Summary
The video gamehorror genreis pretty varied at this point, and there’s pretty much a horror game for everyone. However, the genre can (very) broadly be divided into two types - games that let players fight, and games that don’t. Of the two, many gamers prefer the games that let them fight back.
In horror games, players defending themselves normally just means shooting and stabbing whatever it is that’s trying to kill them, but some ofthe best survival horror gamesof all time have unique combat mechanics to make that experience more interesting. Rather than relying on what worked before, they came up with exciting new ways for players to take on their opponents, or borrow them from other genres. The games on this list have been ranked not just based on how unique their combat is, but also on the impact their systems have had on other games, as well as their overall quality.
Today,Resident Evil 4’scombat mechanics might not seem all that unique. The player either shoots enemies until they’re dead or slashes them with a knife until they drop. Sometimes they whip out a roundhouse kick. That sounds a lot like pretty much every other horror action game out there. When it was released, however,Resident Evil 4’scombat was nothing short of revolutionary.
Often regarded asthe bestResident Evilgame,Resident Evil 4introduced both the over-shoulder 3rd-person view to the series, and context-sensitive actions during combat. At the time, most horror games used a fixed camera perspective, or first person, and had much more basic combat. The game’s context-sensitive actions made combat feel more dynamic and exciting, although its reliance on QTE’s was less positive.Resident Evil 4’scombat mechanics were so great that they were almost endlessly copied by other horror games. This means that, as good as it is,Resident Evil 4has to get the bottom ranking thanks to its copycats. Nothing good stays unique for long in the gaming world.
Bloodborneisn’t just one of the best Soulslike games ever made, it’s also one ofthe best cosmic horror games, with many of its areas and creature designs clearly influenced by other works of cosmic horror, especially the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. It may not be all that scary, but it’s definitely creepy. WhileDark Soulshas horror elements,Bloodbornewas arguably the first Soulslike to go all in with the horror aesthetic, making it pretty unique back in 2015.
It also introduced a couple of unique combat mechanics to both genres. Firstly,Bloodborneintroduced the idea of trick weapons. These are weapons that can transform, completely changing their movesets.Bloodbornewas also the first Soulslike to feature the rally mechanic. This rewards an aggressive play style by returning some of the player’s lost health if they attack quickly enough after being damaged. In 2015, both of these mechanics were unique, even if other games have adopted them since.
Traditionally, horror games frightened players by making them feel powerless. It’s a tactic that works well in games with no combat, but is much harder to balance when guns are added to the equation.F.E.A.R., however, took a different tactic. Its protagonist is a powerful super-soldier being stalked by a creepy little girl named Alma.
F.E.A.R.has two unique combat mechanics that work together beautifully. Firstly, it has a version of bullet-time that allows the player to slow down time at will, allowing them to dodge bullets and spring traps on enemies. It feels awesome to use, but is useless against Alma. On the flip side,F.E.A.R.has some of the most realistic enemy AI ever seen in a game, especially for its era. As powerful as bullet-time makes the player, the AI ensures that they never have too much of an advantage. While enemy AI and bullet-time weren’t unique in and of themselves,F.E.A.R.was the first to make good use of them in a horror game. Combined with the jump scares provided by Alma, the result was one ofthe best FPS horror games ever.
The originalDying Lightdid something many people thought had become impossible. It breathed new life into the long-stagnant zombie horror genre. At first glance, its combat doesn’t look all that unique. First-person zombie bashing with a focus on improvised melee weapons had been done before, most notably byDead IslandandDead Island: Riptide.
However,Dying Lightbrought two brilliant combat mechanics to the table. Firstly, its combat is heavily focused on using parkour moves, not just to kill zombies, but to escape from them. While we’d already seen parkour in games likeAssassin’s CreedandMirror’s Edge,Dying Lightused it in new and exciting ways. Running away never felt so good in a horror game. Secondly, the game’s day/night cycle actually affected combat.Dying Light’szombies are much more dangerous at night, and special zombies called Volatiles emerge after the sun sets. During the day, players can freely take on zombies with their weapon of choice, but as soon as night falls,Dying Lightbecomes a horror game where stealth and retreat, not combat, are the best ways to survive.
SinceBioShockborrowed so many mechanics fromSystem Shock 2, its ranking here might seem a little charitable. However, it’s the way in whichBioShockcombines its mechanics that makes it so unique, rather than the individual mechanics themselves. One ofthe darkest sci-fi games ever made,BioShock’sRapture is exceedingly creepy, and the developers ensured the player never felt safe.
That’s despite the fact that it’s possible to become surprisingly overpowered thanks to the game’s multiple combat mechanics. Not only can the player wield powerful weapons, they can use them alongside deadly special abilities called Plasmids. They can also research enemies using the Research Camera to identify their weaknesses and make them even more vulnerable to attacks. On top of all this, the player can also use simple stealth mechanics to sneak around and set traps. It all added up to a great gameplay experience that beautifully balanced horror with combat.
Condemned 2: Bloodshot
The originalCondemnedwas unique in that it was an FPS that emphasized first-person brawling rather than shooting when taking on Metro City’s many psychopaths. Compared to similar FPS games, the first-person brawling felt great, and the player was actively discouraged from relying on guns. Its sequel,Bloodshot,wasn’t quite as well received, largely due to the fact that there were sections where players pretty much had to use a gun to survive.
At the time, that design looked like a step backwards in the series philosophy, but the new emphasis on guns did give players a cool new combat mechanic: getting drunk. Following the events of the first game, protagonist Ethan Thomas has been suffering from PTSD and has become an alcoholic. Now, the only way he can aim a gun straight is to have a drink first. Few other games have taken their protagonist’s trauma and actually turned it into an effective gameplay mechanic, butCondemned 2managed it. While other games let the player get drunk, it’s never been an integral part of combat before.
The originalDead Spaceserved as proof that a horror game can be terrifying and still empower the player. Despite being one ofthe scariest horror games of all time,it gave the player multiple exciting ways to kill its deadly necromorph enemies. The player can telekinetically pick up objects using the game’s Knesis power, and temporarily slow down any object or enemy using the Stasis power.
The game also had an impressive dismemberment system that allowed the player to strategically shoot off enemy body parts, like claws and legs. These could then be hurled at the same or other enemies using Kinesis to inflict heavy damage and conserve ammo, pinning the enemy to the wall in an exceedingly satisfying fashion. It was very bloody and very fun. The game also had sections in which the player’s oxygen was limited, forcing them to fight in a hurry, and even had zero-g 360-degree combat sections that were as difficult as they were fun. Other horror games have tried to copy the game’s combat mechanics since, most recentlyCalisto Protocol, but few have succeeded.
Lots of horror games let players shoot the enemy, but very few do it likeFatal Frame. InFatal Frame,the enemies are ghosts, and the only way to hurt them is to snap a picture of them with the Camera Obscura, a magical camera that pacifies angry spirits. It’s the only weapon in the game, and it has a limited amount of film available.
The Camera Obscura might be “shot” in combat, but it isn’t used like a gun.Fatal Frameactually rewards the player’s photography skills in combat. The amount of damage done to ghosts depends on the angle the picture is taken from and how in focus the enemy is. Essentially, the better the picture, the more damage is dealt. This unique combat mechanic means not only does the player have to look their fears square in the face, they’re encouraged to let them get as close as possible to take the best pictures and conserve film. Other horror games have incorporated cameras since, but none to such great effect.
The originalAlan Wakegets the top spot here for two reasons. It’s one of the best survival horror games ever made, and its central combat mechanic has never been copied (except by its own sequel), despite the game’s popularity. Unfortunately, there’s a good reason it’s never been copied - the mechanic gets really old, really fast. In all theAlan Wakegames, the player takes out enemies by shooting them with ordinary guns. The twist is that most enemies are shielded by “the darkness,” and Alan must shine a light on them before they can be damaged.
The primary way to do this is with Alan’s torch, which is both pitifully weak and stupidly power-hungry. Initially, it’s a cool combat mechanic that makes combat tenser and encourages conservation of both batteries and ammo. Later unlocks like flares, bigger torches, and a flare gun mix up the combat slightly, but it still gets stale fast. Eventually, the torch mechanic just makes the game, whichis one of Remedy’s hardest, feel artificially difficult rather than rewardingly so. It hasn’t aged well, although the remaster does improve things somewhat, and the sequel even more so.
