Personally, the most realistic survival horror games for me are the ones where you feel helpless, and all you can do is run and hide from the monsters. It is where the real horror comes, in situations where you feel helpless. With that said, here are five of my favorites which fit that standard:
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M627-obxNzg]
The Amnesia: The Dark Descent is one of the best first-person survival horror games in history. It is set in the year 1839 where a man from London named Daniel wakes up in the halls of the Prussian Brennenburg Castle with no memory of his past. With only a note to guide him, he explores the foreboding castle in search of his memory and how he is connected to the man named Alexander. Unbeknownst to him, the castle is full of mystery and terrifying creatures known as “gatherers.”
Outlast
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKA-IA4locM]
Outlast is a true horror survival game, where you’re the only choice is to flee, run, and hide. Developed by Red Barrels, the game revolves around the investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who went to explore the remote psychiatric hospital known as Mount Massive Asylum located in the mountains of the Lake County, Colorado. Once inside, he discovers a terrifying line between science and religion and shows that sometimes the scariest monsters come from the human mind.
Slender: The Arrival
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFtpFxZTpRg]
Slender: The Arrival is the official adaptation game of Slender Man. It features a darker and more foreboding atmosphere of the world’s most iconic paranormal figure, Slenderman. In this game, your character, Lauren, is armed only with a flashlight and looks for all the notes while being stalked by Slenderman. It is one of the most terrifying video games which features a new storyline, improved visuals, and great replay value.
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWznT_VbMx0]
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul puts you in a terrifying realistic environment with a haunting atmosphere. Armed with only a flashlight, you find yourself exploring a quiet and average looking home in a woodsy neighborhood. Unravel the mystery of what’s gone in this house as you struggle to survive the terror that begins to haunt you. It is a virtual-reality video game for gaming PCs, compatible to HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Shadows Peak
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzH3BlVtXDU]
Shadows Peak is an atmospheric and open-world horror video game that focuses on exploration. It revolves around the story of Tom Blair, a writer who decided to visit a mysterious place known as Shadows Peak to gather and search materials for his new books about legends. However, stories say that people who go to Shadows Peak never comes back, and some of them even claim they saw something they shouldn’t have been able to see there.