Unusual Horror Games

[Fox12]

I was exploring Kickstarter when I discovered this gem:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/omocat/omori?ref=category

The title, Omori, really left feeling disturbed, which is interesting, because it's not the typical looking horror story. There are no creatures shown. It's not about a lone protagonist trying to survive against monsters. It does not take place in a prison, an insane asylum, or a haunted mansion. Instead of featuring lots of shadow and dingy settings, it's very colorful. Indeed, it looks like a rainbow threw up on my computer screen. This is interesting, as I've been largely desensitized to mainstream horror titles. I then found myself wondering WHY I felt so disturbed. Lets briefly analyze the trailer, shall we?

I could analyze this for an hour, but I'll condense it. The creepiness comes from the great contrast of images. It starts in black and white, and everything feels (literally) empty. We then see an ominous door. Of course we don't want to approach the door, but what's the alternative? Staying in the room forever? We then see a birthday cake. This usually symbolizes happiness, but the candles on the cake are allowed to burn until they collapse and the cake looks burned and moldy. It was uneaten. There is then a knife placed in it, a subconsciously violent image. The rest of the trailer contrasts the beautiful, colorful, cartoon world with the black and white world. Interestingly, most of the violent images appeared in the colorful world. The music is also subversive. It's upbeat, yet it's discordant and unpredictable, and even disturbing in its own right. The combination of familiar, pleasant images with disturbing alien images that feel out of place creates a sense of uncanny, something unusual in games. I was attracted and repelled by it as the same time, something you may know of as cognitive dissonance. I was excited to see a psychological horror game that seemed to really be doing something different. It should also be of note that the last sound is a door opening.

What games have you seen, horror or otherwise, that seemed to really do something different in their genre? Are there any indie games you're excited for? Have you played a game that felt disturbing without being dark and grimy? If so, why?

 

[StriderShinryu]

While not exactly unknown unplayed gems, I quite like the Fatal Frame series for what it does differently from other horror games. I like that it uses ghosts as enemies instead of your usual assortment of mutant zombie like creatures. I also quite like that the combat system in the game focuses on you essentially facing the enemies down and letting them attack you. It's quite refreshing compared to the usual horror game focus on either outright running away or using the biggest gun you can find.

 

[zombiejoe]

Oh boy, I've been waiting to share these ones. Two horror games I think really need to be checked out.

1. Misadventure
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/617863

I just love the premise of this game, and the way in which it handles horror is nothing short of creative. Without giving much away, it's like playing as the main character in a video game creepypasta, and having it actually be scary.

2. Lakeview Cabin
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/627444

The atmosphere, pacing, and minimalist story in this is captivating. It's worth going in blind once, and then playing it over and over again to see all the ways things can go down.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

A game called "Sadness" piqued my interest a few years ago before it got cancelled. This was going to be a survival horror for the Wii but all the dev team got out was a trailer and some images before shutting down for reasons. I read somewhere that the IP got picked up recently and now Nintendo's scheduling a 2016 release on the Wii U.

 

[Parasitic_Chick]

I'm really into a obscure DS game called "Theresia". I found it in a bin for about $10 and thought it might be worth a kick or two. Little did I know that I would end up playing it for about 5-7 hours straight. I'm not sure what it is exactly but I found the game mesmerizing which was weird because it was a simple exploration game and I usually hate those. But the short cutscenes and the twisted story were as excellent as they were creepy. Even though I'm currently stuck on a chapter I still love it.

 

[Mikejames]

Rule of Rose was certainly different.. Not much in the way of gore, but the whole premise is an unsettling mindscrew with a bunch of kids recreating Lord of the Flies on an airship that they perceive as a giant koi fish.

1. Misadventure
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/617863

Well, wasn't expecting that one.

The title, Omori, really left feeling disturbed, which is interesting, because it's not the typical looking horror story. There are no creatures shown. It's not about a lone protagonist trying to survive against monsters. It does not take place in a prison, an insane asylum, or a haunted mansion. Instead of featuring lots of shadow and dingy settings, it's very colorful. Indeed, it looks like a rainbow threw up on my computer screen.

I'm intrigued. Reminds me of series like Paranoia Agent and Madoka, where they juxtapose upbeat music and imagery with an ultimately dark undertone.

 

[Mossberg Shotty]

The trailer is definitely intriguing, I'm going to have to remember this. As far as unique horror games, the only one that comes to mind is I'mscared. Like this one that you're so mesmerized by, it has some deceptive visuals. Not to mention it plays mind games like no other.

 

[9rac3]

This was one I stumbled on a few weeks ago, called My Father's Long Long Legs (http://correlatedcontents.com/misc/Father.html).Its a horror game made on Twine featuring little more than white text on a black background, and a story of girl watching her father obsessively dig and dig and dig...It's subtly creepy, in the way it's constructed and without any gore or jumpscares. Omori looks very interesting, definitely like nothing I've seen before, at most it kinda reminds me of OFF.

 

[DarkishFriend]

Deadly Premonition, it is an absolute monster of a game and has a huge cult following for a reason.

It's unlike any other game, horror or otherwise, that I've ever played. (Both good and bad thing)
It is widely ambitious to the point where there is so much going on it should be designed to fail. The horror story is set up in a small town in Colorado but unlike most horror games is that it has a sandbox that allows character free exploration around the town and many many side missions that delve further into the characters of the game. A lot of stuff can be found that, after completing the game, can really show the care involved to create the mystery.

The horror is very very well done. None of it is scary, and that is why it's done the best. It doesn't try to startle you with loud noises and jump scares and doesn't rely on making the player scream to immerse them. The horror of the game takes place in two different worlds, the normal one, where the mystery of WHODUNIT makes the player on edge when progressing through the investigation and the murders are extremely gruesome. The horror of the "otherworld" is incredibly dark, and lonely and depressing; seriously, enemies say "I'm sorry" when you kill them.

While I believe the game is amazing and worth playing for pretty much any gamer, the gameplay is utter shit and if you get the 360 version there are bigger problems like textures not loading, crashing, and music being too loud and being unable to hear characters speak. The game also loses steam about 3/4 through the game and the conclusion of the investigation and the culprit are so terrible it seems like a child wrote it, but it's a very good game simply because of actually fucking interesting and fun the game is.

 

[Frission]

Bookmarking this thread, well in advance.

I don't have any games to contribute apart from those made by Uri, I guess?

 

[Michael Tabbut]

While it isn't exactly a clear cut horror game, LSD Dream Emulator and Yume Nikki are probably the weirdest and creepiest games I ever played especially the former.