An exploration game that feels very wrong.

Exploring the unknown takes courage, and while there are plenty of games that do this in fairly safe, non-hostile environments where nothing can harm you, there are far more where the world openly wants to kill you. Something like green hell Players will feel like unwelcome guests with little to no respite in the surrounding wilderness. minecraftEven if there are hostile mobs, there is mostly no danger on the ground during the day. You can usually get a pretty good idea of ​​what kind of navigation you'll be doing within the first few minutes, but that's not always the case.

One of the most interesting types of exploration games is the one where you're not sure from the start whether you're playing a horror game or not. The situation is ambiguous. On the one hand, the world may seem friendly enough, there may be a light story or song, and the graphics may not seem particularly dark. But at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that something is very wrong. It could be a sudden change in overall tone, increasing fear, or something spotted in the distance. These types of games tend to have multiple layers, especially if you play them blindly, and you'll find yourself living in an uncomfortable state of not knowing whether to be afraid or shake off your paranoia. From mystical walking simulators to fishing games with a bizarre Lovecraftian twist, here are some games that will eventually make you feel scared.

dredge

Become a boat captain in a Lovecraftian fishing adventure

At first glance, you might think this dredge is a simple fishing game where you manage a cute trawler, go fishing, collect treasure from the deep, and then sell your catch to upgrade your boat to go further and faster. That's not true. The game is much deeper (pun intended) and has a wonderfully terrifying sense of the horror lurking in the water, especially after dark or when the infamous fog arrives. Three words: Eldritch sea serpent.

It all starts out quite smoothly, but as the game progresses you'll travel further and further into the world from island to island, completing increasingly challenging quests to obtain more bizarre and rare fish and trinkets. Overall, this is not an action-packed game and while some players may find it relaxing, there are some fears the further you dig into it. Perfect for any fan of Call of Cthulhu and all kinds of cosmic, macabre horror.

stanley analogy

The situation is completely different from what the narrator says. Or is it really so?

In my opinion, walking simulators are the most fertile ground to start instilling anxiety and making you doubt and question everything at a deep, philosophical level. That's it stanley analogy At least that's the case. In this game, you are Stanley (or is that you?), an employee of a company that makes you think of out-of-this-world things. disconnectionThe only task is to press buttons following instructions on the computer screen. One day the order breaks and you decide to wake up and investigate… or do you?

This is a game that questions everything. Would you like to hear what the narrator tells you to do? Or will you choose to stay in your current state indefinitely? Would you take a different route, go down a strange rabbit hole, and discover something you never expected at first? With multiple endings possible and strangely unsettling, empty liminal spaces being your environment, it's hard not to get the feeling that there's something very, very wrong with this game's world. Not only visually, but also in a philosophical and sometimes darkly humorous way.

outside wild

There's something strange about the solar system we were sent to explore.

outside wild They are often praised for providing an amazing experience when entering a blind game. With no idea what awaits you other than the fact that you are the first astronaut to head into space for your species, it immediately plunges you into a mystery that becomes an obsession for you to decipher. There is something very wrong with the world you live in. That's because the solar system you live in is actually stuck in a loop of time that lasts about 22 minutes, or an entire day. At the end, the sun burns everything and we return to the beginning.

Why does this happen? Fly to planets and other points of interest around the system and see how they change during a single loop. You won't be able to fix all your problems in just one 22-minute session, but instead the game encourages you to restart again and again. In each loop, you learn something new, which leads to the next clue, which is darker and spookier than the others. One thing is certain. Watching the planet completely fall apart over and over again within that loop is unsettling in a way that isn't found in non-horror games.

Firewatch

In the wilderness with minimal contact your mind will begin to spiral

I have to say this first. Firewatch It's by no means a full and proper horror game (even if it has the horror tag on Steam), but there are definitely moments where it feels like something's off. After tragedy strikes you, you are dispatched to the caretaker of a fire lookout tower in the middle of the forest. The only person who can contact you is a woman named Delilah. Every day, you'll discover something new and strange in the wilderness, slowly unraveling the mysteries of the small, bizarre happenings that occur around the area.

A dark figure looking down at you from the cliff. Fenced area. It's a strange and creepy old cave that holds more secrets than you can imagine. These all start to play with your imagination, and it doesn't exactly help that Delilah seems to be in the unknown just as much as you are. There is emotional depth and lightness to the story, but it would be false to say there aren't moments when you feel like you're not alone and something is very wrong. This is definitely a game I expected to be something creepy. Instead, it's pretty wholesome and closer to a thriller than anything else.

Subnautica

A wonderful underwater adventure where the darkness hides beneath the surface

unequal Firewatch, Subnautica It actually deserves the horror tag on Steam. Still, that hasn't stopped many unwitting players from jumping into the game. I thought this game was going to be a fun and cozy underwater open world survival crafting game, but the truth wasn't revealed. First of all, if you are at all afraid of the deep, Subnautica You will feel anxious from the start. You have crash-landed on an alien planet and must find a way to leave the ocean world. To do so, you'll need to gather all the resources you can and explore dangerous depths, including underground Lava Lakes and the Lost River, which require you to go below the surface.

From your starting location, you'll marvel and sigh at the beauty of the world around you, from colorful exotic fish to vibrant coral reefs. But if you dare to venture past the crashed ship and explore unprepared locations, you will encounter some truly monstrous creatures that are visibly hostile. If you play this game blindly, you'll be in for a scary surprise, as Leviathan's enemies tend to announce themselves vocally first before they actually appear. Good luck to anyone with thalassophobia too.