How does one take a horror movie and make it an interactive video game? Like most movie licensed games, it usually garners mixed results. For every great title that does the job well, there’s also the rushed and clumsy cash grabs.
This is a complete shame, as most horror movies have great potential concepts for games. There are still some great ones out there, but which ones are the best? Which ones are the worst? Note that, while games like Dead By Daylight and Until Dawn are heavily inspired by horror movies, they are not actually based on said movies.
10 Worst: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1983)
So, the main demographic playing the Atari 2600 in the early eighties was mainly kids. Whose bright idea was it to make a game based on one of the most controversially violent movies at the time?
That’s a mystery for another time. How is Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Not good. The player controls Leatherface himself and endlessly roams fields slaughtering random characters—you know, for kids. In the end, though, it’s just a bland game even for the Atari 2600.
9 Best: Saw (2009)
With new movies being released every October at the time, it was inevitable the Saw franchise would spawn a game. Much to the shock of many, it became an underrated gem for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
It’s not perfect by any means but Saw took the concept of a gauntlet of traps and converted it into a fun action/puzzle game. With plenty of gore, challenging puzzles, and the infamous Saw style, it is worth checking out. Avoid the sequel game, though.
8 Worst: Jaws Unleashed (2005)
An RPG where the player controls a shark in an open world? Sounds like a blast! At first, Jaws Unleashed sports some nice visuals and animations alongside fun environment traversal. However, instantly the game is ruined immediately by the controls.
When something as simple as biting an enemy—the game’s most used action—is nearly impossible to perform? Maybe it’s time to rethink the game. The game’s story is so ridiculous and over-the-top that it rivals the fourth Jaws movie in awfulness. Fortunately, the RPG shark concept was done way better with this year’s Maneater.
7 Best: Ju-On: The Grudge (2009)
When the Nintendo Wii is brought up, horror titles are not usually the first games that come to mind. However, the Wii did have a few surprise gems including Ju-On: The Grudge.
Ju-On: The Grudge is split up into multiple chapters with each chapter playing more like a haunted house ride. This is not a bad thing, as Ju-On: The Grudge does a brilliant job of building suspense and keeping the player on their toes waiting for any scary ghost to appear.
6 Worst: A Nightmare On Elm Street (1989)
It’s nearly impossible to talk about movie-licensed games without mentioning a game by LJN. They are the masters of terrible movie-tie in games, especially on the original NES, and A Nightmare On Elm Street is easily one of their worst.
Where does the player go? What do the items do? What is anything? The game never explains, and it’s to the point that it just hinders the player from progressing. Even when they do know, A Nightmare On Elm Street is just a tedious, frustrating mess of a game from top to bottom. It barely has anything to do with the film franchise other than the very infrequent Freddy appearances.
5 Best: Friday The 13th The Game (2017)
LJN also made a Friday The 13th game, but let’s ignore that and skip to 2017. Illfonic, who would go on to make Predator: Hunting Grounds, gave horror fans this competitive multiplayer game where one player controls Jason Voorhees and the rest play as survivors.
Friday The 13th The Game boasts ugly graphics, a plethora of glitches, and very little customization. Instead, it makes up for everything by having genuinely fun multiplayer gameplay, atmosphere, and clear love for the movies. Any fan of the franchise will get a kick out of the many locations, easter eggs, and the many Jason Voorhees classes.
4 Worst: Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead’s Revenge (1995)
What is this game? No, seriously, what is this game? The Pumpkinhead movies were already a dead franchise, with only the first movie being fondly remembered. So, why was this made?
Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead’s Revenge is based on the movies thanks only to its title, and everything else is just a mess. It’s essentially what happens if the classic Doom games took LSD and were not nearly as polished. An apology to the few who actually bought the game on release… or even knew the game existed.
3 Best: The Thing (2002)
A game based on John Carpenter’s horror classic had every reason to be LJN levels of bad. However, the game was shockingly great! The Thing keeps the dark and claustrophobic atmosphere of the movie while creating a sequel to the original film.
The Thing also uses a unique trust system. This forces the player to keep the paranoia levels low and bonds with the team up high or they could rebel. Combined with impressive creature design and gameplay, The Thing is a forgotten horror game that deserves more recognition.
2 Worst: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
An action platformer based on the Francis Ford Coppola movie starring Gary Oldman? Oh, dear. Perhaps it will be like the classic Castlevania series? Nope. It is a generic platformer on the NES and SNES with terrible visuals and sounds.
Then, there’s the Sega CD version, which manages to be even worse. The controls are so broken that it’s nearly impossible to complete one level, let alone defeat Dracula in any of his forms. Even the 2.5D graphics can’t redeem the Sega CD version.
1 Best: Alien: Isolation (2014)
No surprise here, but the best game based on a horror movie is still Alien: Isolation. Much like The Thing, Isolation acts as a sequel to the original movie and it’s arguably the best sequel. The visuals match the original Ridley Scott movie perfectly, and the story of Amanda Ripley is engaging.
The Xenomorph is still one of the most terrifying threats in video game history. The AI adapts to the player’s moves so don’t get comfortable using the same tactics. Add creepy android enemies and puzzles to bake a beautiful cake that fans are still waiting for a sequel to!
NEXT: Aliens: The Best Games In The Franchise, Ranked
