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Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Shattered Memories may not be the best Silent Hill game ever made, but it takes the framework of the first game in the series and changes it up in some really interesting ways to make it far more approachable. One half of the game takes place in a psychiatrist's office, with a doctor who speaks directly to you and asks you a series of multiple-choice questions. The answers you respond with - and even what you choose to gaze at during conversation - directly influence the way the actual game part plays out, changing what areas you visit, what the monsters look like, and even how they behave.
After talking with the doc, you're thrust into the role of Harry Mason, who's looking for his missing daughter in the town of Silent Hill (much like the plot of the original game). But rather than throwing enemies at you while you're exploring and solving puzzles, Shattered Memories' action sequences are distinct, separate encounters, so you'll know exactly when it's safe and when it's time to run as fast as your legs can carry you. Oh, and be sure to play the Wii version, as the Wii Remote effectively becomes the real-world extension of your in-game smartphone and flashlight.
BioShock
BioShock is an exhilarating FPS set in the ruined, underwater city of Rapture. It's a desolate, haunting place, filled with nasty mutants who want nothing more than to kill you and harvest whatever genetically-enhanced juice you may have kicking around inside you. The numerous shadows, derelict buildings, and the constant creaking of metal attempting not to buckle under the massive weight of the surrounding ocean all form the backdrop of one of the freakiest mainstream shooters ever made.
It's also not all that frustrating to play, thanks to Rapture's handy Vita-Chambers. Instead of getting hit with a Game Over screen when you die, you're instantly resurrected back at one of these handy tubes - minus a few dollars for the trouble, of course. All of your progress is saved, so you can simply mosey on back into whatever firefight was giving you trouble and continue blasting away, right where you left off. Handy!
The Room series
The Room should be a serene little mobile game. You play at your own pace, and the only barrier to progressing is your own ability to solve each of its self-contained puzzle boxes. Each box is a complex clockwork contraption, where solving one section will usually provide a key or unlock another feature elsewhere on the box, allowing you to dig deeper and deeper until you eventually open it and discover what's inside.
And yet, there's something off. You start to read hastily scribbled notes left by the owner of the house you're currently exploring, as he continues to research the forbidden secrets of a newly discovered element, warning whoever finds these notes of the possible dangers. And yet you press on, solving more difficult puzzles, until you're whisked away to an alternate dimension - where things get even weirder in The Room Two. The Room Three ups the ante even more, as it tries to trick you with red herrings and multiple endings. While there's no inherent danger at any moment in these games, you can't help but shake the feeling that you're messing with powers you simply don't understand, and that the next puzzle you solve just might be your last.
Alan Wake
Alan Wake is spooky in that made-for-TV Twin Peaks-ian sort of way - it has its thrills and chills, but it's never gruesome about it. It's about a pop horror fiction author suffering from writer's block, whose attempt at vacationing in the remote forests of the Pacific Northwest ends up taking a turn for the weird when the creations from a manuscript he doesn't remember writing come to life. It's basically a Stephen King novel in video game form, and it's as entertainingly schlocky as it is scary.
It's also a hell of an action game, with light being one of the most important weapons at your disposal. You'll wander through a variety of hauntingly foggy environments, using your flashlight to weaken the Taken before putting a few bullets between their eyes. Light becomes your savior as it pushes back the inky blackness of the shadows, your flare gun becomes your Hail Mary play when things get hairy, and the floodlights off in the distance become a beacon of hope in the darkness.
Year Walk
Hot off the success of the cutesy rhythm game Beat Sneak Bandit, the developers over at Simogo decided to change things up, and their next project couldn't be more of polar opposite. Year Walk is based on actual Swedish tradition, where a person could witness a glimpse of the future if they follow a specific set of rituals in the snowy wilderness. That kind of glimpse comes with a price, though, and in this game's case, it means getting freaked out by a grotesque assortment of supernatural demons.
Despite its haunting nature and disturbing imagery, you're never in any real danger throughout. It's essentially a point-and click puzzle game, and you'll wander through the snow, solving myriad puzzles and trying to muster up enough courage to finish the ritual. It also makes brilliant use of your mobile device or Wii U GamePad, requiring you to think outside the box on quite a few of its devious puzzles. And don't forget to download the free Year Walk companion app - you'll need all the help you can get.
