Horror game

Horror games are a category of video games built around horror fiction, with the main goal of frightening the player. The label can also apply to tabletop games that include horror elements. Unlike most other video game genres, which are sorted by how they play, horror games are almost always defined by their story or visual style, and they can use many different types of gameplay. What draws people to the genre is often its power to create fear through a sense of dread in the narrative and through game mechanics that make the player feel less in control—a phenomenon researchers call intraludic transgression.

Sub-genres

In general, video game genres are grouped by gameplay style, game mode, or platform, ignoring narrative themes like science fiction or fantasy. Horror games are one of the narrative-based classifications that break this pattern, as the term is widely applied to any game meant to scare players—similar to how science fiction games are defined by their theme rather than gameplay. Because of this broad link to the horror theme, there are no well-defined sub-genres. Many gameplay-defined genres include horror-themed titles—for example, the Castlevania platformer series borrows monsters from various horror myths.

These games are still classified by their original gameplay genre, with the horror aspect seen as a literary element. Still, a few specific areas within the horror classification have been recognized as unique sub-genres. Action horror games combine action-game elements from first-person and third-person shooters with survival horror themes, making them faster-paced than typical survival horror titles.

Action horror

Their popularity grew after the 2005 release of Resident Evil 4, and the trend continued in Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, which emphasized combat over puzzles and problem-solving (though Resident Evil 7 later returned to the series’ survival horror roots). Examples include The House of the Dead, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, The Last of Us, and the original Alan Wake. One of the most common and clearly defined horror game types is survival horror. These games focus on keeping the player-character alive in a frightening setting with scarce resources, making them more like action games or action-adventure games.