Summary
Horror gamesare already terrifying experiences for players to work through. However, some games create an atmosphere that is even spookier thanthe jumpscares found withinthem. This is the effect offeeling isolatedor alone. Players usually don’t encounter other living people in these horror games and are expected to survive all by themselves with little to no assistance.
In these games, sometimes the “main” monster isn’t entirely present, making players become paranoid at each and every sound around them, or maybe it’s not even clear what the minster really is. These titles have been known to make players feel the most isolated, creating a brilliant yet ominous horror experience for players to enjoy in between their screams.
8Song Of Horror
Metascore: 74
Survival horror games are considered some of the most isolating horror experiences in gaming due to them challenging the player to stay alive with little to no assistance.Song of Horrorwas not only a horror game with a brilliant story, but also one that was sure to make the player feel alone while playing. Players can choose from various characters to use in each episode to adventure through a location that has randomly generated scares for each run, to make not one experience feel the same.
With only themselves tosolve the puzzlesneeded to complete the levels, the low lighting and supernatural occuernces are sure to make a player feel that they are by themselves while trying to defeat the impossible.
While some players may considerDon’t Starveto be predominantly a survival title, this game, withits incredible art style, is also a horror experience, especially when night arrives. Those who are great at managing their sanity, hunger, and health are arguably in for an easier time withDon’t Starve, though allowing that sanity bar to lower will cause all sorts of strange things to occur.
In the originalDon’t Starve, players were forced to survive by themselves with no other person to talk to. This feeling of being alone is only made worse by standing by the campfire during the night, when the only thing that surrounds the player outside this light is danger, as running into the darkness is the fastest way to die.
6Killer Frequency
Metascore: 78
Although commonly, survival horror games are seen as the most isolating of horror experiences, other horror titles have also been able to have players on edge while also feeling as if they are forced to figure it out by themselves. One great example of this is the first-person horror experience inKiller Frequency.The player takes on the role of a late-night radio show host who has been tasked with helping their callers survive against a killer who has been stalking people who have called in.
While the player may be on the phone to these various people, they will find themselves very much alone in the radio studio where they will have to not only help these callers with their puzzle-like problems of survival, but also manage the radio show as well.
As “Isolation” can be read in this game’s title from theAlienfranchise, it’s no surprise to seeAlien: Isolationis one of the most isolating horror games a player can enjoy. Players take on the role of Amanda, the daughter of Ellen Ripley from theAlien films. She has gone on a mission to uncover what happened to her mother, who disappeared fifteen years ago during the events of theAlienmovie.
As the player is not prepared for the Xenomorph threats they are likely to encounter during this mission, they must hide, alone, to avoid becoming the creature’s next meal. What should be a bustling trading station is insteadan alien nightmareas the only human-shaped things that remain are the androids that are also out to get the player.
Darkwoodcombines two of the most isolating things in a horror setting; the dark, and creepy forests. Players find themselves trapped within a thick forest where they must quickly find a place to call shelter andkeep the light burning withinwhen night arrives. While huddled within their base, they’ll likely hear frightening sounds from outside that are attempting to get inside their shelter, though it’s best for the player to keep quiet and defend their home if the monsters get too close.
With a muted color palette for the things that the player can’t see in their line of sight, the world feels cold and ominous. Anything could sneak up on them. Even with various merchants to visit or people to help, these folks don’t seem right, making the player feel as if they are different to others in this world, and therefore, totally alone.
Created by the developers behindAmnesia: The Dark Descent, it’s of no surprise to see the psychological horror ofSOMAmake an appearance here. Players are left toexplore an underwater facilitythat has gradually fallen into ruin. As the game itself describes it, the radios have died, the food is running out, and for some reason, the robots that worked in the underwater facility ofSOMAare starting to think they are human.
Players must uncover the truth about the facility and search through documents and locked terminals to find out where the last surviving inhabitants of the facility could be, as well as discovering things about the player character themselves.
As seen thus far, not every isolating horror game has to be created by a large company of developers. Some of the best games are those created by a single person, such asIron Lung,which was developed by David Szymanski. In this title, players are confined to a rusting metal submarine as it wades through an ocean of blood on a mysterious alien moon.
The game does a great job of creating suspense as players are tasked with making it to various locations on a grid and taking pictures of what’s outside their submarine. The entire time, players are unable to see outside the submarine unless they take these pictures. Being confined to such a small space has been known to make players feel alone with only the eerie noises of the blood ocean to keep them company.
Dead Space 2is not only one of the greatest sci-fi horror experiences of all time, but also a brilliant game for any player looking for a horror title that makes them feel alone. The game starts off strong with the player waking up from a coma three years after the last Necromorph infestation which caused the horrifying monsters the player faced in the first game. Now they must face them again, this time on a space station orbiting Saturn’s moon, Titan, and uncover the truth.
WhileDead Space 2does have some other human characters for the player to meet along their journeythrough the space station, the vast majority of the game sees the infamous protagonist, Isaac Clarke, exploring by his lonesome, with only the hallucinations of his dead girlfriend to keep him company.
