When developers build horror games, they aim to create an eerie experience for the players, using the most advanced artificial intelligence technology they have. Sometimes they use it to build great stealth segments, such as in the amazingResident Evil 7. Other times they use it to create scary main antagonists, likeSilent Hill’s Pyramid Head.
Still, artificial intelligence is a double-edged sword, as it is far from perfect in video games and can hamper the experience. In fact, many horror games end up with sub-par A.I. characters that feel more comedic than scary. Such is the case for thesespooky horror gameantagonists with laughable artificial intelligence.
10Alien - Aliens: Colonial Marines
Aliens: Colonial Marinesis a sci-fi first-person shooter that came out in 2013. The Sega game wassupposed to redefine the horror FPS genreand take theAlienfranchise to a whole new level. Unfortunately, it failed on many fronts as it was not graphically impressive, nor did it have enjoyable gameplay.
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The only thingAliens: Colonial Marinesoffered was the iconic Aliens, who, despite their menacing look, were let down by the bad artificial intelligence. The failure of this game shocked many as it came from the same developer team who madeBorderlandsand part ofHalf-Lifegames.
9Cyberdemon - Doom 3
Doom 3was the last major title in the original trilogy before the developers soft-rebooted the series in 2016. The game came out in 2004 and was a fun survival horror FPS that maintained many aspects of what made the classics feel good. It was a little more slow-paced than its predecessors, but full of gore and horrifying characters.
Doom 3’s antagonist Cyberdemon is the final boss in the game and is supposed to be the strongest of all demons. Unfortunately, the boss fight itself is underwhelming due to the character’s poor A.I.
8Mr. X - Resident Evil 2
The originalResident Evil 2came out in 1998 and became Capcom’sbest survival horror title of the late 90s. While the 2019 reboot didn’t achieve the same level of popularity, it still managed to become one of the most gruesome, fun, true-to-sourceResident Evilgames of all time.
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Resident Evil 2reboot does many things right, from the impactful gameplay design to the storytelling and beautiful visuals. Unfortunately, it falls flat in making the chaser character, Mr. X, more menacing than he looks. It’s hilarious to see players enter a safe room and Mr. X stopping right at the edge of the door because coding doesn’t allow him to chase players inside.
7Sadist - The Evil Within
The Evil Withinis a survival horror classic from 2014 that isn’t as popular as other similar titles. However, the game deserves more love from the community for offering one of the most mind-blowing stories in the genre’s history. Moreover, it comes from legendary game director Shinji Mikami, who’s responsible for titles such asResident Evil 4, Dino Crisis, Onimusha, Devil May Cry, Vanquish, God Hand,and more.
The Evil Within’s gameplay is fun, alongside its memorable level design and visuals. Moreover, almost all the scary characters are on-point and brutal, except for the Sadist, who’s a recurring enemy and super easy to beat.
6Nemesis - Resident Evil 3
Resident Evil 3: Nemesiswas one of the best survival horror games of 1999. It offered a great story, incredible puzzles, and memorable level design. The Capcom classic also featured Nemesis, the most terrifying evil character in video game history. Therefore, almost everyone was thrilled when Capcom announced the remake.
Unfortunately, theResident Evil 3remake was disappointing on almost all fronts except the visuals. It offered a bogus narrative, shallow characters, and toned-down gore mechanics. If that wasn’t enough, thegame ruined Nemesis by making him a dumb big guywith laughably bad A.I.
5Anima - The Evil Within 2
Similar to the first entry in the series,The Evil Within 2does a lot of things well, from building an addictive gameplay loop to showcasing a nail-biting story. This time, the sequel features many new mechanics and a lot of new enemies in its semi-open-world gameplay design.
Sadly, the A.I. isn’t up to the mark in certain monsters, such as Anima. Over the course of the game, players encounter this special enemy on multiple occasions, where the goal is to sneak past her. Sadly, her not-so-good artificial intelligence makes those sections quite easy.
4Slenderman - Slender: The Arrival
Slender: The Arrivalis the fifth main game in the Slenderman saga and rightfully the best one yet. The gamefeatures survival horror gameplay mechanics and plays from a first-person viewas players explore deserted areas such as houses, mines, woods, and more.
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Slender: The Arrivaldoes not give players many offensive options. Instead, it forces them to use a flashlight and run away during enemy encounters. Sadly, the game drops the ball in making Slenderman feel as sinister as he looks.
3Chris Walker - Outlast
Outlastis the main game that kickstarted theYouTube horror game reaction content millions of people watchedin the early 2010s. The game uses the classic horror trope of a journalist trying to figure out what’s happening in a terrifying psychiatric hospital called Mount Massive Asylum.
Similar toSlender,Outlastdoes not give players offensive options. Instead, the only way of completing the game is to run away from enemy encounters and use the camera in the dark. The game is fluid and fun, but enemies like Chris Walker don’t really live up to their scariness due to their subpar artificial intelligence.
2Gatherers - Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descentis the grandfather of modern horror games where running away is the main part of the gameplay. Thesurvival horror classic emerged in 2010 and quickly became famousamong players who appreciated the level of detail and its interactive gameplay mechanics.
Amnesia: The Dark Descentdoes many things right. It builds an ambient world that feels terrifying. Additionally, It offers many secrets and a slow-paced story with good lore. Sadly, the only place the game drops the ball is in the primary enemies, Gatherers, who are quite dumb to be the main threat in the game.
1Any Ghosts - Phasmophobia
Phasmophobiais a perfect example of a modern-day horror game that tries to do something different than everything else. It’s a ghost-hunting game thatmotivates players to hang out with their friends, discover clues,explore a haunting site, and find the ghost. Unlike other horror games, this has more of a true investigative vibe.
Sadly, whilePhasmophobiadoes everything to appeal to Gen-Z gamers and provide good co-op gameplay, it completely flubs up the horror aspect. Every ghost in the game is a laughable joke.
