9 Underrated Horror Games From The 2000s That You Need To Check Out

Multiple horror games released during the 2000s are unfairly undermined due to their graphics despite their immersive and unique gameplay.

You Are Reading :9 Underrated Horror Games From The 2000s That You Need To Check Out

The 2000s are considered to be a pioneering era for horror games since they received some major new features and the genre improved significantly in general. Despite coming short on graphics, at least compared to modern games, most of the horror games released then, similar to the 2000s horror movies, offered the fans some unique aspects.

From spooky music and scary dialogues that give players the chills, to 3D and psychological horror features being first developed, some games of the 2000s managed to shine in certain aspects, despite their mediocre reviews.

9 Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005)

Condemned offered a unique approach to horror games at that time due to its improved AI. Enemies appeared as if they were able to think, and were constantly hiding and scaring the player, with almost perfect timing. Nevertheless, its reviews on release date were mediocre, while it was even banned from Germany due to its increased violent and horror element. In any case, it is considered a pioneer in its kind and a solid horror game overall.

8 Nosferatu: The Wrath Of Malachi (2003)

In Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi, the protagonist travels to Pennsylvania in order to attend his sister’s wedding with a Romanian Count. However, it turns out that the Count was a vampire, and his family has been imprisoned by him.

The game’s dialogues and scenes bring chills and fear to the player. The most unique aspect is that the castle’s layout is randomly generated at the beginning of every game. Despite receiving mediocre critics, it is a game worth visiting trying.

7 Carrier (2000)

In Carrier, multiple characters are seen investigating a creepy environment after being split up by a mysterious attack. The game stands out due to being one of the first 3D games ever, which was accomplished surprisingly well. It received mediocre reviews due to its average gameplay, but being one of the first 3D games definitely makes it something worth checking out.

6 Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (2002)

Eternal Darkness is a GameCube exclusive and it was the first M-rated game released by Nintendo. It is known for bearing a lot of similarities with the more well-known Resident Evil series.

Some fans might not be aware of this, but Eternal Darkness received great reviews and won multiple awards, including “Outside Achievement in Character or Story Development” at the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. However, regardless of reviews, it wasn’t appreciated by the public and its sales were low.

5 The Suffering (2004)

The Suffering follows the story of Torque, a prisoner who was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife and kids. The game begins when the prison that he is sent to starts getting attacked by supernatural entities.

The most unique aspect of this game is that choices matter. It offers 3 alternative endings based on choices given, all offering a different explanation to his background. It received mediocre reviews, primarily because it wasn’t considered scary enough.

4 Cryostasis: Sleep Of Reason (2008)

Cryostasis is a psychological horror game located in the arctic biome. The player takes the role of a meteorologist, who is part of the crew of a sunken ship. By finding dead crewmates, he can alter time and change their past decisions, with his ultimate goal being to prevent the ship from sinking.

Despite offering a fearful experience of fighting against the cold and past memories, reviews were mediocre due to the slow-paced gameplay. Nevertheless, it is still a great game that offers an interesting approach to the psychological horror genre.

3 Cold Fear (2005)

Cold Fear is Ubisoft’s first released horror game. The game’s main feature was the wide variety of player animations available (far more than any other game of that time). However, it wasn’t well-received neither by reviewers nor by the public since it was often compared with Resident Evil 4 (to which it was inferior). Of course, Resident Evil 4 is a classic that is hard to outperform, but that doesn’t mean that Resident Evil is the only good scary game.

2 Barrow Hill: Curse Of The Ancient Circle (2006)

Barrow Hill is a point-and-click horror adventure game where the player is called to investigate a haunted archaeological site. Its greatest feature is that it offers a more open world compared to most other games, and thus provides the player with more choices of where to investigate and what to discover.

However, most reviewers considered it mediocre at best due to its boring and less scary storyline. Nevertheless, it manages to maintain some immersion towards the story and is a unique approach to the open-world horror genre.

1 Clive Barker’s Undying (2001)

In Clive Barker’s Undying, the player investigates the paranormal hauntings that have killed a friend’s family. Its reviews are relatively high, primarily due to its impressive combination of horror, action, and puzzle-solving but its popularity fell of relatively quickly.

Primarily due to the addition of magic spells and mana bar, an aspect often not included in horror games, it is considered a distinctive game that is worth trying out.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/underrated-2000s-horror-games-fans-enjoy/