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90s Horror Games: The Classics You Can Still Play

The 1990s invented modern horror games: fixed cameras and scarce bullets, CD-ROM adventures filmed with real actors, and nightmares built from pre-rendered rooms. These are the ones still sold today, as originals or faithful re-releases.

The games

  1. Resident Evil (1996) key art: a pale zombie with a wound in its forehead and a bloodied shirt turns toward the viewer out of black darkness SurvivalResident Evil (1996)The 1996 original, re-released on PC: fixed cameras, tank controls, a mansion and a few bullets.
  2. Resident Evil 2 (1998) screenshot: Leon stands in the marble main hall of the Raccoon City police station, a statue and balconies above him SurvivalResident Evil 2 (1998)The 1998 original: Leon or Claire, the Raccoon City police station and zombies at every door.
  3. Edward Carnby is thrown back across Derceto's attic past a red trunk as a creature attacks SurvivalAlone in the Dark 1The 1992 game that came before Resident Evil: alone in the mansion of Derceto with something in the attic.
  4. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream key art: glowing blue circuit-board lines on a black background PsychologicalI Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream1995: five prisoners of a mad computer, each sent through a nightmare of their own past, from Harlan Ellison's story.
  5. Sanitarium key art: a single green eye staring out between strips of rough bandage PsychologicalSanitarium1998: wake in an asylum with your head in bandages and solve your way through shifting nightmares.
  6. System Shock 2 remaster key art: the metallic face of the AI SHODAN with glowing green eyes and wires spreading out like hair SurvivalSystem Shock 2: 25th Anniversary RemasterThe 1999 classic, remastered in 2025: alone on a starship whose crew have become something else.
  7. Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) screenshot: Jill Valentine in a dark brick alley as two bloodied zombies close in on her SurvivalResident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999)The 1999 original: escape Raccoon City with the Nemesis on your trail.
  8. Dino Crisis key art: a scaly dinosaur foot with a long curved claw stands on a bloodied floor in the dark SurvivalDino CrisisCapcom's 1999 survival horror with raptors that follow you from room to room, back on PC and PlayStation.
  9. Phantasmagoria art from GOG: a woman's terrified, wide-eyed face fading into mist beside a dim window PS1PhantasmagoriaSierra's 1995 horror adventure filmed with live actors in a dead magician's mansion.
  10. Clock Tower: Rewind key art: Jennifer, a frightened dark-haired girl in a white blouse, in front of a giant pair of open shears, with the mansion's clock tower at night 2D horrorClock Tower: RewindThe 1995 Super Famicom Clock Tower, finally released in English: hide from the Scissorman in the Barrows mansion.
  11. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers key art: the gold title over pixel-art scenes of a man holding a torch, a skull mask and fire 2D horrorGabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers1993: Jane Jensen's occult detective story of voodoo murders in New Orleans.
  12. Harvester key art: a hooded figure with glowing red eyes raises a scythe against a red night sky over a domed building PsychologicalHarvester1996: a 1950s town, a cult and filmed actors in one of the strangest adventures of the decade.
  13. D: The Game art: Dr Richter Harris in a shirt and tie holds up his bloodied hands, in a scan-lined frame from the game Multiple endingsD: The GameKenji Eno's 1995 horror interactive movie: two real hours, no saves.
  14. Shivers screenshot: the museum's dim golden entrance hall with a spiral staircase, columns and a fountain, the row of captured spirit vessels on the ornate bar below Puzzle horrorShiversSierra's 1995 first-person night in a haunted museum full of life-draining spirits.
  15. Realms of the Haunting cover art: the dripping yellow title over faded, blood-red faces of the cast, one in round glasses Puzzle horrorRealms of the Haunting1996: a haunted Cornish mansion, filmed actors and first-person adventure and shooting.
  16. The 11th Hour key art: a worn clock face with roman numerals beside the cracked porcelain face of a doll staring out of the dark Puzzle horrorThe 11th Hour1995: the sequel to The 7th Guest, back in Henry Stauf's mansion; its Steam reviews are mixed.
  17. Shadow of the Comet key art: a huge pair of glaring eyes in a fiery sky above a hooded figure raising its arms and a man shielding his face 2D horrorCall of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet1993: Lovecraftian horror in a New England port as Halley's comet returns.
  18. Waxworks key art: a melting wax head with a staring eye and screaming faces in its folds, in front of a red iron-hinged door Puzzle horrorWaxworks1992: a blood-soaked first-person crawl through the cursed exhibits of your uncle's waxworks.
  19. Killing Time: Resurrected key art: a grinning zombie butler holding a knife and a plate, a zombie and a polka-dot clown on an orange and red swirl Action horrorKilling Time: ResurrectedA 1995 3DO shooter of a cursed estate and filmed ghosts, remastered for today's systems.

Survival horror took its shape in this decade. Alone in the Dark, in 1992, put a lone investigator in a haunted mansion with fixed camera angles, and Resident Evil made that a genre in 1996. Its originals, the 1996 Resident Evil, the 1998 Resident Evil 2 and the 1999 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, are sold again on PC with their fixed cameras and tank controls, and Capcom's Dino Crisis (1999) swaps zombies for raptors. Clock Tower, a 1995 Super Famicom game where you hide from the Scissorman, came out in English for the first time as Clock Tower: Rewind. System Shock 2 (1999), remastered in 2025, is the decade's great science-fiction horror.

On PC, CD-ROM horror adventures pushed in every direction. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995) and Sanitarium (1998) are the two most remembered, both nightmares about guilt and memory. Sierra made Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993), Phantasmagoria (1995), filmed with live actors, and Shivers (1995), a night in a haunted museum. Harvester (1996) and Realms of the Haunting (1996) mixed filmed scenes with stranger games, Kenji Eno's D (1995) gave you two real hours with no saves, and The 11th Hour (1995) followed The 7th Guest back into Henry Stauf's mansion.

Further back, Waxworks (1992) is a gory first-person crawl through cursed exhibits, and Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet (1993) one of the first Lovecraftian adventures. Killing Time, a 1995 shooter with filmed ghosts, is back as Killing Time: Resurrected.

If you play one, start with the 1996 Resident Evil for survival horror or Sanitarium for a horror adventure.

Questions

What were the best horror games of the 90s?

Resident Evil and its first two sequels, Alone in the Dark, System Shock 2, Clock Tower, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Sanitarium and Phantasmagoria are the most remembered, and all can still be played today.

Can you still play the original Resident Evil games?

Yes. The 1996 Resident Evil, the 1998 Resident Evil 2 and the 1999 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis were re-released on PC.

Is Silent Hill from the 90s?

The first Silent Hill came out in 1999 on the original PlayStation, but it is not sold today; Silent Hill 2's remake and the HD Collection are the ways to play the series.

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