Tag: Horror

If you like being scared this is the place to be! Here is where you’ll find all the latest news and reviews for Horror games on Thumb Culture

Thumb Culture Retrospective – Prey
Features, PC Reviews

Thumb Culture Retrospective – Prey

For gamers of a certain age, the names Shodan and Xerxes are likely to trigger the urge to smash the nearest computer with a wrench. Long before Amazon’s Alexa was around to remind us to buy toilet roll, the megalomaniacal Artificial Intelligence of System Shock and its sequel ran amok in deep space, causing sleepless nights and the occasional nervous twitch for the players who stood against them. Xerxes did not care about your bathroom essentials; Xerxes wanted to eject you from an airlock and laugh as you crystalized in space. Not only a masterclass in sci-fi survival horror and storytelling, the System Shock games are also the spiritual predecessor to games such as Bioshock, Alien Isolation and Bethesda Softworks’ 2017 blockbuster, Prey. To say that Prey’s creation has been influe...
5 Horror Games That Deserve a PS4 Remaster
Retrogaming Corner

5 Horror Games That Deserve a PS4 Remaster

As we yet again approach the time of year filled with Pumpkins, Trick or Treat and Scary movies. In a year that has seen a number of classic games get a remastered treatment (such as Sonic, Crash, Yakuza etc.). I thought it would be fitting to look back at five of the classic PS1 horror titles that were maybe overlooked for a remaster, but certainly deserve one. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely more than 5 which deserve this treatment. So in no particular order lets get going with these classics that deserve a remaster Resident Evil 2 & 3 (Capcom) Ok, so Resident Evil is a pretty obvious choice. After all it's the godfather of the Zombie Apocalypse as far as games are concerned. Especially given the resurgence the franchise has seen with the release of 7. I've grouped ...
The Invisible Hours Review – A Murderous Experience
PlayStation Reviews

The Invisible Hours Review – A Murderous Experience

I’m sure that everyone at some point has played the classic board game Cluedo (Clue for our USA readers). The game where you travel around a mansion looking for clues as to who committed the crime (Colonel Mustard in the Library with the Candlestick). Well, imagine if you could bring that into the 21st Century and experience it in VR? Tequila Works have in essence tried to do just that with The Invisible Hours. Have they succeeded? or have they committed their own brutal murder? (In the Developer Studio with the Computer Software.) Gameplay The Invisible Hours is a Murder Mystery Adventure game where you are a member of the audience so to speak, watching a Theatre production of ‘The Invisible Hours'. The outline of the play is that Nikola Tesla has invited a number of estranged guests...
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul PSVR – To Scare Or Not To Scare?
PlayStation Reviews

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul PSVR – To Scare Or Not To Scare?

Well I'm a huge horror movie fan so when I received Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul by VRWERX to review on my PSVR I think excited was an understatement. I could barely contain myself, the excitement for me was like being a kid at Christmas. So, let's not keep you waiting any longer for how my nerves fared in this my latest horror outing. Gameplay Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul has a lot of potential. You have a haunted house to explore. There's a creepy cellar there for you too. Things move and dart about in the shadows through your peripherals. This game can make you jump and trust me it will make you jump and probably scare you have to death. Unfortunately, this is where Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul stops being everything you want it to be. VRWERX bully you into using...
The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing II Review – Blood Suckers Beware!
PC Reviews

The Incredible Adventures Of Van Helsing II Review – Blood Suckers Beware!

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing II by Neocore Games is the second instalment in a trilogy of hack 'n slash Van Helsing games to come to console.  Already available on PC since 2014, Van Helsing II boasts "PS4 Pro Enhanced" support and can also be played as a standalone game with no prior knowledge of the first adventure. For those of you that have never heard of Van Helsing, well he is the son of legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing found in Bram Stoker's awesome novel "Dracula".  If you love all things gothic and creatures such as zombies, ogres, vampires and other occult beings then this is for you! The first instalment of The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, which hit the Playstation store back in March this year received mixed reviews however generally it wa...
Knock-Knock Review – Who’s There? Insomniac Hallucinations
Xbox Reviews

Knock-Knock Review – Who’s There? Insomniac Hallucinations

When you become a lodger of a new property, you probably expect to just sit and relax, kick up your feet with a beverage of fresh tea, and run your fingers over the fabric of your armchair as you listen to the gentle crackling of the firewood in your fireplace. Sadly that isn’t possible in Knock-Knock. Originally launched on PC back in 2013, and then later ported to IOS devices in 2014, the creepy, side-scrolling thriller by Ice-Pick Lodge LLC is now available on Xbox One thanks to publisher, Sometimes You. The story finds you, a new lodger for this cabin, a cabin famed for being used as a laboratory in the past by three generations of previous lodgers, a cabin situated deep in the woods. You move in, but begin to notice weird happenings occurring, such as items going missing, strange s...
Dead Purge: Outbreak Review – Head Shot or Head Flop?
PC Reviews

Dead Purge: Outbreak Review – Head Shot or Head Flop?

Dead Purge: Outbreak by Microlith Games is a first person zombie shooter set in a post-apocalyptic era that is available for the PC. With the zombie shooter genre constantly being pushed upon me via the daily shared videos on social media of Days Gone and my friend's showing off their latest gameplay from Call of Duty Zombies my appetite is constantly whetted. Boasting of "beautiful locations & dozens of weapons" along with a "realistic combat system & multiple game modes" I sat down at my PC and looked forward to what was going to unfold. Gameplay Ok, so lights down nice and low, headset on and most importantly; nothing around my feet incase there are a few jump scares!  Hitting "Play" on the opening screen I proceed to choose game mode.  Hang on, there is only "Horde" an...
Serial Cleaner Review – The Ron Jeremy Moustache Is Back!
PlayStation Reviews

Serial Cleaner Review – The Ron Jeremy Moustache Is Back!

Created by Polish developer iFunforAll and published by Curve Digital, Serial Cleaner undoubtedly takes some inspiration from Hotline Miami with its top-down viewpoint, retro art-style and 70’s beats, but instead of carrying out the carnage you’re cleaning up after it! Serial Cleaner is a story-driven, fast-paced stealth/action game, characterized by a 1970s theme and aesthetics. The protagonist cleans up murder scenes by disposing bodies, covering up blood stains and hiding murder weapons and other incriminating evidence. Exploring, experimenting and fast paced decision making are the key words here. Getting caught and questioned would put a black mark on the protagonist’s career and the environment is often crawling with itchy-fingered police officers accompanied by nosy bystanders. T...
Dead By Daylight – Death Has Never Been Creepier
PC Reviews

Dead By Daylight – Death Has Never Been Creepier

Dead By Daylight is the latest asymmetric horror survival game out on the market. This one having been developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by Starbreeze Studios. With such a simplistic four versus one method the game takes on the hunter versus hunted gameplay head on. Gameplay Essentially the premise behind the game is you either play as a survivor or a hunter. As a survivor you have to fix up five generators scattered in random places through the seven locations. Each location being that where the hunters became killers. Fixing a generator involves standing in front of it holding down a specific button for a very long time. Or at least it feels that way. Every now and again you have to press another button which gives you experience points that can be later redeemed against...
The Town of Light Review – A Chill Down Your Spine!
PC Reviews

The Town of Light Review – A Chill Down Your Spine!

The Town of Light, by LKA.it and Wired Productions is a first person story driven game that tells the chilling tale of Renée as she returns to her former home, the Volterra Psychiatric Asylum located in Tuscany, Italy, where she had spent much of her youth.  Here Renée goes back to discover the secrets of her past and reveals the psychological, sexual and physical abuse that happened within her asylum. The Volterra Psychiatric Asylum has been inspired by real life Italian institutions that were shut down in the late 1970's due to the passing of an Italian law that instructed all asylums to immediately close and return civil rights back to patients.  As a result, the now derelict asylum is strewn with the haunting remnants of wards, operating theatres, kitchens and through the eyes o...