Ikaiis a psychological horror game developed by Endflame that was recently released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The game isinspired by Japanese folkloreand immediately draws players in with its unsettlingly immersive first-person perspective.
Related:Things We Loved About Ikai (& Things We Didn’t)
Thepsychological horror genrehas risen in prominence over the last couple of decades, largely thanks to the continued improvements in graphics and writing in the gaming industry that have allowed studios to create horrifying visuals anddisturbing but gripping narratives. Consequently, there have been plenty of excellent psychological horror games released over the years that will certainly appeal to those who enjoyed Endflame’sIkai.
7Detention
Detentionwas developed by Red Candle Games and was initially released in January 2017. The2D side-scrolleris set in 1960s Taiwan and draws inspiration from Taiwanese mythology. As the name suggests,Detentiontakes place in a high school, where the player must run and hide from disturbing creatures known as “lingered” while uncovering the school’s unsettling history.
The game received a sequel in February 2019 titledDevotion,which drew headlines and was temporarily removed from Steam after an easter egg was found that mocked China’s Xi Jinping.
6Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descentwas released in September 2010 and isone of the most influential horror games of all time. At a time when horror games were becoming more action-centric to try and compete with the popularity of shooters likeCall of Duty,Amnesia: The Dark Descenttook the genre back to its roots with a pure horror experience that gave players no weapons to protect themselves with.
Related:Free Horror Games That Are Just As Terrifying As Resident Evil
The psychological horror game also kickstarted a trend of YouTubers reacting to horror games, with many notable names like PewDiePie doing playthroughs of Frictional Games' modern classic.
5Soma
Somahad a large weight of expectations on its shoulders leading up to its releases, as it was the first release from Frictional Games since their aforementionedAmnesiaseries.
Frictional Games stuck with the psychological horror subgenre forSomabut drastically changed the tone and narrative direction fromAmnesia.2015’sSomaoffers a bleak look at the potential dangers of futuristic technologies that will weave dark thoughts into the player’s mind while and even after playing the game.
4Silent Hill 2
Those seeking a classic psychological horror experience need to look no further thanSilent Hill 2.The game was originally released in 2001 and is regarded as a pioneer of video games being considered an art form. This is largely due to the plethora of symbolism and metaphors in the game that are particularly evident in enemy designs.
Silent Hill 2puts players in the shoes of James Sunderland, who has traveled to the town of Silent Hill to search for his thought-to-be deceased wife after seemingly receiving a message from her. The game featuresmultiple endings depending on the player’s choices, including a famous secret ending where James discovers that a dog has been the mastermind behind the game.
3Doki Doki Literature Club!
Suppose someone were to come acrossDoki Doki Literature Club!without having any prior knowledge of the game, they would likely believe that it was simply an anime dating simulator. This is exactly how the game presents itself initially, though players will soon realize that all isn’t as it seems.
Related:Doki Doki Literature Club Plus: Things You Need To Know About The Game
Doki Doki Literature Club!does a great job of frightening players with the element of surprise and continuing to catch them off guard by utilizing fourth-wall-breaking tactics like messing with the player’s files on PC.
2Outlast
Outlastis one of the many modern horror games that has been heavily inspired byAmnesia: The Dark Descent.LikeAmnesia, players have no weapons inOutlast, so they must use basic survival tactics like running and hiding to evade harm - as one might expect, this can lead to some incredibly tense moments.
Another similarity thatOutlasthas withAmnesia: The Dark Descentis that the game is very popular withYouTubers and streamers. In fact, even to this day,Outlastis one of the first games that people will recommend when a streamer says that they want to try a scary game.
1Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrificewas developed by Ninja Theory and leaned very heavily into the psychological aspect of psychological horror. The 2017 release revolves around psychosis, and the game’s development involved numerous experts in the field, including psychologist Professor Charles Fernyhough and neuroscientist Professor Paul Fletcher.
As for the gameplay,Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrificefeatures a blend ofpuzzle-solvingand melee combat. The gameplay struggled to impress some fans and critics, though most were happy to persist with the game to see how the gripping story would end.Hellbladereceived an excellent 88 critic score and 8.0 user score on review aggregator Metacritic and has a sequel planned for future release titledSenua’s Saga: Hellblade II.
Ikaiis available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
