7. Aliens and Deep Space Horror

This is a necromorph. It is a zombie … in space. That instantly makes it so much worse.

For that feeling of claustrophobia and utter isolation, nothing beats a survival horror set in outer space. Much like the “supernatural” category, this subgenre feeds off our fear of the unknown. Is there intelligent life on other planets? Are they friendly or hostile? If you have been paying attention to this article so far, you already know the answer to that question.

Extraterrestrial threats are a bit of a wild card because there is no way of knowing an alien race’s intelligence or technological capabilities. Alien threats can range from the animal-like xenomorphs of Alien: Isolation to the master race of Reapers in Mass Effect. You have no idea where on the spectrum they will fall until you’ve encountered them.

Even if there are no aliens involved, just being in space is enough of a reason to be afraid. Have you ever seen Gravity or Armageddon? If there is one thing we know about space travel, it’s that everything which can go wrong, will go wrong. The only thing protecting you from floating endlessly in the vacuum of space is a metal tube. Now that is scary.

There are many unknown factors in this year’s space themed horror game Routine. What is the nature of the threat in this upcoming game? The trailer chooses to leave this vague and let our imaginations do most of the work. We have high hopes that Routine will be one more in a long line of extraterrestrial horror games in 2016.

Examples of games in this genre:

• Routine 

In an isolated lunar base the entire crew has disappeared without a trace.

• Dead Space (2008)

Space zombies. Enough said. 

• Alien: Isolation

Continue the Ripley legacy in Alien: Isolation.

It is refreshing to see a game for every genre of horror for 2016. The sheer variety of games makes it tough to determine which category will be most popular this year. Perhaps we will have to regroup at a later time to tally up the number of quality scares.  

What type of horror game is your favorite? Which genre of horror do you think will come out on top in 2016?

Like this list? Here are some other articles we think you might enjoy. 

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11 New Horror Game Trailers of 2016 

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