These disturbing games make our skin crawl. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most unsettling games to date!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most unsettling games
00:12to date.
00:19Number 20.
00:20The Binding of Isaac Rebirth.
00:21What happens when you combine the Abrahamic tale of Isaac and turn it into a roguelike?
00:26You get an addictive RNG loop and with some truly gnarly imagery.
00:33The fact that you have to kill enemies with projectiles made from your tears is one thing,
00:38but having the whole thing be framed around a child fleeing from his murderous zealot
00:42of a mother only to encounter some truly gruesome monsters along the way?
00:45Yikes, it's a lot.
00:46If the game wasn't such a hoot to play, we'd still be shuddering at some of those
00:51Number 19.
00:58Doki Doki Literature Club.
01:05A phenomenon upon release, what was supposed to be another visual novel about finding love
01:10in a fictional high school became something far more sinister.
01:14Before we knew it, we were playing a dark satire that took all the tropes of the genre
01:18and turned them right on their head, with an extra splash of graphic violence for good
01:22measure.
01:23Try as you might to pursue your dream girl and achieve that Doki Doki happy ending, but
01:27it becomes all too clear that you are not in control.
01:30Not at all.
01:36Number 18.
01:37The Coffin of Andy and Laylee.
01:44Andrew and Laylee Graves are a pair of siblings caught in dire circumstances, dealing with
01:48an outbreak, cultists being abandoned by their parents, and the threat of starvation.
01:53On the other hand, they also have no issue when it comes to killing, cannibalizing, and
01:56summoning demons in order to survive.
01:58Yep, these two are beautifully toxic together, struggling to survive in a world that seemingly
02:03wants them dead at every turn.
02:05Given the game's episodic structure and multiple endings, there's a smorgasbord
02:09of sin to uncover here.
02:10And yes, that does include the now infamous incest route.
02:21Number 17.
02:22Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly.
02:24When it comes to games that deal with hauntings, ghosts, and evil rituals, you really can't
02:27go wrong with this seminal sequel.
02:29Even with its age visuals and lack of gore, the way in which it depicts malevolent spirits,
02:34in combination with having to defeat them by snapping pictures up close, it's truly
02:38really unnerving.
02:46The dread you'll feel knowing that another ghost is waiting in the wings to lunge at
02:50you through the lens cannot be understated.
02:52It's the franchise at its peak, and it's a shame we'll likely never see its ilk again.
03:01Number 16.
03:02Little Nightmares.
03:03Welcome to the uncanny valley filled with mystery and monsters aplenty that will undoubtedly
03:07leave you distressed.
03:13As a child with nothing more than a yellow trench coat to her name, you're forced to
03:17navigate through a perilous array of locales filled with misshapen creatures that straddle
03:21the line between human and something out of a Tim Burton fever dream.
03:25There's no fighting back, only running and hiding.
03:28And while that's scary enough, sure, it's the gradual unraveling of the child's dark
03:32purpose that really sets our teeth on edge.
03:41Number 15.
03:42The Cat Lady.
03:43On the surface, this point-and-click adventure paints itself as a supernatural mystery where
03:54a middle-aged woman, following an attempt to take her own life, is tasked with eliminating
03:58some truly despicable individuals by an entity that may or may not be death itself.
04:04However, underneath it all, the narrative interweaves commentary on painfully real issues
04:08such as self-loathing, the hollowness of life, as well as the various complexities of mental
04:13health.
04:14Both of these aspects come together to hit you like a freight train.
04:17And while the gaming experience may be a depressing one, it's nonetheless engrossing.
04:28Number 14.
04:29Welcome to the Game.
04:32As if a game based around the deep web wasn't going to have unpleasant elements to it, especially
04:37one built around the singular goal of finding a way to locate a Red Room, aka an online
04:42execution.
04:43To do so, players have to navigate websites with deplorable contents, looking for parts
04:47of a URL that will gain them access to the Red Room.
04:51And if that wasn't all bad enough, you also have to perpetually log out and hide to ensure
04:55you aren't kidnapped and turned into the star attraction of the Murderathon.
04:59That's about it.
05:00You are now ready to explore the deep web.
05:02Number 13.
05:03My Lovely Daughter.
05:11Love can drive someone off the deep end, and in the case of Faust, he will do anything
05:15to bring his daughter back from the dead, even if it means murdering innocents to enrich
05:19her fading soul, while also crafting her a brand new homunculus body.
05:23So yeah, this one is a real humdinger.
05:26By the creator's own admittance, this game is intentionally upsetting and made to draw
05:29parallels to the evils of child labor and other discomforting topics.
05:34There's no option to act against Faust's wishes either.
05:36You commit heinous acts in the flimsy name of parental responsibility, or you just turn
05:41the game off.
05:48Number 12.
05:50The only way to save yourself is to banish the demon before you're too far gone.
05:54You couldn't ask for a better profession to serve as the basis of a horror game than
05:58one that deals with examining the dead.
06:01While it's partially a walking simulator, the premise alone of having to go through
06:04the motions of taking part and investigating corpses while trying to avoid demonic possession
06:09ensures that the whole experience is rife with plenty of scares.
06:13Those with a weak constitution or can't stomach the idea of messing around with a
06:17deceased body should certainly think twice before applying for this position.
06:27Number 11, Inside.
06:35So many questions, so few answers, and a whole lot of WTF in between.
06:39Why are we, a seemingly innocent child, being hunted down by armed men and attack dogs?
06:44What's with the killer mermaids?
06:45And of course, that bonkers ending.
06:47It all coalesces together to create a gripping puzzler dipped with dystopian flavor.
06:52As to be expected from the talent that brought us Limbo, Inside's world will doubtlessly
06:56creep you out, just as much as it will leave you pondering just what the hell it was trying
07:00to say.
07:06Number 10, This War of Mine.
07:12There's no creatures to cull, no paranormal problems to overcome, just a bunch of ordinary
07:16people trying to survive a desolate war zone.
07:19A harrowing strategy game inspired by all too real events, players are tasked with keeping
07:24a group of civilians alive until a ceasefire is declared.
07:27This involves keeping those under your charge both alive and their spirits raised, which
07:31is far easier said than done.
07:34Hunting for resources, dealing with other hostile survivors, making life or death decisions,
07:38this thing has stress and sorrow woven into every single pixel.
07:48Number 9, Fear and Hunger.
07:52The RPG that lives to make you suffer, with the only thing crueler than the mechanics
07:57being the enemies you encounter as you venture into a dungeon anyone in their right mind
08:01should definitely stay clear of.
08:03Rest assured, it's not just the difficulty spikes that will leave you shuddering, but
08:06also its gruesome death animations.
08:09Fear and Hunger doesn't just give you a game over screen, instead you can count on
08:12watching your adventure be subjected to an agonizing end depending on what nightmarish
08:17creature ended them.
08:18Skinning, torture, decapitation, other stuff we can't really discuss here.
08:22But be warned, you are not in for a fun time.
08:29Number 8, Silent Hill 2.
08:38It's a classic for a reason.
08:40Following a letter that indicates his dead wife might somehow be alive in the town of
08:44Silent Hill, James Sunderland follows the trail, and into a waking nightmare.
08:48The puzzles, the atmosphere, the misshapen enemies, all tied together in a narrative
08:52centered on themes of guilt and punishment.
08:55While the franchise has flayed ever since, its second outing remains at the peak of horror
08:59gaming, in many ways laying the foundation for the hits that came after.
09:03Its scares are both overt and subtle as they come, infecting your psyche in the same way
09:07the fog permeates Silent Hill itself.
09:15Number 7, Outlast.
09:21Asylums are common settings in the world of horror games, but arguably the most terrifying
09:26among them is one found amidst the blood and carnage of Outlast.
09:29As a journalist only armed with a video camera and apparently zero sense of any sort of self-preservation,
09:35players soon find themselves fleeing from mutated monstrosities with murder on the brain.
09:40There is death, dismemberment, and darkness everywhere you run, made all the worse by
09:44the fact you cannot fight back whatsoever.
09:47We're still not over our encounters with Chris Walker or Dr. Trager.
09:53Number 6, Bloodborne.
09:55FromSoftware are just way too good when it comes to conjuring cosmic horror, and nowhere
09:59is this more prevalent than in Bloodborne, where beasts of the night and eldritch monstrosities
10:07run amok.
10:08Despite the player being armed with all manner of tough weaponry, it doesn't take away
10:11from how unnerving the Transform residents of Yharnam truly are.
10:15This is especially true of the bosses, many so otherworldly and distorted that no hunter
10:20can stand before them without feeling a little shaken.
10:28Number 5, Manhunt 2.
10:36For the longest time, this game was both lauded and despised for being the most gruesome,
10:42and violent game in the medium, one that had you playing as a psychotic individual stealthily
10:46murdering his way through the game, dispatching his foes in the most intimately violent ways
10:51imaginable.
10:52Nothing is off the table here, with gore and every other unpleasantness front and center
10:56here.
10:57It's very much everything but the kitchen sink and how it handles its kills, which depending
11:00on your tolerance for slashers might just be a bit too much.
11:11Number 4, Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.
11:18In a single sinister stroke, Resident Evil reclaimed his crown as the king of survival
11:22horror, going from the absurdities of later franchise entries and into the insidious household
11:27of the Baker family.
11:29The limited resources, confined spaces, vexing puzzles, and nail-biting narrative captured
11:34the spirit of the originals, only now in a first-person perspective to really amp the
11:38whole psychological terror of being hunted by the Bakers and their mold-like afflictions,
11:43who themselves encapsulate a unique style of horror, ensuring you're kept on your toes
11:47all throughout your torturous tenure.
11:56Number 3, OMORI Beautiful, haunting, painful to behold, this
12:04turn-based RPG excels not only as a visual treat, but hits way too hard with how it integrates
12:10concepts of trauma, abuse, and emotional instability not only into its narrative, but its mechanics
12:15as well.
12:16Standing on the shoulders of Undertale and Earthbound, OMORI is profound in its exploration
12:21of repression, especially when applied to its endearing and impressionable cast.
12:25OMORI excels in all that it tries to accomplish, and as a result, will hit way too close to
12:30home for many.
12:41Number 2, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
12:49There may never be another point-and-click game that succeeds in conveying menace and
12:53hopelessness to such an absurd degree, and it's all due to its villain, AM, a supercomputer
12:59that loathes humanity to such an extent that not only does it annihilate the global population,
13:04save for five individuals, but then spends an absorbent number of years torturing them
13:08out of sheer spite, often by having them confront their own fundamental flaws as human beings
13:13via virtual escapades.
13:15There are no happy endings here, it's very depressing.
13:18Only attempting to outthink and outplay the smartest and most ruthless beings in existence,
13:23Good luck with this one.
13:24This is pointless.
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13:45Number 1, P.T.
13:47This brutal killing took place while the family was gathered at home on a Sunday afternoon.
13:52The playable teaser that demonstrated to the world what Hideo Kojima can do in a handful
13:56of minutes compared to what countless others failed to do over the course of several hours.
14:00What would eventually be revealed as a promotional material for the ill-fated Silent Hills, this
14:05game is utterly terrifying.
14:07Between the grotesque imagery, use of sound design, and the looping mechanics, players
14:11endeavor to escape the site of a grisly murder, whilst also trying to piece together what
14:15happened.
14:17This will confound you, confuse you, and most of all, have you cowering.
14:19The fact we'll never see Kojima's vision realized remains a definite bitter loss.
14:29So which of these games kept you up at night?
14:31Let us know down in the comments.
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