porcelain (Stormind Games, Q3 2020 on PC and Consoles)
There was plenty of potential in Remothered: Tormented Fathers, a Clock Tower-esque throwback survival horror. It did struggle to knit together its vision, but there was so much to like.
Broken Porcelain could well hit that sweet spot of refining the good parts and fixing some of the quirks (not all of them, because there’s charm in some of them). Italian developer Stormind Games clearly has a great affection for horror, so it would be nice to see it succeed and flourish.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (Supermassive Games, 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
Supermassive’s second entry in its anthology horror series of games makes good on the variety promised by such a concept. We’ll be swapping home invasions and ghost ships for something a tad more pagan by the looks of it.
The teaser trailer for The Dark Pictures: Little Hope is found after the end of last year’s Man of Medan, and shows teens running from something in the woods of a town called Little Hope. It appears it may involve witches.
Given Supermassive’s keenness for splicing sub-genres of horror together, there’s likely a bit more to it than that.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 (Hardsuit Labs, 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the cult RPG Vampire: The Masquerade, and what better way to celebrate than with a new game in the series?
Bloodlines 2 is a sequel to 2004’s Bloodlines, taking place in a world where vampires, among other fiends, shape the course of human history. This time it’ll be a trip to modern Seattle at Christmas where five clans are reaching boiling point over a rogue faction’s decision to turn humans en masse.
There’s simply not enough vampire games, so fingers will be crossed that this delivers.
System Shock (Nightdive Studios, Early 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
It’ll be a while, it seems, before we see more from Bioshock, so in the meantime, it’ll be nice to return to its spiritual forebearer in its new (and hopefully not as dark) 2020 form.
Yes, System Shock’s troubled remake is on the horizon, as is a showdown with SHODAN, arguably one of gaming’s most sinister villains.
If 2017’s Prey left you craving more immersive sci-fi horror sim goodness, then this looks like it may be a safe bet.
Rainbow Six Quarantine (Ubisoft Montreal, 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
Not much is known about the next Rainbow Six title, but the reason it’s on this list is clear. The Tom Clancy franchise is getting its horror on.
What we have seen suggests a viral outbreak is making some folk a tad bloodthirsty, and given it’s a Tom Clancy game, there’s bound to be a political reason behind it a la The Division (even if Ubisoft do claim it’s not).
Predator: Hunting Grounds (IllFonic, April 24 on PS4)
Who knows what the future holds for the Predator franchise in film, but maybe developer IllFonic can make a good game out of it, and perhaps have better luck handling an iconic license than it did with Friday the 13th.
The best Predator games have been those that allowed you to both feel the threat of the Predator, and the power of it. Hunting Grounds‘ asymmetrical multiplayer allows for that, placing you in the fishnet vest of the ultimate hunter or its hapless victims
Wasteland 3 (inXile Entertainment, May 19 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
Fallout may be going in a different direction these days, but there’s plenty of games about willing to fill the void. The resurgence of the cRPG, Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, and more give back different aspects of Fallout through the ages, and Wasteland 3 is very much a part of that.
inXile’s second sequel to its post-apocalyptic tactical RPG series is inarguably the best-looking entry so far. If it can also refine the mechanics, this could prove to be the critical breakout Wasteland 2 threatened to be.
Little Nightmares 2 (Tarsier Studios, 2020 on PC and Consoles)
Children in peril can seem like a cheap and easy horror route to take, but like any sub-genre, it can be effective and memorable if done well.
Little Nightmares was a good example of that, a puzzle platformer with a Coraline-esque visual style (right down to the protagonist’s yellow rain slicker). It saw a young girl escaping ‘the Maw’ and its child-hungry adults. Little Nightmares 2 picks up after the events of that game, adding a new playable character, and Tarsier promises there will be some more monstrous residents looking for a kid-shaped lunch.
World of Horror (panstaz, 2020 on PC)
Horror Manga writer Junji Ito really should have more influence on modern horror games because his special ability to draw unease from the abnormal in normality is a perfect fit.
World of Horror has shown that in the brief glimpses we’ve had of it. An old-school 1-bit-inspired adventure game with an art style and ethos similar to that of Ito, where the player’s choices and disintegrating sanity lead them into a variety of messed up cosmic horror scenarios in a crumbling seaside town.
Previews have shown promise, so hopefully, we’ll see just how that promise carries into the full experience soon.
Sons of the Forest (Endnight Games, Release Date and Platforms TBC)
The last decade saw an unearthly number of survival games flood the market as Early Access became a thing. To get noticed in that deluge was tough, but the right hook went a long way.
The Forest had a great hook. Survive in an unknown wilderness after a plane crash, whilst also evading a feral clan of cave-dwelling monsters. It’s almost an unofficial game about The Descent universe.
A sequel, Sons of the Forest, was announced via a brief teaser late last year, and looks like it’ll ramp up the grisly madness and perhaps have more of a narrative focus. No official release date yet, but it’s not out of the question to think it may pop up in Early Access form before the year is out.
Succubus (Madmind Studios, TBC on PC)
Madmind’s last stab at erotically-charged horror, Agony, was a bit of a flop. It’ll hope the next stab at it fares better.
Succubus is a spinoff from Agony, and is a more action-orientated affair. You play the titular Succubus, a demonic priestess of lust out to reclaim her kingdom and seek vengeance.
From what we’ve seen it’s definitely a quicker-paced game than Agony, and especially gory. Being a lust demon likely means there’s going to be more graphic sexual content too. How Madmind handles that will be instrumental in how well Succubus works.
Scorn (Ebb Software, TBC on PC)
Any game that cites the work of H.R. Giger as an inspiration immediately has my attention, and that has made the wait for Scorn a tough one.
Scorn‘s open world of mazy districts noticeably embraces the erotic and alien landscapes of Giger’s art. It also aims to immersive you deep in it, with a more tactile interaction system, and puzzles that require your full attention. It’s not all puzzles though, as there’s definitely some survival to go with the horrors.
It already feels like it’s taken forever for Scorn to tie down a release date (it did start as a Kickstarter project to be fair), but it should be worth the wait.
GhostWire: Tokyo (Tango Gameworks, TBC)
Tango Gameworks first post-The Evil Within title, GhostWire: Tokyo, doesn’t look to be quite the same kind of horror experience that series was, but as a former employee of the company once said, it does look ‘spooky’.
GhostWire: Tokyo will be an action-adventure title that sees you fighting paranormal enemies and dealing with an evil supernatural presence that has engulfed the city of Tokyo.
Not much else is known about this Bethesda-produced title, but after the wild ride of The Evil Within 2, we’re keen to see what Tango Gameworks can do next.
Doom Eternal (id Software, March 20 on PC, Consoles, and Stadia)
One of last year’s big disappointments was Doom Eternal getting delayed, but on the upside, Doom Eternal is still coming, and soon.
Our hands-on preview last year filled us with excitement. It’s more of 2016’s Doom, but with the heavy metal turned up a lot louder. It feels fast, relentless, loud, and packed with bloody carnage. With the extra polish and fine-tuning the delay allowed for, it could be a real Game of the Year contender.
Baldur’s Gate III (Larian Studios, 2020 on PC, Stadia, and Consoles)
The mind flayers are returning! Larian Studios, creators of the fantastic Divinity: Original Sin games, are tackling the latest entry in this classic RPG franchise.
All we have is a trailer and some story info so far, but that trailer showed a glimpse of some body horror, while the story involves the mind flayers invading.
It would be nice to see some gameplay, but with Larian’s track record, it’s fairly safe to assume it’ll be good when it does reveal more.
Paranoid (Madmind Studios, TBC on PC)
Paranoid looks like a far cry from the horror experience in Madmind’s Agony or Succubus, and honestly, it’s a bit more interesting as a result.
The story has protagonist Patrick, a recluse, receive a phone call from his sister announcing her arrival. Only thing is, Patrick’s sister has been missing for years. What transpires as a result of that is where the horror begins.
It does appear to have that sleazy edge to it found in the developer’s other titles. Subtlety may not be a strong suit, but it at least looks like an interesting interpretation of some very familiar horror titles.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics (BonusXP, Feb 4 on PC and Consoles)
The Dark Crystal made a warmly-received comeback with a Netflix series in 2019, and this accompanying strategy game looks to keep the flame burning.
You will lead a squad of resistance Gelflings against the evil Skeksis in turn-based combat. I’m a sucker for sci-fi fantasy-fuelled turn-based combat already, but having it set in The Dark Crystal universe makes it an even more appealing prospect.
Nioh 2 (Team Ninja, May 24 on PS4)
Many have tried to ape the Souls formula, with mild to no success, but Nioh by Team Ninja managed it better than most. In fact, there are people who like it more than some of From Software’s efforts. So it’s clear the sequel will be welcome.
It’ll be a return to a twisted version of Sengoku-era Japan, but as a prequel rather than a continuation of the first game’s story. Expect plenty more skillful scraps with powerful Oni, and hopefully an interesting alternative to the brilliance of Sekiro.
Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories (Granzella, March 20 on PS4, Switch, and PC)
The original Disaster Report (or Raw Danger, or SOS: The Final Escape, depending on where you live) took the endearing clunky charms of survival horror and swapped out biological weapons for natural disasters. Both it and its sequel were rough and ready gems.
That was back in the days of the PS2, and it’s taken the best part of a decade for another game in the series, Disaster Report 4, to finally get a Western release in some shape or form. It’s finally happening on PS4 this year, so hopefully it finds a new audience for its different take on the survival horror genre.
Half-Life: Alyx (Valve, March on PC VR)
A new game in the Half-Life universe is coming out this year, and quite soon. That feels insane to say after so long, and though it is tempered with the knowledge it will only be for a relatively niche audience in PC VR owners, this is still a big deal.
A full-fat Half-Life game, filling the gaps of the story between Half-Life and its sequel, Half-Life: Alyx looks to do for VR what previous games did for the first-person shooter genre.
Headcrabs in VR though? My blood runs cold.
Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary (Platinum Games, February 18 on PS4 and Xbox One)
Yes, it’s been ten years since the bewitching and bitchin’ Bayonetta strutted onto the scene, and Platinum Games are celebrating that anniversary (plus that of the excellent Vanquish) with spruced-up versions of the original games
It’ll be nice for non-Switch console players to be reminded of the ludicrous majesty that is a witch, wearing a bodysuit of hair, smacking celestial beings about in space. Plus, Vanquish is in there too, and it’s definitely in need of more attention for its knee-sliding, cigarette-smoking, gun-toting action.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood (Cyanide Studios, 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One)
Cyanide Studios is bringing the World of Darkness Werewolf universe of tabletop gaming to the land of video games with Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood, an action RPG that sees you slipping into the fur of a lycanthrope to battle vampires in the American Northwest.
As with vampires, there’s not enough games with werewolves, so having an action RPG about them in the same year as one about vamps is hopefully a sign of a return to prominence for both.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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