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- Games like Call of Cthulhu and The Wanderer bring iconic horror literature to life with unique narratives and choices.
- Edge of Nowhere and World War Z pay homage to Lovecraft and Brooks with thrilling gameplay and lore references.
- Titles like Parasite Eve and I Have No Mouth offer immersive adaptations that delve into dark themes from the original books.
From ancient civilizations to contemporary writing groups, history has graced us with an abundance of talented authors who have put forth more than a library's worth of incredible novels. Many are rich with imagery, world-building, and intriguing characters, creating whole new worlds with poetic flourish. As such, books really lend themselves to the screen, with filmmakers and game developers alike drawing on the words and bringing them to life.
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These games explore the darker sides of the fairy tales we know and love.
While we have seen many innocuous books be adapted into horror games — take Alice: Madness Returns, inspired by Lewis Caroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, for example — this list explores games of various genres inspired specifically by horror literature. Some take creative license to elaborate on the original story, some are re-skinned with new interpretations, and some faithfully reproduce their written counterparts. Either way, it is well worth checking out these games based on horror books.
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- Released
- October 30, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Cyanide Studio
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Call of Cthulhu is a survival horror RPG. As the troubled private investigator, Edward Pierce, the player is called upon to investigate the mysterious death of the Hawkins family. As they delve deeper into Darkwater's strange way of life and interrogate its suspicious inhabitants, they will uncover the real forces at play in a struggle for sanity.
Based on H.P. Lovecraft's short story of the same name, Call of Cthulhu is shrouded in the same dreaminess, madness, and mystery as the original text. It does, however, lean into its own narratives, allowing the player to make choices that affect the progression of the game and lead to four different endings. There are also upgradeable skills, stealth sections, and puzzles, offering something for all kinds of gamers.
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- Release: October 30, 2019
- Developer: La Belle Games
- Platforms: Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch
- Top Critic Rating: 70
In The Wanderer: Frankenstein's Monster, the player controls the titular classic horror figure from the moment he awakes, embarking on a journey across Europe to discover his maker. Although the gameplay is fairly minimal with a lot of walking and occasional puzzles or mini-games, the stunning art style and phenomenal soundtrack could carry the game on atmosphere alone.
The Wanderer: Frankenstein's Monster is a retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, widely considered one of the first science fiction novels ever written. Much like the book, this game explores themes of good and evil, right and wrong, and marginalization. There are, however, five different endings, each dependent on the player's actions (or inactions).
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- Released
- June 6, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
From the developer of the beloved Spyro franchise, Edge of Nowhere is an action-adventure game published by Oculus for their VR systems. Playing as Victor Howard, whose plane has crashed, leaving his co-pilot dead, the player must make their way across perilous mountains and cliffs in search of his missing fiancé, Ava Thorn. Victor is not alone, and must survive the creatures lurking at every turn through a combination of platforming, stealth, and gunplay.
Edge of Nowhere is inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, which follows an expedition in Antarctica as they explore ancient ruins and uncover beings beyond human comprehension. The VR format of the game truly brings Lovecraft's work to life by stripping away players' security and giving them the opportunity to experience the sheer magnitude of the world.
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- Released
- April 16, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Saber Interactive
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
World War Z is a third-person shooter set on a zombie-ridden Earth. In the co-op campaign, the player, with up to four friends, must navigate a series of locations and survive the zombie hordes to escape by completing different objectives. With different guns and classes that can be leveled to unlock perks, World War Z offers some hugely satisfying combat.
While the game differs from the book in terms of characters and certain story points, it maintains Max Brooks' portrayal of a world in crisis. It also makes references to language used in the book, like "zeke", and operations including the "Battle of Yonkers," which adds to the sense of lore and world-building.
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- Released
- October 5, 2010
- Developer(s)
- MercurySteam, Kojima Productions
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow follows Gabriel Belmont of the Brotherhood of Light, who must unite heaven and earth and resurrect his wife by claiming the Lords of Darkness' power by taking their pieces of the God Mask. The protagonist is tortured and complicated, and some of the twists are completely unpredictable. The hack-and-slash combat is at times brutal, complementing the puzzle and platform elements.
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Konami's Castlevania has produced plenty of masterpieces, but some games are better than others.
While not strictly following the storyline of Brom Stoker's Dracula, and unlike the other games in the Castlevania franchise, Lord of Shadows hugely reinterprets the universe, acting as a prequel of sorts to Dracula's existence and taking place in its own game timeline. Along with the iconic vampire figure, the game also makes references to Le Fanu's Carmilla and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
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World of Horror is a turn-based RPG. The player, as one of 14 playable characters, must explore a pixelized world and fight cosmic horror-esque creatures to prevent the looming apocalypse. World of Horror is, impressively, entirely hand drawn in Microsoft Paint, its 1-bit art style lending itself to the uncanniness of the game.
This game fuses Lovecraftian and Junji Ito inspirations to produce a unique esthetic and gameplay. For example, the "Cadaver Theater" is a reference to Ito's House of Puppets, and the name "Tomie" can be seen on one of the tombstones in the graveyard. As such, World of Horror is a fantastic experience for horror manga fans.
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Parasite Eve begins with an NYPD detective, Aya, going on a blind date to an opera performed by Melissa Pearce. However, the romance is cut short when everyone but Aya, her date, and Melissa, spontaneously combust. Melissa is revealed to be 'Eve' — a mutated monster. The player must investigate to get to the bottom of this supernatural event and stop Eve from destroying the rest of the human race.
Parasite Eve was marketed as the sequel to Seana's novel of the same name, which asked the question: What if mitochondria were conscious? The game is just as gruesome as the book in parts, with monsters and scientific abominations galore. The different weapon types and customizations, exploration elements, and puzzles make Parasite Eve a great nostalgic experience for any fans of the original Resident Evil games.
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In Telltale's The Walking Dead, the player takes control of criminal Lee Everett, who escapes imprisonment when the police transport car that is driving him crashes. He quickly discovers that the world is on the brink of a zombie apocalypse. He makes his way to the suburbs of Georgia where he finds a girl, Clementine, and vows to reunite her with her parents.
This game is based on Robert Kirkman's comic book series of the same name, and honors its source material with the graphic art style and parallel storylines. The trajectory of the narrative is determined by the player's choices. Telltale's The Walking Dead gets the player invested in complex characters and then forces difficult moral decisions upon them, making it one of the most emotionally affecting zombie games out there.
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I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream is a sci-fi slash psychological horror point-and-click game. It revolves around the "Mastercomputer" AM (an American supercomputer built for a global war) that has gained sentience and developed an extreme hatred for the human race. Playing alternately as the last five people on Earth, kept alive by AM to be tortured, the player must navigate tailored scenarios to redeem each character for their misdeeds.
The game is based on the book of the same name, and largely follows the same plot up until the ending, with the author himself being involved in the project. Like the book, I Have No Mouth deals with extremely dark and poignant real-world topics, which will leave the player feeling uncomfortable and disturbed. Both the game and the novel offer an introspective, dystopian commentary on human flaws and artificial intelligence.
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Dagon: By H. P. Lovecraft sees the player thrust into the shoes of the narrator of Lovecraft's short story, Dagon. In this walking simulator-style game, players can explore a nautical wasteland — discovered when drifting out to sea on a lifeboat — and the horrors that inhabit it. There are also point-and-click elements with hidden secrets to find, revealing factual information about the author's life and the story itself.
The experience is accompanied by a word-for-word narration of Dagon, which accompanies the nature of the gameplay flawlessly. The visuals of this game are also stylized and visceral; the fishy saltiness of the ocean can almost be smelled through the screen. Overall, Dagon: By H. P. Lovecraft is an educational, immersive experience that embodies the original story very well.
