Who said the survival-horror genre is dead? 2017 is proving to be one of the better years for the Halloween-themed genre. "Resident Evil" ended up being a genuinely terrifying experience, especially on a virtual reality system, while "Outlast 2" and "The Evil Within 2" improved on their predecessors.
Despite some truly spooky games hitting the market over the last ten months, they cannot all be winners. Let us take a look at three of the worst horror titles released during 2017. These scare-free flops are better suited for April Fools than Halloween.
'Husk' - Even Humble Bundle make mistakes
For those subscribed to Humble Bundle's monthly service, they probably own a copy of "Husk." This horror game was included in February's bundle, the same month it was officially released. Unfortunately, the launch version of UndeadScout's "Twin Peaks" inspired FPS suffered from glaring mistakes which quickly removed any of the possible tension.
Set in a rural and isolated town, there definitely is potential for a decent indie horror game here, but an inconsistent frame-rate and animation issues made "Husk" rather difficult to enjoy. To their credit, the developer has not shied away from criticism, releasing multiple patches on Steam. "Husk" is a better experience now, but its original incarnation resulted in a dismal aggregate score on Metacritic of just 44.
'Dying: Reborn' - VR does not always help
Like "Husk," "Dying: Reborn" is far from a cynical attempt to trick players into spending money on a half-finished game. Developed by Nekcom, an indie studio based in China, the way players approach this puzzle game determines their level of enjoyment.
As a horror game, "Dying: Reborn" falls considerably short.
The game-play sees gamers go from one room to the next, trying to solve puzzles to escape. These brain teasers are not too bad, but the story and voice-acting really let down the overall experience. The antagonist is about as scary as a burned piece of toast, while the protagonist is borderline invincible. The PlayStation 4 version has a Metacritic score of 38.
'Inner Chains' - Graphics can only get you so far
A pretty game is not necessarily a good game. "Inner Chains" is a visual delight, for the most part, with interesting environments and an okay sound design. The combat has potential, as the three in-game weapons offer variety and are also needed to solve puzzles.
Unfortunately, this FPS suffered from terrible optimization and a plethora of bugs upon launch. The developer has released a few patches since then, but the ship might have sailed with this one. "Inner Chains" has a rating of 40 on Metacritic.
