Wrapping up the spine-tingling first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology, the newest chilling chapter called The Devil in Me brings a compelling true crime angle into the mix. Giving players a cinematic experience with gameplay to match, The Devil in Me isn't the first horror game to scare players senseless.
From modern hits like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, horror games are only getting scarier and The Devil in Me is proof positive of that fact. While there have been plenty of nightmare-inducing games in the past, only the very best are worth playing after completing Supermassive's newest gem.
Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005)
Though much more combat-oriented than The Devil in Me, the underrated gem Condemned: Criminal Origins is just as unsettling. The player assumes the role of an FBI forensic investigator who is on the trail of a serial killer who has framed him for his heinous crimes.
Lacking the technological advances of the modern day, Condemned is nevertheless a forward-thinking game that put its emphasis on realism as opposed to the usual verbosity of video games. Like Devil in Me, actions have consequences and the realistic combat means that the player could very easily find themselves dead in one hit.
Visage (2020)
Being directlyVisage was enough to keep even the most jaded gamer awake with nightmares. The game tasks players with exploring a strange haunted house in order to discover the fate of its inhabitants.
Like The Devil in Me, a bulk of the game involves exploration, but there is a bit of inventory management that the newer game doesn't have. Managing the character's sanity is an added challenge, and it draws from games like Amnesia for inspiration on that score. Though the aforementioned P.T. is lost forever, Visage is a more than adequate successor.
The Last Of Us (2013)
From a serial killer's legacy to a world of undead ghouls, The Last of Us is one of the few cinematic games that can give any of The Dark Pictures Anthology a run for its money in of visual quality. The game follows a young woman who s up with a grizzled man as they make their way across a zombie-infested landscape.
Though The Last of Us has more action elements, it is the brilliant storytelling that puts it in league with The Devil in Me. Known for having some of the best characters in video games, The Last of Us proved there was still potential in the overdone zombie genre. While not as scary as The Devil in Me, The Last of Us' storytelling has yet to be topped.
Darkwood (2014)
While many of horror's best games have been premiere AAA titles, the understated indie terror Darkwood proved that a good scare could come from anywhere. Set in Poland during the 1980s, the game follows villagers who are suddenly beset by an encroaching forest filled with nightmarish creatures.
Crafting is the heart of the gameplay and the must prepare for the coming night lest they leave themselves open to attack. There are stealth elements as well as RPG aspects, and it offers a much larger challenge than the puzzling Devil in Me. As with many survival horror games, the player isn't equipped to fight back and must use their wits to avoid becoming a victim.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)
Helping to usher in the modern era of horror games that gamers are still enjoying today, it is difficult to overstate the importance of the utterly chilling game Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Taking place in a mysterious castle, the player must navigate the crumbling fortress while avoiding monsters that lurk around every corner.
Like The Devil in Me, exploration is the heart of the gameplay, but the environs of Amnesia are much more harrowing in general. Unable to defend against the attacks of monsters, the player must avoid conflict by sneaking through the halls while trying to keep the sanity meter down. Featuring some of the scariest video game monsters of the '10s, players aren't likely to forget their nightmarish experience playing Amnesia.
Soma (2015)
Like The Devil in Me, the setting in Soma is very much a character in the narrative, and it actually factors in much more than the former. Trapped in an underwater research base, a man must find his way through the strange facility while avoiding the nearly sentient machines that run the place.
Combat is avoided and the bulk of the gameplay comes from intricate puzzle solving which adds a layer of challenge to the chills. Leaving concepts like inventory management behind, Soma's narrative is given time and space to breathe, and it is a captivatingly frightening story to live through.
Outlast (2013)
In a lot of ways, The Devil in Me and Outlast are both saying a lot about the culture of true crime fans, and the classic theme of curiosity killing the cat. The story follows a freelance journalist who gets trapped in an abandoned mental health facility and is pursued by the strange beings who are the result of the building's dark legacy.
Truly putting the survival in the name survival horror, Outlast is about stealth and avoidance of conflict since the player is incapable of fighting back. While it isn't nearly as cinematic as The Devil in Me, Outlast is a scarier experience than most horror gamers are used to, and its well-balanced gameplay makes it one of the best stealth horror games as well.
Until Dawn (2015)
Supermassive's latest game The Devil in Me isn't their first brush with interactive horror experiences, and Until Dawn stands as a testament to the possibilities of the genre. The game centers around a group of young people who return to a cabin in the woods on the anniversary of a friend's death to find that they are tormented by a deadly being.
With a branching narrative and cinematic storyline, Until Dawn is the perfect mixture of video game and cinema for a wholly original experience. Though the plots of the two games are quite disparate, their similar styles mean that they will forever be linked in player's minds. While some criticized Until Dawn for lacking gameplay depth, the story alone is worth the price of ission.
The Quarry (2022)
If Until Dawn was Supermassive's first brush with cinematic gaming, The Quarry proved that they had really nailed things down by 2022. Set in a summer camp, the game follows a group of counselors who are attacked by monsters and unfriendly locals.
As with other titles from the studio, including The Devil in Me, the player's choices have an effect on the story going forward, and it is possible to make a fatal error. On the surface, the game is dazzling with its motion capture and celebrity performances, but what isn't talked about enough is the exciting gameplay and balanced action that is a total improvement over previous Supermassive games.
A Plague Tale: Requiem (2022)
While The Devil in Me is a look back at a historical horror, A Plague Tale: Requiem drops the player into the past for an up close and personal experience. The story follows a pair of siblings who must strike out across the landscape in search of a cure for the younger's blood disease.
With deadly Inquisitors and plague infected rats on their heels, the player must use stealth and puzzle-solving skills to avoid being killed. Unlike The Devil in Me whose horror is more overt, there is a creeping dread with A Plague Tale that is just as heartbreaking as it is hair-raising.
