Video games have a special relationship with the horror genre. Unlike most other mediums, horror games engage the consumer directly. It becomes the player's responsibility to help their character make it out alright.
It can be argued the player's ability to fight back against any oncoming threat in a horror game adds to the tension, introducing an element of ambiguity into every situation as the player decides if they should run or not. However, the opposite can also be true. It creates a heightened sense of helplessness as the player's only option is to avoid the danger. Threats feel bigger and insurmountable. All that's left to do is hope.
10 Outlast
Outlast was one of the first games to usher in a new age of horror focused on running away and hiding from threats. The player will wear the shoes of an investigative journalist looking into the shady Mount Massive asylum.
It is not long before things go wrong and the player is thrust deeper into the nightmare, running from the unnatural and the insane. The enemies are great physical threats to the player, so the only option is to run and hide. Luckily, a night vision camera goes a long way in helping the player avoid conflict.
9 Anatomy
For the player with leanings toward the surreal comes this indie gem by developer Kitty Horrorshow. The premise is simple. The player will walk through a dark house looking for audio tapes to play and progress. What Anatomy does best is building anticipation through its atmosphere and increasingly unnerving audiotapes.
These tapes describe how a house is similar to a human body and from there it only gets worse and worse. By the end of this experience, the player will be wondering to themself in the middle of the night whether or not they are truly safe in their home.
8 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
What many consider to be the game that popularized this style of horror for the modern era, the first Amnesia game has the player exploring and solving puzzles in a dark and mysterious castle as a man with no memories other than their name and their home. Shadows surround the player, only warded off by whatever means of light they have on hand.
Like the best Lovecraftian games, players deal with encroaching darkness and a litany of eldritch abominations, the player must avoid these threats as they pose a great risk to the player's sanity. Spend too long in the dark, or stare too long at a horrific creature, and the player will begin to hallucinate and become disoriented.
7 SCP: Containment Breach
Based on the SCP internet archive of mysterious entities, this game will force the player to survive what can only be described as a worst-case scenario for anyone familiar with this universe. Expect something similar to the premise of Control.
Playing as a D-Class subject, essentially a prisoner, the player finds themself at the mercy of violent creatures beyond human understanding, trying their best to escape after a meltdown causes the facility to open up and allowing all hell to break loose. A variety of monsters stalk the player, doing their best to ensure that no one stops their rampage.
6 P.T. (Silent Hills)
Few can say that they reinvented the horror genre and inspired a new age of horror games with little more than a teaser for an upcoming game, but that is what Hideo Kojima did when he created P.T. Standing for "Playable Teaser", P.T. was meant to be the announcement for a brand new Silent Hill game. However, due to some behind-the-scenes drama, the full game never saw release. PT was even taken off stores, making it an exceptionally rare and valuable horror game.
That didn't stop the world from latching on to what most consider to be one of the best horror experiences out there. The player will simply navigate a looping hallway as things become more and more disconcerting. Despite the simple premise, Kojima makes the most out of it, making for a truly memorable little teaser.
5 Power Drill Massacre
When people think of a game that replicates the feeling of a schlocky 80's slasher film, they think of Until Dawn. What Power Drill Massacre does is take that same approach and play it terrifyingly straight. It helps that the game plays like an old ps1 title, complete with unwieldy controls, low-resolution textures, and a janky camera.
The disorientation that these elements add, keeps the player tense, knowing at any moment they will need to contend with these factors as they are hunted down by a madman wielding a power drill. No greater dread can be felt than when the player hears the harrowing sounds of the power drill blare from just around the corner, signifying that they must run or else face their certain doom.
4 SOMA
SOMA is different from most traditional horror. While it is quite similar to how Frictional Game's previous game Amnesia redefined its genre, what makes SOMA stand out is its focus on existential horror. Most horror games have the player confronting terrifying monsters or uncomfortable situations, but existential horror forces the player to deal with horrifying ideas about themself, to find answers to unanswerable questions.
Suddenly transported into a dark sci-fi facility, the player must navigate their surroundings and learn about how they came to be in their situation and whether or not there is hope of ever escaping it. The only thing worse than the screams of the insane machines is the isolation and silence.
3 Stories Untold
This small collection of horror games are meant to be reminiscent of old horror anthologies. Each story has the player facing a new threat and each ties into each other in ways the player will not expect. A text adventure that's more than it appears, experiments on an unknowable entity, the isolation of a small arctic outpost.
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The player must make their way through these puzzles and more if they ever hope to understand what is truly happening to them. Luckily for the player, there are no ways to die or lose each of these scenarios, only progress. But by the end, will it be worth it?
2 Night Of The Consumers
What at first appears to be a humorous satire of Night of the Living Dead, this game will force the player to deal with the horrors and anxieties of being a retail worker. An overbearing boss, a crowd of annoying and incompetent customers, and the ongoing march of time are the biggest threats in this game.
The player has to deal with all of these factors all the while trying to keep up with their duties. While it would be true to say that the experience is inaccurate to the day-to-day of a retail worker, there is truly no other game that better encapsulates the emotions one experiences whilst working in that sort of job.
1 Devotion
Devotion is a Taiwanese psychological horror game that wants to tell its heartbreaking story. After blacking out, the player will take on the role of a father as he and the player rediscover their past actions that may have led to their current predicament.
It is a story of overwhelming expectations, declining mental health, and the devious nature of those who seek to help. Puzzles slowly reveal a life of love, pain, and foolishness that will leave the player wishing that the truth had just stayed buried. After a period of being delisted, the game has been restored and is once again up for sale
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