This year we’re putting together a list of 31 Retro Horror games. Games that have come from dead console generations, back to haunt us. Sadly, not all of these games will be available for you to play due to the complicated nature of video game preservation. However, we’re going to note if it’s possible to play them on modern hardware. We’re going to be covering games from the Seventh Generation (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) and earlier. So basically anything before 2006.
Day 28
The Thing
The Thing is my favorite horror film and probably one of the best films ever made. It has had two sequels: The Thing, which was released in theaters in 2011 and The Thing, a lesser known video game that explores what happens after the film that was released during the sixth console generation–the PlayStation 2 era.
Both of these sequels to The Thing (both also named The Thing ,which is annoying) take the film’s conclusion in a different direction. In the video game, you play as a special forces operative who is investigating the events of the film. The game plays like most third person shooters from that era. This includes an annoying first person move that eliminates your ability to move. The main enemy type in the game can’t be killed by gunfire alone. Taking monster killing a step further than even Dead Space, you not only have to kill the monster with bullets, you also have to burn them with a flamethrower to finish the job. Too bad you can’t stomp them, too.
There are also multiple NPCs that you can encounter through gameplay that help out in various ways–like opening doors, or healing the player and other NPCs. Just like in the film, paranoia runs deep as characters suspect you to be a creature, and in a fun twist, they can become one too. If an NPC doesn’t trust you enough they can outright attack you, so you have to make sure you don’t accidentally shoot them (probably not good to do that anyways) otherwise they might turn sour. But you don’t know if they are monsters themselves, so it does a decent job of reinforcing the themes from the film.
While The Thing is hard to play these days, there will be a remake coming out in the next few weeks. This brings The Thing to modern consoles so modern audiences can finally play this somewhat obscure horror classic.
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