10 Video Games That Are Far Creepier Than They Look

The greatest asset of the video game industry is the huge variety of different experiences it offers. Whether you’re looking for nothing more than a simple Sudoku experience on your Nintendo DS (and what’s wrong with partying like it’s 2005?) or you’re right up there in the forefront of gaming rig technology, there will be software that perfectly meets your needs.

This, naturally, extends to the range of genres video games offer. From party games to platformers, from racers to fighters and from RPGs to farming simulators, developers seem to have plumbed every depth possible. Even for grizzled gaming veterans who have all but dedicated their lives to certain genres, however, there are still things capable of providing a surprise.

Take horror games, for instance. Generally, you know what you’re getting yourself into when you jump into survival horror or the like, but sometimes, scary and super creepy moments find their way into the most innocent-seeming titles.

From Pokémon to Pikmin and the most adorably horrific cult simulator you ever saw, these titles are far creepier than they have any right to be.

Even the most ardent fans of roguelikes and roguelites would have to admit that … well, we’ve seen a whole heaping heck of a lot of the genre in recent years. The best examples of these titles are the ones that boast something unique yet valuable, like the deep and adaptive story of Hades.

Cult of the Lamb, from Massive Monster, certainly offers something gripping all its own: an incredibly adorable aesthetic juxtaposed with grim, Lovecraftian tentacle-horror.

The player takes the role of the Lamb, on their quest to free The One Who Waits by defeating the four Bishops that bind this powerful being. Runs take a familiar form, as the player nabs a randomly-generated weapon and spell (Curse), then proceeds through various rooms collecting different buffs and bonuses and defeating foes in hack and slash fashion.

In between runs, the Lamb must develop their growing cult.

Here, the game takes an Animal Crossing/Don’t Starve, as buildings and other valuable things are crafted and placed. Your cult works for you, listens to your sermons and otherwise powers you up in preparation for runs.

The two unique styles of gameplay complement each other very well, but what’s uniquely striking about Cult of the Lamb is how horrifying it would be without its super-cute artstyle. Cult members age and die, and can be harvested for meat, sacrificed to a hideous tentacle-god, made to fight to the death and more.

Unlocking the cannibal perk so your entire crew are now totally fine gulping down their former friends is... a choice, to say the least.