Almost… traumatic experience: The 10 darkest video games of all time

Beyond literature and film, some of the darkest, bleakest, scary stories have come out of the world of video games.

It is said that a really good video game can change the one who plays it. The following list includes 10 games that achieve exactly that, but in a negative way, emotionally injuring the player. The criteria used by the Collider is the content unsuitable for minors, the themes, the aesthetics, the narrative, the originality and the impact they leave to anyone who spends a few hours with them…

10. Inside (2016)

Playdead's 'Inside' is one of the best games coming from independent studios. The player controls a boy trying to escape from a mysterious facility and gradually penetrates into a nightmarish laboratory, where people seem to be used as objects of experiments. The game is not based on extensive dialogues or explanations. The narration is done almost exclusively through the environment, lighting, movements and what happens in the background. Directing uses lighting not only to guide the player but also to enhance the feeling of entrapment. The result is a simple but extremely ominous game that turns uncertainty into a key element of his horror.

9. Spec Ops: The Line (2012)

As a game category, First Person Shooters (FPS) often celebrate war – 'Spec Ops: The Line' chooses the opposite path. The player assumes the role of Captain Martin Walker, the leader of a three-member Delta Force entering destroyed Dubai in search of a missing unit. But what begins as a typical rescue mission gradually turns into a psychological nightmare. The game uses its own mechanisms against the player, challenging blind obedience to commands and the way the FPS genre usually embellishes violence. War crimes, post-traumatic stress and cognitive dissonance become central elements of a deeply anti-war story.

8. This War of Mine (2014)

Inspired by the siege of Sarajevo, This War of Mine takes the war from the point of view of soldiers to the everyday life of civilians. The player controls a small group of people trying to survive in a destroyed city, in search of food, medicine and other necessary supplies. What makes the game particularly bleak is mainly the moral dilemmas it imposes. Survival may require stealing, abandoning other people, or making decisions that would otherwise be unthinkable. There are no easy answers. The game forces the player to wonder what he would do in conditions of extreme deprivation, turning real human suffering into one of the most powerful narrative mechanisms.

7. SOMA (2015)

Frictional Games, known for some excellent horror games, created with 'SOMA' something more than a conventional survival story. Simon Jarrett, after a serious car accident, undergoes an experimental brain scan. When he wakes up, he finds himself about a century later in an underwater facility. There he encounters bio-mechanical monsters while trying to understand what is left of humanity. Beyond the monsters, the real terror lies in the game's philosophical questions: what is consciousness, what does identity mean, and whether a replica of a human mind can be considered a real person. "SOMA" leaves the player with a persistent feeling of existential suffocation that culminates in the finale.

6. Pathologic (2005)

When a mysterious airborne epidemic destroys a small town, the player assumes the role of a doctor. He has just twelve days to survive, discover the history of the place and find a cure. If it fails, THEY WILL ALL DIE! 'Pathologic' is intentionally difficult and often frustrating. Resources are limited, time is pressing and there is no way to save everyone, which places a psychological burden on the player. Who is constantly called upon to decide whom to help, whom to abandon and where to dispose of what little he has.

5. Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Beyond the 2024 remake, the original “Silent Hill 2” released 25 years ago remains one of the most important psychological horror stories in video games. James Sunderland arrives in Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife. In search of answers, he wanders into a decadent world full of monsters. The environment and monsters function as expressions of the protagonist's subconscious, guilt and trauma. The horror is internal, deeply psychological, and the story explores pain, loss, and self-punishment in a way that affected the entire genre of these games. Even its end retains a heavy, almost suffocating melancholy.

4. Manhunt (2003)

Rockstar Games has identified with violent game series like Grand Theft Auto, but the older and lesser-known “Manhunt” has gone much further. Death row inmate James Earl Cash mysteriously avoids execution and awakens in a decadent city, where he is forced to participate in snuff films (videos depicting real murders) by chasing gang members. The game brings the player annoyingly close to violence and murders, and rewards him for the most brutal executions. With the discomfort it causes, it became one of the most controversial games of its time.

3. LISA: The Painful (2014)

The cartoonish, 2D aesthetic of “LISA: The Painful” initially creates the wrong impression – this is definitely not “Super Mario”… In a world where an apocalyptic event has wiped out all women, addict Brand finds a little girl and decides to raise her. When he is kidnapped, a desperate attempt is made to locate him. The game forces the player to make painful decisions with permanent consequences. He may have to sacrifice members of his team or even members of his own body. There is no easy return from these options. The road is long and full of misery…

2. Fear & Hunger (2018)

"Fear & Hunger" gained a fanatic audience and is considered one of the most peculiar survival horror RPGs (Role Playing Games). The player chooses one of four characters and enters an anachronistic, hostile dungeon. The game is not based on a strictly linear narrative. The story arises from the player's choices, failures, and discoveries. Each descent into the depths can lead to different horrors, while dark worldbuilding and bizarre revelations constantly reinforce the feeling that nothing is safe and crush all hope. "Fear and hunger" and many other evils...

1. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream (1995)

Based on Harlan Ellison's short story of the same name, this point-and-click adventure expands the original material considerably. During the Cold War, an intelligent supercomputer wipes out almost all of humanity. It keeps only a few people alive and virtually immortal, so that it can torment them indefinitely out of hatred for mankind. The game brings together almost every possible form of dark themes: torture, guilt, trauma, despair, and complete loss of control. The characters are forced to confront the weaknesses and crimes of their past, while survival itself offers no meaningful hope. What makes “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” is a sense of utter helplessness in the face of a powerful force that has turned human existence into endless torment.