Silent Hill has haunted gamers since its first game was released in 1999. They had made quite a name for themselves both in their released games and even in cancelled ones such as P.T. However, they definitely have competition now that horror games are becoming more and more mainstream.
Different players are scared by different things, so of course you may not agree with every title on this list. However, all these games have been widely spread around on the internet for being the most scary to various people. With that in mind, here is a list of ten games some people have found to be scarier than the Silent Hill games.
10 Fatal Frame Series
If you are a fan of Japanese horror, then look no further than the Fatal Frame games. The first three games for the Playstation 2 are easy to find, but the next two games for the Wii and Wii U take a little more effort if you do not live in Japan, though it is well worth it!
The mechanics are pretty creative and have you defeat ghosts by taking photographs of them. In that sense, you actually have to get pretty close to the scary creatures in order to defeat them. There are tons of various ghosts including women crawling under floorboards, children, dolls, priests, and more.
9 Alien: Isolation
Some Alien fans may have passed on this game since the franchise has been over-saturated with bad films and adaptations. However, Alien: Isolation is a different story. It feels true to the original film in the way it instills fear and the style of the spaceship you are on. It has the alien, face-huggers, and the disgusting eggs all over the place.
It is very easy to die and the alien likes to travel through the vents and surprise you from above. Depending on the system you play the game on, you can have a setting where you actually have to be quiet in real life for the alien not to find you. Apparently, it's A.I. is very smart and can change how it hunts you depending on your strategies.
8 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
This first-person survival-horror game is what some consider to be the scariest of all time. It has amazing reviews on Steam and was made even more well-known by Youtube stars such as Pewdiepie in his "Let's Play" videos. You definitely will not be judged if you get so scared that you turn off the game, as many reviewers have noted having such moments.
While it is aging, people this year still play it for the first time and really enjoy its simple controls, spooky atmosphere, and memorable monsters.
7 Until Dawn
Until Dawn it a bit of a one-trick horse when it comes to its horror since it can be easy to be prepared for the jump scares if you decide to do multiple playthroughs. Despite that setback, the first playthrough is definitely worth your time and money. It utilizes motion controls and a mechanic that makes you have to keep the controller still so that the monster does not sense you, which is pretty intense.
The characters range from likable to absolute jerks and depending on how you play, they could all die or all live.
6 The Witches House
If you ever run out of horror games to play, know that there are actually a lot of RPG maker horror games that are really scary and good. They are not well known but have a cult following, and it definitely deserves more recognition.
The Witches House is one of the more scary RPG maker games out there. You are trapped on a witch's land and need to solve puzzles to escape. There are really stressful chase scenes, plenty of ways to die, and a pretty brutal twist at the end of the game.
5 The Resident Evil Series
Resident Evil has been around about as long as Silent Hill. It is known as Capcom's best-selling franchise and has inspired comics, films, and novels based on the stories it tells. As for the monsters, most of them are zombies and others are just insane abominations that cannot even be categorized. Arguably, some would even say that it was Resident Evil that re-introduced zombies into mainstream culture and popularized survival-horror video games. All of that is a pretty big deal.
Their most popular game was Resident Evil 4, though we have been hearing that the 7th game is good as well.
4 Slender: The Eight Pages
Slenderman was an online folklore phenomenon when this game came out. The game actually has various adaptations but what they all have in common is that you are lost in the woods and have to find eight pages before the Slenderman monster catches you. It is very frightening and stressful, and to make matters worse, you often have a flashlight with limited battery.
The game is very minimalist and can be beaten rather quickly, but it is still one scary game.
3 Layers of Fear
In this game, you play a psychologically damaged painter who is trying to make his greatest work. It is in first-person perspective and very story-centered with puzzles to complete.
There are mixed reviews of the game, with players either loving it or condemning it. Some have actually compared it to Silent Hill's cancelled P.T. demo due to the gameplay being able to explore a constantly changing environment.
2 Outlast
In this first-person survival horror game, you get to explore an insane asylum. It is a game that does not let you fight. The only way to survive is to run or hide, which always adds to the scary factor of any game. So most of the game is stealth-based and is comparable to Amnesia: The Dark Decent and Alien: Isolation in that manner.
This game is known to have shocking moments, documents to read that enrich the story, and an obscure but good story.
1 Five Nights At Freddy's Series
This franchise got a little out of control, but we cannot deny that the games are terrifying and stressful. You play a nighttime security guard in a kids restaurant. There are horrifying animatronics that come to life and try to kill you and the only defense you have is a door with limited battery. So you have to watch these creatures hunt you in the various security cameras until they get very close for you to shut the door in time and also save battery for the rest of the terrifying night.