Horror games have been known to use a variety of different mechanics to scare a player while adventuring through their story. One common example, especially in survival horror games, is the use of a Sanity Meter which a player must keep high to avoid their character from going mad.
While some games make this an important feature that a player can see, others decide to hide it. Therefore, many players can't see how far gone their character is before the horrors and hallucinations begin to creep up on them. Those that are looking for horror games with good sanity meters should look no further than these titles.
9 Dead By Daylight
Although this online survival horror is commonly free of any sort of sanity bar, players that take on the role of survivor are at risk of meeting the horrifying monster known as the Doctor. Like the other killers available the Doctor comes with his own set of skills that the survivor must avoid and all of his revolve around breaking down the player.
His main ability causes a sanity effect to survivors which many who are playing killers will want to max out on their prey. Those effected by this sanity effect will begin to witness hallucinations of the doctor as well as screaming at odd occasions, revealing their location.
8 Don't Starve
Surviving in the wilderness alone can deteriorate someone's mind, especially if the pitch black of night can kill those sitting in it for too long. Don't Starve may have an attractive art style, but this doesn't stop it from being a dangerous survival horror where players need to watch not only their health and hunger but also their sanity.
Each character has a different-sized meter, with some breaking quicker than others. As the bar depletes, nightmare shadow creatures can become real as they begin to attack the player. Luckily picking flowers or a hearty meal can prevent it from getting any worse.
7 Darkest Dungeon
In a similar intriguing art style set in a grim and depressing world, this gothic roguelike RPG focuses on the psychological torment that adventuring has on its adventurers. As players explore, the dark dungeons, they should always have extra torches on hand, as when theirs begins to deplete, so does the sanity of their characters.
Taking on tough enemies, as well as the character's own personality, can also take its toll on the psyche of the rest of the team. This can make the medieval horror a further challenge when trying to balance the team.
6 The Suffering
While many games have a sanity bar that players need to avoid losing, The Suffering relies on players gaining insanity to unlock the intense power that is stored within the main character Torque. With every kill of a supernatural entity, Torque's sanity bar increases; when it finally hits max, he can become a ginormous monster to defeat the hardest of bosses.
However, it's incredibly dangerous to stay in this form, as the player's health bar will begin to decrease the longer they remain as the monster.
5 Knock-knock
Living deep within the woods in a cabin, the player's main goal is to stay awake and stay sane until the morning comes once more. Knock-knock is another brilliantly drawn horror game that is filled with puzzles a player must quickly solve if they wish to stay alive.
Players cannot avoid their sanity bar dropping as every single time the lodger leaves the cabin the bar will begin to deplete. As well as when encountering the other guests of the house which players will need to hide from whenever possible.
4 Haunting Ground
Haunting Ground may have an adorable fluffy dog companion called Hewie, but that doesn't stop this grim adventure from being a horrifying experience for players. As Fiona, the main character of the game, encounters various frights and monsters, her panic bar begins to increase.
If the panic bar is allowed to reach max, Fiona will go into a frenzied state where she will simply begin to run as fast as she can away, screaming. If she is caught in this state, especially if she has fallen, she can be easily killed by the monsters that stalk her.
3 Clock Tower: The First Fear
As the predecessor to Haunting Ground, when the original Clock Tower was released in 1997 for PC, players were able to enjoy this point-and-click survival horror that essentially began what it means to have a sanity bar.
Although panic isn't that obvious in this game, the player's portrait of Jennifer will begin to change color depending on what mental state she is in. When it hits red, this is when Jennifer is most scared, and she is far more likely to be attacked by Bobby, the stalking villain of the game.
2 Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Like many psychological horror titles, making the player feel as if they are going mad is important to increase the fear factor of the experience. In the case of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, scripted encounters as well as picking up certain items will begin to decrease the player's sanity as they navigate the four different locations.
When the bar depletes enough the player will then begin to witness a variety of sanity effects. Examples of this include entering a room where the camera begins to tilt to more extremes, such as trying to restore health may suddenly cause the character to explode, though this isn't a real death.
1 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Sanity is a crucial element in several of the Amnesia games. The mechanic's introduction in the first game was incredible, as environments warped and changed to become all the more frightening as the player lost their sanity.
While many of the drops in sanity are scripted, staying in the dark for too long, or witnessing a monster can also cause the character's mind to falter. As it depletes further and further the world around them will become more sinister as the threats become more real. Luckily, sanity can be restored by solving the many puzzles in Amnesia, though this doesn't mean the danger is completely gone.