10 Terrifying Video Games Where You Can't Fight Back

The first Penumbra had a combat system that was about as useful as a cactus toilet brush, and wisely the developers completely removed the ability to fight back against the monsters of Greenland. Not only because it made playing the gameplay loop that much smoother, but it also heightened the tension of every enemy encounter as you could only run and hide to save your skin.

The game really emphasizes using in-game physics for all of its puzzle-solving as well as escaping some infected monstrosity. Players need to manipulate every object, open every drawer or look behind every book on a shelf to find what they need to progress, and when being chased down they must close doors manually behind them to slow down their pursuer.

With every single action requiring player input to swing things with a mouse, it makes the horror that much more rooted in reality and therefore scarier. The fantastic sound effects also allow for a feeling of isolation to set in, with every bang in the distance becoming suspect.

It's not a long game, only around 5 hours, but for the duration of the experience Penumbra: Black plague keeps you on your toes with realistic movement that is only amplified further with the lack of combat.