Kicking off our final Best of 2016 game awards of 2016 is our best in horror choices for the year. With the genre not getting as many games as it did last year, we’ve decided to include PlayStation VR titles as well, which is a no-brainer given how immersive horror games are when played in VR.
We’ve decided to stick to the conventional horror games, so sit on that before wondering why X game wasn’t included. Same as in our other awards, the winner was picked based on the total number of votes it got among staff, and not based on the review score.
What’s your top horror game of 2016? What would have you added to our nominees? Share and discuss your picks in the comments.
Don’t forget to check back all throughout the month for our other “Best Of” picks of the year! Be sure to follow PlayStation LifeStyle on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and YouTube for the latest in PlayStation coverage.
You can check out the other Best of 2016 winners here!
Essential Reading:
- PS4 Horror Games 2016 – Buyer’s Guide
- Top 5 Upcoming Horror Games
- The Best PS4 Couch Co-Op Games You Can Play Right Now
Best of 2016 Game Awards - Horror
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Best of 2016 Game Awards - Horror
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Resident Evil 0
Capcom’s HD reimagining of Resident Evil 0 is a glorious nostalgia trip back to a brand of survival horror that just doesn’t come around anymore in this era of gaming. Sure, that means dealing with a couple of annoyances, like the fixed camera angles and stiff combat, but those who can look past these problems will find a treasure trove of old-fashioned adventuring. Exploring the title’s creepy, masterfully detailed environments is nothing short of a joy, and sorting out the harrowing tasks of inventory management and limited resources is tense in just the right way. If you’re craving some real retro challenges, or just in the mood for some good atmosphere, Resident Evil 0 is well worth the price of admission.
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Layers of Fear
What Layers of Fear lacks in complexity, it more than makes up for with atmosphere. It’s a bizarre and thrilling ride that doesn’t even considering letting up as you traverse a truly broken mind. The concept is incredibly novel and well portrayed, the wellbeing of your limping vessel never coming into debate as he works on his masterpiece. It’s just a shame that, even with all the literary influences, the phenomenal and thought-provoking ambience isn’t backed up by the writing or voice work that can both feel flat and uninspired more often than not. The dodgy frame rate that’s becoming depressingly synonymous with Unity on PS4 adds to the issues here and pushes it that bit further away from truly hitting the mark P.T seems to dominate, even if it’s now starting to pass into gaming mythology.
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Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
The entire experience is a classic, arcade-style, on-rails light gun shooter. And like the old coin-op games of the past, there is a ton of fun to be had with Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. It is lacking, however, in replay value unless you’re the type to challenge your own scores or are dying to see that “true ending.”
There’s no real story, so any conclusions aren’t very meaningful. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give Until Dawn: Rush of Blood a chance. Rush of Blood is a good scare, creepy, extremely fun, and would make a great game to play around Halloween or just to show off the PlayStation VR’s capabilities.
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Here They Lie
With Here They Lie, I stared long and hard into the abyss, only this time it didn’t stir; instead, I was left gazing at an under-cooked horror experience that while surreal, fails to deliver a fulfilling end product. Horror games should present an exercise in nerve-shredding tension whether they’re built for virtual reality or not. Sadly, Here They Lie leans too heavily on VR as a novelty to justify a by-the-numbers entry into the genre.
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And the winner is...
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Winner - Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
The entire experience is a classic, arcade-style, on-rails light gun shooter. And like the old coin-op games of the past, there is a ton of fun to be had with Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. It is lacking, however, in replay value unless you’re the type to challenge your own scores or are dying to see that “true ending.”
There’s no real story, so any conclusions aren’t very meaningful. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give Until Dawn: Rush of Blood a chance. Rush of Blood is a good scare, creepy, extremely fun, and would make a great game to play around Halloween or just to show off the PlayStation VR’s capabilities.
The entire experience is a classic, arcade-style, on-rails light gun shooter. And like the old coin-op games of the past, there is a ton of fun to be had with Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. It is lacking, however, in replay value unless you’re the type to challenge your own scores or are dying to see that “true ending.”
There’s no real story, so any conclusions aren’t very meaningful. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give Until Dawn: Rush of Blood a chance. Rush of Blood is a good scare, creepy, extremely fun, and would make a great game to play around Halloween or just to show off the PlayStation VR’s capabilities.
