Horror games are made to take players out of their comfort zones as they try to work their way out of a bad situation. Whether the danger involved is monsters, other humans, or even themselves, players are usually tasked to do whatever needs to be done in order to survive.
But there are some games where fighting back is the quickest way toward a horrible (typically gruesome), bad end.
10 Dark Deception
Dark Deception is a first-person horror game where the player traverses through maze-like worlds, collecting shards for the mysterious woman who acts as a guide, Bierce. From murderous monkey bellhops to rollerskating nurses wielding giant needles, each world is filled with thematic monsters that all follow the orders of Malak, a demon that has a history with Bierce.
The only way to make it through to the next world is to run as fast as one can and avoid getting cornered by the monsters. Bierce can bestow the player with different powers that can be used on a tablet-like device, but most of the powers are used to escape enemies or remain undetected by them.
9 Five Nights At Freddy's
The Five Nights at Freddy's game franchise plays off of Automatonphobia, the fear of animatronics. Though to be fair, even in the first game where Freddy and his pals were the most normal looking, they still looked disturbing.
The series relies on building up the player's anticipation and anxiety as they try to survive to 6 AM. The player wants to keep the animatronics away in nearly every game in the series. Each game adds new mechanics and new dangers to make staying alive more challenging and terrifying. Power management is key, as using cameras, turning on lights, and shutting the doors drains power.
8 White Day: A Labyrinth Named School
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is a remake of a 2001 game with the same name. It's a first-person survival horror game where the main character, Lee Hui-min, sneaks into his school to leave sweets for his crush and return her diary.
He quickly finds himself trapped inside the school and plagued by ghosts that haunt the premises and many possessed staff members. Lee Hui-min can't fight any of the enemies, he can only run and hide from them.
7 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a first-person survival horror game where the objective is to avoid and hide from enemies, rather than fight them. The protagonist is Daniel, a man who wakes up in a castle with no recollection of himself or his past.
He finds a note that tells him what he has to do to escape and warns him of an entity called the "Shadow" that is hunting him. Daniel can interact with objects that can help with puzzles, restore his vitals, and things of that nature, but he has no way of fighting monsters that can kill him in just a few hits.
6 Outlast
Influenced by Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Outlast is a first-person survival-horror series that takes place in a psychiatric hospital. The main character Miles is a freelance journalist that goes to investigate Mount Massive Asylum due to an anonymous tip about inhumane experiments. He finds himself quickly descending into chaos as Mount Massive's most dangerous inmates are roaming free through the asylum, and he's locked inside.
Miles can't fight any of the inmates, and he has to sneak and hide to avoid being caught. Most of the lights in the asylum are off, forcing Miles to use the night vision mode on his camcorder. It's the only way for players to see in the dark and be able to avoid the enemies that lurk within.
5 Resident Evil
Resident Evil first introduced gamers to the evils of the Umbrella Corporation and the t-virus that lead to the creation of the various enemies in the series. The game introduced the classic zombie enemies that are encountered. Many zombies stalk the Arklay mansion's halls, tempting players to attack and kill them, but it's in their best interest to pick and choose when they kill zombies.
There are limited resources in the game, and they should be saved to use in situations like boss battles. Zombies are slow-moving and can be avoided at times, allowing the player to save their ammo. Zombies can only be killed by headshots or burning their bodies after they are grounded. Not doing either of these after taking down a zombie runs the risk of them turning into a Crimson Head which is harder to defeat.
4 Clock Tower
Clock Tower is an iconic series that has laid the foundation for a very popular survival horror game subgenre where the protagonist must hide and run away from enemies rather than fight them. In Clock Tower, the protagonist is a girl named Jennifer who has to escape from an enemy known as Scissorman, who wields a pair of giant scissors.
She can't use weapons against him and will enter into a "panic mode" when confronted by him, making her either slow down or even trip and fall. The only way to defeat Scissorman is by hiding from him while trying to escape. If Jennifer is caught by him, she can attempt to escape but will die immediately if the attempt fails.
3 Haunting Ground
Trapped in a giant castle with people who have ill-intent is a scary situation for anyone. But it's especially scary for someone like Fiona, a normal college student with no skill or training in self-defense. Haunting Ground is a horror game where the player is expected to flee from enemies, find alternative ways to get away, and use Hewie to attack.
Fiona herself can attack, but her attacks are weak in comparison. Enemy attacks will cause Fiona to enter into a panic mode. The panic mode is also triggered when enemies are close by, they do something to unsettle her, and even when she attacks them. If her panic meter gets too high she becomes very hard to control, and she will trip and fall over, making her an easy target for any of the Pursuers.
2 Until Dawn
Until Dawn gained a lot of praise for its story, characters, and it's interactive gameplay where players' actions ultimately decide the fate of the characters. Combining mystery, drama, and the supernatural, some choices have hidden consequences that can either make themselves known immediately or after some time. There are some parts in the game where the player has to keep their character still or risk being found out and even killed.
There are also situations where one of the characters has to choose between protecting themselves from an animal that seems threatening or doing nothing. Harming the animal always results in a bad outcome. For example, if Matt attacks one of the deer in the herd that has him and Emily backed against a cliff, they will back him off the cliff, and he can die if the QTEs fail.
1 Man Of Medan
Man of Medan is the first game in The Dark Pictures Anthology where players decide the fate of the characters. Taking place primarily on the SS Ourang Medan, an abandoned freighter, the characters have to face real and unreal threats as they try to find a way off the boat.
Every scenario possible for the characters is derivative of whether they think with their "head" or "heart" and the outcome of the game's QTEs. Several of the fights are done using QTEs and while from the character's perspective it looks like they're facing an enemy, the opposite can be true. There are several scenarios where the characters can inadvertently kill their friends.