How the PS1 Aesthetic Compliments a New Generation of Fear

In the mid-1990s, Sony released The Playstation One, often shortened to PS1. Though perhaps relatively simplistic in terms of graphics and gameplay mechanics by modern standards, it created a new era of gaming that changed many people’s lives.

For me, personally, I was too young to be allowed to have my own Playstation 1, but my older brother had one plugged into the family television set. I remember spending hours watching him play Tomb Raider, but never being allowed to play it myself. Then one night, I got brave, and snuck out of bed while everyone was asleep, turned it on and played. I was absolutely stunned at using the controls — I pressed buttons, she moved, jumped, and even used guns (a wholly strange experience for somebody growing up in a country where it’s illegal to own a gun). It was a whole new experience for me, and one I will never forget. For months, I’d do this routine of sneaking out of bed and playing Tomb Raider but never saving the game, lest I risk being found out. Over and over, I played the same first levels, learning every nook and cranny and spending time just standing and walking around enjoying the environments and sounds. I was in another world here — far away from school and homework, and I loved it.

For many people, including myself, the PS1 is rooted in nostalgia. At the time, we didn’t have the same sort of concepts of broken gameplay or bad graphics as we do today, so many games weren’t up to the same level of scrutiny around these elements at the time. Games didn’t feel like they weren’t working correctly, they just felt like they were challenging. You could spend hours trying to get past what is now considered to be poor gameplay, but you’d simply chalk it up as ‘that part was really difficult’. In terms of the audio side, often audio was compressed, voice acting could be anywhere from terrible to okay, and the music was both spectacular and terrible — varying from game to game. However, it’s the little elements like this that steadily build up the concept that is now simply known as the PS1 Aesthetic, a combination of graphic, audio and gameplay elements of the time.

The Horror of the PS1

Another thing that the PS1 brought with its unique and new take on gaming was a plethora of interesting horror games, and for many players, this was their first experience of horror games at all. Of course, there were games before the PS1 — even consoles like the SNES brought us games like Clock Tower whilst even the Famicon dipped cables in the horror genre with Sweet Home. However, the PS1 brought an entirely new range of horror games to people, with its jarring polygonal graphics and compressed audio only lending itself to the atmosphere that horror games intended to create.

It’s likely that when you first think of PS1 horror games, you lean towards a few specific titles. Resident Evil is a series that found its home the PS1 with Resident Evil 1, 2 and 3 all being Playstation titles, and brought survival horror into the forefront of video gaming. It combined horror with action, having the player shoot their way through zombies and more (looking at you, undead dogs) whilst trying to micromanage health, ammo and work through various puzzles. It was also a title that implemented multiple endings, something that became a staple in many horror games to come.

Another one that likely springs to mind is Silent Hill, another series that originated on the console, though its sequels found home on the next era of video games with Silent Hill 2, with Silent Hill 3 and Silent Hill 4: The Room all being titles for the Playstation 2. Silent Hill graced us with survival horror once more, but also the cold, foggy atmosphere of the environments, the jarring mechanical music of Akira Yamaoka, and gameplay mechanics of the time which, though maybe not the most fluid or simple to control at times, lent themselves to the uncomfortable thematic tone of the game. Sometimes the horror came from struggling to fight an enemy, or the difficulty in not knowing where to go next. Similarly to Resident Evil, it also had various puzzle elements, as well as alternative endings reliant on different things that were done during the playthrough.

Other notable popular titles include games such as Dino Crisis — a survival horror game which was a little like Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park — and Parasite Eve, an action role playing game with heavy horror elements developed as a sequel for the book of the same name, which had a plethora of interesting mutated enemy types and a large focus on mitochondria.

The PS1 had a horror range much further than these titles, though many are lesser known. In a way, this has created a fandom for specific games borne from their obscurity. Take for example Martian Gothic: Unification — a survival horror game in which you’re thrust into space with three playable characters, each separated from each other, and forced to interchange between them in order to progress throughout the game. Despite the dated graphics and bit crushed audio, it still holds up as a chilling experience to this day, with creepy unkillable undead enemies and a compelling use of audio through logs left by those passed away at the hands of whatever it is that has come about their space station. This game had a very unique feature in that the core component was for the characters to stay apart in order to survive, and if they were to ever meet it would result in an instant game over.

What Makes a PS1 Horror Game?

The significance of the horror game still stands to this day, as games which help us approach and realise our inner fears — both realistically and fantastically. Their initial job has been to scare, of course, but for many, horror games have always held an ability to explore difficult subject matter through that veil of fear. When the PS1 began releasing horror titles, it allowed for so many people to search and explore worlds that poked and prodded at their inner thoughts and emotions, all in the comfort of their own home.

Although there was a lot of variation in the types of horror games that were available on the PS1, a lot of games during the era shared a lot of the same components. This was a combination of both the aesthetics of the console, the capabilities of video games of the time, and games leaning towards what worked well for previous titles. Often, a lot of PS1 titles found at the end of its lifespan still emulated the sort of styles found from previous PS1 horror titles.

Puzzles generally find themselves being the main gameplay progression point of horror games, both survival and otherwise, and that was especially true for many Playstation horror titles. The charm of puzzles is giving the player something to really focus their mind on — there’s a satisfaction to solving a puzzle which though not limited to the genre specifically, helped to aid the experience by providing progression without limiting the atmosphere. Trying to solve puzzles whilst being absorbed in the ambience of a horror game is something that’s not quite the same as other genres — there’s always this constant feeling of fear, of what might happen if you take too long, or what might happen if you get it wrong. In some games, take for example Silent Hill, running around trying to figure out puzzles/picking up items needed for them involved running through enemies, ensuring you’re going where you need to (anyone else remember flipping the map up every ten seconds to check you’re going the right way?) and trying to frantically navigate around dangerous obstacles. The satisfaction from completing puzzles was always something a little extra, because you had to deal with the fear and panic alongside trying to figure out the solution.

Even games like Dino Crisis threw puzzles at you early on, though it was mindful to ease the player in with something relatively simple to set the tone. At one point during the first fifteen or so minutes of gameplay you’re met with a simplistic puzzle in which you have to essentially match colours between levers on a wall and coils in a glass panel. It’s a pretty simple puzzle that can be solved in about 3 button presses, but it could take a little longer if you weren’t entirely sure what you were doing.

Combining this with combat towards enemies, often enemies designed with horror elements and visuals in mind, and you already have the basis for a typical PS1 horror, though these alone do not create the perfect recipe for a horror game.

What the PS1 did so well for horror was work around its limitations and lean into its specific art styles in order to create worlds that were uncomfortable and haunting — blood and gore translated very well into a polygonal artform, because it wasn’t always entirely clear which allowed the player to use some measure of their imagination in order to develop the full picture of what was going on. A great example of this is the opening sequence of Silent Hill, in which you come across a heavily gored body hanging on a chain fence. Although the graphics weren’t entirely realistic, they gave enough information that you were aware that this body was a mess, and that Silent Hill was a place you really didn’t want to hang around.

Audio limitations of the console also meant that a lot of sounds for horror games came across more terrifying than originally intended. The gritty sounds of zombies moaning in Resident Evil still remain bone chilling to this day. It doesn’t just stop at living noises though — one of the most significant sounds to be picked out from these games is sound effects specifically for mundane items and tasks. From opening a door to cycling through an inventory, many horror games of the time had striking and recognisable sound effects that are still picked out to this day, and sometimes even used in modern titles as an homage.

These components that made up this period of video games, both horror and otherwise, managed to maintain enough nostalgia and praise that they became something of a genre all their own, rather than just an old area of gaming to be forgotten with the new iteration of high-quality graphics and crystal-clear audio. Whether it’s due to rose tinted glasses or a genuine appreciation for retro gaming, PS1 horror games still garner a lot of interest and many have even developed somewhat of a cult following, especially for lesser-known titles, which have become more available worldwide due to emulation.

The New Era of PS1 Horror

The visual, audio, and gameplay elements of PS1 horror games were, something that captivated many people. This is something made apparent by the plethora of games being made with that very artistic direction in mind. Though modern horror games generally have much more realistic graphics, clearer audio and tighter gameplay, many indie developers are looking somewhat back in time for inspiration for their projects. Whether it’s small-scale projects, both individual or part of larger collections, or full-sized games, there’s a huge selection of PS1 inspired games available, so much so that they vastly outnumber the number of actual PS1 horror games that exist.

Take for example, the wonderfully named Haunted PS1 Demo Disc. A collection of game demos created by indie developers with two single distinctions — they’re horror games, and they’re inspired by PS1 games. Though not every single game on the demo discs looks exactly like a PS1 game (many do, though) it is key to understand that these are titles inspired by the sensibilities and styles of PS1 horror games, rather than games created entirely to emulate PS1 horror games completely. At the time of writing, there are now two of these discs, both the 2020 and 2021 demo discs.

The 2020 Demo disc comes with an old school styled demo disc menu complete with classic PS1 styled sound effects, and does a great job of immediately immersing you into this atmosphere of 90s console gaming. You’re presented with a vast selection of game demos to choose from, and the game genres cover all sorts within the horror genre itself, not just being dedicated solely to survival horror. One of my favourites of the lot, Sauna 2000, does a great job of creating a creeping atmosphere around the simple pleasure of preparing a sauna, whilst Tasty Ramen has you sneaking around and running away from — you guessed it — sentient ramen. While some games like these take horror to more trippy, brightly coloured themes, some of the others on the discs go a little more classic with their inspirations. Heartworm shows a lot of PS1 survival horror inspiration with fixed camera angles, tank controls and interactable notes that look like they could have come from Silent Hill.

The 2021 Demo disc goes a few steps further in terms of production value, switching out the old demo disc menu for a more interactable experience, throwing you into a first-person foggy environment in which you have to navigate to get to ‘The Museum’ where you’ll find a frighteningly friendly skeleton to greet you at the reception. You’re then free to explore and check out the games in their respective galleries. Much like the first disc, not every game here is directly PS1 horror game in design (though again, many are) but the inspirations are all there. Titles like Mummy Sandbox bring to us a delightfully bright obscure game about being a mummy, and quite literally digging through sand to find parts in order to rebuild your body, whilst on the other end of the spectrum you have titles such as Apolysis which is a darker, more haunting experience full of machinery, gore and incredibly satisfying squelching noises. Walk is an incredibly terrifying experience to be found on this particular collection as well, in which you play a small girl who has to navigate through streets alone whilst avoiding and hiding from a terrifying demon — don’t be seen, or you’ll get caught!

The Haunted Demo Discs do a great job at delivering a lot of short-burst horror that appeals to a love for retro styled horror games, whilst presenting a lot of fresh and unique ideas (And don’t forget, there’s a lot more demos on these collections than what’s spoken about here, but a full breakdown of all of these is for another time).

There are also some great standalone PS1 inspired modern horror games too, which take the general aesthetic but develop it into very unique experiences. Paratopic is a game about VHS tapes (eat your heart out Videodrome), and it’s your job to protect those VHS tapes, or not. Night of the Consumers is a terrifying game about working in retail (and as an ex-retail worker, I can confirm it excellently portrays the absolute horror of working in the industry) and having to deal with customers, stacking shelves, and some other interesting mysteries along the way. Dead End Road is another honourable mention — a driving horror game in which you evoke a demon through an ancient ritual, drive around looking for a bell, a book and a candle, all for a mad dash back to ol’ Grandma to put that thing back where it came from.

If that isn’t enough, there’s even a specific indie developer dedicated to creating horror games with a very strong PS1 vibe to them — Puppet Combo. Games like Babysitter Bloodbath, Power Drill Massacre and The Glass Staircase do an amazing job of combining PS1 horror art direction with strong horror movie inspirations, resulting in entertaining games in a variety of subgenres.

Why Retro Horror?

We know what makes up a classic PS1 styled horror game, and we know that people are trying to recapture that experience and also build on it for modern indie horror games — but why? Is it purely for nostalgia’s sake, or was there something about the PS1 timeline of horror that captured something that nobody has been able to quite replicate until now?

For many, there is something special about remembering your first experience with a PS1 horror game — how uncomfortable yet enticed you felt, always being somewhere between wanting to push on with the game and wanting to throw a blanket over your head and hide from the monsters. For some, exploring these deep meaningful experiences at a younger age helped to understand that emotions and difficulties can be explored through artistic mediums, whilst for others, the pressure and panic of being chased by monsters made them always strive for that next thrill, that next little scare to give them that rush of fear and adrenaline.

With that in mind, although a lot of modern indie horror games show their inspirations drawing from PS1 games, it’s very clear that they’re all bringing something very new to the table too. Where there’s less limitations on hardware and software compared to the late 90s, it allows them to capture the essence of retro theming whilst implementing mechanics and other elements to their games that wouldn’t of been possible at the inception of the original Playstation. Channeling the parts that created the fear and atmosphere, whilst building on the parts that maybe didn’t work so well (We see you, clunky combat mechanics).

Whatever it was about PS1 horror games that pulled you in, knowing that you aren’t alone, and that so many indie developers share that love for that specific generation of horror games, is a truly moving experience. Here’s to looking forward to even more brilliantly scary, weird and emotionally moving games to come part of this inspiration of old-school video game aesthetics.