Horror Games For People Who Hate Being Scared
Introduction
Scared of things that go bump in the night? It’s fair enough, honestly – horror games can be intense, overwhelming, and even upsetting at times. Playing a horror game can be relaxing and cathartic for some, and a terrible Friday night for others.
If you fall into the latter category but want to dip your toe into the bloody waters of the horror genre regardless, we’ve got a round-up of horror games that are perfect for people who don’t like being scared. Consider it a horror bootcamp!
How we chose the games
Horror games are, generally, meant to be scary – a shocking revelation, we’re sure – but some of them are much more laid back than others. To find our suggestions for non-scary horror games, we looked for the following traits:
A lack of jumpscares
Minimally intense atmosphere
No upsetting themes or gore
No chase sequences
There’s still a few entries in this list that have the occasional scare or heavy theme in their narrative, but for the most part, these games are purely atmospheric and spooky instead of intensely frightening. It is worth looking up trigger warnings for the games if you have specific concerns, though.
Inscryption
Image credit: Daniel Mullins Games/Devolver Digital
Release date: October 19, 2021
Developer: Daniel Mullins Games
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Inscryption is one of the most unique titles in the deck-building genre; it fuses elements from escape rooms, horror games, and table-top RPG elements to create a gameplay loop that feels wholly unique.
While it does have horrific elements, they’re not at the center of the game. There are a few gross moments and some violence, but compared to other games in the genre, they’re much less intense and act as a good segue into the world of horror.
Taking a found footage spin with its story – the main character opens a pack of cards and finds coordinates leading to a buried disk in the woods – Inscryption feels mysterious and eerie, almost as if you’re playing through a thriller movie instead of a game.
There’s a meta element to Inscryption with the character finding a game disk and becoming increasingly obsessed with the beings that reside within it. It’s a fantastic story with a unique style of play, and it’s a great first entry to start with.
Limbo
Image credit: Playdead
Release date: July 21, 2010
Developer: Playdead
Publisher: Playdead
Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Switch, iOS, Android
Limbo is more of a puzzle-platformer than a horror game, admittedly, but it’s a good foray into the world of atmospheric horror. Developed and published by Playdead, it came out in 2010 and still holds up as a beautifully tense experience 16 years later.
In Limbo, you play as a boy who’s desperately searching for his missing sister, wandering into a forest that appears to be the mouth of hell. It’s a side-scrolling platform experience with mechanical puzzles, traps, and enemies to contend with, and a fantastic atmosphere to boot.
There is gore in Limbo, but it’s a heavily stylized game, so doesn’t land in the same way that a classic horror game might. When the boy falls victim to a trap or enemies, different deaths are shown on screen, like dismemberment.
Arachnaphobes should take note that there is a very big spider in Limbo that acts as one of the main antagonists.
Until Dawn
Image credit: Ballistic Moon/PlayStation Publishing LLC
Release date: August 25, 2015
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PS4, PS5, PC
Out of all the non-scary horror games in this list,Until Dawn is arguably the most intense. It does have jumpscares, gore, and some tense moments, but if you can watch cheesy b-horror movies, you’ll find it perfectly manageable. It’s essentially a love letter to classic slasher films.
In Until Dawn, you guide a group of friends who’ve returned to a mountainside cabin where two of their pals went missing the year before.
The initial premise is that you’re meeting to reconnect and celebrate the life of the missing girls, but things quickly get darker from there. It’s a very cinematic game, largely focusing on the player making narrative choices and doing quick-time events.
If you can stomach a little tension and horror, Until Dawn is a very enjoyable time. It’s goofy and has wooden dialogue in places, and it doesn’t feel overly realistic. It’s easy to suspend your disbelief while playing.
Yume Nikki
Image credit: kikiyama/PLAYISM
Release date: June 26, 2004
Developer: Kikiyama
Publisher: Kikiyama/PLAYISM for the reboot
Platforms: PC
Yume Nikki is a cult classic in the world of RPG Maker horror, but it’s much less intense than its peers, including Corpse Party, Ib, and Mad Father. While Yume Nikki does feature some heavy topics, it’s largely a surrealist adventure.
In fact, Yume Nikki isn’t even considered a horror game by some. I’d class it as a horror due to its exploration of nightmares, but the gameplay mostly consists of walking through mind-melting scenes, collecting in-game Effects, and witnessing how the main character, Madotsuki, changes.
The story in Yume Nikki is subtle; it’s more of a collection of themes rather than anything else.
Madotsuki lives alone and can’t initially leave her apartment. When she interacts with her dream diary, she saves the game, and when she gets into bed, she starts dreaming, kickstarting the exploration process.
Little Nightmares 3
Image credit: Supermassive Games/Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release date: October 9, 2025
Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
The Little Nightmares series is often viewed as a good way to get into horror. It’s largely atmospheric and puzzle-based, and both the art style and music are supremely impressive. There are disturbing themes and chase scenes, but they’re not overly upsetting, comparatively.
Out of the main trio of games, Little Nightmares 3 is the least horrific by a mile – although it’s worth noting that it’s not the best game in the series.
Story-wise, Little Nightmares 3 focuses on the characters Low and Alone who end up traversing a mysterious land called The Spiral. There are different segments to the world, like a desert and a circus, each with their own antagonist to avoid.
It relies heavily on horror tropes, like haunted dolls and puppets, meaning it’s quite easy to predict when scares will happen. There are a few stealth sections, chases, and gross images, but largely, it’s a short, atmospheric experience that focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving over anything else.
With the release of Evil Dead Burn it seemed like a good time to give this pixelated adventure of Ash’s a go, Read our review.