Best Strategy Games With Horror Elements

Key Takeaways

Horror games with turn-based combat emphasize strategy over typical jump scares, enhancing the genre’s effectiveness.
Games like Aliens: Dark Descent and World of Horror offer unique, unnerving experiences with strategic turn-based gameplay.
Titles like Othercide and They Are Billions provide intense survival challenges mixed with tactical combat in the horror genre.

As a seasoned gamer and self-proclaimed connoisseur of all things eerie, I’ve dived headfirst into some truly chilling gaming experiences. From the hauntingly beautiful to the downright terrifying, these five games have left me quivering behind my controller.

In some horror video games, the action typically revolves around a player’s struggle against an ominous danger, often with scarce resources, or by firing numerous shots at supernatural adversaries using an arsenal of weapons. However, developers occasionally opt for a unique approach, incorporating strategy to bring the eerie and unsettling elements into play.

One way to rephrase this could be: Horror games that challenge players with strategic patience and tactics, as they confront terrors from the darkest realms of nightmares, often provide some of the genre’s most compelling experiences. In these strategic encounters, horror can truly excel in ways it may not when following more conventional, predictable storylines that audiences are accustomed to.

9 Aliens: Dark Descent

Strategic Survival In Space

Since the release of the original “Alien” film back in 1979, the Xenomorphs have been fascinating people worldwide. With this in mind, developer Tindalos Interactive chose to incorporate these creatures as a challenge for players to survive against them in their turn-based strategy game titled “Aliens: Dark Descent”.

The game effectively conveys the eerie dread that permeates the movie series, replacing traditional shock tactics with a focus on utilizing each team member’s skills for survival. Loud actions from players will only attract more aliens, adding to the mounting terror, a level of horror that could only be achieved by the masterful creations of Stan Winston.

8 World of Horror

Skill Checks And Sinister Creatures

Drawing significant influence from acclaimed manga artist Junji Ito, the game “World of Horror” perfectly encapsulates horror in all its aspects. It immerses you in traditional Japanese folklore, infused with a touch of H.P. Lovecraft’s style, creating an unsettling and eerie narrative where nothing is quite as it appears.

In this game, the essential components include taking turns in combat and managing statistics. As players work through various investigations, an engaging branching narrative serves as the backbone, offering choices that keep the story moving forward. Throughout their journey, they’ll encounter strange adversaries such as the Obsessed Man and Headless Mannequin in combat encounters.

7 Darkest Dungeon 2

A Harsh Apocalyptic Journey

Darkest Dungeon 2 skillfully amplifies the eeriness and confined atmosphere that made its predecessor so unnerving, adding a dose of intense turn-based battles to the mix. The task of averting an apocalypse is arduous, yet it can also be gratifying.

As a devoted player, I’ve found success by understanding the harmony among my party members and employing their skills wisely. It’s about figuring out what works and what doesn’t, ensuring that each subsequent game is less of a challenge than the last. From run-of-the-mill soldiers to grotesque undead monstrosities, there’s always a sense of unease when they make their appearance on the battlefield.

6 XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Extraterrestrial Terrors Await

Although XCOM: Enemy Unknown may not seem terrifying at first glance, its turn-based strategy keeps you on edge throughout gameplay as you confront a menacing enemy that remains largely enigmatic. The true terror often isn’t the aliens themselves but the suspense stemming from the unfamiliar.

Deserted streets filled with potential hiding places for extraterrestrials instill a sense of unease and creepiness, and when conflict erupts, it’s the chilling sight of your comrades being killed by an alien bursting out of them, if you don’t manage to prevent it.

5 Othercide

Breaking The Cycle Of Suffering

In the backdrop of a thrilling soundtrack and engaging tactical battles, Othercide revolves around combating sinister beings with the aim of preventing the impending doom of the world. As players guide The Daughters – humanity’s final defense – through a darkening realm, they must endure hardship as the last line of resistance against the encroaching shadows.

In this game, battles unfold in a sequence where each turn finds your heroes going head-to-head with various adversaries, ranging from quick, menacing Scavengers to colossal bosses determined to end your life. It’s an exhilarating and gratifying experience, boasting a straightforward visual aesthetic that amplifies the terror.

4 Baldur’s Gate 3

Mindflayers, Monsters, And Malus Thorm

In Dungeons & Dragons, there are numerous terrifying bosses that players often encounter. Similarly, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers encounters with the depths of the underworld and even hell. The game provides several spine-tingling moments, particularly in Act 2 when the party finds themselves in the eerie Shadow-Cursed Lands.

One particularly chilling and nerve-wracking moments in the game occurs when the player’s group meets Dr. Malus Thorm, a grisly undead surgeon residing within the House of Healing. His predilection for disfigurement and agony is hinted at through unsettling conversation, yet it’s his nurses that cause the players an uneasy sensation.

3 Solium Infernum

Command Armies And Conquer Hell

In no realm compares quite with horror that of the underworld itself, and the captivating notion of vying for the title of Darkness’s new master in “Solium Infernum” involves using intellect rather than brute force. Lead your armies, deceive fellow rulers, and do whatever it takes to claim the throne of hell.

The pleasure lies in manipulating betrayal as a tool, using language to sow uncertainty within others. It showcases familiar elements of the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) genre, but truly stands out by emphasizing that knowledge is the deadliest weapon, even amidst the most dreadful settings conceivable.

2 They Are Billions

Survival Of The Fewest

In the game “They Are Billions,” zombies are a common theme found within the horror genre. As human civilization teeters on the edge of destruction, hordes of the undead surge forth to obliterate all traces of humanity, leaving no room for the player to catch their breath. This thrilling title offers intense battles and survival scenarios where each advancement can be reversed in mere seconds.

Every advancement in the colony could be undone by a run-in with the zombies, creating chaos at any moment. With its gripping narrative and retro aesthetics, this horrifying strategy game challenges players relentlessly as they progress.

1 Marvel’s Midnight Suns

Battling The Forces Of Evil

Marvel has often found it challenging to produce high-quality video games, but they managed to hit the mark with Marvel’s Spider-Man on PlayStation. Marvel’s Midnight Suns, however, is one of the rare exceptions that effectively captures the essence of the comics and offers engaging tactical roleplaying gameplay.

Unlike typical mainstream entertainment, it presents a unique experience where you confront entities ranging from the supernatural to Mephisto and Lilith, two of hell’s most formidable residents. The combat sequences are gripping, and the narrative is brimming with chilling and demonic elements that will satisfy even the most ardent horror enthusiasts.

2024-10-07 10:33