Horror games have never been more terrifying

Every year has big tentpole releases, like the Assassin’s various Creeds or a new Call of Duty. But there’s an underbelly to the game release calendar in the form of a thriving horror games scene. Many of these games have a short run time, focusing on one chilling concept or malicious monster, and they’re nearly as fun to watch as they are to play. October is a prime time for scary games, but if you look carefully, they’re available all year round. They push the medium forward, and they’re my personal games of the year.

Open-world, big and meaty RPG. Elden RingAlthough there are many spooky characters and bizarre twists to the tale, I believe that smaller experiences provide more compelling scares. And I’m not alone. Horror is the most searched tag on itch.io. This platform tends not to feature as many experimental and smaller titles. You can also find horror games that have no ending, like Daylight is the last day of daylightOr PhasmophobiaYou can play these videos over and over again or see streamers try. When I don’t have the courage to make my way through a campaign — or the inclination to find all of the endings and secrets — I can check out one of the YouTubers or Twitch streamers who explore the genre.

A player flees from the Trickster in Dead by Daylight. The Trickster’s POV shows the player fleeing, and he raises a brightly colored throwing knife in preparation for the kill.

This is one of the most terrifying horror games this year. Who’s Lila?The awkward young man William is the focus of the point-and-click adventure. As the player navigates through William’s life, they have to manually adjust his expression; he’s not good at doing it on his own, and staring at everyone with an expressionless poker face tends to freak others out.

While piloting William, the player uncovers a horrifying onion that includes murder, mystery and meta-meetings hidden in the margins. A detective joins the conversation to discuss all of their adventures. I hadn’t played anything like Who’s Lila? before; the inventive hook pulled me in, and I initially had fun yanking William’s face into increasingly silly expressions. There’s nothing quite like the joy of having him bare his teeth and pull his eyelids back and have it register as a friendly smile.

The intrigue grew like a boil, and I found myself glued to my computer for hours until I had figured all the endings. Who’s Lila? is a little ugly to look at and awkward to control, but that’s part of the charm. It’s horror at its best — an unfurling, increasingly distressing mystery that risks engulfing the characters and town around it. The only person who can see the risks is the player. Lila, the mysterious and untainted Lila, has no such limitations.

The player looks into a mirror as William, the protagonist of Who’s Lila. On the right side of the screen, they manipulate his face to make a disgusted expression.

Another short horror video is The Mortuary AssistantThe plot of ‘The Corny One’ is a bit more corny, but still delivers some great scares. The Mortuary Assistant stars Rebecca, who’s taken a new job as the titular mortuary assistant in a tough economy. Her new work environment is filled with demons. Now she must deal with draining, sewing up and maintaining human bodies as well as torching corpses that are infested. This game popped on Twitch due to the randomized scares and multiple endings, making each streamer’s path a little bit different.

Chilla’s Art is a studio of two brothers creating small, focused horror experiences that often start with mundane situations. The studio was founded in 2022. The Closing SchiftA job simulation game which turns into something sinister. What if you worked at a Starbucks-style store… and one customer got a little too interested in getting your number? This is a short game, but it’s a relatable experience that’s enthralling and disconcerting.

This is a small, concentrated and intense horror that can be difficult to find in large titles with triple-A ratings. These are the best ideas for indie games. Iron Lung puts the player in the role of a sole submarine operative, navigating through an alien moon’s oceans of blood. It’s a short game, but it takes a killer premise and executes on it in a deeply unnerving, hair-raising way.

a terrifying demon perches on top of a cabinet at the mortuary’s workshop in the video game The Mortuary Assistant.

There’s something chilling — and strangely satisfying — about getting into some sort of terrible trouble in a video game. Strangely, it’s thrilling to be locked up in a motel, on the roadside or in an underground tunnel network. When my resolve fails, I always know that I can turn to streams when I need them. It is satisfying to watch someone else get spooked or escape from a frightening enemy.

It’s a great time for horror — and many of these games are so easy to access and play. These terrifying, short experiences are sure to grab your heart and send you running into the woods. It’s nice to have these memorable experiences — even if they are, on occasion, followed by nightmares.

#Horror #games #terrifying