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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.

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[-] dom@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Subnautica has some creepy overtones.

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[-] Boolean@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] cod@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

I’ve received lots of suggestions for Control, I think I’ll be playing it soon

[-] emeralddawn45@lemmy.fmhy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

Control was so unbelievably good and creepy. Can't recommend it enough. Really recaptured the love of gaming and exploring a new world that I had started to lose.

[-] BeefSupreme@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] lilmagpie@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] cod@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

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!

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[-] Zeppo@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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.

[-] cod@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] all-knight-party@fedia.io 20 points 1 year ago

I'd say Arkane's Prey hits that for me. The feeling of isolation, not only on the station, but by virtue of being in space, and the story itself. The mechanics of the mimic enemies can create emergent jump scares, but I'd definitely say it's not a horror game.

I'd also say Death Stranding, at times. While the human NPCs are very wholesome, the atmosphere and experience of delivering the packages out through the timefallen wasteland and that isolation lends itself well to introspection and the BTs are pretty creepy and axiety-inducing until you're used to them and can fight them.

[-] PorkTaco@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago

Oh Prey's a good one. Fantastic game.

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[-] simple@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago
  • Bloodborne

  • Control (definitely what you're looking for)

  • The Last of Us

  • Little Nightmares (quite similar to Inside, horror-inspired and creepy but barely any jump scares)

  • Inscryption

  • Dying Light (admittedly not very scary, but at night where you get chased by creatures can be very intense)

[-] cod@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

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

[-] wanderingmagus@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Control is definitely 10/10 for me, very satisfying once you get used to the mechanics.

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[-] zib@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

Control was so good! I found it was a little tough at times, but it maintains the creepy vibes throughout the game. And the more you progress, the more Jesse feels like an absolute badass without undercutting the game's atmosphere. Just a fantastic game all around.

[-] wannacorndog@mastodonapp.uk 5 points 1 year ago

@simple @cod I loved Control. One of my few platinum trophies

[-] jws_shadotak@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Seconding Control. It's an absolutely amazing game. Very creepy vibes in most of the game but not quite horror.

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[-] OscRos03@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 year ago
[-] cod@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

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

[-] azayrahmad@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] kg333@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] Sami@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 year ago

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice kinda fits this description. It's a game about a mentally ill viking(ish) warrior so it's more "psychological" creepiness than zombies, but it definitely achieves what it seeks out to do as with its atmosphere without being outright horror. The game is not for everybody since the gameplay can be a bit offputting.

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[-] Disaster@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] BeMoreCareful@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

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.

[-] iNeedScissors67@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What Remains of Edith Finch. It's not horror at all but you're the last person alive in your family, exploring your childhood home, which is a crazy house with tons of weird add-ons and secret passages, exploring how your family members died. Mental illness, insane unlucky accidents, all that. It's a really truly excellent game. It's unsettling in a way that keeps you on edge without ever being actually afraid

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[-] mistermonday@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago

I've been playing DREDGE and it definitely has the creepy element down. It's gotten me hooked for sure

[-] charles@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] AboyBboy@pawb.social 10 points 1 year ago

Segments of most 3d Zeldas are like this, but the one that takes the cake is definitely Majora's Mask. The entire game is like one bad dream.

Most Metroid games also qualify, which makes sense since they draw heavily from the Alien movies.

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[-] Statlerwaldorf@reddthat.com 9 points 1 year ago
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[-] Garden_Ramsay@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] owsei@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

it's about scavenging and fighting in a radioactive exclusion zone in Ukraine

it has some monsters, that scare the shit out of me, and 'anomalies' that break the rules of physics

it's really good

[-] azayrahmad@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago

I think the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games are outright survival horror. The realism of the games, the historical event as background, makes it even more creepier.

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[-] signal@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Returnal. It has an unsettling atmosphere on an unknown alien planet and a mysterious story that you piece together. It’s very tense and you are isolated with just your character’s thoughts, I highly recommend it.

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[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

GMOD.

Something about Source engine maps set in realistic locations devoid of anything but a player has an overpowering creepy, liminal space vibe.

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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".

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[-] doxophobicdoll@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 year ago

Check out Manlybadasshero's channel, he plays a lot of games like that. CJU does as well. A lot of them are very narrative-based, which might not be what you're looking for. The Coffin of Andy and Leyley for example, freaking fantastic game but it's a slow creepy burn rather than action-oriented. Little Misfortune is another personal favorite, and the Tartarus Key. They also play some random ass games like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VWL4vKRp8U where it's a dystopian world and you never really find out what's going on, which sounds similar to what you're into.

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[-] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

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.

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[-] Chog@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

I think Oxenfree has an eerie atmosphere. I haven’t played the second one yet since it got released just a few days ago, but I really enjoyed the first one.

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[-] QuantumCloud@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago
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[-] SynopticVision@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Pathologic 2. Eastern European absurdist psychological "horror". Definitely what you are looking for.

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[-] EchoCT@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Vampire the Masquerade, Bloodlines. Came out before HL2 and I still go back to it ever year or two

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[-] charje@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Outer Wilds. It isn't the whole game, but there are parts that will chill you to the bone.

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[-] Monkeyclock1234@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Firewatch is a good example of this. Wandering round an empty forest, seeing an evergrowing forest fire all the time. It's quite eerie but not outright horror.

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[-] PAPPP@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 year ago

I never did finish it, but The Solus Project is, I'm pretty sure, exactly what you're asking for. 2017 first person exploration game, very environmental, set on a subtly creepy and somewhat confusing alien world. I got a copy in my Steam library...somehow that was cheap enough I don't remember and played a big chunk of it a couple years ago.

Less action than the Half Life/Unreal/Marathon alien horror FPS lineage, but similar feel.

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[-] DrQuint@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I saw a game that fits this bill mentioned on two videos recently. It's called BABBDI and you explore a eery city where everyone you meet can't move other than to twist their heads to look at you. Nothing ever puts you in danger and that's established right away. But everything looks... Off.

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[-] redeyejedi@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago
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this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
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