Top 5 Underrated Horror Game Franchises

Overseen by former Resident Evil series director Shinji Mikami, the 2014 horror game The Evil Within took a different psychologically driven approach than the former’s focus on much more traditional “spook-house” scares (as seen in the latter’s incorporation of cerebral themes from existing media such as The Cell and Shutter Island). Even though the first TEW entry received notably mixed reviews upon release, its 2017 sequel – which implemented a larger, more open-world gameplay format – earned a comparatively better response (while also leaving a third entry possible).

4. Dino Crisis (1999 – 2003)

Going from one Shinji Mikami-directed production to another, the (sadly) neglected Dino Crisis series debuted in 1999 as a more action-focused horror game that pitted players against fast and aggressive dinosaurs instead of the shambling zombies encapsulating the overall Resident Evil franchise at that point (prior to its first major “reinvention” in RE4). Despite sharing a lot of “DNA” from the established RE series, the Dino Crisis games set themselves apart by their aforementioned emphasis on intense action over atmospheric dread (and with heavier leanings into science fiction).

3. Clock Tower (1995 – 2002)

Admittedly being a bit “uneven” in terms of each entry’s respective quality (including two adjacent spiritual successors), the Argento-inspired Clock Tower franchise is nonetheless an interesting (and very important) pioneer of the survival horror game subgenre despite its relative obscurity – and previously partial unavailability – outside of Japan. Of particular note is the original Super Famicom game’s decades-long exclusion from Western localization (as well as its multiple ports), but with it finally receiving worldwide release as an “enhanced” version called Clock Tower: Rewind in 2024.

2. Little Nightmares (2017 – 2025)

Premiering in 2017, Little Nightmares is a horror game franchise featuring a puzzle-platform gameplay format and an unsettlingly “dollhouse-like” visual presentation that centers on small, child-like characters attempting to maneuver around comparatively giant, adult-like monsters wanting to capture, kill, and (in certain parts) eat them. In addition to a sequel released in 2021 and an in-production third entry scheduled for 2025 (but from an entirely different creative team), the games’ initial development studio is currently working on a conceptual follow-up named Reanimal.

1. Fatal Frame (2001 – 2014)

Heavily steeped in esoteric Japanese culture and superstitions that some international audiences might not fully understand or appreciate, the Fatal Frame horror game franchise is certainly an acquired taste…however, if one has a fascination with Asian-focused ghost stories and anything evoking the Ring or Ju-On meta-franchises, this might be the right series for you. All of the games (including the 3DS spinoff Spirit Camera) task players with defending themselves against angry and very murderous ghosts with a unique camera designed to exorcize (or simply just ward off) spirits.

Parting Thoughts

“Horror is like a serpent; always shedding its skin, always changing. And it will always come back.” – Dario Argento.

“Horror is a universal language; we’re all afraid. We’re born afraid, we’re all afraid of things: death, disfigurement, loss of a loved one. Everything that I’m afraid of, you’re afraid of, and vice versa. So, everybody feels fear and suspense.” – John Carpenter.

“[Horror fiction] shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.” – Clive Barker.

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” – H.P. Lovecraft.