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With games such as Scorn and The Callisto Protocol, it’s clearer than ever that horror remains a top dog in the gaming world. Whether it’s AAA Resident Evil titles or the humble pixel horror games found on the obscure parts of Steam, there’s always been a demand for horror.
The 2010s were a fantastic decade for horror games, with instant classics such as Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Outlast to indie titles that exploded in popularity such as Five Nights at Freddy’s and Slender. The horror genre is the most successful it’s ever been, and Reddit has discussed some of the best the decade had to offer.
IMSCARED - 2012
IMSCARED is a brief yet terrifying first-person pixelated horror game that lies to the player. Masquerading as the mediocre project of amateur game devs, exploring the game reveals half-hearted scares and textures that are just completely broken.
At least, that’s what happens at first. After the first death, the game quits the desktop, but something’s wrong. A note suddenly appears in the game’s folder, saying to “keep playing”. Redditor u/lolsail lauds the game, saying “There need to be more games like this."
Detention - 2017
Detention is an atmospheric horror-exploration game set in 1960s Taiwan. The country is under martial law and the player controls Wei Chung Ting, a normal high school girl who falls asleep in class. When she awakens, the classroom is deserted, as the school has been evacuated, with her the seemingly only person left.
The game is very unique amongst its horror peers, being told from a 2D perspective reminiscent of a class photo. The colors make everybody look worn and sickly, fitting with the themes of the past being a curse upon these people. Detention relies on real-world horrors such as corruption and tyranny as much as it does ghosts from folklore. Redditor u/MetalCascade praises the game’s uniqueness by saying “The story is incredible and it held my attention, the atmosphere is really creepy rather than just relying on jumpscares, not the kind of horror game I expected it to be.”
FAITH - 2019
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FAITH is a faux-retro horror game done in the style of old-school Atari games. In it, the player controls a priest who has been sent out to exorcise a demon, speaking in a gratingly robotic voice. His actions are “not approved by the Vatican”, also calling back to the likes of The Exorcist.
FAITH perfectly evokes the feeling of classic horror. Still, the notes the players find, as well as hidden rooms, give clues to the player that the story might not be as straightforward as it seems. As u/Silc00n succinctly puts it, “FAITH is a catholic horror game that does this REALLY well”.
Fran Bow - 2015
Fran Bow is a point-and-click horror adventure game that follows Fran, a young girl struggling with an unknown mental disorder. After she witnesses the gruesome murder of her parents, Fran is sent to the Oswald asylum to recover. She is given an experimental drug that instead of relieving her trauma, makes her see a sinister version of the world she’s in instead.
Fran Bow is a surprisingly charming horror game, despite the macabre nature of its premise. Whether it’s the twisted other world or the regular one, all the characters have this “Coraline-esque” cynical whimsy that makes them so unsettling. Fran is also a witty protagonist, a rarity in horror, but that doesn’t make the trauma she goes through any less scary. u/feralfaun39 states “I really enjoyed the story, art design, and atmosphere. Very emotionally impacting game. “
Aka Manto - 2019
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Aka Manto is a first-person horror game that follows someone being harassed by one of Japan’s most terrifying urban legends, the Aka Manto. The Aka Manto is a ghost with a red cape who appears to people in bathroom stalls. They will ask the person a question, and depending on their answer, they may die.
u/Puzzleheaded_Knee_53 sums up the game by saying “Probably one of the most miserable and stressful games I've played, everything is designed to be unfun and hectic”. Aka Manto is an oppressive game, but it’s a fantastic intro to the works of indie team Chilla’s Art, who along with other indie horror devs like KittyHorrorShow and Puppet Combo, combine a retro aesthetic with chilling psychological horror.
Darkwood - 2017
Darkwood is a top-down procedurally generated survival horror game with a bleak and gritty atmosphere. Set in 1987, the protagonist awakens with no memories of who they are or where they are. A stranger steals his belongings, and this gives him a goal in this disturbing new world of dark trees and pulsating fauna.
u/NoPantsMagee says “It is truly scary. The atmosphere and sounds are amazing.”, and that’s a fantastic summary. Darkwood relies more on atmosphere than jump scares or monsters to make the player fear its world. The stress of survival coupled with the potentially supernatural roots of the horrors makes Darkwood a hell of an experience.
INSIDE - 2016
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INSIDE’s protagonist is a young child in a dangerously large world with an oppressively industrial feel. The player goes through a series of vignettes showing a horrific world where humanity is treated as a cog in the grand machine.
The game is oppressively bleak. It’s a hateful world backed by the cold logic of industry, a cautionary tale of what happens when those in power start to view others as a commodity. u/knisleyknisley puts it best by saying “This is easily one of the most unsettling horrible series of scenes and vignettes I've ever seen in videogames. “
Anatomy (2016)
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Anatomy is a horror game, unlike anything that most players have seen. Placed in a dark house, the player’s only real action is playing a cassette tape. The tape briefly waxes about the definition of what a house is, before ending without fanfare. From there, the player discovers more tapes in the house, and each tape starts to reveal more about the nature of the house the player is in.
It’s a game best experienced without spoilers. All anybody needs to know is that it’s a beautifully atmospheric experience, with stellar sound design and voice acting. u/Binch101 praises the game with “I absolutely love this game. I remember discovering it a few years ago and oh my God!!! It's so simple yet the way the taped set the mood and how you slowly realize its secrets”.
Lost In Vivo (2018)
Lost in Vivo is a self-proclaimed “Silent Hill” sendup that makes good on that promise. After the player’s dog runs into a hilariously dangerous sewer hole, they give chase and find themselves in a completely different world entirely. The aesthetic and psychological aspects truly evoke the promise of being a modern rendition of a Silent Hill game.
Even on replay, Lost in Vivo manages to scare the player in new ways, putting monsters where there weren’t before or just being completely different entirely. u/djmuffinfist has this to say about the game, “I love horror games and this game just has this level of anxiety I haven't felt in a game in a while.”
Cry of Fear (2012)
Cry of Fear is a psychological survival horror game set in Stockholm, Sweden. The protagonist is Simon, a depressed teen who finds himself awake in a random alleyway with no clue of how he got there. As he explores the city, he finds it's been infested by monsters, all fully intent on killing him. The city has clearly become an evil version of itself, and Simon soon discovers why.
Cry of Fear makes use of beautifully liminal environments based on real locations in Sweden. This gives the game a sense of familiarity, as the world is almost normal. Until it isn’t. u/HamSolo31 gushes over the game by saying “Extremely memorable and personal game for me, almost 9 years later and it’s still made a huge impact on my life, who I am, my tastes, and what I think of the world.”