The epitome of what I’m trying to refer to is the Playdead games (Limbo and Inside). Dark Souls and BioShock both hit on this idea but not quite so directly. The game BADLAND is also a great example of this, too. The mobile game The Silent Age also did this exceptionally well. Never quite knowing what’s going on, and maybe some tension without release, but again not straight up horror. A feeling of uneasiness is what I’m looking for.
When playing through Inside, there’s never any moments where you’re scared, but you’re never sure what’s going on and there’s always a level of unease. What are all the mindless zombie-like people? Why is everyone hunting the player? What happened to this city? What’s the goal of the character the player controls? What exactly is going on here? That’s what I’m looking for. If you know of any other games which do this, I’d greatly appreciate hearing about them. It’s a very specific niche so I’m not sure how many games do this, but the games that I’ve seen do this tend to be some form of post-disaster or dystopia. I’ve seen some great artwork do this too. Zdzisław Beksiński had done some stuff like this. Some great dystopian novels also do this quite well.
Subnautica has some creepy overtones.
I’ve heard as such. I also love nautical themes in general (no surprise given my username), so I’ve been meaning to play it for quite a while. Thanks for reminding me of this game
If you like crafting bases, this sounds like it would be right up your alley, then
Be sure to clear off the next few evenings when you start it
I usually only get one day off work at a time so I’ll use up my paid vacation to play this game 😎
Seconding Subnautica.
It was one of the few games I’ve played where I felt sad finishing it.
The sequel does not have the same vibe, though, so be aware of that. It’s an okay game, but it definitely misses the vibe the original.
I loved Subnautica, but it was too scary and claustrophobic for me to finish because I am a weenie. The first time I had to go down to that abandoned underwater cave base shivers
I’d recommend Control by Remedy. It’s got some SCP vibe and has liminal spaces, spooky supernatural shit and great looking environments and game play.
I’ve received lots of suggestions for Control, I think I’ll be playing it soon
Absolutely Control. I’ve just gotten back to it after a too long hiatus. About half way through and loving every beat. The logs and docs are 100% worth reading.
Outer Wilds. It’s better to play it without knowing much beforehand. All I’m gonna say is: it will make you feel very lonely and even vulnerable at times, although it’s not a horror game by any means. It’s a beautiful videogame with a mind-blowing story.
I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews for that game, but I haven’t had any aspect spoiled for me at all. Thanks for the recommendation!
I agree. The DLC adds creepy.
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Bloodborne
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Control (definitely what you’re looking for)
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The Last of Us
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Little Nightmares (quite similar to Inside, horror-inspired and creepy but barely any jump scares)
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Inscryption
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Dying Light (admittedly not very scary, but at night where you get chased by creatures can be very intense)
I’ll be bitter about Bloodborne not being on PC until the day they release it on Steam. I’ll look more into the other ones though. I think I own Control already so I might play that one soon
Control is definitely 10/10 for me, very satisfying once you get used to the mechanics.
Yes, Control hit all the right spots for me. Its got an X-files/Twin Peaks feeling about it. I loved every minute of my playthrough. Its architecture and level design also really appealed to me.
Seconding Control. It’s an absolutely amazing game. Very creepy vibes in most of the game but not quite horror.
Inscryption is such an amazing, surprising, mind-bending and downright crazy experience. Everyone should play it absolutely blind.
Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time.
So amazing. The music in the goal… shivers!
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Half Life/Black Mesa. I replayed it recently and I had forgotten the level of unease that pervades most of it. While short of horror, there’s been an obvious disaster, people are panicking, and it’s unclear to the PC what is going on for most of the game.
I played Black Mesa a few months back and loved it. It also did a really good job with what I’m trying to explain. I kind of want to go through the original as well at some point, too.
The original is great. I actually haven’t played Black Mesa all the way, but played the original recently… I have to admit it looks quite dated, which isn’t surprising considering it is (amazingly) 25 years old.
I don’t mind outdated graphics (unsurprising, given that I mod this community). I’ve been meaning to get to the sequels too. Are they similar in terms of creepiness?
Oh, definitely! I don’t really recall the add-ons (Opposing Force, etc) but Half-Life 2 is a very worthy sequel.
I know some people say the second is the best one, others swear by the first. I own all the Half-Life games so I really should continue the series
I am not sure which is better. I played the first at a seminal time, when the only other FPS I knew was quake. We also played a lot of HL P2P (back when it was ‘deathmatch’…). I played HL2 much later, several years after it was released, and did no PvP ever. All in all, I like about 60% of each one, as far as the single player story experience.
Fair. There are some advantages to playing games at the time they were popular for sure. I’m a little bit younger though and Halo CE was my first ever video game so I didn’t really experience Half-Life as a brand new game
Control does a good job of starting out uncomfortable and weird, and continuing to escalate as the story progresses. A great deal of unease since you don’t understand what’s going on with your character or the environment she finds herself in.
That sounds perfect. Thanks for the recommendation. I own it so I really should play it
Portal series
Absolutely. I forgot to mention those in my post but I’ve played them many, many times and they’re some of my favourites. Once you leave the test rooms in Portal 2 and explore the rest of Aperture after it became abandoned is one of the coolest experiences in video games for me. I love abandoned stuff, creepy in all the right ways
Yes, the games are not especially creepy but the implications are really horror material the more you think about it. Like the reason why Aperture is abandoned, what experimentations were conducted there, what are the consequences, who is the rat man… Chills.
That’s the best way to do creepy imo. Not immediately in your face or done in a horror-type way but more subtle.
I’ve been playing DREDGE and it definitely has the creepy element down. It’s gotten me hooked for sure
I’ve been absolutely loving DREDGE. Picked it up in the summer sale without really knowing anything about it and I’ve been having so much fun with it.
OP, I’d strongly recommend this game but don’t look anything up, it really adds to the suspense and eerieness.
Duly noted, I’ll check it out. Thanks!
Second dredge.
I pirated it and then like it enough to buy it on steam.
STALKER for that horror undercurrent, Deus Ex Mankind Divided probably has the best atmosphere of any game I’ve ever played and the fact the franchise was abandoned for that marvel brain-rot is a crying shame.
STALKER was my first thought as well. amazing atmosphere. The zone doesn’t care if you’re there or not.
Metro games are pretty good too, especially the first two for that creepy vibe.
Firewatch. The story and gameplay don’t lead you to believe you’re in for a paranoia existential plot but it certainly goes there. Sounds right up your alley. It’s an amazing game and certainly hits the point of scaring you without jump scares with an uneasy tension.
I heard lots of good things when it first came out and then sort or forgot about it. I’ll look into it some more, your description sounds exactly like what I’m looking for
I’m surprised I haven’t seen Morrowind in the comments yet. The storytelling gave me the impression that Todd Howard must’ve played a lot of DND campaigns while under the influence of psychedelics just to lay the setting for the plot. I highly recommend because I’ve had a lot of moments throughout my playthrough asking myself “wait, did that actually happen?” And, “Is this a Bethesda bug, or is the game straight up cursed?”. Also, Many of the characters, creatures, and a certain “house”, or faction in the game are straight up Lovecraftian, with aesthetics pretty on par with Bekzinski’s art-style. I also think the Marathon series fits the bill on a lot of these aspects. It’s Bungie’s precursor to Halo, and while its narrative may be similar, I think the devs had to get creative with the limited software capabilities available at the time and so the narrative ended up being an experience I’d describe as “wild and uncanny”.
I’ve heard of the Marathon games but never played them. I’ll look into them more.
I’m a huge fan of Oblivion and Skyrim, and really enjoyed ESO as well, and I’ve tried getting into Morrowind a few times but every time I get a few hours in another game comes around. I never stop playing the game because I get bored or anything, I always really enjoy it, but every time I start a playthrough it ends because of another game. I really need to just isolate myself from other games for a while and sink a bunch of time into it. The limited time I’ve had with it really impressed me, to the point that I think it could become one of my favourite games ever. Oblivion is probably my favourite game ever (tied with Sekiro and Elden Ring) and Morrowind managed to impress me even more, so I really think once I get into it I’ll really get into it. The setting is just incredible.
Sounds good. A forewarning before playing, they’re a major product of their time so the controls and mechanics are a bit janky but not quite to the levels of the original system shocks.
I completely agree. It’ll definitely sink a lot of your time though but it’s setting is incredible and unique. Morrowind and the Shivering Aisles are my two favorites in the whole series so far because of their creativity and sense of wonder.
I also like how much freedom you get in Morrowind. The game just lets you do whatever you want. It invites you to break it apart more than any game I’ve ever seen. And then on top of that, the environment is just spectacular. I really Souls sink some time into it. I really want to 100% the Dark Souls trilogy before I do much else though, and I only just got to Anor Londo in Dark Souls 1 so I’ve got a ways to go yet. Plus a ton of suggestions on here, and Starfield in September, and I’ll be jumping back into Elden Ring for the DLC whenever that drops. But Morrowind needs to happen. If only I had more time.
There’s 2 indie games that are SETI simulators. The original is Signal Simulator. It spawned a newer one, done like a half life clone, called Voices of the Void. Neither game is outright horror, but both give you a feeling of isolation induced paranoia. You feel like you’re constantly being watched. There’s a few random events that are creepy, but the idea is not outright terror.
I’ve never heard of either of those but they look really interesting. One of the better suggestions on here, based on pictures at least. I’ll definitely be checking both of those out, thank you.
I have another. One of my all time favorite games for the PS2 is Everblue 2. It’s a first person diving adventure game, you swim around a tropical island, looking for treasure and advancing the plot. Travelling around the map, you’re fixed to just moving left, right, forward, and back, but there are dive sites where you are given full motion. These are dark, claustrophobic spaces, sometimes with dangerous sea life. Usually, you’re searching for a specific item at the request of a person on the island. You’re given a time limit to each dive in the form of oxygen, and each item you collect effects both your overall health and the amount of oxygen you consume. Once you’ve got what you want, you then have to exit the site. There’s literally no music during dives unless there’s a threat. The only sounds are you and water…
Not super scary, unless you have thalassophobia. Just paranoia inducing, creepy, and tense at times.
If you’re not opposed to emulation, because that’s the only way to play it now, I really recommend giving it a try! We only got the second game, but there’s a European release of the first Everblue too. Emulation isn’t perfect for it though. There’s a ton of interlacing jitter no matter what settings you use, to the point that I can’t play it because it screws with my eyes too much. The same company also made the Endless Ocean games for the Wii.
I’ve been wanting more games in the genre like it ever since. Only Subnautica came remotely close.
I’ll definitely look into that more, it sounds right up my alley. Thanks for the suggestion, I especially love hearing about these lesser-known games
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines’s hotel level was one of the best atmospheric horror parts in a game that I’ve ever played. Just incredible.
Subnautica is pretty good too.
I’ve got Bloodlines so I might do that one soon. I’ve seen it recommended a couple times. Control is the one I’ve seen recommended the most, by a pretty large margin, so I’ll probably do Control and then Bloodlines
Little Nightmares comes to mind.
I’ve played the mobile version and plan on playing this one next I think.
Pathologic 2. Eastern European absurdist psychological “horror”. Definitely what you are looking for.
That one looks pretty cool, though it does call itself horror which isn’t quite what I want. How horror-y is it?
Not really as far as I remember. No monsters or gore
Oh good. I’ll check it out then, in that case. Thanks!
