10 Horror Games Where Every Bullet Matters
▼ Summary
– Survival horror games use scarce ammo to create tense gameplay where every bullet matters and players must think strategically before shooting.
– Limited ammunition forces players to explore environments thoroughly, searching every container and hidden area for resources to survive.
– Games like The Evil Within 2 and Tormented Souls exemplify this by providing minimal ammo, making missed shots costly and encouraging careful aim.
– Ammo scarcity affects combat decisions, often making running away the smarter option than engaging enemies when resources are low.
– This design philosophy appears across the genre in titles including Resident Evil, Dead Space, and Alien: Isolation, where players constantly feel underpowered.
Navigating the terrifying worlds of survival horror often means facing down monstrous threats with a nearly empty clip. These games masterfully use scarce ammunition to create an atmosphere of constant dread and force players into a state of calculated, deliberate gameplay. Wasting a single bullet can mean the difference between survival and a gruesome end, transforming every combat encounter into a high-stakes puzzle.
1. In The Evil Within 2, the scarcity of resources is the true antagonist. This sequel intensifies the survival-horror experience by providing even fewer bullets than its predecessor. You must weigh every potential shot carefully, as unpredictable enemies with bizarre movement patterns make it easy to miss. This design philosophy pushes you toward a strategic, exploration-heavy playstyle, meticulously scouring every room for the next precious round. Wasting a bullet is a genuinely painful experience, so you learn to ensure every shot is not only necessary but also perfectly placed.
2. Paying homage to classic survival horror, Tormented Souls makes ammunition management its core tenet. You will frequently find yourself fleeing from threats rather than engaging them. Even on the easiest difficulty setting, you are perpetually low on ammo. The game’s fixed camera angles and tank controls add a layer of difficulty to aiming, making a missed shot a source of profound anxiety. Since enemies often block critical paths, being caught with an empty gun can force a desperate retreat, leaving you to solve brutal puzzles while being hunted.
3. The original Resident Evil established the survival horror blueprint with its tense, ammo-starved gameplay. Its fixed cameras and tank controls make landing shots on zombies a challenging task, and since enemies can absorb multiple bullets, a miss feels catastrophic. Players spend much of their time exhaustively searching the Spencer Mansion for supplies. Finding an ammo pack is a moment of pure relief, but it’s often a precursor to an imminent fight that will deplete your newfound resources just as quickly. The game is a masterclass in methodical combat, where running away is often the wisest tactical decision.
4. The Dead Space Remake throws hordes of necromorphs at you while keeping ammunition frustratingly scarce. Each type of ammo is a rare commodity, forcing you to stomp on every corpse and crate in a desperate search for more. While the game’s pace is reminiscent of action-heavy titles, its resource economy is brutally unforgiving. To survive, you must master the strategic dismemberment system, strategically shooting off limbs to disable enemies rather than simply killing them. This efficient use of firepower is not a suggestion, it’s a requirement for survival.
5. In Alan Wake 2, ammunition is a luxury, particularly during the segments where you control the titular writer. While FBI Agent Saga Anderson has slightly better access to bullets, Alan is often left with a nearly empty inventory, relying heavily on his flashlight to weaken foes. The game consistently pressures you to be an expert marksman, demanding headshots to maximize damage. It’s common to face a wave of enemies with only a handful of rounds, leading to frantic sprints around combat arenas in a desperate search for more ammo.
6. Amnesia: The Bunker pairs extreme ammunition scarcity with a relentless monster that stalks your every move. Every bullet is a precious resource with multiple potential uses: shooting padlocks, detonating barrels, or briefly fending off the creature. Using a bullet for convenience, however, can be a fatal mistake. The game encourages clever problem-solving, like using bricks to break locks or Molotovs for area denial, to conserve your precious rounds. Failure to manage these resources wisely can leave you defenseless for long, terrifying stretches.
7. While some debate its horror credentials, BioShock delivers a deeply unsettling experience compounded by a severe lack of ammunition. Its disturbing enemies and creepy atmosphere are matched by an economy that leaves you feeling perpetually underpowered. You might find a small cache of ammo, only to expend it all in a desperate fight against a Big Daddy, right back where you started. The constant cycle of scarcity, brief relief, and renewed desperation makes every bullet feel critically important.
8. Alien: Isolation redefines bullet conservation by making the act of firing a weapon a potentially suicidal event. The game’s primary antagonist, the Xenomorph, is largely immune to your firearms. Worse, the sound of gunfire will attract it directly to your location. This creates an immense weight behind every decision to pull the trigger. Do you use a bullet to eliminate a human guard, knowing it might summon the ultimate predator? This constant risk-assessment is central to the game’s relentless tension.
9. Bloober Team’s Cronos: The New Dawn continues the studio’s tradition of crafting intensely atmospheric horror, with ammunition scarcity being a key source of tension. Missing a single shot can feel catastrophic, sometimes forcing you to reload a previous save to scavenge for more bullets. The game’s balance never feels unfair; it exists in a sweet spot where diligent exploration and resourcefulness are rewarded. A crafting system allows for ammo creation, but the necessary materials are just scarce enough to maintain a constant state of urgency.
10. Among modern Resident Evil titles, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard stands out for its brutally limited ammunition, especially in the early and mid-game. As you explore the Baker estate, you face resilient molded creatures that require several shots to kill, yet ammo is spread thinly throughout the environment. Survival demands precision; you must land headshots to conserve your dwindling supply. Any shot that isn’t optimally placed feels like a waste that will haunt you in a future encounter. This extreme scarcity is arguably what makes the game one of the most nerve-wracking entries in the entire series.
(Source: Dual Shockers)
