5) Siren: Blood Curse
When Team Silent were disbanded by Konami following Silent Hill 4: The Room, many of the developers went on to create Siren: Blood Curse. Released in 2008 as a PS3 exclusive, this re-imagining of the first Siren (a PS2 series) is quite possibly the scariest game I’ve ever played.
Set in a quiet, rural Japanese village, you take control of a cast of interconnecting characters who are trying to escape the clutches of the monstrosities known as the Shibito, which are basically zombified people that bleed from their eyes. That last bit is key and strangely makes this game a lot more creepy than you initially expect.
The gameplay tasks you with stealthily manoeuvring through rural environments without being detected by the Shibito. However, the core conceit of the game is that your characters have the ability to Sight Jack the enemies and see through their eyes.
There are few traditional weapons in the game, too, so using your special Sight Jack power is critical and enables you to plot a safe route through the sickle-armed Shibito who hunger for your blood. There are some marvellous and unforgettable moments here that I won’t spoil for you, but I’ll just say that reigning victorious in one particular level is very bittersweet indeed.
