The Honeycut: The Horror of Video Games

Power On

Watching a horror movie is one thing. I haven’t been legitimately scared by a film since the first “Insidious” movie, more than 15 years ago. Video games, however, are a different story. There’s something about actually being in that situation that cranks the terror up to 11. ‘Resident Evil VII’ was incredibly tense, and I couldn’t even finish the criminally overlooked game “Visage” because it scared me so bad. This week, I want to look at a couple of different horror game franchises and explore the different vibes they bring to horror gaming. 

Resident Evil

Like many millennials, this is where it all started for me. I remember playing “Kirby’ on Nintendo the night before my brother brought home the original “Resident Evil’ game for PS1. This turned my world upside down. Until then, I was used to kiddy stuff, like “Mario.” But now I was watching him blow the heads off zombies. Mind blown. 

There’s something special about the original RE. Maybe it’s the early polygonal graphics, or the haunting atmosphere of the pre-rendered mansion. Whatever it is, it works. I felt like I was watching something forbidden, that no one was meant to see. 

As the years went on, RE moved more into action than horror. Until “Resident Evil VII.” Taking notes from the game that never was, “P.T.” aka (Silent Hills), this entry moved to a first-person camera, and took place in an eerie old house, yet still kept its signature feel, with superhuman mutations and such. Then came “Resident Evill VIII,” which almost feels like a twisted fairytale. Judging by the trailers, the next RE game looks to get back into the horror of “RE VII.” 

What’s cool about the “Resident Evil” games is that each one is a different experience. If you want a traditional zombie horror game, the first one will always deliver. If you want more of a blockbuster action game with horror elements, “Resident Evil 4” and “5” bring that. 

The Evil Within

Shinji Mikami, the director of the first four “Resident Evil’ games, returned to the world of horror with an original project “The Evil Within.” Good lord is this game terrifying. From the opening moments, you’re walking through a mental hospital where all the staff lay slaughtered. Then you’re captured and have to outrun this mutant butcher guy, but you’re slowly limping the entire time. I never felt so close to having a heart attack while playing a video game. Then, later in the game, I was walking down this wooded path and came to a hut. I was like “I do not want to go in there.” So, I turned the game off for the night. If you couldn’t tell by my description this game is scary! Which is exactly what I want from a horror game. 

Its sequel, “The Evil Within 2” is every bit as good as the first one. There’s a serial killer who photographs his victims in their last moment of life. What a great concept. Then you have the semi-open-world town of Union, with all kinds of demented creatures lurking around it. 

It’s been about ten years since the last “Evil Within’ game, and sadly it seems like the series is done. This is a franchise that does not get talked about enough. So, if you’ve never played these games, go do it. I’m pretty sure they are always free on Xbox Gamepass. 

Honey’s Final Thought

We didn’t cover a movie on the “Midnight Terrors Podcast” this week, so I wasn’t sure what to write about. But my mind kept going back to how cool horror video games are. Whereas I can appreciate horror movies and books, nothing strikes fear into my heart like a scary game. 

Also, I feel like video games sometimes get overlooked in the horror conversation. People always bring up Stephen King, George A. Romero, John Carpenter, guys like that. But when was the last time you heard someone mention Shinji Mikami, or Team Silent (the creators of the first four Silent Hill games)? It’s probably not often, if ever. So, cheers to the unsung horror heroes.