There’s something about psychological horror that both scares and intrigues players. The idea of certain touchy topics targeting a person’s psyche is always unnerving, and the best horror games know how to manipulate a fan’s emotions.
Many RPGs have dabbled in the realm of psychological horror, with some being outright horror titles while others using this genre to instill a sense of unease in players. Either way, these role-playing masterpieces know when to push a player’s buttons and make them uncomfortable.
World of Horrordeals with all kinds of horror, including the psychological. Players must explore the town of Shiokawa in Japan and solve mysterious cases that help them open the door to a lighthouse and uncover the central mystery.
Players must manage both stamina and reason, with the latter being affected when players see or feel something they shouldn’t. The damage it can cause to a player’s psyche is translated excellently here.
One of the hardest open-world RPGs players can check out,Pathologic 2,is not for the faint of heart. Failure is punished, with later runs being harder courtesy of the many penalties that fans incur during their journey.
The game is full of mysterious NPCs, debilitating afflictions, and disturbing content that will mess with a player’s head. The bizarre occurrences ofPathologic 2hammer in its psychological horror roots, and why fans can’t get enough of this title.
Fear & Hungeris another game that dabbles in various horror tropes. Cosmic horror may be the end game here, but it’s the horrific occurrences that happen before that which will test a player’s mettle.
Having to overcome massive odds to make progress is hard enough as is, butwhat makesFear & Hungerso horrifyingis how a player’s mental state is affected by what happens to their character. Some of the actions in this game are deeply disturbing, so fans should keep the content warnings in mind if they want to give this game a shot.
Exploring many dark and depressing locations full of nightmarish horrors is easier said than done. This is whyDarkest Dungeoncan seem so unwelcoming, especially when players amass a band of heroes only to see them drop like flies.
Biting off more than one should chew will lead to certain party members either steeling their minds or succumbing to the mental pressure. Either way,Darkest Dungeonwill be a nightmarish experience with shades of psychological horror where the hired adventurers may get a bit too stressed out as the inexplicable monsters of the world weigh down on their psyche.
One of the funniest RPGs fans can check out,LISA: The Painful, makes the most of a bleak post-apocalyptic world where all the women have disappeared. However, when Brad finds a human girl, he takes care of her as if she were his daughter and tries not to repeat the traumas inflicted by his father.
This trauma helps the psychological horror of this game shine as players embark on a quest to save Buddy. However, Brad is no saint, and his questionable behavior is brought to the forefront in emotional sequences ashe slowly starts succumbing to his Joy addiction.
Undertaleis not a horror game at all, but this is not what fans feel if they try out the Genocide route. Not only does the game become infinitely harder when it comes to certain boss fights, but the unnerving nature of this game becomes more prominent as the music slows down, and townspeople abandon their lives when they see the main character coming.
The scare factor of this game reaches new heights when players somehow manage to reach the end of the Genocide route, only to be met with a mysterious character named Chara who drops some major bombs on them before jumpscaring them. Players can restore the world and become a good guy this time, but their horrific actions will always be addressed in later endings that will unnerve players who didn’t expect this title to be so challenging.
It’s impossible to talk aboutpsychological horror RPGs without mentioningOmori. The story revolves around Sunny and how he escapes into Headscape to escape the traumas that weigh him down.
This makes for an excellent slow burn as the game slowly introduces Sunny’s fears before revealing the biggest one of them all. The scares present in this game are quite effective and will make players feel a growing sense of unease as they slowly figure out that something’s wrong in their protagonist’s mind.
