Horrorgames have, for some time, been ruled by the jumpscare. With games likeFive Nights At Freddy’sleading the modern horror scene, it’s not hard to see why their wild successes led to many attempts to replicate their formula. Despite this, there is a lot more tohorrorthan a quick jump and a scream.
This list looks at titles within the horror gaming sphere that don’t rely on jump scares for their horror. From slow, creeping, atmospheric horror to grotesque imagery that lingers longer than a player may like, these games are all worth playing for their unique brands of horror, with this list ranking them according to how well they cultivate that horror without resorting to jump scares.
Prey (2017)is an interesting game,not explicitly existing within the horror genre, but certainly adopting elements of it for its gameplay and atmosphere. As an FPS Immersive Sim,Preytasks the player with surviving on a space station overrun by aliens with various powers, both physical and psychic, including shapeshifting into copies of inanimate objects that are scattered about the station.
The real sense of dread seen inPreycomes from not knowing where the Typhon aliens are. While this may seem like the perfect setup for a jumpy action game,Preytakes it in a much more methodical, strategic direction, causing the player not to be scared that an alien could jump out at any moment. Rather, the creeping dread that “that chair wasn’t there before”, or “this room is different, but why?” lingers over everything, making the player second-guess everything about their surroundings, and their sanity.
Sunless Seacouldn’t be further fromPrey.As a unique hybrid of text-based game and top-down shooter,Sunless Seaoffers the player the opportunity to captain a steamship as theyexplore the seas of the worldofFallen London. Through this, they fight other naval vessels, monsters beyond their wildest comprehension, and the inevitable decay of sanity and the human body.
Sunless Seacombines Lovecraftian tropes and creatures with a narrative about the collapse of the world as we know it, and the constant looming threat of total insanity. Run out of food? Eat the crew. Do whatever it takes to survive. Die. Start again, and experience it all a little differently, with some roguelite elements making each playthrough feel a little different. WhileSunless Seaisn’t for everyone, it is an underappreciated gem.
A slightly better-known title thanSunless Sea,Inscryptionasks, “What if a madman living in the woods kidnapped people and forced them to play card games to earn their freedom?” It also answers this question, providing the player with a unique deck-building experience in which the player must solve puzzles between rounds of cards in order to defeat the mysterious hermit tormenting them.Being a roguelike game,Inscryptionslowly ramps up in difficulty, introducing new concepts with each run.
While not the most popular deck-building game of recent years (everything being overshadowed byBalatro),Inscryptionis possibly the eeriest, most unnerving card game experience a gamer could ask for. One-part deck-builder, one-part escape room, and gambling with very limited lives make for a tense, chilling game well worth experiencing.
Mouthwashingtook the internet by storm in 2024, receiving widespread praise for its powerful psychological horror imagery, intense narrative, and (somehow) charming art style. The game is played in first-person and feels somewhat like a walking simulator in which the player’s surroundings become increasingly disturbing, unhinged, and tormented. There are some startling moments inMouthwashing, but the game doesn’t rely on jumpscares to achieve this. Rather, it continuously builds up its disturbing imagery as the characters and the player lose their grip on sanity.
Mouthwashingis a game that deals with some very disturbing themes, which are somewhat softened by the retro art style; however are explored in great depth. This game is unavoidably disturbing, from its visuals to its themes, to the slowly unraveling narrative told by an unreliable narrator.
Darkwoodisa top-down survival horror gamein which the player must explore the semi-open world during the day, scavenge resources, trade with NPCs, complete quests, and fortify their hideout. At night, they must defend their stronghold from intruders, with survival yielding reputation with traders and new story progression, and death yielding nothing. The narrative in this game features several endings, all affected by the player’s actions, culminating in one of several fates for not only the player character but the world around them.
The horror inDarkwoodis not only in its visuals, with the literal dark wood setting being full of disturbing things to find, and monsters surrounding the player each night. What causes the real sense of dread and horror within the game is the constant time pressure. Don’t manage to fortify the base in time? Death is all that awaits. There are also several existential moments within the narrative that border on a sense of cosmic horror, which lends itself perfectly to this game that prides itself on its lack of jumpscares.
Faith: The Unholy Trinitydoes involve some moments that could be classified as jumpcares, with terrifying rotoscope creatures barreling towards the player should they fail an encounter with an entity of some description. These are, however, few and far between, the game’s pixel art style lending itself more to the sense of dread it creates than any form of direct visual horror.
The game tasks the player with taking control of a priest as he is put through several situations in which his faith is tested,and the end of the world hangs in the balance. The player has to piece together a lot of the narrative themselves through scraps of paper and vaguely remembered conversations. But what can be found is a narrative that truly brings faith into question, and forces the player to experience harrowing events through the eyes of pixel sprites.
World of Horroris a weird text-based, procedurally generated, roguelite RPG in which the player must uncover the supernatural goings on in one of several locations and defeat the entity that is plaguing the people of the area. Whether it be a ghost in a school, a demon in a shrine, or something a bit more human,World of Horrorhassomething to unnerve almost any player.
Thanks to the largely text-based style of the game, much of the horror comes from the narratives, which are pieced together randomly from a collection of pre-written pieces by the developers. These are then supplemented by some of the best, most disturbing art on the market, heavily inspired by the works of the legendary Junji Ito. The player doesn’t have these creatures jump at them for a moment, then disappear, instead, they are forced to stare at them for extended periods as they work through the convoluted UI, making for an unsettling experience at the best of times.
