To polish off the month of October, I thought I’d mention another one of my favorite spooky genres. Psychological horror games make the player feel uneasy by targeting their emotions or mental state, leaving them vulnerable to fear. They will have you asking questions every step of the way, often even doubting yourself throughout the game.
The Long Game
One of the most important things psychological horror games do is make you wait for resolution. Some don’t even give you all the answers, leaving much to your imagination. Many horror games borrow psychological horror elements because it is usually a very effective way to instill fear and doubt in the player. Some of the most notable psychological horror games include: Silent Hill, Amnesia, SOMA and Fatal Frame.
As psychological games progress, the player will genuinely be tested in so many areas. What’s right and what’s wrong? What’s up and what’s down? Anything is fair game and good psychological horror games will have you questioning everything. In the end, that’s what makes the games feel so satisfying to complete. It can be quite the challenge to make it through to the end, but when you do it will be worth it.
Along the way, expect a tremendous amount of psychological torture. Some games will make you make tough decisions while others won’t give you any option other than what the writers wrote for that game. Either way, you’ll be forced to do some pretty gnarly stuff, and that’s exactly the point.
Nothing Is As It Seems
Another great way psychological horror games can mess with you is how they get you to believe things that aren’t real. Whether that is obvious or not depends on the game, but most psychological horror games will continuously turn everything you know upside down. In a lot of ways, that is truly part of the horror.
Eternal Darkness is an excellent example of this. The game starts out with small little sanity effects and eventually ends up convincing the player that there is something wrong with their TV or GameCube. On top of that, the game is also still regarded as one of the scariest games ever made. Combining classic horror and psychological horror makes for an amazing and unique horror experience.
Eternal Darkness is just one example of countless games to use psychological torture against the player. The idea lies within the fact that nothing is safe. Eternal Darkness just took it one step further in making players believe that their technology was broken. Extending that fear from beyond the game itself is what set Eternal Darkness apart from other psychological horror games.
A Satisfying Conclusion
Regardless of which game you are playing, it is likely that it will come to some sort of resolution. Now, there are games that don’t, which can definitely leave its linger effects on the player. However, you will still feel a sense of accomplishment having survived until the end.
For me, this is what makes it all worth it. It is humbling to be subjected to that kind or torture and come through on the other side, better than ever. Of course, some games still stay with me to this day but I think that’s a testament to how well-executed they were. One of the biggest examples of this that I can think of is both of The Last of Us games.
Now, I realize that The Last of Us franchise may not be categorized as a psychological horror game, but it certainly has its moments of making you think about a lot of different things. By the end of the first game I was left with so many questions, but had to come to terms with what Naughty Dog chose as the ending. Was it a wonderful ending? Absolutely. However, it did stay with me even to this day and I think that’s the point.
If psychological horror games weren’t a hard pill to swallow, then they wouldn’t serve their purpose. I think in a lot of ways, psychological horror games can even make us look inwards at times and truly ask ourselves the hard questions. It isn’t always easy doing the right thing. Sometimes the right thing isn’t even easy to discern.
The Monsters Are In Your Head
Unlike most horror games, psychological horror games don’t always utilize the classic horror elements. Some can, in fact, just be mind games. After all, what’s more terrifying than wondering if you are the one going crazy?
It is this aspect of psychological horror games that can bleed into other genres as well. Much like The Last of Us, some games can just aim to make the players feel uneasy about something. This is still, in a way, a form of horror. Instead of jump scares or grotesque monsters, you are your biggest enemy in these games.
Question everything, try anything and certainly don’t trust what’s right in front of you. A good psychological horror experience is meant to continuously leave you asking questions, even if those questions begin to get turned inward. Never stop believing in yourself though, and you will prevail.
