10 Horror Video Games That Let YOU Be The Killer
It's good to be bad.
Playing as a killer in video games is no big deal, really. Most titles have you trawling through ancient dungeons cleaving swathes of treasure-hoarding goblins in two, or firing laser beams through pesky space aliens, or even no-scoping your 11 year old neighbour whilst you cuss out their mother in the midst of a world war 2 simulation.
Death isn't a rare occurrence in video games, and neither is dishing out your fair share of it, made acceptable by the warm and fuzzy feeling of being the 'good guy'. But what happens when you take the caveat of 'doing the right thing' away?
Well, then you're a cold blooded killer, my friend, there's no two ways about it.
And naturally, flipping the perspective on being a murderous force of evil in a game is a tactic the horror genre employs best, putting you in the shoes of a deadly enemy intent on wiping out everyone in their path. It's a dark, strange, unsettling path to take, but these video games aren't afraid to stick a machete in your hands and let you have at it for the sake of some terrifying catharsis.
It's good to be bad, after all, as these titles soon prove...
10. Manhunt
Both entries of Manhunt see you play as a character with some serious aggression to unleash on the world, but the original title still stands out as one of the most lasting murderous experiences out there. Endlessly controversial and on a number of ban lists, Manhunt thrives on a premise that sees a convicted death row inmate forced into a killing spree as the involuntary star of a snuff movie.
Our protagonist, James Earl Cash, is not a nice man, and if the whole death row thing didn't give away his questionable alignment, then it's fair to say he's particularly morbidly talented when it comes to creative killings. That's not to say the people he's whacking are good people either though; the whole game is an exercise in showcasing the worst of human nature at every turn.
Playing as Cash is seemingly a test for just how much blood you can spill in as gross a way as possible, doling out points for brutality and rewarding stealthy, ultraviolent options over simple running and gunning.
Manhunt really puts the psycho man into psychotic maniac.