The epitome of what I’m trying to refer to is the Playdead games (Limbo and Inside). Dark Souls and BioShock both hit on this idea but not quite so directly. The game BADLAND is also a great example of this, too. The mobile game The Silent Age also did this exceptionally well. Never quite knowing what’s going on, and maybe some tension without release, but again not straight up horror. A feeling of uneasiness is what I’m looking for.
When playing through Inside, there’s never any moments where you’re scared, but you’re never sure what’s going on and there’s always a level of unease. What are all the mindless zombie-like people? Why is everyone hunting the player? What happened to this city? What’s the goal of the character the player controls? What exactly is going on here? That’s what I’m looking for. If you know of any other games which do this, I’d greatly appreciate hearing about them. It’s a very specific niche so I’m not sure how many games do this, but the games that I’ve seen do this tend to be some form of post-disaster or dystopia. I’ve seen some great artwork do this too. Zdzisław Beksiński had done some stuff like this. Some great dystopian novels also do this quite well.
Firewatch is a good example of this. Wandering round an empty forest, seeing an evergrowing forest fire all the time. It’s quite eerie but not outright horror.
That game looks stunning. I’m very interested in checking it out
GMOD.
Something about Source engine maps set in realistic locations devoid of anything but a player has an overpowering creepy, liminal space vibe.
I wouldn’t have thought of that one. Thanks for pointing it out!
This might not hit the right genre for you based on the games you mentioned, but I feel like a lot of visual novels have that setting without horror. For example: 999, the Zero Escape games, Danganronpa, maybe AI Somnium Files as well can be creepy at times, CORPSE FACTORY
I’ve never tried that genre before, but I’m not immediately against it. I’ll take a look.
Outer Wilds. It’s better to play it without knowing much beforehand. All I’m gonna say is: it will make you feel very lonely and even vulnerable at times, although it’s not a horror game by any means. It’s a beautiful videogame with a mind-blowing story.
I agree. The DLC adds creepy.
I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews for that game, but I haven’t had any aspect spoiled for me at all. Thanks for the recommendation!
Pathologic 2. Eastern European absurdist psychological “horror”. Definitely what you are looking for.
That one looks pretty cool, though it does call itself horror which isn’t quite what I want. How horror-y is it?
Not really as far as I remember. No monsters or gore
Oh good. I’ll check it out then, in that case. Thanks!
Signal Simulator is a game about being completely alone in a base in the desert doing science stuff in search of aliens. It’s not really horror but there’s plenty of uneasy stuff in it.
There’s also a newer game inspired by it called Voices of the Void which is more actively developed. Technically, it’s not horror but the developer likes to fuck with you in all kinds of ways.
Subnautica is not a horror game, and was not intended to be scary; and yet the way it captures the dark, oppressive nature of deep waters makes it an extremely terrifying experience.
Bramble is a new game that’s kinda got those limbo vibes, but with Scandinavian/Norse tones to the story. I beat it in one setting in about 4 hours, but it was the most gripping experience with a game I’ve had in a few years. There’s a few mechanic switches, the final level is an awesome visual and musical fest, and the second to last boss fight was one of the most creative bosses I think I’ve ever seen in a game.
It’s also on Gamepass right now so it’s “free” if you have that.
I do have GamePass so I’ll be trying it for sure. Thanks for the suggestion!
Northern Journey. It’s a hard game to put into any traditional genre. It’s a Norwegian “happysad” action-adventure game with some of the most eerie visual and sound design I’ve seen without being outright horror.
Apparently it’s already on my wishlist, though I swear I’ve never heard of it. Either way, I’ll be sure to check it out some more. If it’s a Souls-like I probably saw it in an Iron Pineapple video at some point and thought it was cool enough to wishlist it.
Gone Home
Never heard of it but it looks cool.
Little Nightmares comes to mind.
I’ve played the mobile version and plan on playing this one next I think.
Stalker did it for me. I wouldn’t consider it a horror game but it for sure caused unease and anxiety in spots.
That one’s getting a sequel soon right? Looks pretty cool, if it’s what I’m thinking of
Yes, a sequel is in the works. The originals are amazing though and I highly recommend them, especially if you throw some mods at it. There are several recent YouTube reviews of it, check one out and see if it looks worth the time to learn!
Will do, thanks!
Subnautica has some creepy overtones.
Seconding Subnautica.
It was one of the few games I’ve played where I felt sad finishing it.
The sequel does not have the same vibe, though, so be aware of that. It’s an okay game, but it definitely misses the vibe the original.
I’ve heard as such. I also love nautical themes in general (no surprise given my username), so I’ve been meaning to play it for quite a while. Thanks for reminding me of this game
If you like crafting bases, this sounds like it would be right up your alley, then
Be sure to clear off the next few evenings when you start it
I usually only get one day off work at a time so I’ll use up my paid vacation to play this game 😎
I loved Subnautica, but it was too scary and claustrophobic for me to finish because I am a weenie. The first time I had to go down to that abandoned underwater cave base shivers
Segments of most 3d Zeldas are like this, but the one that takes the cake is definitely Majora’s Mask. The entire game is like one bad dream.
Most Metroid games also qualify, which makes sense since they draw heavily from the Alien movies.
If only the Zelda games were on pc :( I could emulate though
I’ll look more into Metroid too
Seconding basically all the (mainline) Metroid games.
America McGees Alice and Alice Madness Returns are both great game, the first one is very very dated, but the second game plays quite well with some manual patching. I strongly recommend Madness Returns and it has a creepy atmosphere like you’d want
My girlfriend is a huge Alice in Wonderland fan so her and I started playing Madness Returns (really just me playing and her watching but that’s what her preference is anyway). Unfortunately we got stuck due to a bug pretty early on and we haven’t continued yet, but we’ll probably try to figure it out eventually and go through the game. It’s definitely got a really cool atmosphere and art style, for sure.
