Summary
Horror games are one of the genres of games that rely most on their visual style, as this can make or break it. This doesn’t necessarily mean they need to look hyperrealistic in any way, as indie developers have made careers from even pixelated horror games, but they need to grab the player in some way.
One way to do this is by opting for a unique color palette, or doing away with color entirely and utilizing a more monochromatic experience. These black and white games prove that color isn’t necessary to deliver a frightening experience, as they execute their visions perfectly with more minimal aesthetics.
7The House
The Jumpscare Fest That Took the Internet by Storm
Back in the early to mid 2000s, flash games were a big hit, as players could just load the game via their browser and while away an hour or so playing a simple but fun game. One that became an online craze wasThe House, a simple but effectivepoint-and-click horror game.
The simple gameplay has the player going from room to room and interacting with objects until they get jumpscared, and then it’s time to move on to the next room. It doesn’t sound like much, but the jumpscares were highly frightening, even if players suspected they were coming, and it did well enough to receive a sequel (The House 2). Though the story is rather barebones, as it is about a house being marked derelict after a family committed suicide. This short, black and white horror game is here to serve scares, not plot.
Closuremight be one of the most unique and novel platforming games a player could ever experience, as they play a spider-like creature guiding three humans through platforming levels bymanipulating lightand darkness itself. Sources such as flashlights and lanterns can create light to guide the way forward, but areas that remain dark are treated as voids that can create potential problems during the real head-scratcher puzzles.
The locations vary from dark forests to abandoned carnivals, all of which help to create a haunting atmosphere (along with the black and white artstyle, of course). Eerie yet innovative,Closureis certainly a game that should not be missed.
Inspired by the developers' struggles with mental illness,Neverending Nightmaresis not a game that holds back on anything — well, except color. Most of the game looks like a hand-drawn black and white horror game, as even shadows look like they weresketched with a pencil. This artstyle encapsulates the feeling of being stuck in a nightmare perfectly and serves to highlight objects of interest (and, of course, blood).
The main character, Thomas, appears to be stuck in a string of nightmares as he explores various locations such as a mansion, a cemetery, an asylum, and a forest. Occasionally he will be visited by horrifying images of his sister, Gabby, who also seems to have died in a different way from the last, and there are times when Thomas dies. But even death offers no reprieve, as he awakens into another nightmare.
4Buddy Simulator 1984
Do Not Be Fooled By the Innocent Name
One that might have flown under the radar of many gamers isBuddy Simulatory 1984, a game that players should not take as face-value, as the misleading name hides the horrors within. Beginning as a text adventure, the game eventually opens into a fully explorable turn-based game in which the players can roam around and talk to some of the strange-looking NPCs (who definitely lookUndertale-inspired).
The titular character, Buddy, often breaks the fourth wall by talking to the player like they are old friends, but as the game progresses, the character of Buddy devolves, becoming increasingly possessive. Bearing psychological elements andfourth-wall breaks within its story,Buddy Simulatormight not be an outright blood-curdling game, but certain imagery and themes are definitely chilling enough to make this game an uneasy experience.
The ocean is a frightening place, as there is still so much lurking beneath the waters that humanity knows nothing about. And, when the titular ship returns to port after being missing for five years, players know it must have run afoul of one nautical danger or another. And, playing as an insurance investigator working for the East India company, that is exactly what the player must do as they explore the derelict, trying to piece together what happened to the crew.
With a haunting atmosphere and some truly terrifying scenery that points to something more of the supernatural realm,Return of the Obra Dinnis truly an excellent monochromatic mystery horror game that preys onfears of the unknown, particularly those hidden in the deep, dark depths of the ocean.
Platforming and horror are two genres people don’t really expect to go together, as many know games such asSuper Mario Brosfor being platforming games, but the minds at Playdead decided to put a brand-new spin on this decades-old genre, resulting in the creation ofLimbo.
In this game, a young boy awakens next to a dark and eerie forest, and steps foot inside, searching for his sister. On his search, the boy must solveplatforming puzzlesin order to progress, as well as contend with the horrors that come to attack him — the most terrifying being the giant spider. Thanks toLimbo’saesthetics, the giant spider looks more like it is made of shadow rather than being corporeal, but this does little to make these encounters any less frightening.
Inspired by the works of writers such as HP Lovecraft and Junji Ito, the Old Gods are on the rise in Shiokawa, and madness seems to have gripped the city. In buildings such as hospitals, schools, and forests, strange occurrences that defy all reason and logic are being sighted, and no one knows how or why this is happening.
Using turn-based combat and player choices, theWorld of Horrorwillshow no mercy, as one wrong choice could have absolutely disastrous consequences, and if it’s a game over, the cycle of the game begins anew, right from the start. Despite the black-and-white 1-bit graphics style,World of Horrordoesn’t hold back in its difficulty with how frightening it is, as some of the phenomena the player witnesses could rival the horror greats that inspired this title.
