Horror games are commonly experienced in the pitch black of night, making for a haunting experience for any player that chooses to explore these spooky titles. However, as seen some horror games decide to not rely on the dark and the shadows to make an intense experience for their players.
While some may pick to solely focus on the daytime other genres of horror, especially survival horrors make the most of day and night cycles so that players no longer feel safe as time painfully passes around them. These horror games by far have the best day and night cycles that players must survive through between the frights.
10 Don't Starve
Although not the most horrifying of games, this survival game challenges players to survive for as long as they can in an eerie yet artistic world. Although nothing particularly scary ever happens to the player the atmosphere surrounding them at all times is enough to make a survivor tense up.
Players are racing against the clock each day as when the night arrives once more they must be near a fire, or they risk being attacked and killed by whatever lies in the shadows.
9 Project Zomboid
The passing of time is horrifying in this intense survival RPG with horror aspects brought in from the large number of zombies players must face. As the player survive for longer winter will begin to roll in followed by the electricity in some areas beginning to falter but one thing they must survive through each day is the nighttime.
It may feel like a losing battle, but players must face each day with courage if they hope to survive. Be that making the most of the daylight hours or hiding inside during the dead of night while the zombies groan around them.
8 State Of Decay
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Continuing the theme of zombie survival horror games, State of Decay is not only a long-lasting title but also another great example of a horror game that takes advantage of a day and night cycle. While it is never safe to be outside as society has still collapsed from the zombie apocalypse the poor visibility of night will make exploring far more dangerous.
There are other disadvantages to exploring during the night, such as the zombies becoming far more active. Players that are not prepared should remain indoors.
7 S.T.A.L.K.E.R
Set in an alternate reality where a second disaster occurred in the exclusion zone of Chernobyl, players are subjected to surviving against the radiation and other monsters in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Unlike other titles, many of the weapons available to players work a lot better during the night as players can easily see their targets, however, the most dangerous of horrors dig out from the ground to enjoy the moonlight. Players are actually rewarded by traveling in the dark as many artifacts appear that aren't visible during the daytime.
6 7 Days To Die
Similar to State of Decay, 7 Days To Die makes players risk it all when it comes to the nighttime hours of survival. While exploring the open-world horror of the daytime can be mostly relaxing with the majority of zombies unable to run, the night gives these same creators a boost in power.
Players can expect to be assaulted by an assortment of zombie types that are now all able to run when the sun begins to set. This is the time that many may wish to barricade themselves in their base, though as the days move on this becomes a lot harder.
5 Days Gone
Days Gone relies on players switching up how they face the problems ahead of them in the setting of the Pacific Northwest. While the horde mentality of the enemies may be one of the main features of the game where players will need to consider how to deal with the masses, the ever-changing time of day can also cause issues.
The deadly hours of the night will cause the behavior of the enemies to change, making them far more violent as they freely roam the open-world, this can make avoiding them very difficult.
4 Pathologic
Stepping away from the zombie survival titles briefly, Pathologic is another open world horror game with a lot of character to it. In this tormenting title time is one of the most important things players will track as they are racing against the clock each day.
As the town grows ever sick and certain quests only being available at certain times. Players are constantly dashing back and forth of the town or preplanning where they are going each day to make the most of the time they have.
3 The Forest
Splitting the time in The Forest into day and night cycles sets up different challenges for the player to face as everyday they survive against the cannibals and other monsters lurking across the island.
While the day time consists of fewer cannibal patrols, an easier time seeing, and less aggression from the hungry neighbors, the night can be a pain for new players. Light sources will be necessary to travel with even more patrols around that will attack the player on sight. Thankfully the night is a lot shorter than the daytime, but it's still dangerous.
2 Dying Light
As the name of the game suggests, when the light finally dies, and it becomes the night players are in for a far more dangerous time as they explore the world around them. Certain special enemies are only available to be found during these times that contain valuable resources though they are difficult to defeat.
This is why the player is equipped with a UV light as this is one of the few ways to keep these lurkers of the darkness at bay and chase them off if the situation is too dangerous.
1 Darkwood
By far the horror game with one of the best day and night cycles has to be the terrifying experience given to players while enjoying Darkwood. Players are able to travel around the overgrown forest during the day, looking for resources and fuel as well as helping the few creepy NPCs available.
However, when nighttime strikes it is a whole different picture as players will want to take shelter in their hideout and wait for the darkness to pass. Especially with the monsters that will attempt to break in every night, a player should always be prepared.