The best horror game that plays on your fear of death.

Important points

  • Great horror games find new ways to hunt down the fear of death through stories and mechanics. causing a stressful situation
  • Games like Bloodborne, Death Stranding, & Fear, and Hunger 2 create fear through the mechanics of death.
  • Games like Soma and Silent Hill 2 explore the fear of death from a unique philosophical and emotional perspective.



Death is a common fear that almost all humans share. Ultimately, people fear the end and everything that comes with it. Therefore, naturally Horror games have played on this fear throughout the genre's existence. Although almost all horror games (and most games for that matter) usually feature death in some form. But it's nothing more than the slight inconvenience of pressing restart and losing a little progress.

6:10

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Truly great horror games find new ways to prey on the players' fear of death. This could be through a well-crafted and frightening story. or by clever use of mechanisms


8 blood

Even the best hunters are destroyed by blood.

blood

system

PlayStation-1

Released
March 24, 2015

OpenCritic Ratings
Powerful

Like any good Lovecraftian game. blood There are strong and creepy enemies. From werewolves to spiders to unexplained abominations that like to eat or curse unlucky hunters.


If that's not enough Players will have to contend with the game's core mechanics being similar to Souls; Lose all your blood resonance. These can be recovered as long as the player collects them before their next death. However, the enemy that killed the player may pick them up. it came up This can create tense situations where players may have to face off against enemies that kill them in order to get back precious blood.

7 death courting

Avoid BT with bated breath.

4/10

death courting

Released
November 8, 2019

OpenCritic Ratings
strong

Although not overtly horrifying. death courting There are many staples of the genre, such as the suspense of the eerie, barren landscape. and dealing with a supernatural enemy in the form of BT, the spirit of a deceased person who is trapped and will try to kill the protagonist Sam. Players must use Sam's Bridge Baby to detect BTs in order to sneak past them. lest they be dragged into the dark abyss. Losing valuable things creates a void. This is a huge explosion that still exists in the world after the player dies this way.


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Sam was deported This means that he can come back from the dead. It forces players to live with the consequences of their mistakes rather than reloading checkpoints. Although the story is the madness expected from Hideo Kojima, there are quiet moments where the story makes the player reflect on death. Not just in the context of loved ones, but in the context of the entire human race as the sixth mass extinction threatens to wipe out humanity.

6 The darkest dungeon

Heroes lose their minds and sometimes die.

9/10

The darkest dungeon

Released
19 January 2016

Developer
Red Hook Studio

OpenCritic Ratings
Powerful

Publisher
Red Hook Studio

Although its sequel has many similar elements, But the original part The darkest dungeon Death would be much more brutal. Just like the campaign in X-ComAn ill-prepared player may permanently lose the party members they worked so hard for to horrifying horrors. What's worse is The stress in the dungeon can cause party members to disobey the player. Or even cause a party member to have a heart attack.


in order to have progress in any way The darkest dungeonPlayers must play through these situations and find a way to pass. Even if it meant abandoning party members to a gruesome fate…

5 Serious frame

Death seen through the lens

Released
December 13, 2001

In terms of facing death There's nothing closer than fighting a real ghost. Serious frame The player travels through a Japanese mansion. Experience supernatural terror and solve mysteries. Meanwhile, you must deal with vengeful ghosts that can only be fought by shooting with Camera Obscura, requiring players to get close to the ghosts. Just like any other survival horror game. that has its own bullets Serious frame It uses different types of camera film that work similarly.


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The story centers on a character named Miku who searches for her brother Mafuyu, but uncovers the mystery of a sacrificial ritual gone wrong and the protagonist has to face the spirits of those who died because of it.

4 Faith: The Unholy Trinity

Mori souvenirs

system

PC-1

Released
October 21, 2022

Developer
Erdorf Games

OpenCritic Ratings
Powerful

Publisher
New interactive blood

Mortis – Latin word that means death. This is the world that appears when John Thomas Ward, the protagonist of the story, Faith: The Unholy TrinityDeath. It's a constant reminder to players of how weak their protagonist is. Especially because it only takes one time to kill a player.

As a result, they must be on their A game, playing through each boss perfectly by learning all their attack patterns. There's even the feat of beating the game's marathon mode (all 3 chapters in a row in one sitting) without dying once. All of this adds up to a compelling story about the loss of faith and the regret of not saving someone from a fate worse than death.


3 Ginseng

What does it mean to be human?

8/10

Soma

Released
15 September 2015

OpenCritic Ratings
strong

From the creators of the Amnesia franchise Ginseng is a sci-fi horror game set in an underwater facility in the distant future. The game explores death in an interesting and philosophical way. It focuses on transhumanism, consciousness, and saving lives by any means. Whatever is necessary, is it worth doing or not?

these aspects Ginseng It will really make players think about this concept. and will play on the fear of death from the perspective of immortality and loneliness that can be separated. This common fear is truly unique.

2 Fear and Hunger 2: The End

Death is just the toss of a coin.


system

PC-1

Released
December 9, 2022

Developer
Miro Haverinen

Publisher
Miro Haverinen

There aren't many games that are so unrelentingly punishing. Fear and Hunger 2: The EndIt's a mix of survival horror and JRPG (with a roguelike twist). The combat isn't just merciless. But it also requires careful strategy to defeat enemies that are much stronger than the player. But every confrontation can be deadly. And some enemies have insta-kill attacks that require the player to correctly trigger a coin roll to block them.

Even saving money is considered a luxury and comes with the risk of being attacked. And it makes time go by faster. It marks the clock according to the player's precious three-day time limit. This limited savings means that players can lose a lot of their progress upon death, however, this is the conflict that causes it. Fear and Hunger 2 Interestingly, death is also a key factor in this story. where fourteen people are mysteriously thrust into a battle where only one can survive.


1 Silent Hill 2

causing restless dreams

9/10

Silent Hill 2 (2024)

survival horror

horror

adventure

action

system

PlayStation-1 PC-1

Released
October 8, 2024

OpenCritic Ratings
Powerful

Whether it's a remake or one of the originals. Silent Hill 2The most prevalent topic is death. Especially the death of a loved one and the regret of not doing everything we could for them. The game will see protagonist James Sunderland travel to the titular city after receiving a letter from his wife Mary, something that would have been impossible given her death three years earlier.

What follows is a deep dive into James' psychology. As the city reflects his inner guilt through environments and iconic monsters like Pyramid Head, players will revisit the layers of intrigue in the city, such as the mystery of why Maria looks so much like Mary. And why was Laura able to travel through the city unharmed? Silent Hill 2 It's not so much about the traditional fear of death that one would expect from a movie. It's more about the emotional fear of losing someone and being left speechless and undoing.


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