Best Psychological Horror Games That Make You Question Reality

Many great horror games create fear by putting players in clearly dangerous situations with frightening enemies. A classic example is Resident Evil, where players are trapped in a mansion with zombies and mutated creatures. The focus isn’t on unrealistic events, but on delivering a terrifying and believable experience.

These games are designed to be unsettling and exciting by blurring the line between reality and illusion. They offer a thrilling experience as players try to figure out what’s actually happening, and we won’t reveal any secrets to keep the mystery alive. These are some of the most captivating examples you’ll find.

Alan Wake 2

Two In One

Alan Wake 2 is an action-packed adventure game where you play as both FBI Agent Saga Anderson and the writer Alan Wake. Saga is investigating a murder in the town of Bright Falls, while Alan is trapped in a strange, alternate reality and trying to escape. Throughout the game, you’ll switch between these two characters. Alan’s sections are particularly surreal and mind-bending, reflecting the chaotic nature of the reality he’s in. A unique feature of the game is the ability to solve puzzles by writing, which literally changes the world around you. Remedy Entertainment, the game’s developer, also incorporates live-action scenes with actors, blending them seamlessly with the in-game world.

A standout moment in the game is a particularly impressive musical sequence. The character Saga has a unique ability: she can enter a mental space resembling a massive corkboard to solve the mystery. Like Alan Wake, Saga will also appear in live-action scenes when interacting with specific characters. Remedy Entertainment’s graphics have become so realistic that it’s often hard to tell where the game ends and the live-action footage begins. The game ends with a major cliffhanger, leaving fans excited for the next installment in the Alan Wake story.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan

We’re On A Boat

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is the first game in a new horror series, created as a follow-up to the popular game Until Dawn. It’s an adventure game focused on exploration and story, with simple controls – you can move around and look at objects, but there aren’t any puzzles to solve. The main challenge comes from quick-time events where you need to react quickly to make choices. Failing to do so can lead to the death of one of the five characters you control, changing the course of the story. The game centers around five friends – Alex, Brad, Conrad, Fliss, and Julia – who begin with a diving trip.

The story centers around a group who discover the abandoned ship, the SS Ourang Medan, and begin to explore it. As they investigate, strange events unfold, blurring the line between what’s real and what isn’t – for both the characters in the game and the players themselves. It quickly becomes clear that the ship is haunted, leading the characters to make increasingly erratic decisions. A malevolent spirit might push someone to their doom, and it’s up to the players to uncover the truth behind the haunting. The game leaves you wondering if the events have a scientific explanation, or if the ghostly encounters are genuine, but that mystery remains unsolved. Regardless, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan is a highly recommended experience for horror fans who enjoy a good, suspenseful story.

Among Ashes

A Game Within A Wall

Among Ashes is a recently released indie horror game set in the early 2000s, when the internet was still a relatively new phenomenon. The game puts you in the role of an unnamed character, presented as if you’re interacting through a computer chat. It begins as a first-person shooter reminiscent of Doom, but quickly reveals you are actually a person playing a game within the game. Your gaming session is interrupted when a man named Mark sends you a link to another game called Night Call, warning that other players have experienced strange occurrences while playing it.

Night Call shares a creepy feeling with movies like The Ring, but instead of a cursed videotape, players receive a free game. It’s a typical first-person horror experience where you play as an investigator sent to a haunted house filled with secret passages, mazes, ghosts, and plenty of sudden scares. What makes it especially unsettling is that players begin to hear strange noises in their own apartments, forcing them to investigate and question whether the haunting is spreading from the game itself, or if it’s all in their imagination.

Catherine: Full Body

Dream Girls

I first played Catherine when it came out on PS3 and Xbox 360 back in 2011, and it was unlike anything I’d ever experienced! It eventually made its way to PC in 2019, which was great, but then they released Catherine: Full Body that same year for PS4 and PS Vita (though the Vita version was only in Japan). Thankfully, Switch owners finally got a version in 2020. It’s essentially a puzzle game, and a bit of a spiritual successor to the Persona series – the same team at Atlus made it! The story revolves around a guy named Vincent who’s in a real bind. His long-term girlfriend, Katherine, wants to get married, but he’s starting to have doubts. Things get even more complicated when he wakes up one morning next to a completely different woman named Catherine, and he’s worried he’s been unfaithful.

At night, Vincent finds himself in a strange dream world, appearing only in his underwear and with horns. There, he must solve puzzles by moving blocks to climb a tower while being pursued by terrifying figures like a demonic Katherine or a ghostly baby. Between puzzles, he can chat with other dreamers who are disguised as sheep. These trials end with moral questions that shape the story before Vincent wakes up. Back in the real world, players interact with characters and respond to texts, aiming to maintain a relationship with Katherine, pursue a romance with Catherine, or, in the expanded version of the game, try to connect with Rin. Throughout everything, Vincent struggles to understand if his dreams are real and how they’re impacting his life.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

The Kojima Effect

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is a highly-regarded GameCube game that follows Alexandra Roivas as she investigates her grandfather’s apparent murder in his mansion. Her investigation leads her to uncover the secrets of her family’s history, shifting the gameplay to different time periods and characters, such as a Roman soldier. The game is known for its unique ‘Sanity Effects’ system, which deliberately blurs the line between reality and illusion for the player, creating a disorienting and unsettling experience.

The game features a ‘sanity meter’ that decreases over time. When it gets low, strange things start happening – like controllers seemingly disconnecting, the TV volume changing on its own, or characters suddenly dying. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is a classic survival horror game with puzzles and action, but what really sets it apart are these ‘Sanity Effects.’ They were incredibly innovative for their time, and the game remains unique even today. Hopefully, it will be available on the Switch 2’s online GameCube library soon.

2025-12-22 14:38