Top 10 Creepiest Video Games Ever Made

10 Creepiest Video Games Ever Made

Welcome to Watchmojo and were getting so unsettled by the creepiest video games of all time, whether it be through the games visuals, atmosphere and art design or disturbing lore, that we dont know if well ever recover, let alone finish our playthrough.

Alice: Madness Returns (2011)

Alice in Wonderland was already a pretty dark story, but in the hands of American McGee, its an outright nightmare. The twisted interpretations of familiar characters and the world itself produce a warped version of Wonderland which is given a gothic steampunk makeover, industrializing everything from the various levels to even the weaponry Alice uses to fight off the worlds creatures. Alice herself is even given a much darker backstory, starting with her escape from a mental institution, with Alice believing she is responsible for the fiery deaths of her family. The world is disturbingly gorgeous and the new approach to the beloved classic is sure to unsettle and stick with you far longer than the source material.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)

Horror games always set out to make the player feel helpless, but none manage to capture that sense of complete defenselessness the way Amnesia: The Dark Descent does. The title of Dark Descent is wildly appropriate as not only do players need to descend into the depths of the Castle, but also uncover the mystery of their missing memories, all while being relentlessly stalked by all manner of insanity-inducing creatures and abominations. The fact the player cant fight back only adds to the games tension as your only defense is to run and hide. The oppressive atmosphere is only matched by the Castles disturbing history as the more you uncover, the more you cant wait to escape with your sanity intact.

Detention (2017)

Its always the most unassuming ones that traumatize you the most. Set during a period of martial law in the 1960s in Taiwan, players find themselves trapped inside their school, and with night approaching, the nightmares begin to creep in. With the school warping and distorting around them, creatures begin to stalk the player through the halls as they try to find a way to escape. As if this wasnt bad enough, the more the players uncover, the more disturbing their own backstories are, and the games world becomes a purgatory in which they uncover the dark history of the school and relive their most traumatic moments until they finally accept responsibility for their actions. Its the most traumatic form of therapy.

Alan Wake 2 (2023)

The first Alan Wake introduced players to the Dark Place, and with the sequel, Remedy threw players inside, locked the door and turned off the lights. The sense of complete and utter dread Alan Wake 2 immerses the player in is unlike any survival horror game before it, full of twisted characters, unsettling locations, and a new endless stream of jumpscares. Split between two worlds, the Dark Place and the real world, neither is any less unsettling, as Alan must deal with the shadow creatures and manipulative nightmares of the Dark Place, while Saga deals with Alans writings coming to life and affecting the residents of Bright Falls and the surrounding areas. There are not enough flashlight batteries in the world to fight off these nightmares.

Iron Lung (2022)

Speaking of unassuming, Iron Lung has probably some of the darkest lore out of any of the games on this list. Set after an event known as The Quiet Rapture in which all living things and planets mysteriously disappear, only those who were inhabiting space stations remain and continue to search for the cause and any remaining survivors. Locked inside a bathysphere, players are dropped into a mysterious blood ocean to search for materials to sustain the remnants of humanity. With no windows, the only way to guide yourself is a radar and a blurry camera to capture your findings. The single room play area quickly becomes increasingly claustrophobic, even more so as you slowly realize you arent alone in these waters.

Dead Space (2023)

Like John Carpenters The Thing on steroids, players are dropped into the nightmare of the Ishimura, which has become overrun with horrendously mutated creatures born and grafted from the remains of the once human crew on board the enormous mining vessel. With dangers able to attack you from every side due to their affinity for crawl spaces and vents, the flickering lights and constant screeches and howls from within the walls immediately put the player on edge. Simply surviving the necromorphs is unsettling enough, but uncovering the origins of the creatures and its effects on those who come in contact with it proves to be just as unnerving.

Poppy Playtime (2021-)

Initially appearing as yet another in a long line of mascot horror games, the cutesy nature of the games central characters is stripped away and the deeper you go into the Playtime Co. facility, the more disturbing and unsettling the world becomes. Full of horrific experiments, many involving orphaned children, and a mad scientist obsessed with his creations, to the point where he murdered all the remaining staff at the facility, the public face of the toy company hides its disturbing true nature. With each subsequent chapter, the inner workings and history of Playtime Co. become more horrific and considering the story is still ongoing, we can only imagine what horrors are waiting to be uncovered.

Little Nightmares (2017)

Any game that puts you in the shoes of a child is already going to be more terrifying, making you feel even more helpless than you already would in a typical horror scenario. Little Nightmares doubles down on this already suspenseful setup by hunting players with some of the most unsettling and horrific creature designs in decades. The deeper you find yourself in The Maw, the massive ship within the game, the more disturbing each encounter becomes. Limiting the players options to run and hide only amplifies this feeling of helplessness as the oppressively dark atmosphere swallows you in its grimy depths, pulling you further into your Little Nightmares.

Visage (2020)

Haunted houses are such a classic horror staple its surprising that games dont adapt this style of horror more often. Heavily inspired by Hideo Kojimas Silent Hills teaser P.T., Visage allows players to explore their house as the paranormal activity becomes increasingly more prevalent and aggressive. What makes Visage so terrifying is the way it takes the familiar, in this case a family home, and uses the familys hidden secrets to make you feel like a stranger, someone who isnt supposed to be there. The games opening sets up the events of the game and is arguably more horrifying than anything else within the game, but in attempting to escape your own personal hell, the layers of terror slowly peel back and the entire playthrough becomes even more unsettling.

Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Silent Hill already has some of gamings most disturbing lore, but the nightmare was deepened even further with James Sunderlands arrival in the fog-laden town. Forced to confront his own demons brought to life, as players uncover more about the town, they also discover the disturbing history that led James there in the first place. Full of nightmare imagery, twisted creatures, and two versions of the world to explore, the game focuses more of terrifying the players psychological state of mind rather than in-your-face terror, and because of that alongside incredibly memorable characters and foes, Silent Hill 2 remains the benchmark for survival horror and one of the most memorably upsetting video game experiences of all time.

What was the creepiest video game experience you ever had? Let us know your trauma in the comments below.