10 Survival Horror Video Games You Must Play Before Halloween

8. Alien: Isolation

Alien Isolation
Sega

After a string of high-profile failures, Alien: Isolation proved that the sci-fi franchise still had what it takes to make it in the gaming world. Going back to the look and feel of the original movie rather than riffing on its more action-oriented sequel, the game dropped conventional first-person shooting for a more atmospheric experience that was closer to Amnesia than it was Doom.

Tasking players with escaping an crumbling space station while constantly being stalked by an omnipresent xenomorph, the game did a brilliant job of always making you feel like you were on the back foot. Boasting an unpredictable A.I system that made sure the alien rarely ever mimicked the same behaviour or took the same routes twice, you couldn't just game the system to break the horror like you could in similar titles like Outlast.

Likewise, while the game would have been terrifying on its own, the iconic sounds and visuals from the movie only made things even more intense. The ping of the motion tracker never fails to make you seize up, while the hiss of a vent can send you running to the nearest hiding spot.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.