Horror game

A '''horror game''' is a video game genre centered on horror fiction and typically designed to scare the player. The term may also be used to describe tabletop games with horror fiction elements.

Unlike most other video game genres, which are classified by their gameplay, horror games are nearly always based on narrative or visual presentation, and use a variety of gameplay types.<ref name="Apperley">{{cite journal |author=Krzywinska |first=Tanya |date=Fall 2002 |title=Hands-On Horror |url=https://cinemadev.cntv.usc.edu/spectator/098/15877.pdf |journal=Axes to Grind: Re-Imagining the Horrific in Visual Media and Culture |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=12–23 |doi= |s2cid= |access-date=2024-11-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/trends-in-horror-today | title = Trends in Horror Today | first = Josh | last = Osburne | date = October 26, 2015 | access-date = May 10, 2020 | work = Gamasutra }}</ref>

==Sub-genres==

Historically, the classification of video games into genres ignores the narrative themes, which would include science fiction or fantasy games, instead preferring systems based on the style of gameplay or at times, types of game modes or by platform. Horror games is the only narrative-based classification that has generally not followed this pattern, with the narrative genre label used broadly for games designed to scare players.<ref name=Apperley/> This broad association to the narrative theme of horror games leads to the lack of well-defined subgenres of horror games. Many gameplay-defined genres have numerous games with horror themes, notably the ''Castlevania'' platform game series uses monsters and creatures borrowed from numerous horror mythos. In such cases, these games are still categorized by their original gameplay genre, the horror aspect considered a literary aspect of the game.<ref name="therrien history"/> However, there are some specific areas in the broad horror game classification that have been identified as unique subgenres in horror.

===Action horror=== Action horror games use action game elements from first person and third-person shooter games alongside the survival horror themes, making them more fast-paced than survival horror games. These grew in popularity following the release of ''Resident Evil 4'' in 2005 and which persisted in the next two titles, ''Resident Evil 5'' and ''Resident Evil 6'', with gameplay that focused more on action-oriented combat than puzzles and problem-solving from previous titles (''Resident Evil 7'' returned to the series' survival horror roots).<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.usgamer.net/articles/actually-resident-evil-4-was-plenty-scary | title = Actually, Resident Evil 4 Was Plenty Scary | first = Kat | last = Bailey | date = January 11, 2020 | access-date = November 5, 2020 | work = US Gamer | archive-date = January 11, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220111072533/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/actually-resident-evil-4-was-plenty-scary | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.thegamer.com/resident-evil-4-survival-horror/ | title = Resident Evil 4: 5 Reasons Why It's Survival Horror (& 5 It's Not) | first = Ben | last= Jessey | date = February 19, 2020 | access-date = November 5, 2020 | work = TheGamer }}</ref> Examples of action horror games include ''The House of the Dead'' series, the ''Dead Space'' series, the ''Left 4 Dead'' series, ''The Last of Us'' series and the original ''Alan Wake.''

===Survival horror=== {{Main|Survival horror}}

One of the best-defined and most common types of horror games are survival horror games. These games tend to focus on the survival of the player-character in a horror setting with limited resources, and thus tend to be more geared as an action game or action-adventure game.<ref name="fundamentals">{{cite book|last=Rollings|first=Andrew|author2=Ernest Adams|title=Fundamentals of Game Design|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=2006|url=http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_gamedev_1/54/14053/3597646.cw/index.html|access-date=2020-05-14|archive-date=2009-02-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217232801/http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_gamedev_1/54/14053/3597646.cw/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A common theme of these games is escape or survival from the equivalent of a zombie apocalypse, with weapons, ammunition, and armor limited. The ''Resident Evil'' series coined the term and serves as the prime example of such games, though key conventions of the subgenre preceded the ''Resident Evil'' series. Other notable survival horror series include ''Alone in the Dark'', ''Clock Tower'', ''Parasite Eve'', ''Silent Hill'', and ''Fatal Frame''.

===Psychological horror=== {{See also|Psychological horror}}

Psychological horror games are meant to scare the player through emotional, mental, or psychological states rather than through monsters or other scares. The fear comes from "what is ''not seen'', rather than what is".<ref name="strobbart intro" /> These games commonly rely on the player-character's unreliable perceptions or questionable sanity in order to develop the story. Through the use of unreliable narrators, such games may explore the fear of losing one's capacity to think rationally or even to recognize one's own identity.<ref name="strobbart intro"/> Psychological horror games may not depend as much on action compared with survival horror games, instead giving time for the player to explore and witness events.<ref name="strobbart intro">{{cite book | title = Videogames and Horror: From ''Cry of fear'' ''Amnesia'' and ''Zombies, Run!'' | first = Dawn | last= Stobbart | year = 2019 | publisher = University of Wales Press |isbn = 978-1786834362 | chapter = Introduction - A Light in the Darkness: Videogames and Horror | pages = 1–21 }}</ref> The ''Silent Hill'' series, which is also based on survival horror elements, is considered one of the defining psychological horror games.<ref name="History of Survival Horror">{{cite web|url=http://retro.ign.com/articles/104/1040759p5.html|title=IGN Presents the History of Survival Horror|page=5|author=Fahs, Travis|work=IGN|date=30 October 2009 |publisher=IGN Entertainment, Inc|access-date=June 9, 2011}}</ref> Frictional Games' ''Penumbra'' and ''Amnesia'' series and their standalone game ''SOMA'' explore ethical and philosophical questions, and the psychology, motivations and fallible sides of their largely defenseless protagonists, subjected to mysterious events largely beyond their control. Games with an emphasis on psychological horror may also take advantage of the video game medium to break the fourth wall and appear to affect the player's computer or console directly, such as with ''Eternal Darkness'' and ''Doki Doki Literature Club!''<ref name="krzywinska lovecraft">{{cite book | title = Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play | editor-first = Bernard | editor-last = Perron | first = Tanya | last = Krzywinska | chapter= Reanimating H.P. Lovecraft: The Ludic Paradox of ''Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth'' | publisher = McFarland & Company | year = 2009 | pages = 267–288 | isbn = 978-0786441976 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/22/16512204/doki-doki-literature-club-pc-explained | title = Doki Doki Literature Club is an uncontrollably horrific visual novel | first = Victoria | last= Rose | date = October 22, 2017 | access-date= May 10, 2020 | work = Polygon }}</ref> Psychological horror games may still be tied to action-based genres; ''Spec Ops: The Line'' is a third-person shooter but with a psychological horror narrative inspired by works like ''Heart of Darkness'' and ''Apocalypse Now''.<ref name="strobbart boundaries">{{cite book | title = Videogames and Horror: From ''Amnesia'' to ''Zombies, Run!'' | first = Dawn | last= Stobbart | year = 2019 | publisher = University of Wales Press |isbn = 978-1786834362 | chapter = Transgressing Boundaries: Adaption, Intertextuality, and Transmedia | pages = 53–88 }}</ref>

===Jump scare horror=== {{See also|Jump scare}} Jump scare horror games are designed around moments aimed to immediately surprise or shock the player when they do not expect it, as well as creating a sense of dread while anticipating the next jump scare. While jump scares may be elements in other horror games along with other gameplay aspects, jump scare horror games are generally limited to this type of gameplay mechanism. They are often aimed towards generating reactions from players, which have proven popular to watch over streaming playthroughs of games. ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' is one example of this style of game.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20160804/278526/Whats_Killing_Video_Game_Horror.php | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160807210441/http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoshBycer/20160804/278526/Whats_Killing_Video_Game_Horror.php | url-status = dead | archive-date = August 7, 2016 | title = What's Killing Video Game Horror | first = Josh | last= Bycer| date = August 4, 2016 | access-date = May 10, 2020 | work = Gamasutra }}</ref> Some other examples of jump scare horror games include ''Dino Crisis'', ''Outlast'' and ''Poppy Playtime''.

===Reverse horror=== Reverse horror games involve the player scaring others, rather than the player being scared.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Review: We want more reverse horror games like Carrion|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/review-we-want-more-reverse-horror-games-like-carrion/ar-BB174OLr|access-date=2020-12-24|website=www.msn.com}}</ref> Compared to a horror game, the player is instead what would be considered the antagonist. Reverse horror games generally involve assuming the role of a monster or villain. In comparison to the victim, the main character has some sort of advantage over the others, such as enhanced vision, greater strength, or supernatural abilities. Reverse horror games may also derive from an original horror game, developed as a sequel or prequel to the original, intended to display the perspective of the titular antagonist. Examples of reverse horror games include ''Carrion'' and the asymmetric multiplayer modes in ''Dead by Daylight'' and ''Friday the 13th: The Game'', in which one player controls the monster or the killer that is chasing the other players.

==History== {{Further|Survival horror#History}}

The incorporation of general horror genre themes into video games came early on in the medium, inspired by horror fiction and especially horror films. The earliest rudimentary attempt at a horror video game dates back to as early as 1972, when a ''Haunted House'' overlay was included with the first video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey, inspired by haunted house fiction.<ref name="CHM">{{cite web |last1=Garcia |first1=Chris |title=The Haunted House |url=https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-haunted-house/ |website=Computer History Museum |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=31 October 2012}}</ref> Taito's classic arcade video game ''Space Invaders'' (1978) has also been cited as a precursor to horror video games, as it involved a survival scenario where an alien invasion slowly descends and increasingly destroys the landscape while menacing sound effects gradually speed up, which created a sense of panic in players when it first released.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stobbart |first1=Dawn |title=Videogames and Horror: From Amnesia to Zombies, Run! |date=1 October 2019 |publisher=University of Wales Press |isbn=978-1-78683-437-9 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-rEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hand |first1=Richard J. |chapter=Proliferating Horrors: Survival Horror and the ''Resident Evil'' Franchise |title=Horror Film |date=2004 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-61703-411-4 |page=121 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAX81WbAcfcC&pg=PA121}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play | editor-first = Bernard | editor-last = Perron | first = Richard | last = Rouse | chapter=Match Made in Hell: The Inevitable Success of the Horror Genre in Video Games | publisher = McFarland & Company | year = 2009 | page = 16 | isbn = 978-0786441976 | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pNaQLQC9XhEC&pg=PA16}}</ref> The text-based adventure games ''Mystery House'' (1980) and ''The Lurking Horror'' (1987) incorporated horror elements through their textual descriptions of rooms.<ref name="therrien history">{{cite book | title = Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play | editor-first = Bernard | editor-last = Perron | first = Bernard | last = Perron | chapter= Games of Fear: A Multi-Faceted Historical Account of the Horror Genre in Video Games | publisher = McFarland & Company | year = 2009 | pages = 26–45 | isbn = 978-0786441976 }}</ref>

ASCII Corporation's ''Nostromo'' (1981) for the PC-6001, inspired by the science fiction horror film ''Alien'' (1979), was a survival horror game that involves escaping from an invisible alien with limited available resources.<ref>{{cite book |last=Szczepaniak |first=John |year=2014 |title=The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers |publisher=SMG Szczepaniak |volume=1 |pages=544–573 |isbn=978-0-9929260-3-8 }}</ref> Another notable early horror video game was ''Haunted House'' (1982) for the Atari 2600. At that point, video game technology lacked the fidelity to carry the themes of horror in the technology and was instead wrapped more in game manuals and other presentation materials.<ref name="perron introduction">{{cite book | title = Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play | editor-first = Bernard | editor-last = Perron | first = Bernard | last = Perron | chapter= Introduction: Gaming After Dark | publisher = McFarland & Company | year = 2009 | pages = 3–14 | isbn = 978-0786441976 }}</ref> ''3D Monster Maze'' (1982) for the Sinclair ZX81, while not containing images tied with horror games, was one of the first games to induce the feeling of suspense and mystery typically associated with the genre.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/3d-monster-maze-was-the-very-first-horror-game-1845384173 | title = 3D Monster Maze Was The Very First Horror Game | first = Zack | last = Zwiezen | date = October 17, 2020 | access-date = October 17, 2020 | work = Kotaku}}</ref>

With more graphical capabilities, games should start to include horror-related imagery, often present in the licensed games based on horror films in the 1980s and 1990s such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (1983), ''Halloween'' (1983) and ''Friday the 13th'' (1989), as well as games inspired by horror films such as the survival horror ''Project Firestart'' (1989) inspired by the ''Alien'' films.<ref name="therrien history"/> Due to limitations of consoles and computers, these horror images were often limited to cutscenes rather than the animated sprites used in the action-based gameplay as to give the fidelity to the details of the horror scene.<ref name="therrien history"/>

Sega's ''Monster Bash'' (1982) arcade video game depicts classic movie monsters such as Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and werewolves.<ref>{{cite news |title=Monster Bash |url=https://www.avclub.com/monster-bash-1798210029 |access-date=7 April 2021 |work=The A.V. Club |date=23 June 2010 |language=en-us |archive-date=13 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513060942/https://games.avclub.com/monster-bash-1798210029 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Frank, Drac & Pico! Monster Bash |magazine=Computer and Video Games |date=16 November 1982 |issue=14 (December 1982) |page=31 |url=https://www.solvalou.com/arcade/reviews/171/472}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Ghoulish Fun |magazine=Cash Box |date=8 January 1983 |page=37 |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox44unse_29/page/37 |publisher=Cash Box Pub. Co.}}</ref> Other horror-themed action games that followed in the late 1980s included Capcom's ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'' (1985),<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martens |first1=Todd |title=Review: 'Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection' updates everything but the sexist tropes |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-02-23/review-ghosts-n-goblins-resurrection-tokuro-fujiwara |access-date=8 April 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=23 February 2021}}</ref> Konami's ''Castlevania'' (1986),<ref name="CHM"/><ref name="History of Survival Horror"/> and Sega's ''Ghost House'' (1986) and ''Kenseiden'' (1988),<ref name="History of Survival Horror"/> with more violent gory arcade horror games including Exidy's ''Chiller'' (1986) and Namco's ''Splatterhouse'' (1988).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lambie |first1=Ryan |title=Splatterhouse: The Cult Horror Arcade Game of 1988 |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/games/splatterhouse-the-cult-horror-arcade-game-of-1988/ |website=Den of Geek |access-date=8 April 2021 |date=14 October 2019}}</ref> One of the most well-known "haunted house" themed graphic adventure games was ''Maniac Mansion'' (1987) by LucasArts.<ref name="CHM"/> ''Sweet Home'' (1989) was a survival horror role-playing video game based on the Japanese horror film of the same name. It was Capcom's first survival horror title, directed by Tokuro Fujiwara, who had earlier designed ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'' and later went on to produce ''Resident Evil'', which was originally intended to be a remake of ''Sweet Home''.<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine|last1=Reeves|first1=Ben|title=Place Of Residing Evil: Looking Back At Capcom's Original Survival Horror|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/10/31/place-of-residing-evil-looking-back-at-capcoms-original-survival-horror.aspx|magazine=Game Informer|date=31 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104173212/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/10/31/place-of-residing-evil-looking-back-at-capcoms-original-survival-horror.aspx|archive-date=4 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Phantasmagoria'' (1995) by Roberta Williams was one of the earliest psychological horror games.<ref name="therrien history"/>

''Alone in the Dark'' (1992), developed by Infogrames and inspired by H.P. Lovecraft fiction and George A. Romero zombie films, was one of the first survival horror games to bring a more immersive presentation, using crude 3D figures drawn atop a 2D pre-rendered background, so that players would control their character from a fixed camera angle. This allowed the developers to create the necessary sense of tension throughout the adventure game. ''Alone in the Dark'' was a global success on personal computers.<ref name="History of Survival Horror"/> ''Sweet Home'', ''Alone in the Dark'', and ''Doctor Hauzer'' (published by River Hill in 1994) went on to inspire Capcom's original ''Resident Evil'' (1996),<ref name=":1" /> which coined the "survival horror" term.<ref name=":0"/><ref name="History of Survival Horror"/> It spawned the ''Resident Evil'' franchise, which defined and popularized survival horror games.<ref name="GameSpot">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/15influential/p14_01.html |title=15 Most Influential Video Games of All Time |website=GameSpot |date=April 14, 2010 |access-date=August 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414040202/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/15influential/p14_01.html |archive-date=April 14, 2010}}</ref> 1995 saw the release of ''Clock Tower'' on the Super Famicom, which Carl Therrien claims is "clearly inspired by the ''slasher'' movie breed of uncanny."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Therrien |first=Carl |title=Horror Video Games: Essays on the Fusion of Fear and Play |date=September 9, 2009 |publisher=McFarland and Company |isbn=978-0786441976 |editor-last=Perron |editor-first=Bernard |pages=448}}</ref> Sega's ''The House of the Dead'' (1996) was an arcade horror shooter game that introduced fast zombies who could run, jump and swim,<ref name="josh"/> whereas Konami's ''Silent Hill'' (1999) defined and popularized psychological horror games.<ref name="History of Survival Horror"/>

While horror games were inspired by horror films up until the 1990s, horror games were later influencing horror films by the 2000s.<ref name="CHM"/> The success of ''Resident Evil'' and ''House of the Dead'' sparked a renewed interest in zombie films by the 2000s,<ref name="Newman">{{cite book |last1=Newman |first1=Kim |title=Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s |date=2011 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9781408805039 |page=559 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNMz3tGZVvAC&pg=PA559}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Weedon |first1=Paul |title=George A. Romero (interview) |url=http://paulweedon.co.uk/george-romero-transcript/ |website=Paul Weedon |date=17 July 2017 |access-date=2 June 2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220182956/http://paulweedon.co.uk/george-romero-transcript/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> influencing hit zombie films such as ''28 Days Later'' (2002), the ''Resident Evil'' film series, ''Dawn of the Dead'' (2004) and ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004).<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |last1=Barber |first1=Nicholas |title=Why are zombies still so popular? |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131025-zombie-nation |website=BBC |access-date=31 May 2019 |date=21 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="28days">{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/zaki-hasan/interview-director-alex-g_b_7038618.html|title=INTERVIEW: Director Alex Garland on Ex Machina|work=Huffington Post|first1=Zaki|last1=Hasan|date=April 10, 2015|access-date=June 21, 2018}}</ref><ref name="hollywoodreporter">{{cite news |title=How '28 Days Later' Changed the Horror Genre |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/have-get-a-quiet-place-killed-zombie-genre-1121491 |access-date=31 May 2019 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=29 June 2018}}</ref> The ''Resident Evil'' and ''House of the Dead'' games influenced zombie films to move towards a more action-oriented approach with scientific themes and fast-running zombies.<ref name="josh">{{cite web |last=Levin |first=Josh |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2180271/ |title=How did movie zombies get so fast? |publisher=Slate.com |date=2007-12-19 |access-date=2013-11-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Tanya Carinae Pell |chapter=From Necromancy to the Necrotrophic: Resident Evil's Influence on the Zombie Origin Shift from Supernatural to Science |editor-last1=Farghaly |editor-first1=Nadine |title=Unraveling Resident Evil: Essays on the Complex Universe of the Games and Films |date=15 April 2014 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-7291-8 |pages=7–18 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XENXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7}}</ref>

Horror games also benefited from indie game growth in the early 2010s, since outside of established franchises like ''Resident Evil'', major publishers had shied away from the genre.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.pcgamer.com/aaa-publishers-failed-the-horror-genre-but-thats-fine-it-belongs-to-the-indies-now/ | title = AAA publishers failed the horror genre, but that's fine: it belongs to the indies now | first= Andy | last = Kelly | date = June 30, 2021 | accessdate = October 29, 2021 | work = PC Gamer }}</ref> Series like Frictional Games' ''Penumbra'' series and ''Amnesia'' series, and Red Barrels' ''Outlast'' series captured the type of gameplay from horror games like ''Silent Hill'' and ''Resident Evil''. Parsec Productions' ''Slender: The Eight Pages'' took advantage of the popular Slenderman creepypasta, and became one of the first games to gain popularity from viewers watching reactions to online streamers playing the game. The ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' series by Scott Cawthon also similarly captured popularity through watching streamers' reactions to jump-scares.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cbr.com/indie-horror-games-evolution-20-years/ | title = How Indie Horror Games Have Evolved Over 20 Years | first = Sarah | last= Zhang | date = May 6, 2020 | accessdate = October 29, 2021 | work = Comic Book Resources }}</ref> More recently in the early 2020s, indie horror games have found a new aesthetic based on emulating the graphic style of older platforms, such as the low-poly graphics of the first PlayStation console or even pixel art, rather than high realism from modern 3D graphics. Besides capturing a sense of nostalgia, developers are able to use retro-inspired graphics on modern hardware to continue to manipulate the player and surprise them beyond the expectations of the visuals, such as giving the player the idea that the game itself is cursed and potentially breaking the fourth wall.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/22750586/lo-fi-retro-horror-games | title = A New Wave Of Lo-fi Games Is Reshaping Horror | first= Alexander | last = Chatziioannou | date = October 29, 2021 | accessdate = October 29, 2021 | work = The Verge }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nme.com/features/gaming-features/the-resurgence-of-the-ps1-horror-game-3076237 | title = The resurgence of the PS1 horror game | first= Oisin | last = Kuhnke | date = October 27, 2021 | accessdate = October 29, 2021 | work = NME }}</ref>

==See also== * List of horror games

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Horror video games Category:Video game genres