The aptly named Nintendo GameCube heralded the gaming giant’s entry into the sixth generation of home consoles. It first hit store shelves between 2001 and 2002, competing against Sega’s Dreamcast, Sony’s PlayStation 2, and Microsoft’s first iteration of its flagship Xbox.
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While most of the GameCube’s most beloved games are family-oriented, the blocky home console had plenty of hair-raising horror games under its belt. While Nintendo lacked the processing power and graphical fidelity of its competitors, it excelled at retooling games to fit its limited capabilities. More importantly, its strict oversight ensured only the best games bore the coveted seal of approval. Unfortunately, that pre-screening has also prevented some stellar titles from reemerging as much-deserved remakes.
5
Hunter: The Reckoning
Hunter: The Reckoning is one of many games set in the World of Darkness universe. On paper, it’s a straightforward hack-and-slash game with gothic trappings. However, its oppressive atmosphere and twisted enemies certainly give it a horror feel. It was released in 2002 on all sixth-gen platforms and even got a straight port to the Xbox One. However, it hasn’t received a proper remake.
Plot-wise, the game follows a straightforward demonic release — a poorly planned rave at an abandoned penitentiary releases an untold number of wraiths. Apparently, these ghouls are not fans of 2000s pop music, as they promptly slaughter the partying teenagers. They then set their sights upon the nearby town, and it’s your job to stop them. Despite the game’s generous weapon offerings, its setting and ambiance emphasize its survivalist core.
4
Second Sight
Second Sight boasts an unbelievably tense atmosphere for a seemingly straightforward shooter game. And, to be fair, Second Sight debuted on all home consoles in 2004. Nonetheless, this masterful psychological thriller hasn’t received an update in the decades since its release. Even so, it did receive a Nintendo Gamecube release and captivated plenty of players during its lifespan.
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Unlike many psychological horror games, Second Sight arms you with plenty of guns, ammo, and psychic powers. However, you’re still pitted against multiple powerful enemies. Like the original Silent Hill, the limitations of the era only amplify the game’s horror. Where a modern iteration would likely be stuffed with monsters around every corner, Second Sight hides its enemies in vast, empty regions. A distinct sense of isolation and fear pervades every moment, turning this otherwise straightforward shooter into a unique exercise in action-horror gameplay.
3
Geist
Few GameCube exclusive titles received M ratings, but Geist broke the mold in more ways than one. The 2005 title has the trappings of the gritty first-person shooters of the early 2000s, yet its actual gameplay revolves around environmental manipulation. Where you’d expect to be firing off rounds of bullets, you’re instead tasked with becoming assorted everyday items or possessing electronic devices.
Geist’s premise is as innovative as its gameplay. You, as John Raimi, are to investigate a scientific compound in Southern France. Of course, things are never as simple as they seem. Through a series of convoluted failures, things go terribly awry. When the dust clears, you’re left as a half-ghost hybrid with little ability to interface with the real world. And the results are as spectacularly, delightfully strange as they sound.
2
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
The first Metroid Prime game got a Switch remake, but its sequel is still stuck in Nintendo’s boxy sixth-gen hardware. Like its predecessor, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes pursues a darker storyline and setting. It eschews the colorful, vivid worlds of the sidescrolling games and embraces a darker, grimier look. It exists alongside The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as part of the 2000s legacy of “dark and edgy” narrative trends.
Between puzzle solving and spacefaring action, Echoes uses its lanky enemies and dark passageways to put you on the edge of your seat. The claustrophobic first-person view heightens the game’s immersive structure, making each sprint to the next safe zone a nail-biting test of resolve. As if dying in a toxic extraterrestrial atmosphere isn’t enough, you must also contend with plenty of hostile enemies.
1
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
There’s no easy way to describe the multidimensional plot of Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Its multiple playable characters inhabit distinct eras, yet they are stalked by the same Eldritch forces. The game’s many protagonists include a Roman centurion, a Colonial Rhode Island doctor, a 1980s archeologist, a court dancer, and a thoroughly 2000s college student.
Despite its convoluted plot, Eternal Darkness remains a beloved horror title. Most of its appeal comes from its innovative sanity effects, which precede Amnesia: The Dark Descent by eight years. Every moment spent in an enemy’s visual field decreases your sanity, producing mind-bending effects. There are, of course, your standard horror effects; everyone knows about the bleeding walls and floors. However, Eternal Darkness takes things even further by introducing simulated technical glitches, notably including the apparent deletion of all your hard-won saves.
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