Horroris typically, and somewhat ironically, one of themost beautiful genresas far as artistic traversals of unique visual styles and abstract storytelling. From Giallo films of the ’70s and ’80s to modern surrealist horror like that of Panos Cosmatos, colorful imagery and intense gore always seem to match perfectly.
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In the realm of games, this is also true with games likeSilent Hilltaking their own original turns into the abstract corners of horror, and recent titles continuing to challenge their hardware in ways that gamers would have never expected. The more-or-less recent adaptation of ray tracing
10Alien Isolation
Like it or not,Alien Isolationis an undeniably gorgeous game, almost as much so asits film inspiration. Endless hours were put into the recreation of the classic film’s sets and art direction, down to the titular alien’s animalistic movements and behaviors.
Isolationis a near-perfect sequel piece, and its immersive world design would only be amplified through an RTX makeover, as proven byYouTube user Himura.
9Soma
From the developers of the classic survival horrorAmnesia: The Dark Descent,Somais one of thebest PC horror games of all time, with a lot more to say than most games of its era. Aside from its poignant and intriguing narrative,Somais also a horribly well-directed game on a visual front.
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As is true for its visual siblings in theBioShockseries, the underwater environment does quite a bit as far as making the setting as ecologically vivid as possible. Paired with the electrical clatter of exposed wires and the horrid glow of parasitic corpse tech, and the stunning final scenes, ray-tracing would really make this a standout visual hit.
8Pathologic 2
ThePathologicgames are all-time greats, with dreary atmospheres that even Kafka would blush at. While their current graphics are serviceable to the gameplay and can’t be complained about in terms of immersion, it’s always interesting to think “why not more?”
With a few graphical tweaks (as highlighted by a couple of modders on Nexus),the game’s surrealist momentsshine even brighter, though at risk of losing some of the classic depressing plague vibes.
7Little Nightmares
With the recent release ofLittle Nightmares II,a lot of players are awestruck with how the game has improved upon its prequel in both visuals and scale.
The games are both as beautifulas they are horrifying,and it’s hard not to stop and stare at some of the environments. With thegenius usageof lighting and color and the ambient fade-distances, almost any in-game screenshots are wallpaper-worthy.
6Visage
Another game to take the mantle of “the nextSilent Hills,” Visagemakes its inspiration from Hideo Kojima’sPlayable Teaserpretty apparent from the get-go. Where other appropriations of the formula fail, however,Visagepicks up and runs, becoming a hit in no time after hitting the Steam stores.
The game is also unabashedly gorgeous, with some of the best horror graphics of the decade among a list of horror asset-flips that fake their textures to appear as triple-A as possible. The game also claimsVR support, which would make an RTX makeover even more immersive.
5DreadOut 2
Much like its prequel,DreadOut 2hasn’t gotten quite the repertoire that it deserves relative to its western first-person-haunted-house-sim counterparts.
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The original was a beautifully original game, with some of the best monster designs in recent memory and a tense environment to boot. The second delivers on just as much of the terror, with an upgraded graphical system and a lot more intensity.
4Outlast 2
Outlast’stitular sequel got slept on after its release a few years back. While the series has never been perfect in terms of horror or storytelling, they’re fun rides through what’s more or less simulated haunted houseswith stealth mechanics.
That is to say, on par with most other first-person horror games. The second game takes a bit of a surreal departure from the first, taking full advantage of its medium to tell its story in the most effective way. It’s visually stunning in a lot of these moments, and the final climax is a gorgeouslybefuddling slap in the face.
3Devotion
Devotionhas had ahard life since launch, which is a real shame considering it’s one of the best horrorgames of recent yearswith a lot of charm in it. Developers Red Candle Games previously worked onDetention, receiving rave reviews for its originality and execution.
Devotionseems to be taking a lot of the same praise from the few who are able to play it legally, and what has been seen ofits visual masteryis impressive, to say the least.
2Fatal Frame
Fatal Frameis one of those series that sort of fell short in the West, with its sibling survival horror franchises taking center stage. Thelast releasewas 2014’sMaiden of Black Wateron the Wii U, and it’s a shame the sales were restricted to such a fizzled-out console.
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For its generation,MoBWwas a gorgeous game, and even the earlier installments of the series are breathtaking in spots, with wonderful scares and constant tension. While Nintendo currently has the series on lockdown, it’d be fantastic to see PC andSwitch remasters.
1Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7is one of the most interesting titles in the series, taking fans' criticisms around the previous two entries and simultaneously fixing the prequels' problems and branching the series into new and original territory.
One of the few criticisms the game faced was with its graphical glitches, especially with the Playstation’s VR support, which made quite a few gamers nauseated or otherwise broke their immersion in the experience. With the upcoming release ofVillage, and the PC ports ofBiohazard,it’d be fun to see some graphical mods in play to really make this gem shine.
