It’s not October, but we just had a very good month for horror games. From the indie scene to AAA and from VR to a traditional gaming experience, fans of scary games had a lot to enjoy in March 2023. Of course, there was the highly anticipated remake of Resident Evil 4, one of the best horror games of all time, and it didn’t disappoint. Keeping up the scares were experimental horror games like Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo and Dredge, while The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR affirmed why virtual reality is a good fit for horror. Even Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will also be a scary experience for some because of its difficulty.
We also recommend trying the environmentally conscious reverse city-builder Terra Nil, exploring islands inspired by New Caledonia in Tchia, or taking in the beautiful art of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. While horror fans were treated particularly well this month, it was a good one for gaming all the way around. As such, we recommend checking one of the following eight games if you’re looking for something new to play.
Resident Evil 4 remake
Capcom’s comprehensive remake of Resident Evil 4 is by far the most notable release of March 2022. Remaking a game that is so beloved and highly influential was a major risk, but Capcom was able to pull it off. It not only lovingly recreates iconic moments from the original, but actively improves the experience by enhancing the gameplay with features like a knife parry and recontextualizing some of its classic plot beats and set pieces.
“It’s a truly transformative remake that isn’t afraid to throw out what didn’t work and put its own creative spin on everything from story to level design to its wildly improved combat,” Digital Trends’ Giovanni Colantonio wrote in a four-and-a-half star review of
The remake of
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
Those looking for a new Soulslike fix this year will want to check out Team Ninja’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. The latest release from the team behind the Nioh series is a faster-paced Soulslike set during Yellow Turban Rebellion in China. It doesn’t radically redefine what the genre can be like
“Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has all of the hallmarks of the genre, with a blistering difficulty curve and rewarding combat,” George Yang wrote in a four-star review of the game for Digital Trends. “Though it may not revolutionize the genre and comes with its own technical frustrations, it’s clear that Team Ninja gets what makes a great Soulslike and isn’t just copying another studio’s homework.”
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is available now for PC, PS4,
Tchia
A break from the other intense and scary games this month, Tchia is an open-world adventure that also serves as a love letter to the Pacific archipelago of Tchia. Taking notes from titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, players are free to explore two tropical islands, completing challenges and possessing objects and animals as they see fit along the way. On top of that, it informs players of a culture they probably haven’t heard of before.
“My experience shined the most when I would pin an objective, leave no UI up but my compass, and have as much fun as possible while trying to get there by flinging myself from tree to tree, possessing animals and objects, and picking up any collectibles along the way,” Digital Trends’ Tomas Franzese wrote in a four-star review of Tchia. “Coupled with the excellent soundtrack and pretty visuals, it was easy for me to lose track of time as I freely explored. When Tchia clicked for me, it fully captured my heart.”
Tchia is available now for PC, PS4, and
Dredge
When players first boot up Dredge, it seems like a normal indie fishing simulator where players can relax as they catch fish while traveling from island to island in a small boat and earning money for boat upgrades along the way. Over time, though, it unravels into a Lovecraftian adventure that’s great at making you feel uneasy if you stay out catching fish for too long or complete missions for mysterious people.
Dredge cleverly subverts its cozy job game formula with horror elements while still being a solid fishing and boating simulator that doesn’t handhold players from objective to objective. If you were wondering what the next Lovecraftian indie game darling was going to be, it’s here. Dredge is available now for PC, PS4,
Terra Nil
If you’re looking for an indie to relax with after getting freaked out by Dredge, we recommend playing Terra Nil. The game might start out sad, as players are tasked with bringing a barren wasteland back to its original beauty, but it’ll make you happy over time as you restore this world back to its natural state. You’ll remove toxins, restore the greenery with technology like windmills and irrigators, and eventually remove any human traces from Terra Nil’s world entirely.
“Terra Nil scratches several itches at once. It’s a SimCity-like game that plays on my inherent drive to build, a Zen strategy game in the vein of Dorfromantik, and a thoughtful puzzler that rewards me for solving ecological challenges,” Colantonio wrote of Terra Nil. “All of that makes for an inventive indie that considers how the rules of a genre can be bent to enforce its thesis about the natural world.”
Terra Nil is available now for PC, as well as iOS and Android through the Netflix app.
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR
PlayStation VR2 owners looking for something new to play a month after the headset’s launch will need to turn to on-rails horror game The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR. A spiritual successor to the original PlayStation VR’s Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Switchback VR serves as a celebration of sorts for Supermassive Games’ horror game anthology series as players ride through lots of courses based on previous Dark Pictures games and locations.
It looks great, is full of atmosphere, and has some fun jump scares. It will remind you why horror is such a good fit for VR. Hopefully, Sony’s new VR headset can continue to provide compelling exclusives like this. The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR is available now for
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is quite different from the other games in the raunchy action series that put PlatinumGames on the map. This game follows the titular character as a child as she searches for her mother with the help of a demon that possessed one of her stuffed toys. With visuals inspired by Okami and gameplay that feels like an old school The Legend of Zelda game, this title is a pleasure to look at, as well as approachable and fun to play.
“Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is both a delightful surprise and one of the oddest uses of video game IP imaginable,” Colantonio wrote in his three-and-a-half-star review of the game. “Enchanting visuals, rewarding exploration, and a surprisingly deep combat system make for a lovely adventure with a classic feel, even if some complicated systems leave room for the little oddity to grow.”
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is available now exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Square Enix occasionally likes to release smaller games that don’t fit the JRPG mold it is known for. Last year, that was The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story, and this year it’s the horror visual novel Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. In Paranormasight, players follow people who have obtained Curse Stones that allow them to revive someone in a Rite of Resurrection, at the cost of them needing to kill to get the rite to work.
Paranormasight is a horror-tinged visual novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but also make you feel smart as you stitch together the answers to the game’s mysteries for yourself. It’s a tough game to discuss without getting into spoilers, but those who enjoy an engaging, but creepy video game narrative will want to check it out. Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo is available now for PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and
