10 Horror Video Games That Broke All The Rules

There are certain things we’ve just come to expect from horror games. It’s always dark-backstory this and body-horror that, and we fans drink it up. However, due to the years of regurgitated stories and tropes, we sometimes naturally set the bar quite low for our expectations.

Micro-budget indies and huge studio outputs can fall victim to the very same temptations, leaning into lazy cliches rather than trying something innovative in horror. If you know that a few jumpscares and a dirty haunted house setting are going to scare people, then why bother thinking of something else?

Every now and then, though, a developer will come out with something that takes us by surprise. It takes bravery to disregard all the tried-and-tested approaches, going out on a limb and seeing if players are going to vibe with something new, and you’ve got to applaud that!

Well, these games did just that: acknowledging all the unspoken rules of horror and turning them on their head.

So, go ahead and throw your expectations out of the window, because these games raise you a whole new kind of experience.

One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to horror movies or games is the jumpscare.

When used sparingly, they can be an effective way to raise a player’s heart-rate and make them feel a little more on edge. The key word here is sparingly, of course, because when over-done jumpscares can absolutely kill a game’s atmosphere.

If you rely completely on the threat of a screaming monster flashing up full-screen to lend your title some tension, then you’ve not made a very good game. Similarly, if it’s happening every few minutes then it stops being scary.

Luckily for the jumpscare-averse, games completely devoid of this staple do exist!

Stories Untold tells its story through four episodes, in which you slowly uncover the player-character’s situation, mainly through playing games inside of the game itself.

By virtue of its style, the title doesn’t lend itself to the classic scares of monsters hiding around corners. Instead it uses atmosphere and intrigue to build tension and drive the narrative forward, with the final episode giving you the satisfying ending you’ve worked towards.