Best Horror Games With Unique Storytelling

Key Takeaways

• Great horror games thrive on innovative storytelling techniques & player choices for immersive experiences.
• Each game on this list offers unique gameplay mechanics, from episodic storytelling to found-footage style gameplay.
• Psychological horror and moral dilemmas are common elements, heightening tension and personalizing gameplay.

Horror has long been a popular genre in all forms of media, from TV and film to novels and short stories. In recent decades, horror has grown in popularity in gaming, with new horror games becoming top sellers. Horror is, after all, deeply rooted in our culture and psychology, with people gravitating toward these narratives for biological reasons, like an adrenaline rush, or the experience of safe fear, while others enjoy the storytelling traditions and the culture of sharing horror stories. Needless to say, horror as a genre is going nowhere, and developers are keen to push the boundaries of fear and enjoyment when creating new games.

This list aims to celebrate the horror games that have used innovative and unique approaches in storytelling to create powerful, sometimes terrifying experiences for players, including dynamic dialogue systems and unpredictability through emergent gameplay, as well as interactive environments and innovative mechanics that enhance the player’s own storytelling experience.

8 Alan Wake

Episodic & Metanarrative Storytelling Heightens Tension

Struggling author Alan Wake travels to Bright Falls with his wife, Alice. When Alice mysteriously disappears, Alan realizes that a story he doesn’t remember writing sits at the center of the mystery. The story of Alan Wake sits squarely between horror and psychological thriller, with a story that is deeply multilayered and atmospheric.

Alan Wake offers a few unique structural features. Firstly, the game is structured like a TV show, with an episodic order that heightens suspense gradually. There’s also a multi-textural element to the storytelling, with collectible manuscript pages that create a non-linear narrative of events.

7 Outlast

This popular indie game follows an investigative journalist who infiltrates an asylum, looking for evidence of inhumane experiments conducted on the inmates. Once inside, the player discovers all manner of horrifying truths, all while trying to survive using only a sense of stealth.

Outlast employs a technique that’s more popular in horror films — the ‘found-footage’ style of gameplay. Experiences are documented using a night-vision camera, but there’s great vulnerability in this, and players must be sure not to let the battery run out. This mechanic nurtures the tension of every moment as players make their way through the asylum.

6 Silent Hill 2

Psychological Horror Reflecting Inner Turmoil

This game follows James, a man who receives a letter from his dead wife, as he travels to the titular town of Silent Hill in hopes of seeing her again. As time goes on, the gloriously detailed environment becomes filled with disturbing creatures that reflect James’ inner turmoil and grief.

Silent Hill 2 employs some great psychological horror techniques, with the environment representing James’ psyche and emotions. There are also multiple endings possible that are affected by subtle player interactions, increasing the complexity of the story and encouraging players to think carefully about their decisions.

5 Until Dawn

Butterfly-Effect System Changes The Story

Until Dawn is a slasher horror story centering around eight friends who reunite the year after two others went missing. As the night goes on, terrible things start to happen, and not all is as it seems. The narrative-based gameplay is notably rich and engaging, and the voice acting has been highly praised.

The game employs a fascinating and engaging storytelling mechanism in their ‘butterfly effect’ system of play, wherein player decisions impact the relationships between characters — and ultimately the ending of the story. This makes Until Dawn a meaningful playing experience, and one that is extremely replayable for those eager to explore all aspects of the spiderweb of choices.

4 SOMA

Creates Moral Dilemmas For Players

SOMA is a masterclass of atmospheric horror with some terrifying existential themes that are really well done. Set in an underwater research facility beneath the Atlantic Ocean, players find themselves in a world where human consciousness can be transferred to machines. This narrative leads to some sophisticated exploration of what it means to be human and the meaning of identity.

Fans of SOMA love the decision-making aspect, which really personalizes the gameplay with moral dilemmas that feed into the existential narrative. There’s no combat in the game, so players must work out how to survive using these key decisions.

3 Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Use Of Memory Gradually Reveals The Story

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a deeply atmospheric game following Daniel, an Englishman who wakes up in a Prussian castle without any idea how he got there. All that he has are a few cryptic clues, with lost memories resurfacing over time. Daniel’s survival throughout the game relies on stealth, which heightens the tension of the story significantly.

There are some unique mechanics that aid the storytelling hugely in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Players must ensure Daniel gets the right amount of exposure to light: prolonged darkness diminishes his sanity, with physical changes resulting. Further, the use of amnesia means the story develops gradually, with past and present slowly merging over time to reveal terrible truths about Daniel and the castle in which he resides.

2 Alien: Isolation

Predator-Prey Dynamic Nurtures A Constant Fear

Drawing from the iconic Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation is set fifteen years after the events of the original film and follows the daughter of Ellen Ripley as she investigates her mother’s disappearance and tries to evade the Xenomorph on the Sevastopol space station. The game uses innovative techniques to create a predator-prey dynamic between the player and the Xenomorph, inspiring a constant sense of threat that constantly evolves and changes, even in repeat playthroughs.

Alien: Isolation creates an eerie atmosphere from the beginning through its setting: the space station is in a state of disrepair that hardly inspires confidence. Moreover, players can find the audio logs and remnants of people who have been on board the ship, which drip-feed a naturalistic narrative of terror and chaos. These details make the space station feel lived in and as authentic to the franchise. Coupling this with the dynamic nature of the Xenomorph, the unpredictability of their movements affect the player’s experience and enhances the existing tension of the story through the added threat.

1 Bloodborne

Atmospheric Storytelling & Layers Of Deep Lore

Bloodborne‘s gothic style and Lovecraftian influences set players up for a classic horror experience, but some of the more obtuse storytelling techniques enrich the experience beyond a simple surface understanding. Players take on the role of a Hunter who is trying to find the source of a horrific beast plague that turns people into terrifying monsters. Gameplay revolves around intense combat against beasts and other enemies, all while navigating the twisting streets of Yharnam and unraveling the mysteries tucked into its dark corners.

Bloodborne reveals its rich lore gradually, with cryptic environmental imagery, pieced-together information from weapon and item descriptions, and fragmentary dialogue with NPCs. Players must take on an active role in understanding the world around them to appreciate all the game has to offer, unearthing a setting steeped in untold horrors. Throughout the journey, players can uncover layers of terrible events, both in the horrors of the past that continue to haunt the world and in nightmares that continue to unfold in Yharnam. This ‘hands off’ approach to storytelling isn’t for everyone, but for those who connect with it, it delivers something truly unique.