The idea of playing a game that is designed to unnerve and scare the player might not sound like a particularly attractive prospect, but this is precisely whyhorror games have become all the rage. When done right,the atmosphere and immersion in horror games are second to none, allowing for some of the best and most memorable moments for any gamer.
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In fact,most horror games require their stories and atmospheres to be as rich and gripping as possible, especially since the combat in these titles can be absolutely woeful at times. This is especially true for the following ten games in the horror genre that might have the best stories around… but their abysmal combat does them absolutely no favors whatsoever.
10System Shock 2
One of the greatest immersive sims ever made, the horrifying and isolating atmosphere ofSystem Shock 2will definitely serve as a wake-up call for anyone who was expecting a laidback title. The hypnotic antagonist ofSystem Shock 2coupled with some brilliant story moments makes for an excellent and unputdownable title.
However, there’s no denying the fact thatSystem Shock 2is extremely dated, and one need only look at its janky combat mechanics to realize just how old the title really is.
9Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Speaking of immersive sims, one can’t help but mention a vastly underappreciated game that features one of the greatest stories in any video game —Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.
However, while the characters and performances are in a class of their own, the combat of this title is an absolute chore and can get quite irritating at times. One needs to have a ton of patience to deal with this broken combat system… but the reward for accomplishing the same more than makes up for this annoyance.
8Pathologic
Easily one of the strangest and most underrated titles on this list, the mind-bending story ofPathologicis a must-play foranyone into good psychological horror.
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That being said, the player should really try and limit themselves from having to deal with any combat situations, since the gameplay of this title takes an absolute nosedive when players are forced to fend for their lives only to realize that the biggest threat to a player’s life is the controls itself.
7BioShock
An atmospheric story-heavy titlethat certainly doesn’t lean away from its horror elements, pretty much any gamer must’ve heard the nameBioShockat some point or other.
While the story of the game is absolutely top-notch, the combat is a different beast altogether. The gameplay featured inBioShockmight not be bad per se — in fact, it’s downright revolutionary when compared to some of the other games on this list — but there are certain annoying and uninspired facets of this combat system that can be quite a pain to deal with, at times.
6Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
One of the most innovative titles to release on the Nintendo GameCube,Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiemis a brilliant survival-horror title with an amazing story that’s told in a truly ingenious manner.
The iconic sanity effects might help spice up gameplay quite a bit as well, but there’s no denying the fact that the combat present in this title is incredibly simple and somewhat grating after a point. It’s a boon thatEternal Darkness' story is so gripping that players will find the act of dealing with the clunky combat at least somewhat worth it.
5Rule Of Rose
Speaking of clunky combat mechanics, it would be impossible to talk abouta game that features a brilliant storyalong with one of the worst combat systems in gaming history.
The themes and motifs ofRule of Rosegenuinely make for one of the better plots ever told in a video game, but the horrendous combat becomes such a major deterrent to the overall experience that most players can’t really be blamed for giving up on this game due to these horrid mechanics.
4Penumbra: Overture
The creators ofAmnesiaandSOMAare behind thePenumbratrilogy as well, a series of excellent survival horror titles that are an absolute blast to play through. However, while the first game in the series features an excellent story, the combat is anything but.
In fact, the battle mechanics ofPenumbra: Overturewas so poor that the next two games in the series decided to remove any form of combat altogether — an extremely wise decision that made the second game in the series even better, although the final chapter of the series didn’t really hit the mark for fans.
3Parasite Eve 2
The firstParasite Evetitle was a brilliant game featuring an excellent combination of turn-based and real-time combat to allow for a unique experience that was further propelled by a brilliant and mind-bending story — a trademark of Squaresoft games at the time.
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While the sequel definitely delivers in terms of the story — although some people didn’t really appreciate the setting of this title — the same can’t be said for the combat, which decides to take the worst pages out ofResident Evil’s book and offers up a horrible tank control system that sucks most of the fun that most people could’ve enjoyed from playing this title.
2Silent Hill 2
One of the greatest horror games of all time,Silent Hill 2has attained this illustrious reputation mainly due to its plot and themes, which are extremely dark, complicated and absolutely brilliant, to boot.
Anyone who’s played this legendary title can attest to the fact that Silent Hill 2’s combat system is anything but memorable — the survival horror nature of this game coupled with James' inexperience with self-defense certainly makes the addition of a cumbersome combat system somewhat understandable… but that still doesn’t change the fact that fighting enemies is an absolute chore inSilent Hill 2.
1Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
The resurgence of theResident Evilseries has been nothing short of a relief, especially considering how far the franchise had veered off the beaten path sinceResident Evil 4. That being said, whileResident Evil 7might be a return to form for the series, there are some aspects of the title that could’ve still been improved regardless.
While the story and atmosphere ofResident Evil 7are certainly brilliant, the same can’t be said for combat. Enemy variety is woefully absent and the combat itself feels rather slow and tedious at times. While this adds to the tension of some scenes in certain situations, there are times when the combat mechanics seem rather grating just for the sake of it.
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