In space, no one can hear you scream. We’ve all heard the line, and that’s one of the basics of why many horror games within the video game space take place in…well…space. Between aliens, unknown entities, and just the fear of the unknown itself, it can be a great place to make something terrifying, and I have some games to show you that prove that. With that said, this list is not ranked in any particular order.
Dead Space Series
In many ways, the Dead Space Series is the perfect example of what it means to make a satisfying sci-fi horror franchise. Sure, not all the games were the best, but when they were firing on all cylinders, you were hooked, and that meant something, especially since this wasn’t your typical third-person action title.
In the games, you play as Isaac Clarke, who was called in on a mission to figure out what happened to the ship his girlfriend was on. What started as a simple search and rescue mission became a fight for survival across three titles, with each game escalating the violence and the horror. Just when you thought things couldn’t get more twisted…they find a way to prove you wrong.
Also, Dead Space 2 had arguably the best ad campaign ever by showing mothers watching clips of the game and freaking out while stating that gamers should play it…because their moms will hate it.
Callisto Protocol
Ironically, the Callisto Protocol was created by some of the people who made the initial Dead Space games. You’d think this would translate to a meaningful horror experience that would excite many…but it honestly didn’t. Still, if we’re going to talk about horror games, this game had that, with plenty of gore to prove it.
This survival horror title puts you as Jacob Lee, a man wrongfully convicted of a crime and forced to spend his sentence on Jupiter’s moon. Jacob just wants to live out his sentence, but things go from bad to worse when some of the other prisoners start to undergo changes. Specifically, they turn into monsters, and now Jacob is in the fight for his life.
To its credit, the game does have some brutal combat and horrifying monsters, and the deaths that Jacob can undergo are terrifying to watch. But the game has a rather thin plot with obvious twists, so you have to take what you can get.
Alien Isolation
Not all horror titles need to be about action. Sometimes, it’s about just trying to outwit and outlast the monster that’s hunting you. That’s the nature of Alien Isolation, and it’s why many adored the game so much, as it was more about stealth and cunning versus brute force and firepower.
In the game, you play as Amanda, Ellen Ripley’s daughter. She finds out there’s a message left by her mother at a station, and she races to get it. However, when she and a crew of others arrive at the trading post, everything is going wrong. People are dying, and all signs point to a Xenomorph being on board.
The true terror of Alien Isolation is that you never know when the Xenomorph will show up next. If you aren’t careful, it will find you, and you won’t be able to kill it. Thus, you have to hide all around the station and figure out ways to divert it so you can get the resources you need to fix things and get out alive.
Prey
A classic trope of sci-fi movies and shows is waking up in a place that’s under attack or having chaotic things happen all around, and the protagonist tries to piece together the truth as they go. The 2017 version of Prey is that and more, just with more aliens and superpowers in this first-person action title.
You are someone on the Talos 1 station, and you were picked to help with a special “experiment.” That experiment was meant to improve humanity as a whole, but no sooner do you start the experiment than aliens attack the place, and they’re coming after you specifically.
You’ll have to use your newfound powers to fight back, all the while slowly searching the station to see why things have gone so wrong. You can use your powers in various ways and grow them to suit the style you want as you take on these foes. Do you think you can last?
Signalis
It’s a well-known fact that most sci-fi futures…suck. Seriously, something always goes wrong with them, or humanity does something that puts them in a utopia…until it backfires on them, and it all starts falling apart. Enter Signalis, another survival horror game mixed with a deep dystopian narrative and plenty of action to go around.
You play Elster, who is a “Replika.” She awakens from a deep slumber to realize that the place she is in isn’t familiar, her partner is missing, and she goes on the hunt for her, and the missing pieces of her memories.
As she travels around, she’ll face off against various monsters, and have to get as many resources as possible to endure the cold world she now finds herself upon. What led to the events of her awakening? Will she be able to recover the dreams she wants so badly? What else lies ahead as she unravels the truth? I could tell you, or you could just play the game and find out!
System Shock
To be clear, I’m talking about the remake of System Shock, but you also have the original titles that can be enjoyed today.. Either way, the classic sci-fi shooter mixed with RPG and horror elements was one of the titles that truly revolutionized the genre and showed what it could be in the right hands.
You are a member of the Citadel Station, home to an AI named SHODAN. One day, SHODAN goes nuts and decides that humanity needs to “go away” and be replaced by some mutants that she’s making. Yeah, she’s not a good AI.
To survive, you’ll have to work your way through the station and shoot everything in sight while trying to get rid of the meddlesome program.
Through the remake, you’ll see the game in a literal better life, as the HD graphics and faster frame rate will put a new visual spin on everything. That’s not to say that everything has been replaced, as the OG voice of SHODAN is back to make you tremble.
Moons of Madness
There are many video games either set on Mars or focuses on humanity getting to Mars and learning that the red planet isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Such is the case with Moons of Madness, a “cosmic horror” game that will make you question everything that’s happening, as you never truly know if it’s real or not.
The game starts out with a mysterious signal from the planet. The company you work for, Orochi, keeps the signal hidden despite it being clearly sent by being of great intelligence. You play a security worker on a station that is set to be relieved by a replacement crew soon enough.
However, things soon start going very wrong. Tech keeps breaking, your crewmates go missing, and you start to hallucinate things everywhere. Are you slowly going mad? Is something doing this to you? What really is happening on this station?
To get answers, you’ll have to explore the station and Mars itself. But be careful; you never know what might be out there or if it’s really out there at all…
We Went Back
I’ve shown you some rather deep horror titles so far. So how about we flip that around, and I show you a game that is very simple yet still horrifying and complex in nature. In We Went Back, you’ll be a person on a space station, and you’ll be caught in a kind of time loop while you try to escape the station.
There’s something else on board with you to make matters worse, and you’ll never know where it is at any given moment. To free yourself from this place, you’ll have to wander around the station and solve puzzles and get clues to figure out what’s going on and why you’re the only one left.
The game isn’t meant to be long, as you can beat it in under an hour. However, when you dive into what makes this game special, you’ll want to play it repeatedly to get the most out of it.
Observation
Admittedly, Observation is more of a “thriller” title than a horror one, but there are some horrifying moments, so I’m going to include it in the list. You’re welcome. Traditionally, if you hear that there’s artificial intelligence on a station, it’s going to be the threat you’re dealing with at the end. However, this game makes you PLAY the AI in an attempt to figure out the truth about what happened to the crew.
The only person of the crew left standing is Dr. Emma Fisher, and you’ll need to help her work her way through the ship via your cameras and abilities so you can ascertain the truth. What happened to this station? Where are her crew members? What is that weird hexagon on Saturn that you keep seeing? What does the A.I., Sam, have to do with all of this? You’ll have to push forward to find out.
This game is all about atmosphere and building up the tension of the situation, and that’s what can make it scary.
Stasis
You are John Maracheck, and you’ve just woken up from your stasis sleep and found yourself in a nightmare. That nightmare is that you’re on a space station above Neptune that is slowly sinking into the planet, blood is everywhere, your family is missing, and you have no idea what happened. This is the scenario in Stasis that’ll have to endure.
Through a unique isometric viewpoint, you’ll move John through the station and attempt to piece together the mystery of what happened. Finding PDAs will assist you in your journey, as they’ll give clues and details to help clear up the uncertainty.
Adding to the atmosphere are fully voiced cutscenes that’ll build the tension and make you wonder what else lurks beyond the next corner or room. Will you be able to survive what this station has for you? Or will you be the next bloodstain that liters the place? There’s only one way to find out…
Iron Lung
Sometimes, true horror simply puts you in a situation where you don’t have much available to you, and you have to work with what you have to survive. In Iron Lung, you’ll be in a terrifying future where every planet in the universe has been wiped out, and the only remnants of humanity are the ones who were on stations and ships. A mysterious “blood ocean” is found on a moon, and you’re sent in a makeshift submarine to figure out what’s within it and whether anything can be harvested to help humanity.
The problem? Due to the nature of the submarine, you can’t see very well, and so you’ll have to stumble around the ship to try and reach key locations to take pictures of things to complete your mission.
How fast you make it through the game depends on how willing you are to go fast or slow and attempt to survive what this ocean has. Is there hope within this ocean of blood, or only death and despair?
Doom 3
Now, here’s a franchise that’s all about facing horrifying demons and then shooting or cutting them up so that you can get to the next monster that awaits you. Doom 3 was an iconic 2004 title that still holds up in many respects today. And thanks to ports to places like Steam, you can play it now in its original form. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, people!
The title is set two years after the previous entry, where the Union Aerospace Corporation foolishly goes back to Mars to try and investigate not only what happened to its facility but also to see what’s going on with a weird beacon they find below a ruin. Yeah, because that’s never caused problems in the past!
Obviously, things go horribly wrong, and you’re one of the few members left standing, which means you’ll need to blast your way through demons of all types to get out alive! Thankfully, you’ll have a nice arsenal equipped to do just that. So load up and get to shooting!
Echo Night: Beyond
Yeah, I’m going a bit old-school for this last one, but it was only 2004 when Echo Night: Beyond came out. Plus, this was a title by…FromSoftware! Yeah, bet you didn’t remember that, now did you? This might have been before they hit their stride in the Souls genre, but it highlights how many unique games they made in the past. Anyway, this survival horror title isn’t what you expect, so strap in.
You play as a newlywed who is on his way to his honeymoon in space with his wife when everything goes wrong. Because, of course, it goes wrong. Something happens to much of the crew, and the couple is separated, with the husband having to search the station he ends up at for answers while dealing with the spirits of those on board the vessel.
There are many mysteries to unfold here, including many about the man’s wife. If you get access to this game, I do recommend it.
