Summary
- Horror walking simulators focus on psychological trauma, not monsters or combat.
- These games explore deep fears through subtle storytelling and eerie atmospheres.
- The scariest part is the slow, quiet unraveling of safety in familiar spaces.
There’s a special kind of fear that comes from simply walking. No guns, no combat — not even a sprint button to save you. Just you, your thoughts, and whatever that sound was behind the door you just closed. Horror walking simulators don’t hide behind jump scares or boss fights. They take the slow route, winding players through dark hallways, crumbling memories, and stories that feel a little too real.
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These games don’t ask players to fight monsters. They are the monsters. And whether it’s psychological trauma or something a little more... Squishy, these horror walking sims show that the scariest thing in a game might just be walking forward.
The Town of Light
The Hospital May Not Take Responsibility for What You See
- Release Date: February 26, 2016
- Developer: LKA
- Publisher: Wired Productions
Set inside the ruins of a real psychiatric hospital in Volterra, Italy, The Town of Light threads its horror through grounded realism. Players step into the role of Renee, a former patient returning years later to piece together her fragmented memories. But this isn’t a story about hauntings or apparitions. It's about the way trauma lingers in peeling wallpaper and echoing hallways. There are no enemies to fight, but there's plenty to fear, especially when Renee’s internal voice begins to diverge from the documents and facts scattered across the hospital.
There’s something deeply unsettling about how the game blends historical records of psychiatric abuse with surreal, hand-drawn dream sequences. It doesn’t just ask players to observe Renee’s past; it forces them to question what they’re seeing and why it matters. And while it never throws a monster at the screen, the weight of knowing these events could’ve happened, or did, makes every quiet step hit harder than any scream ever could.
Infliction
Poltergeists Hate Mirrors for a Reason
Infliction
- Released
- October 18, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Infliction is what happens when a domestic setting turns hostile. Players are dropped into an abandoned suburban home shortly after a tragedy, left to uncover the story by digging through letters, voice recordings, and haunted objects. At first, it’s just tension. Doors close on their own. Lights flicker. But then the house starts remembering, and players are forced to relive increasingly disturbing moments tied to grief, abuse, and guilt. It’s not subtle, but it doesn’t want to be.
While technically there’s a hostile presence, most of the time, Infliction feels like walking through the aftermath of something terrible. It leans into the same kind of personal, psychological horror that P.T. Made famous, but keeps it grounded in familial spaces — nurseries, kitchens, and bedrooms. Places that were once safe. And that slow, quiet unraveling of safety is what gives Infliction its staying power, long after the credits roll.
Visage
Nobody Smiles in the House, Not Even the Walls
Visage
- Released
- October 30, 2020
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- SadSquare Studio
At a glance, Visage looks like another P.T.-inspired indie horror. But it doesn’t take long for that comparison to wear thin. It’s slower, meaner, and far more committed to breaking players down across its non-linear chapters. Each one introduces a different tragic figure haunting the house, and none of them play fair. There are no weapons, only hiding spots and darkness, and the latter becomes a real threat thanks to the sanity mechanic, which punishes players for staying in the dark too long.
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What makes Visage truly terrifying is how little it cares about giving players control. Objects move when they shouldn’t. Hallways shift behind closed doors. And sometimes, the worst thing a player can do is turn around. It’s one of the rare walking sims that doesn't just build atmosphere but maintains it like a noose, tightening with every step. Few horror games feel this suffocating, and somehow, that’s exactly what makes it impossible to stop playing.
Madison
The Camera Flash is Louder Than the Screams
MADiSON
- Released
- July 8, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- BLOODIOUS GAMES
- Publisher(s)
- BLOODIOUS GAMES, Perpetual Europe
- Genre(s)
- Puzzle, Indie Games, Adventure, Action, Simulation
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X/S
Sometimes, the scariest thing in a horror game isn’t the monster but the idea that players might have to look at it. Madison understands that better than most. It turns a Polaroid camera into both a mechanic and a psychological trap, forcing players to snap photos of things they really don’t want to see. It’s all tied into a twisted story about demonic rituals, family trauma, and a possessed boy named Luca who gets stuck reliving a past that refuses to stay buried.
What makes Madison terrifying is how intimate it feels. Players aren’t exploring some sprawling haunted mansion; they’re just trying to escape their childhood home, and that setting only makes the tension more suffocating. Every hallway looks familiar but feels wrong. Every room tells a story that gets darker the longer players linger. And the camera, which develops photos in real time, is more of a curse than a tool. Nothing about the experience relies on jump scares or chase sequences. It’s a horror game that only asks players to walk and look, but it still ends up making them want to shut their eyes.
Blair Witch
Lost in the Woods, and Somehow Worse When Found
Blair Witch
- Released
- August 30, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Publisher(s)
- Lionsgate Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Amazon Luna
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The real trick with Blair Witch isn’t what players see but what they can’t. Set in the Black Hills Forest in 1996, it drops a former cop named Ellis into a missing child case that spirals straight into supernatural terror. It borrows just enough from the movie to feel connected, but it builds its own mythology around the Blair Witch without relying on found footage gimmicks. There are no weapons, just a flashlight, a camcorder, and a dog named Bullet who honestly deserves a medal for bravery.
What makes Blair Witch shine as a walking simulator is how it messes with space and time. The forest shifts behind players when they’re not looking, paths lead back to where they started, and reality starts to fray the deeper Ellis walks into the woods. Most of the scares come from atmosphere: radio static, whispers in the trees, and VHS tapes that change the world when played back. And the ending isn’t based on survival but on how players treat their dog and manage their guilt. It’s a game that punishes carelessness, not with a death screen, but with an ending that feels disturbingly personal.
SOMA (Safe Mode)
Under the Ocean, No One Can Hear Your Existential Crisis
SOMA
- Released
- September 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Frictional Games
- Publisher(s)
- Frictional Games
- Genre(s)
- Horror
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Frictional’s SOMA originally featured deadly monsters stalking its underwater research stations, but with the addition of Safe Mode, it turned into something far more focused and arguably more powerful. Without the need to hide or run, players are left with nothing between them and the philosophical nightmare at the heart of the game. Consciousness, identity, the soul — it all gets cracked open and studied under flickering fluorescent lights.
What really sticks with players isn’t the horror of the creatures, but the horror of their implications. The people who used to live in this station aren’t just gone; they were copied, backed up, and overwritten like files on a hard drive. Every button press, every computer login, feels like intruding on someone else’s final thoughts. The water pressure might not crush players, but the story probably will.
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
The Pig Mask Never Leaves You
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
- Released
- September 10, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- The Chinese Room
- Publisher(s)
- Frictional Games
- Genre(s)
- Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One
This isn’t The Dark Descent. There are no oil lanterns to refill or sanity meters to babysit. A Machine for Pigs instead pushes its horror through ideas and allegory, spinning a tale about a grieving father and the monstrous vision he builds to reshape the world. The pigmen themselves, with their human screams and jerky movements, are unnerving, but the real discomfort comes from the slow realization that Mandus may be the worst monster of all.
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Players walk through slaughterhouses, factories, and catacombs, unraveling a descent that feels more philosophical than physical. There’s no combat, barely any puzzles, and yet it manages to disturb on a deeply cerebral level. It’s less about surviving and more about enduring, and in this story, sometimes walking forward is the bravest thing a person can do.
Layers of Fear (2016)
The Paint Drips Even When You Look Away
Layers of Fear
- Released
- February 16, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Publisher(s)
- Aspyr
- Genre(s)
- Horror
- Platform(s)
- Switch, PlayStation (Original), Xbox One, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Layers of Fear plays like a haunted house ride designed by a mad artist, and that’s because it kind of is. Players take on the role of a tormented painter returning to his mansion to complete his “masterpiece,” but the house refuses to stay still. Hallways twist behind closed doors. Rooms melt. Paintings warp and whisper. And somewhere inside all that madness is a truth he refuses to face.
What makes this walking sim different is how aggressively it manipulates space. Players can walk through a door, turn around, and find the room has vanished behind them. It weaponizes perspective, trust, and routine. And because everything is tied to the painter’s unraveling mind, every brushstroke feels like a confession. It’s not scary because it wants to be. It’s scary because it has no control over itself, and neither does the player.
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