The Wii U may not have boasted the most extensive game library, but it did introduce some uniquely chilling survival horror experiences. Nintendo‘s dual-screen console brought fresh interactive elements that heightened fear and tension.
While marquee franchises like Resident Evil and The Walking Dead made appearances, the real standouts were engrossing exclusives that took advantage of the Wii U gamepad. Atmospheric visuals combined with innovative controls to pull players deeper into each terrifying world.
Here are the absolute best survival games that pushed the Wii U to its spooky limits.
1. ZombiU
ZombiU – Nintendo Wii U $13.19
ZombiU leapt straight for the Wii U gamepad to deliver a uniquely paranoid experience. The second screen acts as your character‘s bug out bag, forcing your eyes away from the TV. Managing limited supplies and navigating the darkened London Underground ratchets up fear exponentially.
True to survival horror form, death comes swiftly. Each demise starts you back at your safe house as a new character. Venture out to find your previous zombie self still holding precious gear. Wrench it from their cold dead hands if you dare…
With precise motion controls for aiming and swinging melee weapons, ZombiU pulls no punches. Taking down the undead is grueling work. The game challenges you to be strategic in luring out lone zombies rather than barreling in guns blazing.
The zombies themselves are sublimely grotesque, with excellent creature design and stomach-churning sounds. Environments like Buckingham Palace and train stations brim with atmosphere even as they harbor hidden secrets. Solve enough puzzles and you may just survive the outbreak.
ZombiU remains one of the Wii U‘s most fully-featured exclusives, placing it easily among the console‘s best survival games.
2. Slender: The Arrival
The original Slender game terrified players with its stark visuals and relentless stalking from the faceless Slenderman. Slender: The Arrival expands that experience into a longer, more varied outing.
Many survival horror games arm you with weapons against supernatural foes. Not here. Your only option is to run…if you can. When Slenderman appears, turn and sprint away before he closes the gap. Get caught too many times and it‘s game over.
Forcing players to flee rather than fight ratchets up tension masterfully. The Wii U gamepad gives you a handy map to avoid getting lost, not that it helps evade your pursuer. Slender: The Arrival may have basic graphics and gameplay, but its commitment to scaring you senseless remains unmatched.
Environments like a burning hospital and twisted woods drip with atmosphere. The game builds dread gradually before hitting you with heart-stopping appearances from Slenderman himself. It‘s a primal, visceral fear that gets the blood pumping.
Occasional puzzle solving and story beats provide nice changes of pace without lessening fear factor. At just a few hours long, Slender: The Arrival makes perfect use of the Wii U controller while delivering chilling survival horror thrills.
3. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
The Fatal Frame series has long been revered for its unique take on survival horror. Rather than simple guns or melee weapons, you wield a Camera Obscura imbued with spiritual powers against hostile ghosts. It makes for intensely frightening encounters as you face down supernatural enemies.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water brought the franchise to Nintendo consoles for the first time as a Wii U exclusive. The remote and gamepad combine to create an augmented reality viewfinder to capture spirits before they overwhelm you. Battling angry ghosts by literally looking them in the face creates palpable fear.
The story follows various characters exploring an ominous mountain area filled with deadly ghosts borne of tragedy. Full of atmosphere, the environments here are essentially characters themselves. Shadowy, rainy forests or dimly lit shrines fill you with foreboding.
Puzzles scattered throughout require using camera abilities to unlock secrets related to the plot. Combat is frequent though, and facing dead-on attacks leaves you incredibly vulnerable.
It all builds incredible tension that escalates over time. The Wii U gamepad is perfectly implemented, letting you see threats coming as the Camera Obscura reveals hidden items and clues critical to your survival. For fans wanting to play a unique take on horror combat, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a must.
4. Resident Evil Revelations
Resident Evil: Revelations – Nintendo Wii U $51.84
Bringing a beloved 3DS title to glorious HD life, Resident Evil Revelations shines on the Wii U. Visuals and audio receive significant upgrades to match the console‘s superior output. The campaign retains its claustrophobic terror aboard a stranded cruise ship.
Iconic characters like Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield return with top-notch voice acting to anchor the pulpy story. The tale plays out episodically which heightens drama and allows for cliffhangers. Action sequences get your blood pumping while environmental puzzles encourage methodical exploration.
The Genesis scanning device lets you analyze items and surroundings to trigger key events. Limited resources like health and ammo force you to make tough choices. The co-op Raid mode extends replay value as you and a partner battle through enemy-laden, score-driven levels.
From grotesque creature designs to foreboding ship halls, Revelations conjures dreadful atmosphere in spades. The haunted ocean liner also takes great advantage of the Wii U gamepad for scanning environments or accessing maps and gear.
Bringing core survival horror sensibilities to the Wii U, Revelations lets players experience panic and dread on a grand scale.
5. The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct – Nintendo Wii U $54.75
As a prequel to the landmark AMC series, Survival Instinct puts players in Daryl Dixon‘s shoes just as the zombie outbreak begins. Fans enjoyed stepping into the resilient character‘s past, voiced by Norman Reedus himself.
Scavenging for supplies while avoiding or battling Walkers created relentless tension. Players had to carefully manage scarce resources like weapons, ammo and fuel for vehicles. Choosing whether to help strangers or leave them to their doom posed agonizing dilemmas.
The scope focused tightly on survival at any cost rather than a sprawling story. Still, seeing how the pandemic unfolded through Daryl‘s eyes proved intriguing all on its own. Sneaking past hordes of undead or frantically bashing skulls made for visceral, white-knuckle showdowns.
While co-op play was regrettably absent, using the Wii U gamepad as a survival toolkit added immersion. Quick access to weapons, accessories and mission info helped players strategize on the fly. Flawed writing and mission variety hurt the experience, but excellently capturing The Walking Dead essence still made for compelling survival gaming.
6. Year Walk
Exploring ancient Swedish folklore, Year Walk delivered psychological frights with its eerie atmosphere and strange visions. The puzzles prove brain-bending as surreal and creepy events test the player‘s resolve.
It adopts an unusual cardboard art style with stark colors and minimalist environments. Don‘t let the plain visuals fool you though. Profoundly unsettling scenes lie around many corners, and they stick with you long afterwards.
With zero combat involved, Year Walk focuses purely on wandering the wintry landscape and solving puzzles. Creepy notes and clues hidden throughout an abandoned village slowly illuminate a tragedy-filled backstory. Figuring out each solution inches you closer to a dark revelation.
The focus on atmospheric storytelling and slowly building dread created an experience unlike any other Wii U title. While Year Walk lasted only an hour or two, its maturity and artistic boldness left an impression way beyond its brief runtime. Even now, several moments and imagery refuse to leave our memories.
7. Minecraft
Okay wait, how did Minecraft end up here? Isn‘t it just a game about placing blocks? Well, play long enough in Survival mode and you‘ll understand.
Night after night of fending off zombies and spiders intent on your destruction. Endlessly mining by torchlight for scraps of food to restore precious health. Freezing or burning to death if you dare step one block outside safety.
Minecraft can absolutely be considered a survival game, especially for novice players still learning its many systems. With no tutorials, you‘re tossed straight into an immense, blocky wilderness and left to your own devices. Will you hide away farming wheat until you starve? Or brave awful monsters and deadly lava lakes to collect diamonds for mighty gear?
The Wii U Edition allowed local 4-player multiplayer adventures battling for glory and riches together. Forging alliances against hordes of zombies made nights much less terrifying. The Super Mario Mash-up Pack added skins, music and textures from Nintendo‘s mascot to delight fans too.
While combat and crafting eventually became second nature, those first desperate nights spent cowering and fleeing cemented Minecraft as an enduring survival challenge. It may be cute and blocky, but you won‘t forget your early brushes with death anytime soon.
