There’s nothing the MonsterVine crews loves more than getting scared by a good game. But instead of chatting about more popular horror titles, we thought we’d mention the ones we rarely see get brought up when discussing the genre.
Yomawari – [Samantha]
The Yomawari games are often overlooked for two reasons. First, they aren’t particularly well-known to start with, so many horror fans might not have even heard of them. Second, their cute, chibi art-style might easily lead one to think they’re only light horror. Do not be fooled! These games are horror through and through, each with its share of disturbing moments, well-placed scares, and terrifying enemies. There is no combat in either, so you’re forced to avoid, evade, and hide from enemies–with an additional unnerving element in that you can’t see your surroundings while hiding, but instead must rely on your heartbeat to tell you how close enemies are. Yomawari: Night Alone favors exploration and puzzle-solving as you search a town haunted by yokai for your missing sister, while Yomawari: Midnight Shadows has a somewhat more linear, but also more story-driven, approach. Both are excellent horror games well worth checking out! Meanwhile, I’m still hoping they’ll make a third…
Doki Doki Literature Club – [Diego]
It’s been a few years since this initially came out, and I know it just had a rerelease, but I swear I don’t see enough people including this when discussing the horror genre. A visual novel where you join a highschool book club in search of getting a date. Things quickly escalate into unnerving horror as the game takes some turns you definitely won’t see coming. This is one of those “trust me, just play it” sort of games where you should go in as blind as possible. I’ll never forget starting it at midnight one night, thinking I’ll just play a half-hour or so before bed, then next thing I know five hours have whizzed by and I’m just screaming in my head “what the fuck did I just play?”. It’s short, it’s free, just go and play it.
The Version of Gone Home That Exists In My Head Alone – [Tom]
Okay, hear me out. Gone Home started/launched the Walking Simulator trend, where you wander around a game and look at stuff and not much happens, which made it an indie darling because us pretentious game snobs prefer games where nothing happens because art or something.
Please imagine my Stephen A. Smith voice: As you know, I am a big fan of art. HOWEVER:
As you explore the house and put the pieces together, you start figuring out that something odd has happened. The big reveal–I know, spoilers for an old game but people whine–turns out to be “Oh, she went to Smith and might not be straight,” or something along those lines.
But WHAT IF instead of a game about childhood and mixtapes it was a game about murder where you got home, everyone was missing, but there were no bodies right away, and you just wandered around trying to figure out where everyone was, what happened, and the clues got more and more ominous and unsettling, and then you went in the attic…
I remember standing under the attic hatch like “it’s bodies, it’s bodies, they’re all dead” and nope, she’s just going to Smith
I’m just saying. What if it was bodies?
Silent Hill – [Joe]
Y’all ever heard of this game called Silent Hill? It’s super spooky I promise.
