Key points
- The Nintendo 64 has some underrated horror games with disturbing themes and imagery, even if they aren't strictly horror games.
- Games like Shadowgate 64 and Nightmare Creatures offer a mix of atmosphere and mystery without resorting to sudden jump scares.
- Resident Evil 2 for N64 offers a quality horror experience with iconic gameplay elements and a tense atmosphere.
For the most part, the Nintendo 64 The console was designed for the whole family, with games like Super Mario 64 AND The Star Fox 64 being a commonplace. However, on occasion, the Nintendo 64 would find itself hosting the occasional horror game or even titles that featured horror themes and elements.
From exploration puzzle games to entries in popular action-adventure franchises, the Nintendo 64 has some gems that horror fans, new and old, can appreciate. In some cases, they paved the way for other nightmare video games seen in the modern era and deserve due respect from a gaming history perspective.
7 Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Horror Elements Return in Castlevania 64 Prequel
When Castle of Valencia was rebooted with the first Nintendo 64 title, it was criticized for lacking many of the horror elements that the long-running franchise was known for. This was somewhat addressed with the prequel, Castlevania: Legacy of Darknesswhich featured darker imagery, more menacing atmospheres in the castle, and even more intimidating monsters.
Konami even went so far as to fix several gameplay issues from the previous game. The camera is less problematic and the combat is considered much more satisfying, while still maintaining the 3D action-adventure style. Although it is far from the best Castle of Valencia game, Legacy of Darkness has its fair share of fans.
6 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Definitely Link's most disturbing adventure yet.
While the games are mostly family-friendly, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask has earned a reputation as one of the darkest games in the franchise. The game's concept alone is grim, showing an alternate reality where Link has failed Hyrule, and must now deal with an apocalyptic event coming to the land of Termina.
Whether it's the huge moon with an angry face looming over the player at all times, the depressing side quests, or even Link transforming into different forms via his mask, everything is treated with a more horrifying style. Combined with a time loop system, a set of classic Zelda dungeons and a greater focus on storytelling, Majora's Mask is a much-loved game for the Nintendo 64.
5 Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers
Exploring a dark and mysterious castle is terrifying
There are no monsters to fight or physical threats the player must deal with. Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four TowersHowever, this does not stop the player from feeling a sense of dread and paranoia as they wander through Castle Shadowgate solving puzzles and collecting items to prevent evil from being unleashed.
For the Nintendo 64, wandering around the castle and its grounds in first-person is praised for its surprisingly well-detailed graphics and complex puzzles, and relies more on atmosphere than jump scares to scare the player. From start to finish, there's a looming sense that something might appear at any moment, even if it never does.
4 Shadow Man
Third-person platform game with spells, monsters and demons
In many ways, Shadow Man It's a familiar type of game with roaming 3D environments, fighting enemies, and unlocking new areas to explore. It's not that different from the cartoonish 3D platformers of the time, such as Banjo Kazooie TO Super Mario 64only Shadow Man It's much darker in both tone and visuals; it mixes undead, monsters and demons for a more mature experience.
Instead of the typical power-ups, Shadow Man allows players to use magic to battle various monsters, protecting the world of the living from that of the dead. This includes battling the evil Jack the Ripper, hordes of the undead, and more, with some of the darkest levels seen in the Nintendo 64 library.
3 Destiny 64
It took the Shooter franchise in a scarier direction
Id Software could have simply ported the original Destiny to the Nintendo 64 and decided to call it a day, but Destiny 64 was a completely new game, as the series delved into horror for the first time. The vibrant visuals combined with the heavy metal soundtrack were replaced with a more eerie and atmospheric aesthetic, which was criticized when it was first released.
However, as the decades passed, Destiny 64 got more love from fans for trying to be different, adopting a similar style to its sister franchise: EarthquakeThe darker style and more difficult gameplay of first-person shooters help turn the famous Imps and Hell Knights into more menacing enemies, and presumably for the better.
2 Resident Evil 2
An often forgotten port that is still a quality horror game
Some games remain iconic even after twenty-five years and Resident Evil 2 is one of them, with fans often considering it superior to the first one. The first and only Resident Evil Nintendo 64 title, retains the difficult object handling and fixed camera angles that the series was known for, with Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield trying to escape Raccoon City.
Overall, Resident Evil 2 It's best played on the PS1 for better graphics and controls, but the Nintendo 64 version is still praised by fans. It still offered a tense exploration of the Raccoon City Police Department, complete with flesh-eating zombies and Mr. X keeping players terrified of opening a door.
1 Nightmare Creatures
The closest thing to Bloodborne for Nintendo 64
Mixing Victorian Gothic horror with the strange and macabre Lovecraftian style of monsters, Nightmare Creatures was way ahead of its time. Travelling around London and battling horrific monsters using melee and ranged weapons makes the adventure feel like a precursor to Blood-bornebut it's not that difficult to progress and has a simpler combat system.
Nightmare Creatures It may not be as terrifying as other horror games, but the dark atmosphere makes every monster that leaps from around a corner all the more frightening. Thanks to the short draw distance combined with the dark visuals of the London streets, the grotesque monsters are still something to fear, even when the game is more action-focused than survival horror.
