Summary
When it comes to the survival horror genre, most fans tend to think of the PS1 as its birthplace. It’s hard not to see why asResident Evilinstantly became a hit when it was released in 1996. Besides that, there was alsoSilent Hillin 1999 and both of these games went on to spawn numerous horrific sequels on the PS1 and beyond.
OtherPS1 horror gamesweren’t so lucky to create giant franchises. There are a lot of one-and-done horror and horror-adjacent classics on the system that many haven’t experienced yet due to low availability beyond emulation. Let’s explore the back catalog and bring new light to these terrifying adventures from the early years of the PS1.
6Alien Trilogy
An FPS Horror Highlight Reel
Alien Trilogywas a PS1 exclusive at first but it was eventually brought to the Sega Saturn and MS-DOS supported PCs. It followed the events of theAlienfilm franchiseloosely and it was a first-person shooter. In that sense, it was more of an action game than a horror game.
Face Huggers and Xenomorphs fell a lot easier in the game than they did in the movies, taking away some of their scary powers. However, it was not without its tense moments. The lighting, for example, could obscure enemies, making for some frightening jump scares and sometimes ammo could be scarce like in many survival horror games.
5Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack’s Revenge
The PS1’s First Foray Into Darkness
Alone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack’s Revengeis the second game in theAlone in the Darkserieswhich was just calledAlone in the Dark 2on PC. Strangely, the name was different in Europe too as it was calledAlone in the Dark: Jack Is Backwhen it came to consoles. Weird names aside, it’s very much a predecessor to whatResident Evilwould become, predating it by three years as it was released on MS-DOS computers in 1993.
The game began with players pulling up to a large compound only to find it overrun with zombies. With a few quick shots, they could run past and make their way inside a mansion to solve puzzles and shoot more zombies. It’s more of an adventure game than an action game and the series overall could never quite catch on with console players. This is probably whyAlone in the Dark: One-Eyed Jack’s Revenge, and its sequels, are more often forgotten.
4Blood Omen: Legacy Of Kain
A Diablo Adjacent Vampire Zelda
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kainis the first game in the series that would be usurped in popularity thanks to its spinoff sequel,Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. The two games couldn’t be more different mechanically asBlood Omen: Legacy of Kainwas a top-down action RPG akin to early entries inThe Legend of Zeldafranchise.
Players begin as Kain, a vampire who has awakened from his slumber after being betrayed. Players could hack and slash away at enemies, drain them of their blood, and solve some light puzzles for good measure. It has horror vibes but it is not exactly the scariest game on the PS1.
3Clock Tower: The First Fear
Run From The Scissorman
Clock Toweris not remembered by most because it was never released outside of Japan despite its radical legacy. The game was released in 1995 on the SNES but it would then get enhanced for the PS1 asClock Tower: The First Fear. CG cutscenes were added, for example, but the graphics weren’t touched much. Westernfans of horror gamescan at long last check the game out sometime soon as a remaster,Clock Tower: Rewind, is set to debut on a plethora of consoles.
The second game did make it to North America on PS1 in 1997, but it was just calledClock Towersimilar to how many Final Fantasy games were numbered incorrectly early on. Now,Clock Towerwas a point and click adventure game with detailed menus. Players assumed the role of a young girl, Jennifer, who was stalked in a manor by a crazed killer with a giant pair of scissors aptly named Scissorman. It’s a hard game to navigate and one truly terrifying due to the little amount of control players have.
2The Note
A Journalist’s Investigation Goes Ary
The Notewill be unfamiliar to most in North America as it only received a release in Japan and Europe. It’s another horror adventure game that emphasizes menus, but there is combat, unlikeClock Tower. Players assumed the role of Akira, a reporter, who journeyed to a mysterious village to investigate a mystery alongside his partner.
Players could begin exploring areas in first-person and then fast travel to major locations via a menu. There was a hotel, for example, that was necessary to stay alive. Akira could get tired, signaled by the limited cone of vision that would dip players in and out of reality. It had some interesting ideas for an earlysurvival horror gameto be sure, along with some hilarious early voice acting, butThe Notewasn’t immediately an all-time classic when it launched in 1997.
1OverBlood
More Like Needs More Blood
OverBloodwas released in 1996 in Japan, months after it debuted both in Japan and North America. It was developed and published by the same company in Japan, Riverhillsoft, but thanks to the success ofResident Evil, Western publishers were looking to get another survival horror hit on the shelves. That is probably why EA published this in 1997 for North America. It’s more of a puzzle game,taking place in the futurewherein an amnesiac man, Raz, has to escape a laboratory.
He is aided by a robot, Pipo, and the two characters can be switched between. That’s the starting duo, but there are other characters and surprises in store like all of the ways the game tries to kill you. The variety and cheap deaths wrack up there with the 2013 reboot ofTomb Raider. There are some spooky bits, but it is beyond challenging and the only reason some may want to seek it out today is for the cheesy cutscenes.
