Many gamers play horror games for a thrill or an adrenaline rush; the atmosphere and setting contribute to the immersion for those playing it. The best horror games get under the player's skin and make it hard for them to breathe and feel as though they are living through the experience they are playing.
Claustrophobia is the extreme fear of tight and enclosed spaces, and it is a common trope utilized in horror movies and games alike. It is the perfect basis to make any gamer feel both distressed and immersed in the game they're playing. Small spaces can make gamers feel as though they will be trapped in that area forever, sparking an unparalleled sense of fear. These eight horror games perfectly capture claustrophobia's essence through their settings and plots.
8 Poppy Playtime
- Available to play on PC, Android and iOS devices.
Set in a long-abandoned toy factory, players must survive the vengeful and lively toys that have been left behind and forgotten. Players must use a GrabPack accompanied by two artificial hands to grab faraway objects to flick switches to solve puzzles, all with the sense that they are being watched by an unknown entity.
One of Poppy Playtimes' villains is a gargantuan blue fluffy ragdoll named Fuzzy Wuzzy. Seems innocent enough, right? It has razor-sharp teeth set in an unnervingly unflinching grin and long spindly limbs that reach after the player. In an intense escape sequence, the player must squeeze through tunnels and pipes to escape its grasp.
7 Observer: System Redux
- Available to play on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
In a futuristic dystopian cyberpunk world, players delve deep into the darkest corner of the human psyche. In Observer: System Redux, players take control of Daniel Lazarski, an Observer investigator who uses the Dream Eater to hack into suspects' minds, dead or alive, creeping into their dreams and exposing their deepest and darkest fears.
These twisted dreams can become nightmarish excursions into the subconscious minds of criminals as Daniel searches for clues to catch an elusive killer. The deeper the players go into Observer: System Redux, the greater the risk of losing their own sanity as they dread what is to come next.
6 BioShock
- Available to play on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
The underwater fallen Utopia of Rapture in the BioShock universe can create a sense of foreboding and claustrophobia in players. BioShock begins with players as the sole survivor of a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; they discover a bathysphere to take them into the great depths below, revealing the mysterious city of Rapture.
The vast majority of BioShock is set indoors, adding to this feeling of entrapment as players have no escape under the ocean's murky depths. The trashed city is filled with genetically-altered and ADAM-addicted splicers that roam around, attacking anyone in their path. Players must kill these splicers and other creatures to survive and find a way out of Rapture.
5 SOMA
- Available to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
SOMA is a sci-fi horror game that will have players feeling on the edge of their seats as they face horrors buried deep under the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. The radio is dead, food supplies are running low, with potential danger lurking around every corner, including corrupted humans, sentient robots and other twisted creatures.
Instead of combat, players must be stealthy and careful as each monster they encounter has different behaviors and patterns, utilizing elements of psychological horror instead of conventional jumpscares. The final moments of SOMA raise the philosophical question of what it means to truly be human.
4 Labyrinthe
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- Available to play on PC.
Labyrinthine brings the horrors of being trapped in a hedge maze to life, as it feels like the walls are alive and closing in on the player. Labyrinthine can be played with up to three other players or solo if gamers feel daring. They must work to solve complex puzzles, collect items, and keep moving forward, as they are not alone inside this maze.
As players progress towards the maze's center, the labyrinthian walls will feel like they are looming in as it progressively becomes more claustrophobic, adding a feeling of immense dread and uncertainty.
3 ROMUT
- Available to play on PC as a free download.
Armed with a flashlight and their wits, ROMUT plunges players into a darkened corridor, giving the simple instruction to "destroy them all." This simple task refers to mutant monster heads that the player must destroy in five separate areas. ROMUT is also "tumor" backwards, referencing these mutated creatures.
The flashlight is realistically implemented, as it is a small beam of light that can be controlled using the player's mouse to light their way. ROMUT creates an oppressive and foreboding atmosphere, coupled with the intense sound design, that leaves players feeling claustrophobic and desperate for a way out of the darkness.
2 Outlast
- Available to play on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Mount Massive Asylum is in the remote mountains of Colorado, a recently-reopened home for the mentally ill. Miles Upshur, Outlast's playable character and investigative journalist, infiltrates the facility to record the horrors that await inside. Once inside, players will find that their escape is just out of reach, and they must journey into the heart of the asylum, creeping through sewers and stifling prison cells to discover the terrible truth.
Outlast is an authentic survival horror experience, with its setting and characters inspired by real-life asylums and cases of criminal insanity. Miles is not a fighter, armed with just his recording camera. If players want to survive the horrors of Mount Massive, they must hide under beds, lockers, and small crawlspaces while hearing their enemies breathing heavily nearby.
1 Alien: Isolation
- Available to play on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
In Alien: Isolation, players control Amanda Ripley. She investigates her mother's disappearance and comes across the same deadly creature that separated them. Underpowered and unprepared, Amanda must use her wits to scavenge supplies to make it out alive. To safely make her way around, Amanda must crawl in total stifling darkness and hide in vents to avoid the unknown threat that lurks in the abyss.
The first-person camera perspective in Alien: Isolation creates the fear of the unknown, as the Xenomorph terrorizing the Sevastapol trading station could potentially be anywhere. It also creates an intense feeling of claustrophobia, as the player has no idea what danger could be lurking behind them.