10 Awesome Horror Games Set In One Location

There are a lot of key factors that go into a horror game to make it as effectively scary as possible. Alongside crafting a gripping plot and fine-tuning the gameplay to make things feel as stressful as possible while still being fair, everything from how the enemies look to the sound design must be carefully considered.

Out of all these components, though, none are as important as the setting.

Much like horror movies, the setting of a horror game is the source of its atmosphere. Whether it’s a spooky forest in the middle of the night or a haunted house, the developers utilise every trick they know to make these places as unsettling as possible. From claustrophobic corridors that make players feel trapped to the lighting extra environmental details that let them know that there’s something seriously wrong with this place, the setting is the beating heart of any game.

While developers normally add more variety to their games by taking players to various locations throughout their journey, there are some titles that keep the terror contained within one location.

Although these games tend to be smaller in scale, they're often some of the scariest horror experiences out there.

Whether it’s the creepy elementary school in Silent Hill 2 or the nightmarish flashback sequences from Outlast 2, schools never fail to make for chilling horror game locations.

By taking this recognisable environment and lacing it with some nefarious happenings, these familiar institutions of education are transformed into dangerous places that pose a threat to whoever’s unfortunate enough to enter.

This is the case in cult South Korean survival horror White Day: A Labyrinth Named School when transfer student Lee Hui-min sneaks into his new high school at night to put gift into the locker of his crush.

However, events take a supernatural turn for the worst when Hui-min and some other students become trapped in the building. Pursued by possessed janitors armed with baseball bats and encountering the many ghosts which haunt the halls, players must carefully explore the school while solving a collection of challenging puzzles to find a way to escape.

The darkened school makes for an eerie location as players avoid being detected by the murderous custodians, but it’s the roster of ghostly inhabitants that make this school one of the scariest in video games.

With a rerelease of this cult classic recently arriving on PS5, there's been no better time to try this game.