Summary
- Modern horror games with PS1 graphics offer nostalgic experiences for indie horror enthusiasts.
- Titles like "The Shopping List" and "Employee of the Month" deliver retro aesthetics and eerie atmospheres.
- The charm of blocky PS1 graphics in horror games provides uncanny and scary experiences for players.
Almost everything in life is cyclical - literature, fashion, music - and video games are no exception. While there are many 8-bit and 16-bit video games that successfully achieve the aesthetic and feel of the era they're paying homage to, there aren't as many games that call back to that golden age of blocky PlayStation 1 graphics.
It's been said before that the defects and mistakes of any medium will eventually become the aspects of it that trigger audiences' nostalgia (Brain Eno). While the tracking lines, bad textures, and low-poly character models were once the PS1's weak points, in the modern age, they are some of the most endearing parts of the retro gaming experience. For any horror gamers who reminisce about the old-school Resident Evil or Silent Hill days, here are a few great modern titles that mimic that iconic PS1 aesthetic.
Updated on December 4, 2024, by Rachael Phillips: Most gamers, new and old, will have some connection to the PS1. Many will look back at the console with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, others will at least be familiar with the low poly graphics. While the console itself has largely fallen victim to the rapidly developing gaming industry, PS1-style games are still being developed, published, and enjoyed, particularly by indie horror enthusiasts. The distinct low-resolution and stylized environments continue to contribute to some genuinely uncanny and scary experiences. This article offers a comprehensive list of modern horror games with PS1 graphics for nostalgia-seekers and newcomers alike.
35 The Shopping List
Not Everything Is As It Seems In This Sleepy Town
- Developer: JordiBoi
- Release Date: 2022
- Platform: Windows
- itch.io Score: 4.6
The Shopping List follows the protagonist, who has just moved from their hometown to the city, on a mission to complete their shopping before heading to the new apartment. The catch is, there has been a string of disappearances, and the paranoid locals are acting strangely.
Not only does this game have a mix of interesting locations and characters to interact with, but it also maintains an unnervingly quiet atmosphere that will leave players on edge as they walk around the dark, dimly lit streets.
34 Night Stop
Uncover The History Of A Suspicious Gas Station
- Developer: Jonny's Games
- Release Date: 2022
- Platform: Windows
- itch.io Score: 4.8
A gas station appearing in the middle of nowhere can and has been a saving grace for many a hungry driver. Night Stop follows the protagonist as they commute through America's rural landscape when they come across one such building. It does not, however, offer the expected respite.
Amid the strange graffiti, suspicious pentagrams, and missing person posters a mystery is waiting to be uncovered. The developer of Night Shift uses shifting time and body horror with VHS effects to create a compelling game that is well worth every second of the short playtime.
33 Employee Of The Month
A Bizarre Comedy Horror With A Lot Of Unexpected Moments
- Developer: Projeckt Skeleton
- Release Date: September 21, 2022
- Platform: Windows
- Steam User Rating: 96%
The plot of Employee of the Month is complex, to say the least. Taking on the role of a new employee, the player must repeatedly attempt to complete the manager's instructions for their first shift. But it is easier said than done; a deformed monster-slash-ex-employee hunts them down every step of the way.
Employee of the Month' s combination of trippy locations and self-referential meta-humor complements the angular, retro design of the game to make for a truly surreal experience.
32 Fears To Fathom: Norwood Hitchhike
A Disturbing Plot Based On A True Story
- Developer: Rayll
- Release Date: January 6, 2022
- Platform: Windows
- Steam User Rating: 88%
Norwood Hitchhike is the second game in the episodic series Fears to Fathom. All the games in the series are based on true stories submitted by fans, and this entry sticks out as particularly distressing. The game follows Holly, a young lady who hitchhikes to the Rodeway Inn motel when her car breaks down on her drive home. From here, things take an awful turn.
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Norwood Hitchhike strongly emphasizes the dangers of solo traveling, especially regarding the trustworthiness of strangers. It is definitely worth replaying this game, as there are lots of warning signs to spot that will likely go unnoticed in the first run.
31 Arctic Eggs
A Sci-Fi Horror Cooking Simulator
Arctic Eggs
Arctic Eggs is a surreal sci-fi/horror cooking simulator that sees the player wielding a frying pan to feed the inhabitants of a cyberpunk-inspired Arctic city. There is not necessarily a strict plot, but by cooking for each character, they can learn the backstories of some unusual personalities.
The dystopian landscape is cold and unforgiving, and the meals get increasingly disturbing. Learning how to maneuver the pan is fun, and feels weighted depending on what's inside. Overall, Arctic Eggs is weird, unsettling, and oddly compelling - well worth playing for sci-fi horror fans.
30 Cannibal Abduction
Uncover Disturbing Family Secrets And Escape
- Developer: selewi
- Release Date: January 13, 2023
- Platform: PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, Windows, macOS, Xbox Series X/S, Linux
- Top Critic Rating: 68
In Cannibal Abduction, the player takes control of Henry as his car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Luckily for him, a kind older man happens to be driving by and offers to tow Henry and his car to his family farm just down the road. The man then offers to fix Henry's car in exchange for fixing an old wardrobe for his wife.
As night falls, Henry finds himself locked inside the house, seemingly alone. He slowly finds diary entries about the family's strange and disturbing behavior and realizes that he is in danger and must escape.
29 The Night of The Scissors
A Cautionary Tale About Urban Exploring
- Developer: selewi
- Release Date: May 13, 2022
- Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux
- Steam User Rating: 95%
The game begins with Kevin and Adam, ready to break into and rob a seemingly abandoned post office, ready to find some valuables to sell for pocket money later. However, as Adam (the player) makes his way inside, the shutter to leave the building suddenly shuts, with Kevin nowhere in sight.
As Adam makes his way through the dilapidated building, he finds red markings in the shape of scissors on the walls along with newspaper clippings about a mysterious individual called "the Snipper" who is still on the loose. The player must find their way out of the building, avoiding the Snipper by listening for the sounds of snipping scissors.
28 Happy's Humble Burger Farm
A Restaurant Harbors Unimaginable Horrors
- Developer: Scythe Dev Team
- Release Date: December 3, 2021
- Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
- Top Critic Rating: 69
While it may seem like just another wholesome food prep/cooking simulator, Happy's Humble Burger Farm is much more sinister than it first appears. Strange happenings begin to occur throughout the night as the player is still expected to manage the restaurant and serve customers.
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However, the game begins to mix mediums and art styles, suddenly taking a terrifying turn. For any horror lovers who are in for a strange and terrifying ride filled with tons of unpredictable twists, the Happy's Humble Burger Farm series may just be the perfect answer.
27 Feed Me Billy
Can You Satisfy Its Hunger?
- Developer: Puppet Combo
- Release Date: 2018
- Platform: Windows
Feed Me Billy is an interesting take on the PS1 horror genre, as it flips the script and gives the player the chance to be the one doing the terrorizing, instead of the other way around. While typical horror titles force the player to hide, run, or fight a terrifying killer, Feed Me Billy puts the player in the role of the killer that others must flee from.
Billy is a young man who one day wakes up to a horrific flesh-eating monster in his closet. It is his job to find and hunt down victims to feed the massive monster in order to satiate its hunger.
26 Broken Through
A Psychological Horror With Integrated FMV
- Developer: JordiBoi
- Release Date: 2022
- Platform: Windows
- itch.io Score: 4.6
Broken Through begins with the player finding out that their best friend, Leo Williams, has been legally declared dead after going missing for seven years. The player visits Ava, Leo's mother, as she hands off some of Leo's most treasured belongings, stating he would have wanted his best friend to have them, rather than go to waste.
However, after trying out a game found in Leo's old possessions, it seems as if Leo didn't die after all. The game blends the PS1 era graphics with FMV footage to create an eerie dream-like world to give a new twist to a classic genre.