We have a lot of post-apocalyptic games right now. A lot of them are what the world is like shortly after the apocalypse. Usually a few years or decades. Horizon is one that shows what the world could be like thousands of years after one, and this fascinates me even more. Zero Dawn was a hard game to get into. It was slow to start, even slower to get good, and the combat just wasn’t all that great, including the stealth. Aloy is a fantastic main protagonist and one of Sony’s best in years. She’s strong, not cliche or stereotypical, and has a striking design. Sadly, she was the only memorable character in Zero Dawn. Forbidden West tries to remedy a lot of this by giving us a bolder and grander adventure and more refined mechanics, but does it succeed?
The game doesn’t exactly expect you to have played the first game and catches you up on the story so far, and kind of does throughout the entire game. Zero Dawn’s story only got interesting during the last few missions of the game, and it kind of exposition dumped on you during a few long cutscenes. It was interesting, but not very nuanced. Here, the story is kind of retold as you continue your adventure to stop Sylens and the Hephaestus AI from destroying the world. The game does start slow…again. You end up dealing with another warring tribe before getting to the heart of the story and saving the planet. Honestly, I lost interest in the game for a couple of years because of this. I put around 8 hours into the game, mostly trying to explore and get into the game mechanics again, but it just dragged. I highly recommend just doing the story before doing any side content, as you really need more of the special gear and higher-tier armor and weapons. You will constantly hit blocks, and it will frustrate you early on. The story itself takes around 20-25 hours to complete. By the end you will be around level 30 or so and have really good gear.
I don’t want to spoil much of the story, but your main goal is to help the GAIA AI to take back control of the various terraforming systems that Zero Dawn launched as the end is nigh. There are a few small plot twists, some new factions, and a great buildup to a pretty damn good story by the end of it all. There’s a lot of science fiction thrown in, and it talks about interstellar travel and whatnot, and I was hooked. There aren’t choices in the game like in most action games, but you do get dialog trees that let you optionally listen to more exposition and backstory. There’s a lot of this, by the way. Just metric tons of optional dialogue, audio recordings, and texts. They really wanted to sell this story and flesh it out as much as possible, and they did a pretty good job. It’s very believable and feels grounded and almost like it can happen. There are moments that got intense in the story where you weren’t sure how Aloy and her companions would get out of hairy situations. I really like what they did here, and there’s potential to now expand on this even further and branch off into other subgenres.
The writing is much better this time around with less cringy dialogue and corny lines; however, the character design is still generic. All of Aloy’s allies are either just generic characters or have good writing and personality, but their looks are generic. For example, Alva is a great character in writing, but she still looks generic. Varl and Zo are forgettable, and Erand is a stereotypical biker personality who discovers he likes drinking and “Death Metal”. All of the miscellaneous characters who give side quests and errands are pretty generic. I just didn’t care for most of them. Some other characters are more decent, like Kotallo, who is missing an arm and is battling his honor. They have some great personality, and I could get behind them. It’s better, but not quite there yet.
With the story out of the way, let’s dive into the combat. I still don’t love it. You’ll be dodging and rolling out of the way of these machine creatures. I feel there’s too much focus on ranged combat when most of the machines attack you up close. There is less stealth in this game and more up-close melee, but you still only have heavy and light melee attacks. If you sneak around, you can do a stealth kill, but you need to be at or above the area’s level to do instant kills. Humans are always instant kills, but machines not so much. There are many ranged weapons at your disposal that can set tripwire traps, semi-automatic arrows, long-range arrows, bomb slings, javelins, etc. These can all be equipped with coils that inflict various elemental ailments, such as corrosion to eat away at armor. The quickest way to take a machine down is to use your Focus to highlight weak spots and target those. You can slow down time (and this meter increases with various stat boosts), but I never felt in control of fights. Boss fights require tons of health potions and either having the right weapons or blasting them with everything you have. You can craft more ammo in the weapon wheel too.
Stealth still consists of hiding in tall grass, and you can use combat augments from the upgrade tree like an invisibility cloak. The upgrade tree now has more branches on the tree, such as trapper, hunter, infiltrator, warrior, etc. While enemy placement is a bit better this time around, I still found stalking around massive camps to be nearly impossible. When you get seen, the enemy and nearby enemies are on alert, and it takes forever for them to go back to patrol. With the heavier focus on direct combat, it was easier to just wipe everyone out. Find a heavy weapon and you can take out an entire camp with it. Combat does feel improved with a couple more weapon types, but melee fighting is still limited, and combat just isn’t my favorite in this series. I prefer exploring more than anything.
And with that, exploring is abundant here. The map is massive, too massive. It’s a truncated version of the West of the US. The Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon), Nevada desert, San Francisco coastlines (Northern California), and Las Vegas. They took all of these biomes and shrunk them down onto a single map. What’s here is a lot of nothing. While there are tons of side quests, errands, missions, and things to find, Forbidden West falls into the same tired trappings of modern open-world games. Too much bloat and not enough focus on what’s interesting. Everything outside of the main story is just for getting the platinum trophy. The side quests are given by companions, so those are more story related, but everything else is just filler to extend game time. I did like doing the Tallneck missions. These are one of the few less generic-looking machines in the game, but there are only five, with one being part of a main mission. These reveal more of the world and reveal large landmarks in an area, but there’s still some fog of war.
Traversing this larger map requires you to have a mount. I forwent them in the last game, as it wasn’t a very big map, but here they’re a must. You can bypass most machine herds and get to where you need to go, plus you can now fly on winged machines this time around, but not until the last act of the game. This makes doing side content so much easier, and you can pretty much avoid all herds this way. However, I do have a problem with platforming in this game. This game is just way too context sensitive, and that’s another problem with modern gaming right now. These large AAA games are so context heavy that it can make things feel sluggish and cause many glitches. Jumping and climbing in Horizon is not great. Animations are too long; Aloy will jump when not told, and she won’t grab onto ledges despite jumping right towards them; she will just fall through ropes and other objects. A lot of long platforming segments required many restarts just because something went wrong. You have to be lined up perfectly, or things won’t connect. I fell through objects and got stuck; she would swing half her body through a wall, and I would jump right past a pole or beam for no reason and then land it the next time around. It sucks.
And with that we can talk about visuals. Forbidden West is still one of the best-looking games of all time. The visuals are stunning, and even in performance mode, they look great. I played in balanced mode with 120 Hz turned on, and it was the best way to go. There is so much detail everywhere, from small facilities that look like they were abandoned for thousands of years to lush forests and dry deserts. There’s so much detail everywhere, including the new large underwater areas. While I still feel parts of the game feel generic, like the overall futuristic look of the game. It’s a lot of shiny metal, smooth gel like metal, white, gold, triangles, etc.; it feels like stuff that’s been done to death in games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Echo, etc. It was fine the first time around, but this futuristic style is getting old. We need a refresh. I also don’t care for the machine designs. They look like generic Transformer animals. Even the tribal armor all looks generic and the same after a while.
Despite all of that, the game has a fascinating story, a large beautiful world to explore, and some decent gameplay loops of side content. I just wish the combat was tighter and the platforming didn’t suck. The writing is better, and some of the main characters are better, but most of the other characters you run into are forgettable and generic.
I know what you are thinking. “What are you thinking?!” During my recent quest to acquire and purchase licensed games from the past, I came to realize how much I miss those days. Was that really the worst the game industry had to offer? Unbeknownst to us at the time, the emergence of DLC was just the beginning of the end. We all hated licensed video games. They were considered shovelware, holiday slog, garbage, only for children, and any other name you can pick. While most were terrible, they were some decent ones. Despite their occasional low budget, they ensured the publishers’ financial stability, allowing studios to continue developing AAA games without the fear of shutdown. If you showed me a live service game in 2005 and the damage it caused to the industry, I would buy five copies of every licensed game to ensure that it never happened again.
So, what did happen? Well, games got more expensive. Even the most affordable game in today’s market can cost nearly a million dollars, even with a simple license agreement to a popular franchise. Most license deals were with companies like Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros., and the occasional older movie license such as The Evil Dead or Marvel. Forget being cheap today. As prices increased, most studios became increasingly greedy, acquiring smaller studios and retaining them for their own use. Disney gained notoriety for this practice, leading to the closure of Black Rock Studios, one of the most cherished game studios during the mid- to late 2000s. They are also famous for shutting down Junction Point Games, who made Epic Mickey for Wii. Black Rock Studio was a fantastic racing game studio that produced the MotoGP and ATV Offroad Fury games, as well as Pure and Split/Second.
Sadly, many decent licensed games didn’t sell well because of the vitriol surrounding them. Gamers simply detested these games, with some vowing never to purchase even one. Many of them felt like quick money makers or cheap cash grabs, catering primarily to children. Other licensed games, such as Marvel vs. Capcom and Def Jam: Fight for NY, received positive feedback and excellent sales. The Indiana Jones games from LucasArts were decent enough. There was even a game based on the movie The Great Escape, but it didn’t review well. The James Bond license was a massive success from the 90’s to the late 2000’s as well. The majority of these rental-fodder games were enjoyable, and it’s surprising how few received negative reviews. Another example is the excellent Kim Possible: What’s the Switch?, which is a really good platformer. However, due to the license itself and its appeal to a younger audience, it was not purchased.
There was also a craze for super hero video games, which lasted from around 1990 to 2015. Superhero games are in decline, failing to keep pace with the popularity of films. Think about why this is. The majority of these games were inexpensive and quickly licensed, occasionally featuring a rare AAA title like the Batman: Arkham series from Rocksteady Studios or Spider-Man 2 from Treyach, a company that has exclusively produced Call of Duty games since 2008. You might only be familiar with AAA titles like Spider-Man games or the occasional fighters like Marvel vs. Capcom or Injustice on the DC side, but the majority of these games were designed for children. Games such as Marvel Super Hero Squad, the latest LEGO Marvel games, Teen Titans, Superman Returns, and many other poorly reviewed superhero games were not supported by a substantial budget. During the holidays, they sold exceptionally well and contributed significantly to revenue. That’s all they were useful for.
What’s even worse is that most licensed games today are live service games. Fighting games such as MultiVersus, super hero games such as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Marvel’s Avengers, and many others are incredibly unpopular with most gamers and feel like they ruin what once was great. Publishers prioritize games that generate substantial cash flow and cater to a broad audience, particularly parents who may be gullible and easily exploited. The predatory models have always existed, even 20 years ago, but they weren’t as easily accessible and well known. The emergence of HD consoles marked the beginning of DLC and microtransactions, but even then, we had access to real content at a fixed price. Some were good, and some were bad, just like the full video games themselves. Once the smartphone market gained momentum, it quickly spread to the console realm, a phenomenon that many had sworn would never occur. In the early 2010’s, developers were talking about how microtransactions were the future of staying in business rather than talking about making quality products that people actually wanted to buy.
These days, licensed games are usually reserved for AA or AAA budgets such as the recent Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 by Insomniac Games or the upcoming Wolverine game by the same developer. The soon to be released Indiana Jones and the Great Circle has a massive budget from MachineGames who brought us the most recent Wolfenstein games. However, the large onslaught of cartoon focused games that release during the holidays are…gone. I honestly really miss these releases even if they were terrible. A lot of us grew up with them as kids as that’s all our parents would get or our grandparents or aunt didn’t know any better and got us a game on a cartoon they know we watched a lot when we were over. These games releasing was part of the holiday feeling that I would get every year. Negative or not it was part of what made a lot of people’s childhood special.
The yearly releases were something that just felt familiar and we could always look forward to either loving or making fun of. The yearly releases for the Harry Potter games were hit or miss, but it was always fun to see what would be done next with the series. Barbie, Shrek, Cars, Batman, Superman, The Godfather, Scarface, the list goes on. Not all were for kids, but many were, and it seemed the larger budget games were saved for teens and adult audiences. Long gone are the days seeing four different versions of a Spider-Man game that played differently on every platform. Seeing those boxes in the stores meant the Christmas cheer was around the corner and you either hoped or would dread seeing that cover as you ripped open the paper.
While I don’t have any photos of myself as a child opening video games during Christmas here are a couple more recent photos and a video.
In my never-ending pursuit to find the best horror games that feel truly scary or are reminiscent of the 90’s and early 2000’s horror but actually play well, I took upon myself to gather up all modern horror games that are worth playing. What defines a horror video game? Most people typically assume that there are simple answers, such as ghosts, zombies, space, or any other single word category. While it’s difficult to pin down and categorize horror into a single genre, or even sub-genres, what makes horror games keep us up at night is the fear of the unknown. We can characterize this as a basic uncertainty, ranging from the unknown lurking around every corner to the never ending pursuit of the antagonist. Humans have harbored fear of the unknown since ancient times, and video games can provide us with a glimpse into this terrifying realm. Games can give us a glimpse into this abyss. While some gamers may not consider Doom a scary game, its release likely frightened many kids and adults, and it may still do so today. Everyone’s fear is a scale or spectrum. There’s not one set number you can place. P.T. was one of the scariest things I ever experienced, and some people laughed the entire time. Some may consider this just a coping mechanism, and others may be able to easily overcome their own fears.
Rather than doing this chronologically, I have broken this series up into multiple categories. These games may also fall into other categories, and some may think a single game feels like something else to them while playing it. Horror has also made a comeback over the last five years. Just looking on SteamDB shows that indie horror titles are at an all-time high; however, there is also an onslaught of utter garbage in every storefront.
I hope to sort these out, as good modern indie horror is hard to come by. It’s like sorting through the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Do you really need to play Hitler: BDSM Bunker or another “creepy” Hentai game only to discover it’s complete garbage? While a lot of these games play off of current memes and satirize political issues, they aren’t “real” games. For every 10 P.T. clones, there’s a single good survival horror out there trying to be something different. For every 20 Five Nights at Freddy’s or Poppy Playtime clones there’s a hidden gem of a text adventure buried under the heaping steaming pile of crap.
My reading of “From Ants to Zombies” by Alexander Chatziioannou inspired this entire idea. It completely transformed my viewpoint and understanding of horror games. What I won’t include are obvious AAA titles from the Resident Evil series or games like P.T. We all know them; everyone has played one of these, and you already know if you love them or hate them. I won’t incorporate any Early Access games or titles released before 2014, unless they belong to a series that has seen a release within the past decade. I will also not include remakes or remasters such as the most recent Dead Rising, Silent Hill 2, or Dead Space games, for example. I wanted to mostly highlight indie horror and games that may have had a larger budget but were easily overlooked or forgotten.
I will break this series up into 10 categories as follows:
New Retro: These are games that try to bring back the feeling and nostalgia or horror games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. PS1 and Nintendo 64 style graphics, older visual effects, maybe even older play styles like tank controls. This category will be last as to highlight the future of horror gaming.
Psychological: This is one of the most common categories in horror. These games usually play a lot of tricks on the mind, have heavy use of music, ambiance, jump scares, or heavily use the story is scare the player.
Zombies, Ghosts, and Creatures, Oh My!: These games are usually considered not as scary to some, but usually still have creepy monster design or mostly use monsters to terrify the player.
Space: Space is a great factor of “Fear of the Unknown”. Games set in space or use the vast void or outer space to scare us.
Relentless Pursuer: Games that constantly keep you on your toes with antagonists that just won’t let off. These games aren’t as popular as they once were.
Fear of the Abyss: These games use phobias to usually scare the player. This doesn’t completely excludes space, but mostly includes games that take place in the ocean.
Eldritch: Lovecraftian horror is the easiest way to describe this, however this can also describe games with entire art style devoted to bio-mechanism, gross organics monsters throughout, and overall giving a feeling of uneasiness or a larger than life monster or being that you can’t ever see, but it lets you know it’s there.
Survival Horror: The most popular genre and what most people think of when they think of horror games. These usually have the player using resource management to survive whatever baddies that come at you. These are also more on the atmospheric side.
Boomer Shooter Nightmares: There has been a huge surge of Boomer Shooters in the ire of Doom in the last five years. While Doom itself doesn’t make the list there are so many great indie shooters out there that it needed its own category.
Errant Children: This category includes both protagonist and antagonistic children in the game. These are very uncommon, and have mostly dropped out of favor over the last decade, but a few still exist.
Beyond Hanwell (2024) Platforms: WIN, PS5, XSX
Explore the world beyond Hanwell in London’s Westminster, immersing yourself in a rich atmosphere. Enjoy a dual control melee combat system, scavenging scarce weapons and ammo, and creatively using the environment to eliminate anomalies. Enjoy non-linear open gameplay with no HUD, and explore unique locations with different creatures and boss fights. Enjoy satisfying combat encounters with a dual button combat system and punchy gunplay. The game doesn’t dive too heavily in the story department, but if you just want to fight creepy enemies and be drenched in terror then look no further.
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication (2024) Platforms: WIN, PS5, PS4, XB1, XSX, NSW
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication is a first-person survival horror adventure set in Taiwan’s haunting Wen Hua University. The film club recruits new members to shoot a viral horror film, but the line between fiction and reality blurs. The game follows four distinct characters: Sue Lian, a news reporter, and three university students. Players must use stealth, tactics, and sacred objects to escape the relentless hunters. They must navigate through the haunting beauty of Wen Hua, scouting for clues and essential items to unlock the mysteries. The game also features mind-bending puzzles and a sinister conspiracy. The Bridge Curse 2 builds upon its predecessor’s success, allowing players to explore the haunting campus and uncover hidden truths. The first game is interesting, but not essential to enjoy this one.
Chila’s Art Series (2018) Platforms: WIN
Chilla’s Art LLC is a Japanese indie game production team consisting of two brothers, with the older brother handling 3D-related tasks and the younger brother programming. The third brother joined the company on April 1, 2023, and is primarily responsible for the development of “Night Security.” The company’s name comes from the Japanese word for chinchilla, and its mascot character is a purple chinchilla named Chiramaru. The team was influenced by indie horror games like Detention, DreadOut, Witch Hunt, Home Sweet Home, and Granny. Their latest release is a remake of The Bathhouse with better controls, graphics, and overall just a better game. There are quite a few games in the series and almost all of them are solid titles that only take a few hours to finish. These are great games to purchase on sale (they are usually a few dollars a piece) and spend a night with the lights off and enjoy Asian horror tales while looking behind your back.
Ghostwire: Tokyo (2022) Platforms: WIN, PS5, XSX
Ghostwire: Tokyo is a thrilling game where players must face the unknown, uncover the truth, and save the city from supernatural forces. The game features a haunted Tokyo, with iconic landmarks like Shibuya Crossing and Tokyo Tower. Players must use upgradeable elemental powers and ghost-hunting skills to combat the supernatural threat and save their family. The game also allows players to ascend to the skyline and discover new missions. The game gets repetitive after awhile, but there are some real cool ideas in here and the game feels like a spooky haunted house with some tense atmosphere and fun scripted moments.
Maid of Sker (2020) Platforms: WIN, PS5, PS4, XB1, XSX, NSW, AND
Maid of Sker is a first-person survival horror set in a remote hotel with a macabre history inspired by Welsh folklore. Players use stealth tactics against AI enemies and a family empire driven by torture, slavery, and piracy. The game does little to surprise players, but the atmosphere, freaky monster designs, and overall tense horror stealth is enough to keep you glued to your seat. Don’t expect stellar writing outside of a mostly predictable story, but just come for the scares and haunts.
Outlast II (2017) Platforms: WIN, PS4, XB1, NSW
Outlast 2 is the sequel to the popular survival horror game Outlast, set in a different universe with different characters and settings. The game follows Blake Langermann and his wife, Lynn, as they investigate the murder of Jane Doe in the Arizona desert. They must uncover the deep secrets of human mind and corruption, leading them to the Arizona desert and the tribulations of the end of times. This is one of the scariest series I have ever played. I have yet to finish either game just because of how creepy the monster designs are, and how intense the stealth sequences are. The atmosphere is insanely haunting and makes your skin crawl.
In my never-ending pursuit to find the best horror games that feel truly scary or are reminiscent of the 90’s and early 2000’s horror but actually play well, I took upon myself to gather up all modern horror games that are worth playing. What defines a horror video game? Most people typically assume that there are simple answers, such as ghosts, zombies, space, or any other single word category. While it’s difficult to pin down and categorize horror into a single genre, or even sub-genres, what makes horror games keep us up at night is the fear of the unknown. We can characterize this as a basic uncertainty, ranging from the unknown lurking around every corner to the never ending pursuit of the antagonist. Humans have harbored fear of the unknown since ancient times, and video games can provide us with a glimpse into this terrifying realm. Games can give us a glimpse into this abyss. While some gamers may not consider Doom a scary game, its release likely frightened many kids and adults, and it may still do so today. Everyone’s fear is a scale or spectrum. There’s not one set number you can place. P.T. was one of the scariest things I ever experienced, and some people laughed the entire time. Some may consider this just a coping mechanism, and others may be able to easily overcome their own fears.
Rather than doing this chronologically, I have broken this series up into multiple categories. These games may also fall into other categories, and some may think a single game feels like something else to them while playing it. Horror has also made a comeback over the last five years. Just looking on SteamDB shows that indie horror titles are at an all-time high; however, there is also an onslaught of utter garbage in every storefront.
I hope to sort these out, as good modern indie horror is hard to come by. It’s like sorting through the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Do you really need to play Hitler: BDSM Bunker or another “creepy” Hentai game only to discover it’s complete garbage? While a lot of these games play off of current memes and satirize political issues, they aren’t “real” games. For every 10 P.T. clones, there’s a single good survival horror out there trying to be something different. For every 20 Five Nights at Freddy’s or Poppy Playtime clones there’s a hidden gem of a text adventure buried under the heaping steaming pile of crap.
My reading of “From Ants to Zombies” by Alexander Chatziioannou inspired this entire idea. It completely transformed my viewpoint and understanding of horror games. What I won’t include are obvious AAA titles from the Resident Evil series or games like P.T. We all know them; everyone has played one of these, and you already know if you love them or hate them. I won’t incorporate any Early Access games or titles released before 2014, unless they belong to a series that has seen a release within the past decade. I will also not include remakes or remasters such as the most recent Dead Rising, Silent Hill 2, or Dead Space games, for example. I wanted to mostly highlight indie horror and games that may have had a larger budget but were easily overlooked or forgotten.
I will break this series up into 10 categories as follows:
New Retro: These are games that try to bring back the feeling and nostalgia or horror games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. PS1 and Nintendo 64 style graphics, older visual effects, maybe even older play styles like tank controls. This category will be last as to highlight the future of horror gaming.
Psychological: This is one of the most common categories in horror. These games usually play a lot of tricks on the mind, have heavy use of music, ambiance, jump scares, or heavily use the story is scare the player.
Zombies, Ghosts, and Creatures, Oh My!: These games are usually considered not as scary to some, but usually still have creepy monster design or mostly use monsters to terrify the player.
Space: Space is a great factor of “Fear of the Unknown”. Games set in space or use the vast void or outer space to scare us.
Relentless Pursuer: Games that constantly keep you on your toes with antagonists that just won’t let off. These games aren’t as popular as they once were.
Fear of the Abyss: These games use phobias to usually scare the player. This doesn’t completely excludes space, but mostly includes games that take place in the ocean.
Eldritch: Lovecraftian horror is the easiest way to describe this, however this can also describe games with entire art style devoted to bio-mechanism, gross organics monsters throughout, and overall giving a feeling of uneasiness or a larger than life monster or being that you can’t ever see, but it lets you know it’s there.
Survival Horror: The most popular genre and what most people think of when they think of horror games. These usually have the player using resource management to survive whatever baddies that come at you. These are also more on the atmospheric side.
Boomer Shooter Nightmares: There has been a huge surge of Boomer Shooters in the ire of Doom in the last five years. While Doom itself doesn’t make the list there are so many great indie shooters out there that it needed its own category.
Errant Children: This category includes both protagonist and antagonistic children in the game. These are very uncommon, and have mostly dropped out of favor over the last decade, but a few still exist.
Flathead (2024) Platforms: WIN
Flathead is a thrilling game of over or under, set in a dark machine with various gadgets. Players must save points to escape before the terror approaches. The game offers strategic gambles with various tools and strategies, increasing odds and accumulating points. The game also features a gritty analog horror aesthetic. While the game is short lived the constant fear of having to look behind you with an ever present entity is just on another level scary.
Lethal Company (2023) Platforms: WIN
As a contracted worker for the Company, collect scrap from abandoned moons to meet profit quotas. Use the cash to travel to new moons with higher risks or buy fancy suits. Explore nature and rummage through derelict, steel, and concrete underbellies. Guide crewmates using radar, remote access, and tools from the Company store. Communicate with crewmates to carry valuables and avoid leaving anyone behind at night. While the game did go viral for goofy antics that players experienced, the game can be genuinely terrifying when taken seriously. There’s always something chasing you and having to rely on your team mates to guide you through the area safely adds to the tension.
My Friendly Neighborhood (2023) Platforms: WIN
The Friendly Neighborhood, a beloved Saturday morning puppet show, has been a source of entertainment for years. However, as interest waned, the studio closed, leading to a decline in toy sales and niche fandoms. Years later, the studio returns to broadcasting old episodes, but the puppets are eating each other. Handyman Gordon is sent to investigate, finding the neighborhood has become less welcoming. A mix of action and adventure, is perfect for horror fans looking for a different experience. This is a horror version of Sesame Street, make no qualms about it. Somebody was seriously sacred of giant puppets on the dev team, but the game also has real tension and dread. Despite the goofy puppets their animations, attitude, voice acting, and overall demeanor are insanely scary and I had to stop playing the game for awhile just because of how intense the chases in the game are and the ever present puppet stalkers.
Killer Frequency (2023) Platforms: WIN, PS5, PS4, NSW, XB1, XSX
In 1987, former radio DJ Forrest Nash is live on air in small-town Gallows Creek, USA, where every call is life or death. As the only person in town who can run a phone line, Nash must solve puzzles to save callers from a mysterious killer. The horror comedy features a unique 1st person narrative, branching dialogues, and a retro slasher setting, with a fully voiced cast and an original 80’s soundtrack.
Madison (2023) Platforms: WIN, PS5, PS4, NSW, XB1, XSX
MADiSON is a first-person horror game with a compelling narrative. Luca must endure brutal torture from MADiSON, a demon, to complete a sinister ritual. Each character has a unique story, and players must navigate through the game using an instant camera, manual photos, and interaction with entities.
Bendy and the Ink Machine (2017) Bendy and the Dark Revival (2022) Platforms: WIN, MAC, PS5, PS4, NSW, XB1, XSX, AND, IOS
Bendy and the Dark Revival is a first-person horror game, set in a creepy animation studio. Players navigate through ink-tainted enemies, puzzles, and the Ink Demon, seeking their way back to the real world.
Until Dawn (2015) Platforms: WIN, PS5, PS4
The game features eight friends returning to an isolated mountain retreat where two of their group members disappeared a year prior. Players control a group of unique characters, portrayed by an all-star cast, and decide their fate through their choices. The game uses cutting-edge visual technology to bring the nightmare to life, leaving players breathless with every step. I did not include the recent remake that just came out due to it’s lower quality and many issues.
In my never-ending pursuit to find the best horror games that feel truly scary or are reminiscent of the 90’s and early 2000’s horror but actually play well, I took upon myself to gather up all modern horror games that are worth playing. What defines a horror video game? Most people typically assume that there are simple answers, such as ghosts, zombies, space, or any other single word category. While it’s difficult to pin down and categorize horror into a single genre, or even sub-genres, what makes horror games keep us up at night is the fear of the unknown. We can characterize this as a basic uncertainty, ranging from the unknown lurking around every corner to the never ending pursuit of the antagonist. Humans have harbored fear of the unknown since ancient times, and video games can provide us with a glimpse into this terrifying realm. Games can give us a glimpse into this abyss. While some gamers may not consider Doom a scary game, its release likely frightened many kids and adults, and it may still do so today. Everyone’s fear is a scale or spectrum. There’s not one set number you can place. P.T. was one of the scariest things I ever experienced, and some people laughed the entire time. Some may consider this just a coping mechanism, and others may be able to easily overcome their own fears.
Rather than doing this chronologically, I have broken this series up into multiple categories. These games may also fall into other categories, and some may think a single game feels like something else to them while playing it. Horror has also made a comeback over the last five years. Just looking on SteamDB shows that indie horror titles are at an all-time high; however, there is also an onslaught of utter garbage in every storefront.
I hope to sort these out, as good modern indie horror is hard to come by. It’s like sorting through the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Do you really need to play Hitler: BDSM Bunker or another “creepy” Hentai game only to discover it’s complete garbage? While a lot of these games play off of current memes and satirize political issues, they aren’t “real” games. For every 10 P.T. clones, there’s a single good survival horror out there trying to be something different. For every 20 Five Nights at Freddy’s or Poppy Playtime clones there’s a hidden gem of a text adventure buried under the heaping steaming pile of crap.
My reading of “From Ants to Zombies” by Alexander Chatziioannou inspired this entire idea. It completely transformed my viewpoint and understanding of horror games. What I won’t include are obvious AAA titles from the Resident Evil series or games like P.T. We all know them; everyone has played one of these, and you already know if you love them or hate them. I won’t incorporate any Early Access games or titles released before 2014, unless they belong to a series that has seen a release within the past decade. I will also not include remakes or remasters such as the most recent Dead Rising, Silent Hill 2, or Dead Space games, for example. I wanted to mostly highlight indie horror and games that may have had a larger budget but were easily overlooked or forgotten.
I will break this series up into 10 categories as follows:
New Retro: These are games that try to bring back the feeling and nostalgia or horror games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. PS1 and Nintendo 64 style graphics, older visual effects, maybe even older play styles like tank controls. This category will be last as to highlight the future of horror gaming.
Psychological: This is one of the most common categories in horror. These games usually play a lot of tricks on the mind, have heavy use of music, ambiance, jump scares, or heavily use the story is scare the player.
Zombies, Ghosts, and Creatures, Oh My!: These games are usually considered not as scary to some, but usually still have creepy monster design or mostly use monsters to terrify the player.
Space: Space is a great factor of “Fear of the Unknown”. Games set in space or use the vast void or outer space to scare us.
Relentless Pursuer: Games that constantly keep you on your toes with antagonists that just won’t let off. These games aren’t as popular as they once were.
Fear of the Abyss: These games use phobias to usually scare the player. This doesn’t completely excludes space, but mostly includes games that take place in the ocean.
Eldritch: Lovecraftian horror is the easiest way to describe this, however this can also describe games with entire art style devoted to bio-mechanism, gross organics monsters throughout, and overall giving a feeling of uneasiness or a larger than life monster or being that you can’t ever see, but it lets you know it’s there.
Survival Horror: The most popular genre and what most people think of when they think of horror games. These usually have the player using resource management to survive whatever baddies that come at you. These are also more on the atmospheric side.
Boomer Shooter Nightmares: There has been a huge surge of Boomer Shooters in the ire of Doom in the last five years. While Doom itself doesn’t make the list there are so many great indie shooters out there that it needed its own category.
Errant Children: This category includes both protagonist and antagonistic children in the game. These are very uncommon, and have mostly dropped out of favor over the last decade, but a few still exist.
STASIS is a unique, point-and-click sci-fi-horror adventure game set in the distant future. Players must solve puzzles, interact with computers, and combine items on an abandoned spacecraft. John Maracheck, suffering from pain, faces his wife and daughter’s disappearance. This is a very frightening game and one of the scariest point-and-clicks, if the the scariest, I have ever played. The ambient sound design alone is enough to make you lose sleep.
STASIS: BONE TOTEM is the latest installment in the STASIS anthology, featuring a new story, characters, and underwater environment. Mac and Charlie, a husband and wife duo, discover an abandoned oil rig in the Pacific Ocean and uncover a secret that Cayne Corporation will keep hidden. The game offers an immersive narrative with spine-tingling horror and unexpected twists, combining the thrilling storytelling of STASIS with a tense underwater setting. It features stunning visuals, a music score, a screenplay, and veteran voice acting. While not quite as scary as Stasis, the game is more weird and dives deeper into the occult territory.
Aliens: Dark Descent is a game where players command a squad of Colonial Marines to stop a Xenomorph outbreak on Planet Lethe. The game involves real-time combat against iconic Xenomorphs, rogue operatives from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and new creatures from the Alien franchise. Players must navigate large open levels, annihilating enemies strategically and intuitively. They can customize their squad with different classes, level up, and specialize their soldiers with unique abilities and weapons. The game also allows players to research new tech and improve their squad. Think of this as a turn-based strategy version of Alien: Isolation. Dark Descent borrows a lot of what worked in that game such as tension and atmosphere. Despite being top-down the game is still quite scary and intense.
Observation (2019) Platforms: WIN, PS4, XB1
Observation is a sci-fi thriller that follows Dr. Emma Fisher and her mission crew through the lens of the station’s artificial intelligence, S.A.M. Players assume the role of S.A.M., operating control systems, cameras, and tools to uncover the true nature of themselves and their crew. The game is much slower paced than you would want since this is essentially a puzzle-based walking simulator. The game is very tense and the atmosphere is suffocating and lonely.
Prey (2017) Platforms: WIN, PS4, XB1
In Prey, Morgan Yu is a key subject on Talos I, a moon-orbiting space station, where an experiment aims to alter humanity forever. However, the space station is overrun by hostile aliens, and Morgan is hunted down. To survive, Morgan must use his wits, weapons, and abilities to uncover the dark secrets of Talos I and his past. The game features a sci-fi thriller setting, and an unimaginable threat from a living ecology. Players must use their alien abilities to craft useful items and survive unprecedented threats. This game infamously was the troubled reboot of the Prey series. The 2006 darling didn’t get the true sequel treatment it wanted and we didn’t get the exciting game that Prey 2 never was. However, Arkane did a fine job giving us a System Shock like experience with interesting enemies.
Alien: Isolation is set in a world of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Amanda, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, embarks on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother’s disappearance. She navigates a volatile world, confronting a panicked population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien. Underpowered and underprepared, Amanda must scavenge resources, improvise solutions, and use her wits to survive. The game takes place in the decommissioned trading station Sevastopol, where Amanda encounters a rich cast of inhabitants and faces the same terrifying thing that separated them. This is considered the best Alien game to date and one of the most terrifying games ever created. I still can’t get through this game ten years later. It’s gorgeous to look at and feels great to play.
The Expanse: A Telltale Series (2023) Platforms: WIN, PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX
Telltale’s latest adventure takes players on the role of Camina Drummer, the Executive Officer of the Artemis, as they explore the dangerous Belt aboard the Artemis. The game features an immersive exploration of zero-g environments, shipwrecks, and zero-g thrusters. Players must make difficult choices and navigate the complexities of space, politics, crew animosities, and their responsibilities to protect the Belt. The game offers no right or wrong path, only choices and their consequences. This is one of the few adventure games I didn’t want to end. The story telling and pacing was so good I played it through in one sitting. The space setting isn’t so much a antagonist itself, but is unfortunately mostly a backdrop. It’s scary in a sense that it feels like something is out there and you never know what it is.
The Invincible (2023) Platforms: WIN, PS5, XSX
Yasna, an astrobiologist, finds herself on the unexplored planet Regis III in a space race. Her mission becomes a search for lost crewmates, and every decision she makes can bring her closer to danger. She must make difficult choices and witness one of 11 possible endings in the philosophical story. The game is based on Stanisław Lem’s iconic novel, The Invincible, and involves interacting with robots, people, and analogue technologies in a retro futuristic timeline. The game challenges Yasna to make difficult choices and witness the consequences of her choices. While the game is mostly a walking simulator at heart, the story is fantastic and so is the lore and technology used in the game’s world. It’s fascinating to explore and learn more about this world, and space itself is the enemy.
In my never-ending pursuit to find the best horror games that feel truly scary or are reminiscent of the 90’s and early 2000’s horror but actually play well, I took upon myself to gather up all modern horror games that are worth playing. What defines a horror video game? Most people typically assume that there are simple answers, such as ghosts, zombies, space, or any other single word category. While it’s difficult to pin down and categorize horror into a single genre, or even sub-genres, what makes horror games keep us up at night is the fear of the unknown. We can characterize this as a basic uncertainty, ranging from the unknown lurking around every corner to the never ending pursuit of the antagonist. Humans have harbored fear of the unknown since ancient times, and video games can provide us with a glimpse into this terrifying realm. Games can give us a glimpse into this abyss. While some gamers may not consider Doom a scary game, its release likely frightened many kids and adults, and it may still do so today. Everyone’s fear is a scale or spectrum. There’s not one set number you can place. P.T. was one of the scariest things I ever experienced, and some people laughed the entire time. Some may consider this just a coping mechanism, and others may be able to easily overcome their own fears.
Rather than doing this chronologically, I have broken this series up into multiple categories. These games may also fall into other categories, and some may think a single game feels like something else to them while playing it. Horror has also made a comeback over the last five years. Just looking on SteamDB shows that indie horror titles are at an all-time high; however, there is also an onslaught of utter garbage in every storefront.
I hope to sort these out, as good modern indie horror is hard to come by. It’s like sorting through the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Do you really need to play Hitler: BDSM Bunker or another “creepy” Hentai game only to discover it’s complete garbage? While a lot of these games play off of current memes and satirize political issues, they aren’t “real” games. For every 10 P.T. clones, there’s a single good survival horror out there trying to be something different. For every 20 Five Nights at Freddy’s or Poppy Playtime clones there’s a hidden gem of a text adventure buried under the heaping steaming pile of crap.
My reading of “From Ants to Zombies” by Alexander Chatziioannou inspired this entire idea. It completely transformed my viewpoint and understanding of horror games. What I won’t include are obvious AAA titles from the Resident Evil series or games like P.T. We all know them; everyone has played one of these, and you already know if you love them or hate them. I won’t incorporate any Early Access games or titles released before 2014, unless they belong to a series that has seen a release within the past decade. I will also not include remakes or remasters such as the most recent Dead Rising, Silent Hill 2, or Dead Space games, for example. I wanted to mostly highlight indie horror and games that may have had a larger budget but were easily overlooked or forgotten.
I will break this series up into 10 categories as follows:
New Retro: These are games that try to bring back the feeling and nostalgia or horror games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. PS1 and Nintendo 64 style graphics, older visual effects, maybe even older play styles like tank controls. This category will be last as to highlight the future of horror gaming.
Psychological: This is one of the most common categories in horror. These games usually play a lot of tricks on the mind, have heavy use of music, ambiance, jump scares, or heavily use the story is scare the player.
Zombies, Ghosts, and Creatures, Oh My!: These games are usually considered not as scary to some, but usually still have creepy monster design or mostly use monsters to terrify the player.
Space: Space is a great factor of “Fear of the Unknown”. Games set in space or use the vast void or outer space to scare us.
Relentless Pursuer: Games that constantly keep you on your toes with antagonists that just won’t let off. These games aren’t as popular as they once were.
Fear of the Abyss: These games use phobias to usually scare the player. This doesn’t completely excludes space, but mostly includes games that take place in the ocean.
Eldritch: Lovecraftian horror is the easiest way to describe this, however this can also describe games with entire art style devoted to bio-mechanism, gross organics monsters throughout, and overall giving a feeling of uneasiness or a larger than life monster or being that you can’t ever see, but it lets you know it’s there.
Survival Horror: The most popular genre and what most people think of when they think of horror games. These usually have the player using resource management to survive whatever baddies that come at you. These are also more on the atmospheric side.
Boomer Shooter Nightmares: There has been a huge surge of Boomer Shooters in the ire of Doom in the last five years. While Doom itself doesn’t make the list there are so many great indie shooters out there that it needed its own category.
Errant Children: This category includes both protagonist and antagonistic children in the game. These are very uncommon, and have mostly dropped out of favor over the last decade, but a few still exist.
The Exit 8 (2023) Platforms: WIN, PS5, PS4, NSW
Escape from an underground passageway by carefully observing your surroundings and avoiding anomalies. The Exit 8 is a walking simulator inspired by Japanese underground passageways and liminal spaces. For such a simple concept, The Exit 8 employs the feeling of familiarity but subtly questions your own sight and senses. I haven’t had this feeling since P.T. ten years ago. The never ending looping hallway changes in small ways, and it’s up to you to find the differences. There is no music, very little sound, and the blinding white tiles sear into your eyes. The sensory deprivation mixed with the uneasiness of something never being quite right makes The Exit 8 a fantastic horror title.
Krimson is a gritty rhythm platformer with heavy electronic metal music. Players navigate a hellish world, with one wrong move causing death. The game features four settings: blood-soaked organic, grungy industrial, psychedelic LSD-fueled acid trip, and hot molten metal madness. The game demands attention and requires skills, mind, and patience. Players must dance with the hell hath rhythm to conquer the hellish world. Sometimes it’s not monsters and ghosts that scare you, but an overwhelming senses attack. Krimson is a constant onslaught of surreal visuals, flashing lights, and abstract colors. This is what it is like to go on an acid trip and not be able to escape. Some of the monster designs are incredibly weird and terrifying, especially when you’re being chased and trying to take everything in.
A young man is on a path in the woods, facing a princess in a cabin. He must slay her to save the world, as she will charm, lie, and promise him the world. The princess is an ordinary human, and he must stay focused on the task. The story is a branching narrative, with the protagonist’s actions and beliefs determining their identity and the story’s unfolding. I usually don’t care for visual novels, but Slay the Princess’ unique art style mixed with a compelling story is something you can’t miss. Claustrophobia and being physically and mentally trapped are enough to make you hold your breath while playing. The fantastic monster design and visual shots are at the right angle and give just enough depth to make it tough to press on. You have the option to turn on the lights, open doors and windows, and step outside, as this game can evoke a sense of solitude and gratitude for your freedom of space.
Ad Infinitum (2023) Platforms: WIN, PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX
Ad Infinitum is a game where players play as a German soldier haunted by the horrors of World War I. They must break the cycle of suffering by regaining control of their life’s narrative. The game takes players from their teenage years to the trenches, where they must navigate through nightmares and terrifying creatures. The fallout of the war is felt far from the front, as players peel back the shroud that hides the secrets of their family. Through exploration and solving riddles, they reveal a chapter in the story of a German family torn apart by war. The horrors of war alone are enough to fight anyone, but a lot of media romanticizes it. Ad Infinitum does a fantastic job showing us the ugly side of World War I. The game skillfully employs the typical “descent into madness” trope for psychological horror games, and its visual roller coaster ride is truly captivating. While the gameplay itself is lacking in many ways (especially the annoying stealth areas) and the story is hard to follow, the actual beat-to-beat events and scripted scenes are something of a nightmare.
Faith: The Unholy Trinity (2022) Platforms: WIN, PS4, NSW
In 1986, two priests arrived at the Martin Family home in Connecticut to investigate a demonic possession case. FAITH is a pixel horror game inspired by classic 8-bit gaming and the 1980s “Satanic Scare.” Players use their holy crucifix to perform exorcisms, fight against possessed cultists, and cleanse haunted objects. The game features three chapters: FAITH, Chapter II, and Chapter III, where the protagonist faces paranormal entities and a powerful demon. As you progress through the story, you encounter various demons and uncover a plethora of scares and horrors. The developers have skillfully depicted frightening imagery with minimal visual flair. The game is also gory and has unsettling music that is purposefully uncomfortable to listen to. The close-up shots of what appear to be rotoscoped facial animations are frightening. Nothing feels normal or real in this game, and it’s a blast to play with the lights off and headphones on.
Growing My Grandpa! (2022) Platforms: WIN
Growing My Grandpa centers around the themes of family and nostalgia, allowing players to engage in a heartfelt narrative that explores the relationship between a grandchild and their grandfather. Through various gameplay mechanics, players experience the joys and challenges of nurturing their grandparent, fostering a deeper understanding of generational bonds and the passage of time. The game is full of disturbing imagery, eerie music, and the overall feeling of complete wrongness. It’s a tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat and is frightening to experience.
Father’s Day (2022) Platforms: WIN
In this game, players take control of three characters who switch roles: police Sergeant Henry, scientist Phil, and Jonathan, a relative of a missing child. Phil’s dream of a perfect life crumbled when he lost his wife and son, driving him to obsessively devise a secret plan to bring them back. Eventually, he finds himself in a bathroom with blood on his hands, yet he presses on with his project. However, things start to spiral out of control, leaving him to grapple with the question of how to make everything right and where to find a reality where everyone is happy. The game is your typical walking simulator, but the scares are subtle and you’re constantly on the edge of your seat thanks to creepy ambient sounds and music.
Ikai is a first-person psychological horror game inspired by Japanese folklore, featuring a defenseless main character who faces threats directly. The game evokes a sense of helplessness and tense atmosphere, with slow, precise movements resembling real life. The story revolves around a demon that is threatening to cross the doorway into the world. The priestess, Naoko, works in the mountains, leaving the shrine under her niece’s control. As the villagers’ dreads grow, Naoko loses consciousness and falls to the ground, almost dead. The shrine’s bell screams for help, but all gods have gone, leaving the world filled with monsters, ghosts, and spirits. The game is a bit slow for a walking simulator, but the scares and atmosphere are well worth it. The ancient Japanese setting reminded me of games like Fatal Frame. While the monsters aren’t plenty, the story and setting are enough to keep moving on.
In Sound Mind (2021) Platforms: WIN, PS5, XSX, NSW
In Sound Mind is a psychological horror game from the creators of Nightmare House 2, featuring a unique first-person narrative and puzzles. Players must navigate a series of haunting memories and encounter a cast of terrors in boss fights. The game features an eerie soundtrack by The Living Tombstone, and offers an imaginative narrative with sentient mannequins, a feline companion, and even the option to pet the cat. The game is very slow to start as the first hour is mostly building up the story, but once the action starts and the scary monsters come out it’s all worth it in the end.
The Medium (2021) Platforms: WIN, MAC, PS5, XSX, NSW
The Medium is a psychological horror game that features dual-reality gameplay and an original soundtrack co-composed by Arkadiusz Reikowski and Akira Yamaoka. Players have psychic abilities that allow them to travel between realities and explore them simultaneously. The game features a mature and morally ambiguous story, where everything has another side. The Medium’s spirit world is a dark mirror reflection of our reality, where unpunished deeds, evil urges, and vile secrets manifest. The game is inspired by Zdzisław Beksiński’s paintings and is set in a mature and morally ambiguous world. Beksinski is one of my favorite artists next to H.R. Giger and I can tell you this game is stunning to look at. While the story itself isn’t memorable, the experience is.
Explore a diverse world with colorful friends and foes, uncovering a forgotten past, and choose your path to determine your fate and potentially others’. I honestly have to mention that this game is a very slow burn. It’s heavily inspired by Earthbound and if you didn’t like that game you won’t like this. Thankfully this game is less “Nintendo” and more of its own thing and actually has some moments where you are deep into the heads of these kids and it can be quite unsettling. Getting there though may feel like a chore to some.
The Coma: Recut (2017) The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters (2020) Platforms: WIN, MAC, LIN, PS4, XB1, NSW
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters is a story-driven game set in the warped Sehwa district. Mina Park, a student, discovers a dark and sinister presence at her school and is pursued by a mysterious figure. To survive, she must venture beyond her school and into the surrounding district, encountering strange creatures, mysterious strangers, and uneasy allies. The game features an all-new AI, a terrifying Dark Song, and challenges to balance exploration with survival. Players must craft items, scavenge resources, unlock tools, and hide to avoid detection. The first game is similar, but with a different story and is worth starting with. The haunting music, atmosphere, and oppressing visuals are well worth it. Don’t let the anime style visuals put you off.
Visage (2018) Platforms: WIN, PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX
Visage is a first-person psychological horror game set in a mysterious, atmospheric house filled with a twisted past of brutal murders, insane people, and suicides. The game takes players through gloomy corridors, dead rooms, and endless mazes, leaving them restless and terrified. Dark entities haunt the players, following their every move and playing tricks on their minds. Players must find ways to escape the nightmare or pull themselves deeper into it. Death is part of the game, and players must avoid terror to avoid joining the ranks of the dead. To stay sane, players must find ways to stay in the light and avoid going insane. A lot of people may be turned off by the subtle imagery. This isn’t a straight forward story, but more of a haunted house ride. It’s one of the most disturbing games you will play and has similar nightmare inducing visuals that P.T. has.
Players join Brian Pasternack, a young man in a dystopian 90s society, on his first day at Sintracorp, the world’s largest company. His job involves hunting a “witch” who has returned to torment employees. Pasternack must learn office protocol, engage in watercooler conversation, consider his five-year goal, assess health and safety, and conduct a rigorous personal assessment to uncover new paths and uncover the corporation’s dark past. The trippy vaporwave visuals mixed with weird horror flair is what will keep you going.
Blair Witch (2019) Platforms: WIN, PS4, XB1, NSW
In 1996, a young boy disappears in the Black Hills Forest, Maryland. Ellis, a former police officer facing his darkest fears and the Blair Witch, a mysterious force haunting the woods. The game is based on the cinematic lore of Blair Witch and follows Ellis as he navigates through a cursed forest, with his canine sidekick, Bullet, by his side. The game also challenges Ellis’ sanity against the Blair Witch and his past. I personally have a lot of memories around the first movie and there just isn’t enough content based on the fascinating lore. While the story here is complete garbage the visuals and setting are not. It’s got the same creepy feeling you get when you drive down a lonely road and look through the darkness beyond the trees.
Lost in Vivo (2018) Platforms: WIN
This horror game is about claustrophobia, where a service dog is forced down a sewer drain during a storm. Along the way, players encounter others with abnormal or psychological fear. The game has some very disturbing imagery despite being a first person shooter. The atmosphere is enough to make you sweat and give you a lump in your throat. It’s a very odd horror title, one of the weirdest out there, but worth it.
Detention (2017) Platforms: WIN, MAC, LIN, PS4, NSW, AND
Detention is a 2D atmospheric horror game set in 1960s Taiwan, where two students find themselves trapped in a haunted high school. The game incorporates East Asian elements like Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese mythology, and players must navigate the school to escape the evil creatures and uncover the dark past of the cursed school. The monster design is some of the eeriest in a 2D horror title, and the perspective itself add a different element than 3D horror games. The atmosphere is similar to Silent Hill, and while the story is confusing, the experience isn’t.
In my never-ending pursuit to find the best horror games that feel truly scary or are reminiscent of the 90’s and early 2000’s horror but actually play well, I took upon myself to gather up all modern horror games that are worth playing. What defines a horror video game? Most people typically assume that there are simple answers, such as ghosts, zombies, space, or any other single word category. While it’s difficult to pin down and categorize horror into a single genre, or even sub-genres, what makes horror games keep us up at night is the fear of the unknown. We can characterize this as a basic uncertainty, ranging from the unknown lurking around every corner to the never ending pursuit of the antagonist. Humans have harbored fear of the unknown since ancient times, and video games can provide us with a glimpse into this terrifying realm. Games can give us a glimpse into this abyss. While some gamers may not consider Doom a scary game, its release likely frightened many kids and adults, and it may still do so today. Everyone’s fear is a scale or spectrum. There’s not one set number you can place. P.T. was one of the scariest things I ever experienced, and some people laughed the entire time. Some may consider this just a coping mechanism, and others may be able to easily overcome their own fears.
Rather than doing this chronologically, I have broken this series up into multiple categories. These games may also fall into other categories, and some may think a single game feels like something else to them while playing it. Horror has also made a comeback over the last five years. Just looking on SteamDB shows that indie horror titles are at an all-time high; however, there is also an onslaught of utter garbage in every storefront.
I hope to sort these out, as good modern indie horror is hard to come by. It’s like sorting through the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Do you really need to play Hitler: BDSM Bunker or another “creepy” Hentai game only to discover it’s complete garbage? While a lot of these games play off of current memes and satirize political issues, they aren’t “real” games. For every 10 P.T. clones, there’s a single good survival horror out there trying to be something different. For every 20 Five Nights at Freddy’s or Poppy Playtime clones there’s a hidden gem of a text adventure buried under the heaping steaming pile of crap.
My reading of “From Ants to Zombies” by Alexander Chatziioannou inspired this entire idea. It completely transformed my viewpoint and understanding of horror games. What I won’t include are obvious AAA titles from the Resident Evil series or games like P.T. We all know them; everyone has played one of these, and you already know if you love them or hate them. I won’t incorporate any Early Access games or titles released before 2014, unless they belong to a series that has seen a release within the past decade. I will also not include remakes or remasters such as the most recent Dead Rising, Silent Hill 2, or Dead Space games, for example. I wanted to mostly highlight indie horror and games that may have had a larger budget but were easily overlooked or forgotten.
I will break this series up into 10 categories as follows:
New Retro: These are games that try to bring back the feeling and nostalgia or horror games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. PS1 and Nintendo 64 style graphics, older visual effects, maybe even older play styles like tank controls. This category will be last as to highlight the future of horror gaming.
Psychological: This is one of the most common categories in horror. These games usually play a lot of tricks on the mind, have heavy use of music, ambiance, jump scares, or heavily use the story is scare the player.
Zombies, Ghosts, and Creatures, Oh My!: These games are usually considered not as scary to some, but usually still have creepy monster design or mostly use monsters to terrify the player.
Space: Space is a great factor of “Fear of the Unknown”. Games set in space or use the vast void or outer space to scare us.
Relentless Pursuer: Games that constantly keep you on your toes with antagonists that just won’t let off. These games aren’t as popular as they once were.
Fear of the Abyss: These games use phobias to usually scare the player. This doesn’t completely excludes space, but mostly includes games that take place in the ocean.
Eldritch: Lovecraftian horror is the easiest way to describe this, however this can also describe games with entire art style devoted to bio-mechanism, gross organics monsters throughout, and overall giving a feeling of uneasiness or a larger than life monster or being that you can’t ever see, but it lets you know it’s there.
Survival Horror: The most popular genre and what most people think of when they think of horror games. These usually have the player using resource management to survive whatever baddies that come at you. These are also more on the atmospheric side.
Boomer Shooter Nightmares: There has been a huge surge of Boomer Shooters in the ire of Doom in the last five years. While Doom itself doesn’t make the list there are so many great indie shooters out there that it needed its own category.
Errant Children: This category includes both protagonist and antagonistic children in the game. These are very uncommon, and have mostly dropped out of favor over the last decade, but a few still exist.
Fear & Hunger (2018) Fear & Hunger 2: Termina (2022) Platforms: WIN, MAC
Fear & Hunger isn’t just a turn-based RPG. The first game has heavy influences from Silent Hill. The haunting atmosphere and otherworldly creatures mess with your head. As you progress, the story unfolds, and every open door feels like terror and dread. The second game, Termina, intensifies this feeling of dread by giving you only three days to explore a gloomy town. These games are challenging, particularly the first one, which features roguelike elements. JRPGs and horror, then these games are for you.
Endoparasitic (2022) Endoparasitic 2 (2024) Platforms: WIN, MAC, LIN
While at the surface level it seems hard to distinguish between the two games despite being released two years apart, the fantastic and unique control scheme is what will keep players moving through this game. With only one limb remaining, you control the game with your mouse. Guns are manually reloaded one bullet at a time; you must inject yourself with various vaccines to stay alive. It’s a heart-pounding experience, and staying on the edge of your seat makes you jump at every sound and enemy that crawls towards you. The sequel is mostly the same, but with slightly improved visuals and mechanics.
This game is the closest you’ll get to a new Silent Hill game. It has the same vibes, atmosphere, aesthetics, and overall gameplay, but slightly less janky. While Tormented Souls introduces its own problems, it wouldn’t be copying a 1990s survival horror if it didn’t. Despite the lackluster plot, the monster designs, atmosphere, and music are enjoyable. Look forward to the sequel in 2025.
This is more of a roguelike survival horror. You must play a cycle of day and night with randomly generated levels. By day, you explore the woods, gather items, weapons, and ammo, and craft what you can. By night, you bunker down in your cabin and defend yourself from the monsters outside. There is a narrative, and you can discover, converse with, and determine the fate of various inhabitants of the world. It’s a very intense game and has a terrifying atmosphere for a top-down game.
The Evil Within (2014) The Evil Within 2 (2017) Platforms: WIN, PS4, 360, PS3, XB1
Despite being a “AAA” title, Bethesda cancelled the entire series because the second game didn’t garner much attention. While Bethesda still owns the IP, they have done nothing with it for the past 8 years, and it’s quite a shame. This is Shinji Mikami’s (Resident Evil) baby, and the first game got a lot of attention. Although it didn’t achieve the same level of success as Resident Evil, the game’s focus is primarily on horror rather than action. Sadly, the action in the game can’t decide if it wants to be a straight-up third-person shooter or a survival horror game. It’s best to play this game in easy mode first. The monster design is fantastic, and the atmosphere is great despite the story making zero sense. The second game took a more open-world approach and has refined gameplay. Sadly, Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks this year so I doubt we will ever see this series again.
Nightmare of Decay (2022) Platforms: WIN
Heavily inspired by the first Resident Evil, Nightmare of Decay sees you waking up in a nightmarish manor full of zombies and cult members. You must manage your resources carefully and fight your way through. The story is by the numbers, but the action feels like a first-person Resident Evil title—graphics and all. The game just feels good, and while not insanely scary, the atmosphere is quite haunting and will make you cautious and watch whats around every corner. The UI is a bit underwhelming, but it gets the job done. This is just a “feel-good” horror game that feels like it would be right at home on the Nintendo 64 or PS1.
A lot of us became gamers at an early age, and our taste in what we play now is often unknowingly guided by our parents and social friends. What my kids grow up with today is a stark difference from what I grew up with 25 years ago. I started playing video games unbeknownst to myself at the ripe age of 2 at a cousin’s house when Mortal Kombat was played on the Sega Genesis back in 1992. I have very fuzzy and blurry snippets of Scorpion’s Fatality and seeing this shocking gore that you could control. I was fascinated by the character designs, music, and being able to do things on the TV with a controller. I wanted my own Genesis so badly, but I grew up poor.
My experience is that of a gamer whose parents didn’t have a lot of money, and most of my games were rentals. I usually only had games for myself during Christmas and my birthday, as they are three days apart. This made Christmas time incredibly special to me, as it was the one time of the year I would get games I could call my own. I was always very careful as to what I put on my list, as I knew my parents would go for the cheaper games first. Sometimes I would leave off the cheaper older games in favor of the newer ones. I also never had the latest consoles when they were released. I usually didn’t get one until 3–4 years into the console cycle or when the first significant price drop occurred.
I was one of those kids who never played mainstream games. I didn’t play any Zelda games on my N64, despite having one for a few years. I never played any Mario Party games; I was obsessed with Pokemon, but I never had a Game Boy to play it when I was actually into Pokemon. I missed out on a lot of games people grew up with.
1992-1994
Sega Genesis
This was the first video game system I ever received. After being obsessed with my cousin’s that he had rented, I had to have my own. I had just turned three years old, and I was ready for my first video game console. My mom had bought a brand new Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog 2 bundle from Circuit City, and I remember it died a few days later. Sonic kept freezing constantly, and my mother wasn’t sure what was causing this, so she had it swapped at the store. I remember going with her during this time.
Mortal Kombat
This game remains my favorite video game series of all time. The gameplay wasn’t as fast-paced as Street Fighter II, but it was more grounded, had incredibly memorable characters, and had some fantastic music on the Genesis that I still listen to to this day. It took me years before I figured out how to do a Fatality or learn the blood code, but I played this on repeat for quite a while along with Sonic 2.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
I never got around to the first game until much later, but this came bundled with my Genesis on Christmas of 1992. The game had just been released a month prior, and the bundle set was hot off the press, and I had one. The color graphics, fast-paced gameplay, and incredible music are things I still love to this day, and no other Sonic game has impressed me as much since. I struggled to ever get past The Chemical Plant Zone, but I still kept playing over and over because of just how fun it was to play and experience.
Ecco the Dolphin
I know that same cousin had this game, but I don’t recall ever owning it. Maybe I did at some point. I only remember jumping up out of the water too high, and all of the fish in the ocean would get sucked up, and it scared me to death as a kid. I was around 3 or 4 when I got around to this game, and I would run up and shut off the Genesis, and my mom said I would cry. I had a major fear of underwater levels for years because of this. I would have had my younger sister beat those levels for me. My digital thalassophobia was very real up until I was a young adult. I never understood how to play this game, and I never got very far. I mostly just swam around and messed about.
Sword of Sodan
My parents would often buy the occasional game at pawn shops, and this was a random pick-up my dad brought home from work one day. He would stop buying from local pawn shops and see what games we could both be interested in. Later on in my teens, I realized this was a highly criticized game, but you can’t deny the atmosphere and dark tone the game had. Sure, the controls were bad and the animations were awful, but the sound effects were pretty eerie. It was also insanely hard. The potion combining was something my dad and I experimented with, and we wrote down every single combo in the game on a notepad. I did eventually finish this game one single time.
The Sega Channel
My mom had picked this up from the local TV service provider, and I was so jazzed. Free games and new ones every week?! This was like a dream come true, but sadly short-lived. I believe I had it for maybe a month during a trial period, and it would end up being too expensive for my parents in the end. I do remember discovering the new games that refreshed one week and hugging my mom, thanking her for the new games, not realizing she didn’t do this at all. I can’t recall a single game I played on that service.
Aladdin
I can’t remember when I got around to this. There was a local grocery store called Smith’s nearby (it’s still there to this day in Casper, Wyoming), and they had a rental section we went to for years for movies and games. Everything came in clear clamshells! I remember the game feeling just like the movie but being incredibly hard. I could never get past the magic carpet ride section through the cave.
The Lion King
I fondly remember the startup song of the game, and this one was also insanely hard. I never got past the level with the giraffes. It looked fantastic and had great animation, but why were these games so stupidly hard?
Wings of Wor
Another game brought home from a pawn shop by my parents I played this game for a bit, but remember, it was really hard, and I never got past the first stage. For years, I could never figure out what this game was until I saw a video on YouTube in my teen years. It’s very dark and has great animation and music, but it was another game added to the list that I gave up on.
1995-1999
Super Nintendo
I recall getting a SNES for Christmas in 1995. I had my Genesis for a few years, and it was time to move on. I got Mortal Kombat, Math Blaster, and Stunt Race FX with it, and of course, the system was used.
Mortal Kombat
I remember being really disappointed with this game. I didn’t realize the game was censored, and I hated the blood being replaced with gray sweat. I did like being able to automatically do the The Pit stage Fatality by just uppercutting the character, but everything else sucked. The music was worse, and it just didn’t feel the same.
Math Blaster
At this point, my mom wanted me to use gaming for learning since we didn’t have a PC. Math Blaster was actually gifted by a family friend. I had a lot of fun with this, but I remember the platforming section being really tough. It got a lot of play from myself and my sister.
Stunt Race FX
I never realized that my SNES was actually rendering a 3D game at the time, but this game blew my mind. All 5 frames per second. Even back then, I remember the game playing very slowly, but the track design was neat, the cars really captured my attention with their goofy eyes, and the music was really catchy. My sister and I played this to death.
Jurassic Park
This was a rental, and I hated it. This was probably the first first-person game I ever played, and it was a confusing mess. My mom took it back the next day.
Bust-A-Move
A game my parents picked up from a pawn shop My mom used to call it bubbles,” and we were all hooked. We would have the team finish the 100 levels by writing down each password. I finally finished the 100th level, beating the grim reaper, and I remember how excited we all were. It’s still one of my mom’s favorite games to this day.
Super Mario World
This was also a rental, and my sister and I were hooked on this game, but it was too long to finish in just three days. We weren’t very good at it and never got too far, but I just remember how fluid the controls were, the colorful visuals, and the catchy music.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
This was a rental for my sister. She loved how cute Yoshi was, and I just remember how blown away we were by the visuals and art style. It was really hard for us, and we never finished it, but it remains my sister’s favorite platformer to this day.
Mortal Kombat II
I was lucky enough to play MKII on the SNES, the best 16-bit version. The game blew me away, as I never got a chance to play the arcade game. My parents never took us anywhere with arcades, as they were always working and, on their down time, wanted to stay home. I remember seeing posters for this everywhere and having to get my hands on them. When the price came down, we eventually got a used copy. I played it regularly for months and eventually finished it. I remember our landlord’s teenage son coming by during a maintenance repair, and he saw me playing it. I remember him pulling off fatalities, and it blew me away. Little did I know, he probably had a strategy guide or was looking up the codes online. We didn’t have a computer yet.
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure
Boogerman stood out for obvious reasons. A seven- or eight-year-old can’t resist! This was a rental, and even my mother thought it was hilarious. The weird-looking super-hero and green backdrop cover really got my attention. When I got home with it, I remembered the farts, booger slinging, and throwing toilet plungers. Sadly, I didn’t make it out of the sewer stage before calling it quits.
Lethal Enforcers
This was one of the last SNES games I remember playing. This was another pawn shop pick-up from my dad, and sadly, we couldn’t afford the light gun, so we mastered this game on the controller. The game was well made and had great replay value.
GameBoy
Tetris
Ah, yes. Good ‘ol Tetris. Everyone who owned a Game Boy had this game, as it was a pack-in title. I got a used Game Boy for my seventh or eighth birthday, and I remember the battery cover was slightly melted by a cigarette burn. I honestly don’t remember ever loving the Game Boy itself, but I loved Tetris. This was a system I wasn’t terribly interested in, as the Game Boy Color was already out and my parents couldn’t afford to buy games for it. I didn’t realize how vast the library was until I was much older.
Arcade Classic 3: Galaga/Galaxian
This was a thrift store find, and I remember playing it quite a bit. It was an addictive arcade game and my first exposure to Galaga and Galaxian. It’s not the best version and is rather plain, but I spent many hours on it as a kid. Especially since this was the only other cartridge I ever owned besides Tetris.
Bart Simpson’s Escape from Camp Deadly
I only remember this game due to the traumatic memory attached to it. This was at a dentist office where they had Gameboys you could play to stay distracted. I remember the game being in the prize drawer, and I grabbed it, and the dentist snatched it out of my hand and yelled at me. I remember crying and running, terrified. Why would you put it in there?!
PlayStation
Mortal Kombat 3
This was the game I got with my PS1 for Christmas in 1997 or 1998. I got a used PS1 that my parents picked up from a pawn shop, and it came with a Crash Bandicoot demo disc. I don’t remember playing MK3 all that much, but it was the long box version.
Syphon Filter
This was the first 3D action game I had ever played. It was incredibly confusing when I first rented it from a local grocery store in Casper, Wyoming, called Smith’s (which is still there to this day). I rented a lot of my games from here, as my family just couldn’t afford the $50 a pop. My late stepfather actually got into this with me as well, and over time we learned how to play it and eventually memorized every single enemy placement, weapon creation, and speed run. It’s the single most-replayed PS1 game for me.
Silent Hill
Funny enough, I accidentally rented this because I couldn’t remember the name of Syphon Filter. The cover looked close enough, and when I got it home, I realized it was not it, but the atmosphere, story, and overall creep factor intrigued me. There was absolutely no way I would have finished this as a kid with the insanely obtuse puzzles. Once I got maybe 30 minutes in and found the skinless dogs in the back alley, I screamed and turned the PS1 off. The game was quickly restored.
Mortal Kombat 4
This was one of the few new games I got as a kid. We picked this up from Wal-Mart after realizing we couldn’t burn PS1 games straight from a disc and play them. After some Googling (which was very lean back in the day), we realized you needed a mod chip, which was never going to happen.
Gran Turismo/Gran Turismo 2
These two games made me appreciate and like cars. No, I’m not a car enthusiast, but because of this game, I would identify cars by just their tail lights in the dark. I loved the zen-like feel of the endurance races and just tuning and learning about cars.
Final Fantasy VIII
This was the first ever Final Fantasy game I played. I completely missed out on VII as it didn’t appeal to me at the time (and I also didn’t have the patience). I didn’t end up actually finishing this game completely until a couple of years ago. I never made it past the second disc.
Spyro the Dragon/Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage!
This was one of my most played PS1 games, but I never owned it! It was a frequent rental for my sister and me, and we just loved collecting gems and running around the levels. I don’t think we ever actually completed it.
Nintendo 64
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
I got this one after getting a PS2, but it was one of my most played discs. It was a lot of fun, and I had the N64 cart for the longest time and played that to death as well.
Top Gear Rally
Top Gear was one of the only racing games I played on the N64, and it was a blast. My dad and I played this a lot, and it was a great Christmas gift. I wound up playing this instead of GoldenEye 007, which was returned to the pawn shop my parents bought it from.
Pokemon Stadium
I played this during my short tenure, being obsessed with everything Pokemon. I traded the cards at school, watched the show and movies, and sadly, only ever played this Pokemon game. I didn’t have a Game Boy at the time, so I never got a chance to play the RPGs.
2000-2004
PlayStation
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
I spent more time in this game than in the first. I never owned it, but it was a frequent rental, and I always saved my best replays to my memory card. I completed this game all the way through each time I rented it.
Syphon Filter 2
I had very fond memories of this game. It was a frequent rental for my dad and me. When we were finally ready to purchase the game, we were on the way to a game store in our local mall. On the way, we had the “birds and the bees” talk. I then remember seeing the game in the display case. It was on his 41st birthday as well. We played this game to death, memorizing every enemy and weapon placement.
Syphon Filter 3
This was the first PlayStation 2 game I ever owned. It’s not a PS2 game. I hear you cry out. Well, my parents could afford to buy a used PS2 when they dropped to $200, but they couldn’t afford a PS2 game to go along with it. I do remember being in Wal-Mart one day, and my dad stopped me and pointed at a display case. I turned around, and Syphon Filter 3 was sitting there in its shiny wrapping. We, of course, had no idea it had come out yet, which was a surprise.
PlayStation 2
Jak II
I never really cared for collect-a-thon games, even as a kid. I couldn’t get into games like Banjo-Kazooie because of this, and that was why I didn’t care for the first Jak game. Jak II was more action-oriented and had a pretty entertaining story. I rented this and finished it over the weekend.
Medal of Honor: Frontline
This was my first experience with a cinematic FPS. I missed out on Allied Assault as I didn’t have a gaming PC, and this was a weekend rental for me. The opening Normandy Beach sequence still stands out in my head today. I wish I had a good sound system as a kid because it blew me away. One of my top gaming childhood memories.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
This game really blew me away. It was a weekend rental and was one of the first ever experiences in an action-adventure game. There was nothing like it at the time, and it paved the way for the genre. I remember asking for it for Christmas the year it was released and never getting it.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
After my obsession with the first two games, it was time to get back onto the saddle. I didn’t end up getting this game until after the Greatest Hits version was released and it was discounted to $20. I played this game to death. Easily close to 100 hours were put into this game. It looks fantastic even to this day.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
I picked this up brand new from K-Mart. I remember playing the demo on my sister’s copy of Final Fantasy XII and loving the characters and setting. I never actually finished this game, as I didn’t realize it took nearly 100 hours to complete, and I got stuck on some sort of royal king-type boss in some ruins. I still want to finish this game one day.
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
I honestly lost track of the MK series for a while. After MK4, I had no idea what was going on with it. One day I saw a TV commercial for the game, and my mom got it for me for my 12th birthday that year, along with a T-shirt. I can thank this game and the “Immortal” music video by Adema for getting me further into rock music.
Mortal Kombat: Deception
This was the first video game I had ever pre-ordered! I remember being obsessed with preview content for this game and getting so excited for its release. Especially knowing there was online play. I loved the arena death traps, and the extra content was insane. I spent dozens of hours in this game, and it’s still the best 3D Mortal Kombat game to date.
Grand Theft Auto III
I remember seeing a neighbor kid playing this game, and I was so jealous that my parents couldn’t afford a PS2 yet. I was blown away by the visuals and the open-ended gameplay. When I did finally get a hold of this game, I never finished the story mode. I was too busy having fun to cause destruction.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
I spent so many hours in this game. A neighborhood kid had a PS2 before I did, and I spent the night staying up all night trying to do the best line in the game. I borrowed it when I got my PS2, and I played this game over and over again. It’s still the best game in the series to date.
Kingdom Hearts
I sadly didn’t get to experience this game until it was a Greatest Hits title, but I did get it brand new and took it home in its shiny cellophane glory. Sadly, the game was too hard for me, and I couldn’t get past the Oogie Boogie boss fight. I plan to finish the latest remaster one day.
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers/Return of the King
My grandmother took me to see both of these movies on my 12th and 13th birthdays, respectively. I was then in love with the games. They felt just like the movies and were incredibly entertaining, with decent replay value. I only ever finished Return of the King and plan to replay it at some point. It’s been too long.
Killzone
This game made my Christmas of 2004 perfect. I remember hearing all about the “Halo Killer” news leading up to its launch, and being a PS2 fanboy, I had to have it. Being as young as I was, I didn’t know any better about the slowdown and lower visual fidelity. It still looked amazing to me, and I played the campaign twice over that weekend.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs
This was the first online PS2 game I ever played. My parents were finally able to get me a network adapter as there was a deep discount at Best Buy. I bought this game off of a kid at school for $10 and was obsessed with the online mode. I never even finished the campaign. Sadly, I couldn’t get into the second game at all and plan to play through the series at some point.
Burnout 3: Takedown
This game was another addition to Killzone for Christmas 2004. I couldn’t stop playing this game, but I remember never going online or finishing the campaign. I mostly loved Crash Mode, and it still remains one of my favorite arcade races to date.
Devil May Cry
I picked this up at a bargain bin price at Game Crazy one day. I never got into the series despite hearing about it, and I felt the game was mostly decent as a teen, but something about it never clicked with me. I do remember finishing the game and being more impressed with DMC3, despite never finishing that game either. I plan to replay this in the more recent HD Collection at some point.
Final Fantasy X
Oh man, this game gave me so much trouble growing up. I first played it as a rental and didn’t realize how long the game would be. Sadly, the disc was heavily scratched, and I couldn’t get past the cutscene that showed the first boss on the ship. I eventually picked it up as a bargain bin purchase and played the hell out of it. I did beat the game after losing my first save once, and I remember getting lost in the story, lore, and characters. I spent over 50 hours trying to finish this game, and it wound up being the first Final Fantasy game I ever finished.
Call of Duty: Finest Hour
This was another game that helped make Christmas 2004 one of the most memorable. I got a lot of new PS2 games, and that was really rare. I remember watching a lot of preview content leading up to the release and always thought the campaign was forgettable, but the online deathmatch mode is something I played quite a bit. It even lasted longer than Killzone for me.
Spider-Man 2
I picked this up after loving the movie, and I spent all of my allowance on it. This game blew me away. It was the first open-world Spider-Man game, and it was just so good to swing around and be Spidey. I played through the story mode twice and still love this game to this day.
2005-2006
PlayStation 2
Area 51
I remember following this in gaming magazines, demo discs, and on the internet. I played the demo several times and just loved the atmosphere, and the guns felt great to use. I picked it up brand new with all of my allowance in tow and played the campaign a couple of times.
Guitar Hero/Guitar Hero II
I was obsessed with this game for a long time. The series in general is fair. I bought every game when it came out up until the third game, and then the series got too stale for me. I had cousins come over just to play the first one, and I loved it so much that it prompted me to want to play a real guitar.
Resident Evil 4
This was one of the few games I was jealous the PS2 never got—until it did! My sister pre-ordered the premium edition, and she was so scared of the game that she gave it to me. The game was just so good and somehow holds up well today. The PS2 version was a graphical downgrade over the GameCube version, but I was happy.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
I was finally able to pick this up used after every media outlet I followed was flooded with content for the entire year. It was one of the games everyone was constantly talking about. I wasn’t into it as much as GTA 3, and I never finished the story mode, but I remember having a lot of fun nonetheless.
Shadow of the Colossus
This was one of the last PS2 games I ever received as a gift. I got it for my 15th birthday and just loved it so much. I played the demo and was hooked. Despite finishing the game and loving every minute of it, I remember the controls being very frustrating and never really understanding the story that much.
Okami
I got this on Christmas of 2005. I followed the game in magazines and news outlets online for such a long time and was so excited for the Celestial Brush mechanic. The game was much longer than I anticipated, but I did eventually finish it. It was incredibly memorable.
God of War
This was one of the last games I saved up for with an allowance. I played the demo, and I don’t quite remember ever being as impressed with a game as I was with this one. This game was special, and I played the story mode twice before putting it down. This series remains one of my favorites to date.
Xbox 360
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
This was one of the last games I ever got as a Christmas gift before I was working and buying my own things. I got money for my birthday this year, and I knew I had an Xbox 360. That was also the very last console I ever received as a gift from my parents. I wound up measuring the wrapped box, weighing it, and figuring it was a 360. I took my allowance and went to Game Crazy secretly (I was driving with a permit at the time) and bought this and Gears of War. I hid them in my drawer, and a couple of days after Christmas, I pretended I went out and got them. This was one of the best Xbox 360 games I ever played.
Prey
Christmas 2006. What a year! I got the last console I’d ever receive as a gift from my parents, and this was the one game they gifted me with it. I played through the entire campaign in a couple of days and loved it so much. It still remains one of my favorite shooters to date.
Gears of War
Same story as above. This game was one of the most special I ever played growing up. It was the first game that really showed what a next-generation game could look like. It was the first game that looked like what we would be seeing today. The controls, fidelity, story, scope, and raw gameplay. It still remains one of the best shooters ever made, with a wonderfully crafted story. I probably played the campaign 2-3 times before putting it down.
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Again, the same story as above; however, this was a GameFly rental that I timed with Christmas. I remember seeing the tech demo at E3 the previous year, and this was one of the most memorable games of my childhood. The game was insanely scary, and the camera work along with the brutal first-person combat was on another level. These four Xbox 360 games were some of the most memorable gaming moments for me.
Nintendo DS
Metroid Prime: Hunters
This was, sadly, one of the only DS games I ever played in my late teens. I saved up my allowance and finally got a used red DS on eBay for $100. I walked over to my local Game Crazy and picked this up, but I never finished it. I had the PSP at this point, so the DS felt underwhelming in its early stages. I actually got rid of my DS a few months later, and I didn’t get one again until much later.
PSP
Ridge Racer
The PSP was probably one of the biggest moments of my childhood. I had just turned 15 and saved up all of my allowance for six months, starting the previous fall. I remember when the PSP was revealed and losing my absolute mind. I remember doing so much research and talking in forums about it. I remember not being able to really sleep the night before launch as my local Game Crazy didn’t have enough pre-orders to do a midnight launch. My mom drove me there, and I remember being a single penny short on my purchase. I was going to have to run to the car and lose my place in line, but someone behind me gave the cashier the penny. I took the system home, ripped it open, and popped in the Ridge Racer. I was blown away by the visuals and locked myself in my room for days playing through this game. It was the only PSP game I owned until I started working a couple of years later. I wound up hacking the PSP and just downloading ISO files and renting games as well.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
This was the second PSP game I ever pre-ordered. I cleaned the bathroom at my aunt’s driving school, which she taught at, for a few weeks to make up for this. I wrote an entire walkthrough of the game as well. Being a diehard Syphon Filter fan, it was a dream come true that a sequel finally got released.
Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix
While this was the tail end of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater goodness, I was ecstatic that we got a game on the PSP. I didn’t have enough money to pre-order it, but when it finally dropped in price and I saw a used copy at my local Game Crazy, I snagged it and played it for weeks on end.
Coded Arms
I was skeptical about this game due to the PSP’s controls and wound up not picking it up or pre-ordering it. For $40, I wanted to save my money for something else. It was a decent, if generic, shooter, but controlled well and made a big splash when it was released as the first FPS on the system.
Burnout Legends
It was an absolute gem of a game. I never thought the sense of speed would be nailed on such a small screen. This was one of those games that showed off the power of the PSP and was a thrill to play.
Daxter
This was one of those games I rented, as I knew it would be very short and I would finish it in a day. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to see Daxter get on his own adventure.
And that concludes my childhood gaming. A year after I got my Xbox 360, I started working, and my parents stopped buying me games and consoles. I was on my own with that. This is also when I started my retro game collection, buying my first few PS1 games. While there were many more games I played as a child, these were the most memorable and stood out the most to me. Right around 17 is when I started working, stopped getting allowance, and for only two more years would I receive games from my parents during Christmas time, but I won’t count those as I could have bought them on my own regardless. I continue to grow my gaming memories to this day, and while they may never be as magical as the innocence of your childhood when all you had to worry about was your game time, I will be gaming for as long as I can.
These two portables were a huge part of my early teen years. I pre-ordered the PSP when I was 14 years old. I used my allowance saved up for 6 months to slap down that $250. I hadn’t been that excited about a piece of hardware in my life. I made a wallpaper (see below) for it, prepped files to transfer to the measly 32MB memory card, and even picked out a case ahead of time. The Nintendo DS was more of an afterthought. I never got excited about it due to the less powerful hardware and the heavily criticized touch screen. People thought it would be full of gimmicky games and lack the essence of what made the Game Boy so great. I’ve owned both of these systems for many years now and have played a good majority of their libraries. I want to break down the categories into hardware, revisions, software, and then various game genres. Most people just pick the best-selling games and compare them, but the systems go deeper than that. Some genres were stronger on one system over another due to their button layout and unique hardware. I am honestly tired of these comparisons. The DS had Zelda, and the PSP had God of War. It’s so much more than that.
Looks/Shelf Appeal
Sony PSP
This is the first thing that you will notice before even picking up the system, so it makes sense, right? What system had the more attractive box, better pack-ins, and overall looks? This matters more than people think, especially for the casual gamer who doesn’t do extensive research beforehand or the non-gamers who make a spontaneous purchase.
The PSP overall had a much larger box than the DS. It even showed right up front what it included. You get a hand strap, a 32MB Memory Stick Pro Duo for game saves, a UMD demo sampler, wired earbuds with a remote, a soft case, a cleaning cloth, and the system itself. For $250, you saw right there that you got some value for all that money. Not only that, but the PSP itself was plastered on the front for all to see. The XMB showed a music, video, game, and photo symbol, so you knew this thing could do multimedia. This was the last of the Sonys of the ’90s where everything they created had value and they showed right up front what you were getting to entice buyers, and it worked.
Unboxing the system felt premium, and holding that sleek handheld was an experience I will never forget. It was sleek and slim, looked futuristic, had great build quality, and was comfortable in the hand. It was one of the best gaming unboxings of all time, and nothing has topped that since.
Nintendo DS
The Nintendo DS wasn’t super appealing at first glance. The touch screen and the prominent stylus made you think it was a PDA of some sort (PDAs were still a thing back then), so it was confusing. Was it a game system or a personal organizer? The casual observer would be confused. The dual screens didn’t help either, further pushing the PDA look. There was no video game shown on the front, and the drab gray box was lifeless. There were no pack-ins with the DS either. While it was $100 cheaper than the PSP, that sure made it appealing, but you didn’t get anything with it.
When you actually unboxed the system, it was bulky and kind of ugly, and the screens weren’t very bright. A far cry from Sony’s bright LCD on the PSP, however, there was no ghosting on the DS like there was with the PSP-1000 model. The speakers sounded good, and it had wifi as well, but another appealing factor was the backward compatibility with GameBoy Advance titles. This also acted as a peripheral port. Great for rumble packs and anything else you could imagine going in there.
Software
Sony PSP
The PSP was the first handheld to be a full multimedia station. This was before smartphones took off, so it was a very popular option for people wanting an MP3, video, photo, and gaming machine all in their pocket. It was fiddly with the videos, as they had to be encoded in MP4. The PSP could also play WMA and MP3 files, but not FLAC or WAV. While the PSP could also display photos, it seemed pointless without having a camera. While one would come later, it was of terrible quality and nothing close to what the first iPhone had. All of this multimedia stuff was great, but it came at a cost. Memory Stick Pro Duos were very expensive in larger capacities. The one it came with was meant only for game saves and DLC. If you wanted to do anything else, you needed to get a 64-MB one or higher. Forget sticks that were 1GB. These cost hundreds of dollars and took a couple of years before coming down to an affordable price. This was Sony’s way of future-proofing the system, but it wasn’t appealing to early adopters. I remember my first large memory card was 512 MB, and that cost $70 just one year later.
This was essentially where the XMB was born. What we got on the PS3 and PS4, and even a little bit on the PS5. Many Sony Blu-Ray players also used this menu system. It was simple and easy to figure out. Sony would later add comic support, web browsing (which was awful and slow), RSS feeds, and digital TV in Japan. It tried to do it all, but it couldn’t do it all very well. It helped show off the power of the PSP.
Nintendo DS
What you see is what you get. This is all there was to the DS’s software. This single screen You could go into the options and set your birthday for certain games to recognize, but that’s about it. There was a simple calendar and an analog clock. Pictochat was your only app, and you could choose which game slot to play on DS Download Play, but that’s it. The DS didn’t focus on anything else but the games, and for the price, you expected that. I was surprised the DS had a menu system at all because of how simplistic the overall design was. There was no need for more expensive memory cards, as all games were saved on the game card.
Online Capabilities
Sony PSP
This was in the early 2000s. Everything was online or needed to be. The PSP had this in mind right out of the gate with what Sony called “Infrastructure” play, or online play. Many launch titles had it, but they also had “Ad-Hoc” play, which was wireless local multiplayer. Some games had the ability to play online locally with one UMD, which was awesome, but very few games support this. Playing online was as simple as connecting to an access point, but this became impossible when later routers implemented WPA2 WiFi security, which the PSP did not support. Being able to use a web browser was neat. Does anyone remember the hidden one in Wipeout Pure? Downloading DLC on a handheld was also really cool. You could later download comics and RSS feeds, which were ahead of their time. Only smartphones were doing this. However, in the end, it was up to the game to support online play. Sadly, neither system supported a friends list, clans, rankings, or anything like that.
Nintendo DS
Surprisingly, the DS was capable of the same online play as the PSP, but mostly local wireless was implemented. You could play with up to four players off of one cart if the developers allowed it and even beam demos to your friends. This was utilized more than the PSP, and very few games had online play. The DS suffered from the same security incompatibility as the PSP later on but also had a feature the PSP didn’t have: DS Download Play. You could go to game stores and download demos of games, which was really cool. Sadly, due to the lack of a storage option, you could not download or obtain DLC in any way unless it was in the cart and unlocked by connecting to a server. Overall, the online capabilities of the DS were barely there.
Hardware/Features
Sony PSP
The PSP is technically superior in pretty much every way. A faster CPU and GPU, more RAM, a bigger screen, an external wifi switch, a larger physical media capacity, and a few more options. However, the CPU was underclocked for a good year to 222 MHz to save battery life until God of War: Chains of Olympus came out to overclock it to the full 333 MHz. A firmware update was required to even do this, which shipped with the game. While the media capacity was larger, a UMD was 1.8 GB compared to a DS cart’s 512MB max capacity. That’s three times larger. This allowed for richer worlds, more content, and better visuals overall. The downside to this was spinning media on a battery. The UMD sucked the battery’s life down, and thus games later in the system’s life opted for data installs as the prices of memory cards came down.
The physical design of the PSP, while beautiful and ergonomic, was also fragile. The system got dust under the plastic lens easily, the LCD could easily crack (I cracked mine only a few months in from just being in my pocket), the UMD drive failed, and while the battery was removable, it had a fairly low capacity, only giving users around 3–4 hours. The LCD also had serious ghosting issues, but many didn’t notice this as LCD screens were still expensive. While the PSP did a noble job on its first outing, it had some serious flaws that were later addressed in newer models.
Nintendo DS
The DS had lower-powered hardware, but the battery lasted much longer. Getting nearly 8–10 hours on a single charge There was no spinning media to worry about or a large power-hungry screen. The DS did have smaller screens, and while they were clear, the backlight wasn’t that great on the first model. The touch screen was also prone to scratching. So in the screen department, it didn’t do so well. The DS didn’t have a sleep mode like the PSP did. The game had to support going to sleep so you could close the DS up. The DS was built better and felt sturdy; however, the hinge was a weak point. The stylus was also prone to getting lost, and when that’s gone, you can’t play any games at all. A loseable core piece of hardware is a downside.
In the end, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. The DS has lower-powered hardware, but the touchscreen forces gameplay innovation and creativity. The PSP looks sleek, but it is really fragile, and the spinning media suckers up the battery. You also need expensive proprietary memory cards. With the PSP’s largest strength being processing power, the DS just edges out everything else.
Revisions
Revision 1
Sony PSP-2000
Handhelds are notorious for hardware revisions. Some give better processing power, but they are, in the end, built to cost and are meant to be cheaper to produce. Both systems had many revisions with pros and cons. For starters, the PSP’s revision of the PSP-2000, or “Slim and Lite,” reduced the screen ghosting by a lot but made the PSP feel lighter and too cheap. It felt more plastic-like and had fewer metal parts inside. It came in many more colors and bundles, but it also didn’t come with anything like a value pack. This was just a core model. Sadly, the storage option wasn’t addressed, and the battery was surprisingly shrunk down, so you got less battery life. The only addition was video output, which was nice but made no sense. However, Sony doubled the RAM for faster loading times and better web browsing. The D-pad was also slightly improved. That was probably the second-greatest addition, next to the better screen. It was a modest revision, but nothing spectacular, and didn’t focus on the system’s biggest weaknesses.
Nintendo DS Lite
Nintendo released a strikingly slimmer Nintendo DS Lite. This thing was very sleek and gave off PSP vibes with how slim it was. Like the PSP-2000, not much was addressed. The biggest complaints were the size and chunkiness of the original model, and that was taken care of. Brighter screens, a longer-lasting battery, and a longer stylus were added, so nearly every issue with the original model was fixed. This is the perfect DS to get if you want GBA compatibility.
In the end, the PSP didn’t address enough of its bigger issues and added features that didn’t enhance the overall experience. While the DS Lite didn’t add anything new, it focused on improvement.
Revision 2
Sony PSP-3000
The PSP-3000 was Sony’s last full-size revision. It had even fewer improvements over the 2000 model, only adding the best screen yet with a half-reduced pixel response time, more brightness, and a better contrast ratio. However, the parts were cheapened even more, and it almost feels like a toy at this point. The component video was added to the video output, which is nice, I guess. I never understood hooking a handheld up to a TV. It kind of defeats the purpose, and it looks ugly. That was it. The lens on the screen reduced glare, but overall, it was a severely cost-reduced model, and that was clearly the goal. By now, the PSP was at its peak and was quickly dropping in sales.
Nintendo DSi
This is where Nintendo took a step back. They removed the GBA slot, which rendered all DS accessories useless and had no backward compatibility. Instead, they added two cameras, which were awful and pointless. I would have rather kept the GBA slot. We did get a more powerful CPU for the DSi and a new home screen. The doubled CPU power was nice and helped with DS games that suffered a slowdown on the previous models. We also got a four-fold increase in RAM and 256MB of internal storage for the DSiWare games, plus an SD card slot. While the GBA slot was taken away, we did get an actual advancement in the software and hardware side of things, unlike the PSP. The last downside was shorter battery life due to the larger screens, increased CPU speed, and better wifi card.
Revision 3
Sony PSP GO
This was Sony’s final outing, and it was a drastic change. They wanted to really push the PlayStation Store by making a digital-only handheld. That’s great and all, but what about all that physical media out there? They promised a program that would allow you to download a digital game if you had the physical one, but there was no way to prove this and prevent piracy. In the end, you had to re-buy everything, and this killed sales. They also introduced a new, more expensive, and harder-to-find proprietary storage that came in smaller sizes than memory stick pro duos. The memory stick micro, or M2, card maxed out at 32GB. Despite this serious downside, the new compact slide-out design was reminiscent of phones back in the day and was a huge hit with fans. Again, there’s a downside to this. The 4.3″ screen was reduced to 3.8″.
While Bluetooth was added to connect a PS3 controller to a TV, Sony continued to alienate previous owners by making the cable proprietary and removing USB support. This was to support the official dock as the PSP could act as an analog clock, MP3 player, and video player; however, this was too late. While it’s a super sleek handheld, and the 16GB of internal storage is a good start, it’s not enough. There should have easily been 32GB of internal storage and SD card support. But Sony’s rampant, frothing-at-the-mouth drive to deter piracy killed the sales of their system.
Nintendo DSi XL
This is probably the best version of the DS to get overall. It sadly doesn’t improve anything outside of larger screens and better battery life. If you want bigger screens, get this. If you want smaller screens, get a DSi. I owned one at one point and loved the larger 3.25″ screens. The system feels heavier but is still sleek and well-built. I can’t give this one to Nintendo this time due to how little they changed anything. At least Sony tried to redesign the entire PSP despite its many setbacks.
Physical Games
Action
Sony PSP
The power of the PSP was suited for action games. Lots of explosions, fun combat, and the analog nub helped with this. Sadly, the lack of a second stick meant camera control was left to the computer or other buttons. Action games were plentiful on the PSP, with a lot of bestsellers. Most of Sony’s AAA titles were in this category. While not all of them were knocked out of the park, many showed off the power of the PSP, which set it apart from the DS at least in that way.
Some notable games are God of War, Syphon Filter, Pursuit Force, Grand Theft Auto, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank,Ace Combat, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, Coded Arms, Monster Hunter, God Eater, Killzone, Manhunt, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Medal of Honor, Metal Gear Solid, Prince of Persia, and the list goes on. These were massive franchises, and most had the PSPs’ backs. If you want to play action games, there is no shortage on the PSP.
Nintendo DS
The DS did have some action games, but the lack of analog control and the stylus made it difficult to port games or stick with known franchises on the system. There weren’t many 3D action games, as the system was best for 2D platformers and RPGs. We did get a few noteworthy titles such as Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Dementium, Moon, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, Ninja Gaiden, Contra, Okamiden, and LEGO, and that about sums up 3D action titles on the DS. It was slim pickings, and only a few of these titles were amazing.
Racing
Sony PSP
Due to the PSP’s 3D capabilities, racing games were huge on the system. If you were a racing fan, this was the system for you. Nearly every major franchise landed on the system. ATV, MX, Burnout, Juiced, Need for Speed, Ridge Racer, Flatout, Split/Second, TOCA Race Driver, Gran Turismo, Wipeout, Outrun, Test Drive, Midnight Club, MotorStorm, Sega Rally, MotoGP, F1, WRC, NASCAR, Hot Wheels, Micro Machines, you name it. Not all of these were fantastic titles, but a lot of them looked good and felt great on the handheld.
Nintendo DS
The DS didn’t lack any racing games, but due to the weaker 3D abilities of the system, racing games weren’t the first stop for the system. Mario Kart probably dominated that genre alone, but there were some third-party franchises as well. Burnout, Need for Speed, Asphalt, GRID, Sonic Racing, Trackmania, Racer Driver, Moto Racer, Dirt, Juiced, Ridge Racer, Diddy Kong, and a few others While some of these franchises were also on the PSP, they were far superior. Some developers created all-new experiences on the DS over the PSP, so they were their own unique games, but the ports weren’t very good and felt slow and boring. While there are a few solid titles on the DS, they’re not the go-to genre for this system or its strength.
RPG
Sony PSP
The PSP was a strong system full of JRPGs. Not many Western ones made it to the system, with the biggest being The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, which was canceled. Many franchises, nearly all of the popular ones, made it onto the system in both 3D and 2D. Remakes, remasters, and one-shots made it onto the system as well. Series like Star Ocean, Final Fantasy, Persona, Kingdom Hearts, Valkyrie Profile, Ys, Lunar, The Legend of Heroes, Crimson Gem Saga, Class of Heroes, Brave Story, Phantasy Star, Dungeon Siege, Untold Legends, Growlanser, Tales of the World, Blade Dancer, and many others If you notice, a lot of these are lesser-known series, and Final Fantasy dominates the system. There were more RPGs released only in Japan that the West never got. Thankfully, some have been translated by fans.
Nintendo DS
The DS was clearly the strongest winter in the RPG department. While it didn’t see hardly any Western RPGs, JRPGs dominated the system and were one of its strong suits. 2D RPGs and even 3D isometric ones were popular, with pretty much every franchise backing the system. Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Mario & Luigi, Pokemon, Dragon Quest, Radiant Historia, Shin Megami Tensei,Lunar Knights, Nostalgia, Etrian Odyssey, Chrono Trigger, Lufia, Golden Sun, Rune Factory, Suikoden, Sonic, Luminous Arc, Phantasy Star, Avalon Code, Digimon, and the list goes on. As you can probably tell, Pokemon alone would win this category. But you had Shin Megami Tenseigames that weren’t Persona. Unique Final Fantasy games that weren’t remakes or ports. Quite a few one-shot exclusives. Dragon Quest never made it to the PSP, and neither did Suikoden. There’s so much variety here that any JRPG fan will love the DS in this category.
Puzzle
Sony PSP
Puzzle games are great in any portable form, and every handheld has a good amount of them. The PSP was no exception, with the puzzle-rhythm hybrid Lumines being the first on the system. The PSP has a ton of original puzzle games and ports. Some of them are wholly fantastic. Games like Echochrome, Lumines, Crush, Exit, Practical Intelligence Quotient, Downstream Panic, Mercury, and others were great games that fit the widescreen of the PSP. There were also a lot of bad puzzle games on the PSP, and sadly, more than good ones.
Nintendo DS
The touch screen was just screaming for puzzle games. You can physically manipulate them outside of buttons, and it gave the genre a chance to add another dimension. There were so many puzzle games on the DS that it drowned out the PSP in comparison.Brain Age, Big Brain Academy, Picross, Meteos, Tetris, Planet Puzzle League, Professor Layton, Henry Hatsworth, Scribblenauts, Peggle, Touchmaster, Polarium, Crosswords, Clubhouse Games, and the list goes on. There weren’t just traditional puzzle games, but word games as well. Sudoku, Crosswords, and many others allow you to write answers. That’s more than the PSP could do. This is a situation where the genre fits the system better.
Platformer
Sony PSP
The PSP has a hardware advantage here. The system isn’t just stuck with 2D platformers. 3D ones were common on the system, but then another hardware fault bit it in the ass. The lack of a second analog nub means no camera control. This became a widespread problem in the system. 3D platformers were frustrated endeavors, and the DS’ lower-powered hardware suddenly could shine because of this. Games like Death Jr., Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Pac-Man World, Jak & Daxter, Crash Bandicoot, Toy Story, and many others were decent to middling. 3D platformers would have been a huge leg up for the PSP if it just had another analog nub. That’s not to say 2D platformers never made it to the system. Games likeLittleBigPlanet,Mega Man, Prinny, Ghost & Goblins, N+, Castlevania, and many others made it to the system and performed better, but there just weren’t a lot of them. The PSP isn’t anything to sniff at when it comes to platformers, but nothing truly stood out.
Nintendo DS
With the power of Nintendo’s already strong platformer games and a lot of third-party series, the DS really did shine. It didn’t have to worry about clumsy 3D controls either. Games like New Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64, Super Princess Peach, Sonic, Kirby, Mega Man,Spider-Man, Castlevania, Wario, The Legendary Starfy, Yoshi, Contra, Aliens, and many others Super Mario 64 was one of the rare 3D platformers, but it worked well thanks to being tailored for the system. It might kind of feel like there’s cheating here because Nintendo has such a strong presence in the platformer genre, but what’s here is here. While the PSP may have had a larger variety of platformers, the DS had a much stronger sense of quality.
Sports
Sony PSP
With the advantage of 3D and not needing to really use a camera, the sports genre had an advantage here. Sony had their own sports series, plus third-party companies like EA and 2K could throw theirs on here as well. Games like NBA 2K, NBA Street, NFL Street, Tiger Woods, Pangya, Madden, FIFA, Fight Night, Hot Shots, Tony Hawk, WWE, NHL, Virtua Tennis, NBA Live, Pro Evolution Soccer, Football Manager, The Bigs, and the list goes on There was a massive pouring of sports games on the system of nearly every genre. While a lot of them aren’t very good, there is at least one decent title in every series on the system.
Nintendo DS
The DS was interesting when it came to sports titles. Developers had to be creative to put their series on this system due to the lack of 3D horsepower. Series like Tony Hawk were better on the DS (outside of Underground 2 Remix) because of the creativity needed. You also had series like Tiger Woods that used the touch screen in unique ways. There were many other series on the DS as well, like FIFA and Madden, but they weren’t really any good. Nintendo had its own sports series like Mario Hoops, Mario & Sonic, and True Swing Golf, but again, nothing special. Many series were one-and-done on here, like WWE, Skate, Real Soccer, and some others that just didn’t perform well. The DS was a real mixed bag in the sports arena, with only a few standout titles. This is where the lack of 3D power hurt, despite the unique controls.
Rhythm
Sony PSP
Rhythm games during this era weren’t very popular on handhelds in the West. They exploded in the East, and you usually had to import them if you wanted the best the systems had to offer. This was mostly the case with the PSP. There was Rock Band Unplugged and Lumines in the West, but Japan, China, and Korea got the likes of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva, DJ Max Portable, K-On, andPop’n Music. The PSP’s widescreen format was great for rhythm games as it allowed a wide playfield, and the number of buttons worked out great. The power of the system also allowed for music videos to play in the background, which most rhythm games did.
Nintendo DS
The DS may not have had the powerful hardware or widescreen format, but the touch screen provided a more physical and unique interaction for rhythm games that matched the arcade. Games like Elite Beat Agents, Ontomarama, Rhythm Heaven, Lego Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and many more There was a much larger Western following thanks to the touch screen, but many of the rhythm games lacked content due to the cartridge’s small size and no way to download DLC. A lot of the DS rhythm games were more experimental, and thus many didn’t review them as well as the PSP rhythm games. Guitar Hero was fine, but the grip controller cramped your hands. There were also more consistent franchises on the PSP with yearly releases, but the downside was needing to import.
Fighting
Sony PSP
The power of the PSP allowed for great 3D fighters, and many jumped ship from their console cousins. Franchises like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Tekken,Dragon Ball Z, BlazBlue, Soul Calibur, and many more made it onto the PSP. At least one entry in every major fighting franchise made it over, and most were original titles. That’s not to say the majority reviewed well. Most of the 3D fighters reviewed received middling scores, and this was mainly due to the PSP’s not-so-ideal D-pad for fighting games. Despite the less-than-desirable average score, they made it onto the system nonetheless, and many gamers ate them up.
Nintendo DS
The DS had some major franchises make it over, like Mortal Kombat, Guilty Gear, Dragon Ball Z,Bleach, and Naruto, but it wasn’t as vast as the PSP. The DS was even less ideal for fighting games due to a lack of analog input, and the DS’ D-pad wasn’t much better. Some games added a touchscreen swipe system, but these just never felt the same. Sadly, the lack of power meant 3D fighters suffered, and 2D fighters looked squished on the small screen.
Conclusion
Well, despite this seeming like a competition, each system has its strengths and weaknesses, and some might work better for what you want than others. Some may only play RPGs on handhelds, so the DS would be the best system for you. Some may want more multimedia features, so the PSP would be the way to go. While in the comparisons, the PSP seems to have a stronger library, it only seems that way at first. A lot of PSP games didn’t review as well as DS games on average. The lack of first-party support with Sony not releasing as many games as Nintendo did on the DS and the DS’ lack of power and unique controls forced developers to make games from the ground up. The PSP received a lot worse PS2 ports and movie tie-ins than the DS did. The PSP’s power was also a crutch that many developers leaned heavily on, and it didn’t pay off most of the time. Each system is worthy of your collection, but this contrast and comparison may help those who are on the fence in one area or another.
Many people use video game reviews to determine how to spend their hard-earned dollars. While as an adult I don’t take this as seriously and I now make my own money I am more forgiving of games that aren’t perfect. As kids or teens, we have limited money and are usually picked through gaming magazines to determine if that one game was worth the money because we only got a few a year. For me, it was only during Christmas time that my parents bought games. I mostly rented mine throughout my childhood and teen years. Even for rentals, I was picky as I didn’t want to be stuck on my weekend with a dud of a game. Even a 7/10 or 3.5/5 would be considered a waste of time. This was the last generation in which AAA title after AAA title would be considered fantastic and with so many exclusives it was hard to keep up with. The HD era of gaming would see budgets balloon to insane heights and game releases slowed down as a result.
In my eyes, 7/10 or 3.5/5 games are mostly ignored. These aren’t always considered hidden gems either. Some are, but some are just considered forgettable. Not awful or good, but just passes under everyone’s radar. These aren’t the “so bad it’s good” games either. A few of these games have cult followings; a few I had only heard of while compiling this list and some I played myself growing up. I compiled this list from Metacritic with games between 74-70. I feel that’s the true blue 7 range. 79 and 78-rated games usually only have about 25% of the critics giving it a 7 to bring an otherwise 8 score down some. These games are at least rated by half the critics as 7/10. While I know many people don’t listen to critics and some might feel this game should be rated higher or lower is subjective. Like it or not, critic reviews drive sales and it may be the reason why you might find a few games on this list you’ve never heard of, thought was talked about worse than you remember, or something along those lines
Pokemon Trozei! – 2005
A fun matching puzzle game, but lacked any modes and overall content. The graphics were also really simple despite looking at the part. The issue is that the game gets old really fast. It’s not as addictive as other puzzlers of its ilk.
Most Recent Entry: Pokemon Shuffle – 2015 (AND, iOS, 3DS)
This a great jumping-in point for new players as this new set of games are almost identical to the first game. You just get more of the same, and that’s not always bad. The original game was praised for blending soccer with RPG elements, but the soccer part wasn’t all that great. It’s still a unique series to check out.
This is considered the worst game in the series, but that’s saying a lot. The story alone is worth playing, but the game can feel overly complex at times and the AI is pretty bad.
Most Recent Entry: Valkyrie Elysium – 2022 (PS4, PS5, PC)
99Bullets – 2011
Well-liked for blending two genres well, but lacked content and was a little on the hard side. It’s still a very unique vertical shooter and felt like a good diversion from the anime-based shooters at the time.
Zoonies – Escape from Makatu – 2011
A cute and fun albeit forgettable platformer. The game also had some control issues and was really short, but at least it felt at home eon DSiWare.
Meteos: Disney Magic – 2007
More of the same with a Disney skin. The changes didn’t improve the game, but instead just made it different. If you love Meteos this one is worth picking up. It’s sad this series was so short-lived.
Most Recent Entry: Meteos Wars – 2008 (X360)
Big Brain Academy – 2005
A good improvement to the series and the puzzles get harder are you continue to play adding replay value. However, the overall content is a bit lacking and is only fun in short bursts.
Most Recent Entry: Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain – 2021 (NS)
Drone Tactics – 2008
Yes, it’s an Atlus game so that means there are some big fans of this game. While the strategy is fun and the game looks slick, the storyline is childish and pretty stupid. Many rolled their eyes at the story and skipped past it just to get to the meat of the game. In any RPG that’s not a good thing, but the gameplay is good enough to justify this.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood – 2008
This game doesn’t need any introduction to Sonicfans or those avid in their DS lore. Bioware of all people made this game and it was incredibly hyped. A dark and mature Sonic RPG? What’s not to love? The game is way too simple. There are no deep gameplay elements or RPG things in here. It was clearly geared towards younger children despite the great visuals and unique twist on the series.
Most Recent Entry: Sonic Frontiers – 2022 (PC, PS4, XONE, PS5, XSX, NS)
Bomberman Land Touch 2! – 2008
Bomberman tried the Mario Party approach and didn’t quite hit it off. The game was way too simple and there wasn’t much depth to the title. However, there was a lot of content and the use of the touch screen was well implemented.
Most Recent Entry: Amazing Bomberman – 2022 (X360)
Custom Robo Arena – 2007
A decent RPG if not mundane and formulaic. The story is boring and the quests aren’t all that great, but fans of the series or just anime RPGs, in general, might find some value here. This would be the third and final game in the series.
New International Track & Field – 2008
A remake of the original game with cutesy big-headed characters. Some said the game should have been on a console as the dual screens made the game feel off, but some preferred it. It at least had online play at the time which was nice. This would sadly be the final game in the long-running series.
Puchi Puchi Virus – 2009
A solid puzzle game that was different from the rest. While it did grow stale after a while and didn’t have the staying power of Meteos or Tetris it was different at least. The bright colors were nice and it had some character.
Luminous Arc – 2007 Luminous Arc 2 – 2008
This is a great game for casual gamers who want to dip their toes in the SRPG genre. While it looks good and has some good writing, the game isn’t very deep and can be too easy for vets of the genre.
Yoshi Touch & Go – 2005
A fantastic tech demo during the system’s launch, but that was about it. The game was really short and mostly focused on showing off the touch screen and other features. It’s still worth a pick-up to remind you just how unique and fun the DS really is.
Most Recent Entry: Yoshi’s Crafted World – 2019 (NS)
Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble! – 2005
While not the best use of the dual screens, and there’s no lefty mode, the game still looks great, but the action is mediocre compared to the console brethren. If you love the series you will like what’s here, but just know that it’s also rather short. This would sadly be the final game in the short-lived series.
Many criticized the game for not adding anything and being merely an emulated port. It was solid and ran well, but also had online play, but good luck finding anyone at the time. Included was the awesome Puzzle Fighter from Mortal Kombat: Deception which I personally really liked and spent more time playing than the fighting part itself. The special moves on the touch screen are nice and you can track your W/L ratio. It doesn’t utilize the touchscreen in innovative ways, but it didn’t need to.
A fun and unique puzzle game if not bland in presentation. The story was considered silly and pointless, but the puzzles were addictive and that’s what matters the most.
Polarium – 2005
While a boring presentation and bland visuals might put you to sleep puzzle fans will find some joy here. The puzzles are rather hard, but not worth going back to. There is a puzzle maker that you can beam to friends though. There was a sequel later released on GBA of all systems.
These are considered the most newbie-friendly games at the time of release, but many will still get lost in the story without deep knowledge of the game’s anime lore. It captured the card game very well and had a rebuild of the entire series at this point in time. That was all well and good, but the steep learning curve for non-fans turned many away.
There’s nothing really wrong with this game. It’s a bit grind-heavy, sure, but the Diablo-esque combat and interesting quests made for a fun adventure. It just didn’t really stand out from the crowd much. It’s an Atlus series, so it has a lot of fans. The series would come to an end in 2016.
Most Recent Entry: Summon Night 6: Lost Borders – 2016 (PS4, VITA)
Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier – 2009
Good writing, if mostly pervy talk, but good nonetheless, and an easy yet addictive combat system won’t fans over. It’s not the best game in the series, but it’s a more relaxing and fun game rather than serious.
Most Recent Entry: Super Robot Wars 30 – 2021 (PC, PS4, NS)
Glory Days 2 – 2007
A unique game for the system but the small screens make playing a bit annoying. While nothing exceptionally amazing it does what it seeks out to do well enough.
Most Recent Entry: Glory Days: Tactical Defense – 2011 (DS)
Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans – 2009
A well made if formulaic JRPG in the DBZ universe. Many praised the visuals and interesting story…for fans. Yeah, you probably won’t want to bother unless you’re a fan of the show.
Most Recent Entry: Dragon Ball: The Breakers – 2022 (PC, NS, PS4, XONE)
Contact – 2006
It’s an Atlus game. Yeah, Atlus had some very mediocre games on the DS, but they get credit for trying something new. Contact is one of those. Praised for its humor and interesting story, but had boring combat and exploration. You either love it or hate it.
Brothers in Arms DS – 2007
While given props for being an incredibly good-looking DS game and keeping the core BiA action intact, the game was rather short and over before you knew it. It had some online play, but barely. Sadly, the series never saw a true sequel.
Most Recent Entry: Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War – 2014 (AND, iOS)
Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming – 2009
While not perfect, the puzzle gameplay is a nice change of pace for the series. While some of the puzzles felt like they had to be completed a certain way, any puzzle fan could get into this regardless of their Harvest Moon affinity.
Most Recent Entry: Doraemon: Story of Seasons – Friends of the Great Kingdom – 2022 (PS5, NS, PC)
Front Mission – 2007
A remake of the SNES classic, this is a deep and involved game that requires patience and a love for either mechs or the SRPG genre. This game turned many fans of the genre away for its complexity and sometimes dry presentation, but it still has a few layers of fun.
I personally love this series. It’s not perfect and has some pretty bad level design, and can be really frustrating, but the engine Renegade Kid designed is gorgeous. A 60FPS shooter on this system looks amazing. It’s also one of the best horror games on the system. It was later remastered on the 3DS which is probably the best version.
Most Recent Entry: Dementium: Remastered – 2015 (3DS)
Theme Park – 2007
A straight port of the 1994 classic, but that’s all it was. Nothing new was added or changed, and the game is overly complicated sometimes which would turn off casual sim fans. If you have the patience for the small screen and complex gameplay then you will have fun.
Most Recent Entry: Theme Park – 2011 (AND, iOS)
Mario Party DS – 2007
I remember when this game came out. Everyone was hyped for it but was let down by the board design despite the stylus and touch screen bringing a new dynamic to mini-games. The single-player was also really disappointing and was best played with friends. This is the one and only Mario Party game on DS.
Most Recent Entry: Mario Party Superstars – 2021 (NS)
Boing! Docomodake DS – 2009
A cute and quirky DS game that came over from Japan. The downside is the extreme amount of trial and error to get through the game. If you can stomach that then this is one really unique game that flew under everyone’s radar.
Go! Go! Kokopolo: Harmonius Forest Revenge – 2011
Considered one of the best DSiWare games on the system, the fresh characters and fun charm of the game were well-liked, but the brutal difficulty turned many away. It would get one more sequel on 3DS before being forgotten.
Most Recent Entry: Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D: Space Recipe for Disaster – 2017 (3DS)
Nostalgia – 2009
The name says it all. This game is for those who grew up with SNES or PS1 JRPGs. With that in mind, the game doesn’t add anything to the genre and is pretty formulaic. The story is good but takes a long time to get going, but with patience and nostalgia on your side fans will love it.
Pac-Pix – 2005 Pac ‘n Roll – 2005
A fun and unique early title for the system, but the interface and gimmicky controls got old after a while and only the most patient or diehard fans would complete the game. It’s still completely unique to the DS ecosystem. Pac-Pix was a fun scribbling game that let your drawings come to life. Very simple, but a great tech demo for the DS.
Guitar Hero: On Tour – 2008 Guitar Hero: On Tour Decades – 2008 Guitar Hero: On Tour Modern Hits – 2009
I remember getting the first Guitar Hero game for DS with the hand grip keys attached to the GBA slot of the DS. It worked really well, but anyone who didn’t have child-size hands would get serious cramps. You were also locked out of the game if you had a DSi which nixed the GBA slot. The great addition to this game was being able to play with friends with a single cart.
Most Recent Entry: Guitar Hero Live – 2015 (XONE, PS4, PS3, iOS, X360, WIIU)
Jam Sessions – 2007
More of a learning tool than a game. Well, yeah. That’s where it stops. There’s not much of a game here. It also didn’t teach you how to play guitar like an expert but got the basics across. The DS was a unique system that allowed learning software like this.
Most Recent Entry: Jam Sessions 2 – 2009 (DS)
DodoGo! Robo – 2011
The smaller package didn’t improve upon the sequels but just felt like an expansion or DLC. The puzzles were punishing but satisfying once conquered. The game also lacked any nice presentation looking dull in most spots.
Electroplankton – 2006
A fun and unique take on art and music but lacked a save feature which really irked players back in the day. It offered something new every time you booted up the game and felt like a piece of interactive art.
Moon – 2009
Moon was an underrated FPS game on DS that used Renegade Kid’s engine. It was smooth, fun, and had a great atmosphere. It was later remastered for the 3DS.
Most Recent Entry: Moon Chronicles – 2014 (3DS)
Kirby: Squeak Squad – 2006
A fun game if formulaic when it comes to Kirby games. It didn’t do anything new and was really easy and only offered forgettable mini-games. Mainline fans will still find something here to like.
Most Recent Entry: Kirby’s Dream Buffet – 2022 (NS)
Nanostray – 2005
The short-lived series was well-liked by shmup fans. The game was fun, but very short and didn’t do anything particularly fantastic with the genre. It’s still a great addition to your library if you’re a fan of these types of games.
Most Recent Entry: Nano Assault – 2011 (3DS)
Phantasy Star 0 – 2009
A decent take on the series in portable form. The game offered online play and fantastic grinding with friends, but the single-player experience wasn’t as interesting. While it was fun and you could do it the series is meant to be played online. Just be prepared to do a lot of grinding.
Most Recent Entry: Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis – 2020 (PC)
TouchMaster – 2007
This was a fun set of “car ride” games, but not every game would be suitable for everyone. You would pick your favorites and never touch the rest. It feels like you got ripped off. Thankfully the series would improve.
Most Recent Entry: TouchMaster Connect – 2010 (DS)
Ontamarama – 2007
One of the best rhythm games on the DS, but everyone kept putting it up against Elite Beat Agents at the time. It’s by no means bad but does feel sort of generic in comparison. It’s not zany or whacky, but just a fun anime-style rhythm game.
Draglade – 2007
Another Atlus game on the list. Draglade is a unique mix of rhythm action and fighting, but the story is silly, there’s not much depth or challenge, and it’s over before you know it. It’s still a fun anime-style game.
Birds & Beans – 2009
A small $2 game that doesn’t utilize any of the DS’ features is brave, but it worked here. It’s a fun and frantic arcade game with no shame about what it offers.
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light – 2010
If you’re dying to jump back into the world of FFXIIthen look no further. This is a by-the-numbers JRPG with simple combat and a simple plot, but sometimes that’s okay.
Most Recent Entry: Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin – 2022 (PC, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSX)
Space Bust-A-Move – 2009
If you liked more of what the series has offered then look no further. The formula hasn’t changed in over a decade, but it’s still a lot of fun with unlockables and a space theme.
Most Recent Entry: Bust-A-Move: Journey – 2017 (AND, iOS)
Avalon Code – 2009
The Book of Prophecy is a unique gameplay mechanic that allows you to capture things and manipulate their attributes. The UI and interface are a mess, and the game requires a lot of hours behind it to fully enjoy the game. The complexity is well worth overcoming for the unique gameplay mechanic.
Digimon World DS – 2006
The series struggled to find its own identity outside of Pokemon. While the farming idea was fresh and the capture method was different it was a new start for the series, but not quite enough. It’s still a solid handheld entry.
While teaching you about marine conservation this puzzle game was cute looking and fairly good for the cheap price point. It won’t blow you away, but it was a fun offering for all ages.
Resident Evil: Deadly Silence – 2006
This remake using the DS controls works just fine, but it doesn’t offer anything new. The game itself feels dated despite how perfectly fun it was at the time. If you are tired of the original game don’t bother. However, this is a good jumping in point for those who want a more modern update.
Most Recent Entry: Resident Evil Re:Verse – 2022 (PC)
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals – 2008
The poor man’s Pokemon, or Digimon for that matter. While the monster trainer part was fine it wasn’t very deep and too simple for anyone familiar with other games in the genre. It’s still worth a look if you’re tired of said games.
Most Recent Entry: Spectrobes: Origins – 2009 (WII)
Gunpey DS – 2006
This puzzle game series was short-lived at the time, and while it was easy to learn but hard to master the overall difficulty wasn’t that high and you could easily achieve high ranks without a sweat. It’s still a cute-looking and fun game. This would sadly be the final game in the series.
Nervous Brickdown – 2007
A fun and stylish Breakout clone, but it doesn’t do anything new with the genre. The mini-games are fun, but they feel constrained to the gameplay element of bouncing a ball around and it hinders it a bit.
Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends – 2007
The series was feeling stale at this point, but no game is incredibly awful as long as the unique controls work. These games are addictive and fun, but short-lived and don’t vary much between sequels.
Most Recent Entry: Cooking Mama: Cuisine! – 2022 (AND, iOS)
Trace Memory – 2005
An early DS title that used the stylus well and looked great. This touch-and-click adventure was praised for its story, but the slow pace, short run time, and lack of action put some people off.
Most Recent Entry: Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories – 2009 (WII)
100 Classic Books – 2010
This may not be relevant these days, but before the rise of e-readers, the DS was thought to be a great option for reading books. While the backlight might be harsh on the eyes this is more of a piece of software and there’s no game here. 100 classic books on one cartridge could keep you busy for months or even years. It actually sold quite well, especially in the UK.
Photo Dojo – 2010
The DSi was the first handheld with a built-in camera. This, of course, sparked the start of augmented reality games, and while the cameras were of poor quality this game did a good job of injecting you and your friends into the game with zany mini-games.
The Legend of Kage 2 – 2008
A direct sequel to the classic side-scrolling platformer. The game didn’t offer much of new gameplay elements but still was hard as nails. This was a lot of people’s complaints. No difficulty setting and unless you loved old-school side scrollers you wouldn’t find anything worthwhile here.
Neves – 2007
While the design isn’t anything original this shape puzzle game gets the job done. It’s incredibly basic in presentation and if you don’t like this type of puzzle game you won’t enjoy it. It’s for a specific crowd.
Sonic Classic Collection – 2010
This is just a bog standard collection that we’ve seen before. It also doesn’t run super well on the system. Poor emulation aside if you have to have a classic Sonic game on your DS it’s not the worst thing.
Most Recent Entry: Sonic Frontiers – 2022 (PC, NS, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSX)
Fossil Fighters – 2009
It doesn’t look amazing or have any interesting story or characters, but it’s down right fun and has good combat. There are also a lot of things to do. Some may find it a bit too easy, but fun is fun.
Most Recent Entry: Fossil Fighters: Frontier – 2014 (3DS)
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island – 2009
The one and only Atelier game on the DS. Annie is more of a city builder and less of an RPG. It also has a comedic story that’s very whimsical and fun. If you’re a fan of the RPG elements in the game then this may not be for you.
Most Recent Entry: Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream – 2022 (PC, PS4)
Metal Slug 7 – 2008
A surprising DS exclusive. It’s Metal Slug without any enhancements or advancement of the formula. It’s the same old Metal Slug we’ve either grown to love or tired of. The smaller screen thankfully doesn’t make it a chore to play and it runs really well.
Most Recent Entry: – 2009 ()
Dragon Ball: Origins 2 – 2010
If you loved the original you will like this one. Just be in for some unfixed controls and slowdown. It’s a fun RPG for fans of the series and you will be in for a good time despite its simplicity.
Most Recent Entry: Dragon Ball: The Breakers – 2022 (PC, NS, PS4, XONE)
Garfield’s Nightmare – 2007
Great visuals and level design help this game along quite a bit for older gamers. However, the pre-teen range this game shoots for shows. It’s easy and simple, but can be relaxing and lightweight for older gamers.
Most Recent Entry: Garfield Kart: Furious Racing – 2019 (MAC, PC, NS, PS4, XONE)
Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits – 2004
If you love Mr. Driller then this is for you. It’s also a good jumping-in point for new players. If you are tired of the series and want something new then this isn’t for you. It’s the same old game built for touch screens. That’s about it.
Most Recent Entry: Mr. Driller: Drill Land – 2020 (PC, NS, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSX)
Beat City – 2010
A simple but fun rhythm game. If you’re tired of the bigger hits on the DS then this might be for you. It’s really short, and doesn’t have much replay value, but could be a fun evening with cute graphics.
Art Style: AQUIA – 2009
The Art Style series was popular due to its simple design and minimalistic looks. Aquia mixes Tetris with Bejeweled and while it does a decent job it’s very simple and won’t hold your attention as long as other puzzle games on the system.
Most Recent Entry: Art Style: Rotozoa – 2010 (WII)
thebinarymessiah.com 
Yep! The fact that I forgot about this game until you made a comment proves that.