Darkness Within: In Pursuit Of Loath Nolder

Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, this horror adventure title follows a murder investigation; various clues are scattered around the game’s New England setting. As police detective Howard E. Loreid, you are tasked with finding escaped murder suspect Loath Nolder but the case takes a dramatic twist as you experience disturbing dreams and paranormal experiences which begin to take their toll on your sanity.

Using an illustrated realism style, the game is set in an atmospheric point-and-click 3D environment with sound and visual effects contributing to a chilling experience. As the game progresses, clues and puzzles can be analysed on a “thinking screen” and you can interact with other characters using an in-game phone. This is an intelligent game hindered by the slow pace of its story and the gameplay can get repetitive as you travel to locations and pore over books and documents for clues.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Silent Hill: Origins

If you’re easily scared, Silent Hill: Origins is not for you. Even if that warning only encourages you, it’s best to follow the game’s instructions and play it without headphones and somewhere sunny, like a park, in the middle of the day. If you choose not to follow this advice, consider yourself warned.

Set seven years before the first game, Silent Hill: Origins features truck-driver Travis, who narrowly avoids hitting someone on the mist-covered roads of the town. After rescuing a young girl from a burning building, he’s forced to deal with monsters, visions and his own past. But enough about the plot — you play Silent Hill for the atmosphere and Origins certainly delivers that. The controls are fairly simple, though some sort of guidance in the first segments would be appreciated, but this is one of the few genuinely scary games out there, and not knowing what it is you’re doing right away certainly adds to that.