Summary
- Some of the best modern horror games are set in North America, utilizing the setting creatively.
- Unique settings like the bayou in Resident Evil 7 and the rural Colorado in Outlast enhance the horror experience.
- Games like The Last of Us and Alan Wake 2 provide fresh perspectives on America, making them stand out in the genre.
Horror games can be set in places all around the world, on distant planets, and even during the past. Recently, however, some of the best horror games made in the modern day have been set in North America.
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Whether it's the damp bayous or crowded metropolises, there are a lot of great horror games set in North America, but some are arguably a little better than others. For those brave enough to face them, here are the best horror games set in North America.
This ranking has been determined both by the quality of the games and how well they take advantage of their North American setting.
8 Resident Evil 7
Bayou Bonanza
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, First-Person
In the mid-2010s, the Resident Evil franchise was having a rough time. Coming off increasingly unpopular entries, many wondered whether the franchise would ever recover. Doubts were high about Resident Evil 7 turning the tide, but it did so in majestic style, producing one of the very best games in the whole RE franchise and reinvigorating the franchise so much that it's still going strong to this day.
A big reason Resident Evil 7 works is the bayou setting of Louisiana. It's an entirely new context for the Japanese-developed games to play in, and it helped show that there was plenty of creative energy still brimming at Capcom.
7 Outlast
The Madhouse
Outlast
- Released
- November 4, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature // Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Nudity, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Ever since the release of the Blair Witch Project in the late 1990s, gamers have been wondering whether the found footage concept could translate to the world of video games. Undoubtedly, Outlast was the first game to truly master the idea, where the camera is both the player's perspective and the only way of seeing through the pitch-black corridors of an overrun asylum.
By setting the game in the depths of Colorado in the middle of nowhere, Red Barrels evoked a strong sense of isolation in the rural wilderness where there was no help to come, all while evoking the US's sordid history with asylums (and the people who inhabit them). It's a game that wouldn't work in a different setting, which is a testament to its intentionality.
6 Left 4 Dead 2
Zombie Slaughter With Pals
Left 4 Dead 2
- Released
- November 17, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
The late 2000s saw the boom of multiplayer games breaking into the mainstream across console, PC, casual, and hardcore gamers alike. The original Left 4 Dead was a great first entry into the budding survival co-op shooter genre, but Left 4 Dead 2 perfected the formula and remains one of the best examples of the genre to this day.
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Through a series of campaigns, Left 4 Dead 2 follows George Romero's steps in imagining American suburbia and cityscapes as playgrounds for undead mayhem. It gives the game a very specific, appealing flavor that ties back to zombie cinema.
5 The Last Of Us
A Modern Odyssey
The Last of Us
- Released
- June 14, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
In classical literature, the odyssey narrative usually involved a trek around Greece and its surroundings, but ever since the 19th century and the myth of the Frontier, North America has become the English-speaking shorthand for adventure and large-scale journeys.
Among other things, this is the exact visual language that The Last of Us is pulling from. As Joel, players are tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl, across America (and its many cities) in order to save the world. It's a familiar trope, but it's one that's deeply intertwined with the US as a setting, making it a compelling iteration on a centuries-old idea.
4 Alan Wake 2
Write Your Way Out
Alan Wake 2
- Released
- October 27, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Sometimes, in the English-speaking world, it can be easy to fall into the trap of seeing American perspectives as the default way of looking at things, which makes it all the more delightful when non-Americans imagine America as a setting for their own games. These perspectives are usually a little quirky, very individual, and utterly unique.
Few games better exemplify this strange, slanted perspective of North America than Alan Wake 2, Remedy's cerebral horror game that confronts players with strange, surreal visions of Cascadian idyll and suburbia, acting as both reverence and satire. It's a completely unique vision of North America that's even better today than it was at launch.
3 Resident Evil 2
Raccoon City Falls
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence
- Genre(s)
- Horror
In the late 1990s, Japanese developers knew that the American market was growing fast, and the easiest way to tap in was to start setting games in North America. This was a foundational idea for the Resident Evil franchise, which eventually came up with the very conspicuous name of "Raccoon City" for its amalgamated vision of a modern American city.
Raccoon City is, put bluntly, really weird, but that's exactly what gives the Resident Evil games their distinct charm. It's very clearly drawing from American zombie cinema, just from an outsider perspective, making it stand out from its peers. For those looking to get a taste of this fun imagining of a North American city, Resident Evil 2 is the best game to check out.
2 P.T.
Turn The Corner
P.T.
- Released
- August 12, 2014
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
It's hard to imagine a more influential addition to the horror genre in recent decades than P.T., the short-lived playable demo for the canceled Silent Hills game. It was to be headed up by the one and only Hideo Kojima, who in turn always renders America in idiosyncratic but delightfully cutting video game stories.
One reason why P.T. Is so scary is that it plays upon the familiarity of a suburban home corridor, something that will be familiar to millions of players, then makes that familiarity frightening and threatening by injecting ever more scares. It's a subtle setting choice, but it's one that's essential for the game's killer scares to work.
1 Silent Hill 2
In My Restless Dreams
Silent Hill 2
- Released
- October 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
When Japanese game developers attempt to represent America in their games, they usually invent a new city (like Raccoon City from Resident Evil) instead of adapting an existing place. Of all those creations (Krimson City in The Evil Within being a particular dark spot), none is more iconic, essential, and brilliant than Silent Hill.
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Though Silent Hill as a town isn't really a static place (the lore is a little contradictory on this), it is quintessentially American, playing upon familiar tropes of cafes, restaurants, apartments, and boardwalks. The Silent Hill 2 remake puts all of that specificity into modern glory, bringing the strange but brilliant work of Team Silent to a whole new audience, undoubtedly making it one of the best horror games ever made.
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