Awesome horror games preparing to thrill

The horror genre is seemingly resurgent in 2014 with some amazing titles on the cards from the likes of a genius game director Shinji Mikami with The Evil within, to Techland’s open-world zombie-apocalypse survival-horror, Dying Light.

The rest of the year is sure to be thrilling. Here are my top 5 anticipated Horror titles of 2014.

Routine

Lunar Studios are really trying something new and at the same time keeping the traditional sci-if horror scene intact. Routine is set on a remote Moon Base, you play as a space marine investigating the disappearance of a space team formerly stationed there. Routine is an FPS game with a 1980’s space theme; think Alien, when clunky computers and bulky space-suits were advanced tech.

The game also features horrifying mechanics; there is deadzone aiming, no HUD, no health bars, and you will have to run and hide from enemies because if they catch you it’s game over – no multiple lives, no respawn, only perma-death.

Routine is set for release later in 2014 on PC.

Daylight

Zombie Studios, the developers of those not-so-great Saw games are working on another horror FPS game, Daylight. Now I know what you are thinking: another terrible attempt at redemption – but Daylight looks really good.

The game is set in an abandoned hospital; the player finds themselves unarmed and with nothing but a smartphone. The female protagonist needs to escape and survive the horrors that await her in this hospital. The developers have promised that no play-through will be the same; the levels are procedural which results in every session being unique.

This intense survival horror is scheduled for release on PS4 and PC early in 2014.

Alien: Isolation

The Alien franchise has had a few hiccups over the past few years, especially following last year’s flop release of Aliens: Colonial Marines. SEGA is showing promise that Alien: Isolation will be better.

Picture a glorious, highly detailed space station, one survivor, and one Alien, hungry for intestines. The game features some intense survival elements, such as hiding in the shadows, having no weapons to defend yourself, and an extremely accurate Alien AI stalking you.

The gameplay we’ve seen looks good and proves that publisher SEGA and developer Creative Assembly is trying to bring back the classic Alien horror genre. Alien: Isolation is set for release in 2014 on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC.

Dying Light

Think about the speedy running and jumping mechanics from Mirrors Edge, mixed with Dead Island’s brain smashing, zombie exploding gore. A match made in heaven?

Dying Light is an open-world survival horror with a twist; during the day you come across your average zombies that you can decapitate, and kick into spiked barricades, but at night these zombies turn into faster, smarter and more powerful hybrid zombies with an appetite for your flesh.

All this sounds great, but does it look amazing? Well of course – Dying Light uses Techland’s new Chrome Engine 6 that brings all your zombie smashing love into a beautifully imagined world.

Dying Light is due out in 2014 on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC.

The Evil Within

The Evil Within is definitely my most anticipated horror game of 2014; produced by Resident Evil 4’s Shinji Mikami, the game follows detective Sebastian Castellanos during his investigation of a mass murder.

Knocked out and dazed and confused once he wakes up, he is trapped in a world of darkness, with some of the scariest monsters I have ever seen in a video game. The game features classic survival horror elements with limited resources and risky near to death decisions.

Developer Tango Gameworks has said that they are bringing the “classic scary” back into games. A well imagined world with great game direction and creativity – this one is going to be frightening.

The Evil Within releases in August 2014 on PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.

Which horror titles are you waiting for this year? We live in an age where society is numb to horror and gore – gamers especially – do you think these 5 games will succeed at scaring us? Let us know in the comments below.