10 Obscure Horror Games that Should Be Remade or Remastered

With modern graphics and controls, we've seen a boom in remakes and remasters across all genres of our favourite games that could use an up-to-date refresh. In the horror sphere, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake serves as the most recent example, but there have been plenty more also done well.

That being said, there are some horror games that could use the remake or remaster treatment, whether it be because of old-school jankiness, aligning more closely with the original vision, or simply because the original game sucked. There are a good handful of options.

Whether they get a full, from-the-ground-up remake or just a refreshed remaster ported to a modern console, these are games that aren't easily accessible in the modern era. With an updated look or mechanics, these games can have a moment again, just like Silent Hill 2 Remake had, for example.

So while we're excited to see our favourite games come to life in a new, modern way, it would be nice if these games were given that same treatment.

10 Haunting Ground

More Doggie Tricks!

Haunting Ground is slowly losing the momentum it carried in the horror gaming sphere, turning more into a collector's item than the unique horror experience it was originally known for. Now, it's just known for being incredibly expensive and difficult to get your hands on — which is all the more reason to make it more accessible to players now.

Haunting Ground was one of the few horror games of the time when fighting was kept to a minimum, opting instead for you to run and hide, as the most you can really do is stun an enemy long enough to flee.

The icing on the cake is your dog companion, Hewie, who acts as a guardian against enemies (doing most of the fighting for you) and as a partner for helping solve puzzles. There were a good number of options of things for Hewie to do when the game first came out, so one can only imagine how much more realistic (and immersive) Hewie's mechanics would be in a remake.

We just want to see our good boy be loved by modern audiences, but an overhaul of the gameplay and graphics would be neat, too.

9 The Suffering

While The Suffering is on the list of many forgotten Midway titles that deserve a remake, there's something special about it that I would love to see make its way back into modern gaming, especially with how the prison system is more of a discussion point now than it was when the game was first released. Taking place in Abbott State Penitentiary, you play as Torque, trying to survive a prison of horrors, with your choices determining your ending and gameplay experience overall.

While you play, you'll encounter some really sick monster designs, all representative of different execution methods (which adds to the prison system commentary prevalent throughout the game). Plus, with all these designs, you also end up playing as one, a monster of your own making based on your actions.

You can also swap between third and first person, which was relatively uncommon for the time, and it allows you to see different details of this messaging in new angles.

I just hope that one day, we can see it from a modern graphic angle, letting the monsters be their truest, most grotesque forms that were originally imagined.

8 Condemned: Criminal Origins

Making a Murderer

Condemned: Criminal Origins asks a hypothetically simple question: what drives someone to becoming a murderer?

However, the delivery of the answer muddies the waters and makes the question all the more horrifying. The game is intense (I still get goosebumps when I think about the mannequins ... but I also have a healthy fear of mannequins on a good day), with a sound design that pulls you completely under and traps you there.

This would be a game that many a horror gamer would be unbelievably hyped for if it was given a remake, and the tension that this game builds is a huge reason for that. You may find it horrifying in all the traditional ways, or you might just find it so anxiety-inducing that you can feel your heart thump out of your chest.

Unfortunately, it's been delisted from Steam without any notice or reason, but that just makes me hopeful that it means that developers have plans to bring the series back.

7 Parasite Eve

RPGs are the Hot Thing

Parasite Eve is a marriage between horror games and JRPGs, making an experience that's equal parts unsettling and freaky, but without going overboard into anime-esque territory. And considering how RPGs are becoming more popular now than ever, it would be the perfect time to bring this game back.

Taking place during Christmastime, Parasite Eve has you playing as NYPD Officer Anya, trying to hunt down and stop the titular antagonist (Eve) from destroying the world and the human race within it. It just so happens that everything will go wrong while you're on that pathway.

Parasite Eve is an (almost) forgotten Square Enix gem, with die-hard fans hoping that one day, developers will return to the title for something more suited for modern gaming. Considering the number of sequels that exist, even if the remake acts as a soft reboot, it'll bring new audiences and fresh takes on a horror classic, which is exactly what we want to see.

6 Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

A GameCube Exclusive We Want Everywhere

Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requeim is a pillar in the horror community, but it's slowly losing its notoriety that it once had, probably because it's remained stuck on the GameCube while consoles continue to evolve. With that in mind, I'd love to see how this game would fare on a modern console.

It was incredibly ambitious with its (at the time) brand-new Sanity Meter, setting up a mechanic that horror games would use and adore for decades. Some of the things this Sanity Meter did when depleted would include messing with your TV's volume, pretending to wipe your save data, and many other "glitches" that look dated now, since they were meant for analogue TVs.

If Eternal Darkness were remade, I would love to see what new things developers can come up with regarding different hallucinations. It's a lot easier to break the fourth wall in gaming than it used to be, so there are countless more possibilities to scare players who are new to such an iconic title. That is, so long as it's actually freed from the GameCube's clutches.

Either way, I just hope they get Jennifer Hale to reprise her role as Alexandra Roivas.

5 Clock Tower

How Would it Look in 3D?

Clock Tower remains one of the most iconic horror games to date, but it's difficult to get your hands on a copy to play. The closest would be with its unofficial remake, Clock Tower: Rewind. Rewind, which was meant to serve as a modern port, was alright, but it maintained the point-and-click gameplay that the series has only ever known. What I'd love to see is a full, 3D remake that really highlights the horror components that the originals had done so well.

Imagine being constantly on the run from The Scissorman with the proper graphics to see (and fear) him. Combined with a genuinely stressful chase sequence, it would make The Scissorman a horror gaming icon again.

And considering how Clock Tower was one of the horror video game pioneers (a couple of years after Alone in the Dark, that's how classic we're talking), it's only right that it ends up getting a from-the-ground-up remake. It's a horror classic in every sense of the word.

And yet, it continues to hide in the background, waiting for the day someone brings it back into the limelight.

4 Dino Crisis

Please Don't Scrap This One

Imagine just how terrifying Dino Crisis would actually be now, especially now that we know new, more up-to-date information on dinosaurs themselves (such as them being feathered rather than scaled). Plus, with more realistic graphics and controls, it would feel more like Jurassic Park, which makes the whole situation all the more terrifying.

This horror cult classic was made by none other than Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil (and several other horror) games. It's like you're in the laboratory sections in those games, but instead of zombies, you're dealing with literal dinosaurs that have broken free in the facility. It sounds way sillier than it actually is; you'll be surprised at how freaked out you'll get while playing.

Dino Crisis inspired many similar games, including a fan-made remake, waiting for the day that Capcom decides to pick the title back up again. We can only hope.

3 Kuon

Imagine the New Kaidan Storytelling Methods

When it comes to horror, there's something particular about Japanese horror that just strikes me at my core. One of the more genuinely terrifying examples is Kuon, developed by FromSoftware (yes, the Dark Souls dev), whose story is told in Kaidan style. Kaidan is basically an old, Edo period way of telling a ghost story; it's very old-timey, with many Japanese holding ancient connotations to the craft — so with Kuon, it wasn't just a cultural fear, it was historical.

The PS2 era really saw the best when it comes to horror gaming legends, and Kuon was no exception to that. The unfortunate thing about it is that it's stayed behind on the PS2, despite the fact that it would do so well in modern gaming.

If the game does end up being remade, it would also be neat if there's an option to turn on fixed camera angles, reminiscent of the original. But of course, we'd just be happy with playing a refresh of this title on a modern console, and with more Western audiences being exposed to one of the greatest in J-horror gaming.

I just hope that if it is remade, it doesn't play like a Souls game and retains its original qualities.

2 Resident Evil: Outbreak

Especially After Requiem's Success

While we know that Resident Evil is no stranger to getting remakes, I really would want to see Resident Evil: Outbreak (both File 1 and File 2) remade, especially after the massive success that was Resident Evil Requiem. In fact, Requiem made both Outbreak games a must-play, but good luck getting your hands on a copy.

We don't have many multiplayer horror games, much less multiplayer Resident Evil games, but Outbreak was one of the few ... that is, until servers were shut down. There are alternates that fans made, though, for those lucky few who actually have a physical copy. Every day, I wish I had kept my old copies from when I was a kid.

Now that Requiem is thriving, many fans want to dive into Alyssa Ashcroft's story to get the full picture and to understand the various references/Easter Eggs that the game has packed to the brim. It's just unfortunate that the only way for most players to be able to soak the story in would be through videos and memories.

I just hope the leaked announcement of potential remakes is incorrect, and that both files of Outbreak are included in Capcom's list.

1 Siren

The Controls Need a Touch Up

Siren is one of those games that's got a really good story, but the gameplay (and immense amount of trial and error you'll have to do for that gameplay) is wonky at best. For example, let's say you want to get into a car — the game will make you pull up a mini menu of actions, where you have to select entering the car, pull up the menu again while you're in the car to grab your key, and pull up the menu again to turn the key in the ignition ... you get the picture.

Since it was made by the same director as the first Silent Hill game, it has that exact same atmosphere, so it already does well in that regard. But, considering how immensely successful Silent Hill f (which was frequently compared to Siren with its vibe) was, it's safe to say that a remake would be welcome.

The gameplay makes the game unnecessarily hard, so I'd love to see what this experience would end up becoming with a modern control scheme. Sight-jacking would be all the cooler, too.

I also hope that, if the game is remade, we'll have the option to play it in Japanese; with the classic, you're stuck with English (unless you have a Japanese copy specifically) and the dub is ... not that great. So if the game were remade with great voice acting and better controls, this would easily become one of the greatest horror games of all time (as if it already isn't).