Video games have made tremendous strides as an immersive art form, and the past decade has allowed them to progressively receive the respect they deserve. Video games can be fun ways to kill time or connect with friends, but they can also tell incredible stories that force the player to consider dark ideas.
Some video games are fun escapism that doesn't psychologically tax the audience. Some crowds appreciate a nihilistic narrative that isn't afraid to wallow in despair. Dark games can still have happy endings or accomplish moments of levity. Still, the dreariest video game storylines will have players questioning humanity, like the plots in Silent Hill 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
10 Silent Hill 2
Release Date: September 24, 2001
Konami's Silent Hill survival horror franchise has never been afraid to tell psychologically troubling stories that focus on emotional trauma. Each Silent Hill game transforms the titular community into a nightmarish fugue state where the protagonist atones for their sins. Silent Hill 2 is frequently praised as the franchise's peak.
James Sunderland spends the game trying to locate his missing wife, Maria, who's sent him a letter alerting him of her status at Silent Hill. By the game's end, James learns that his wife isn't only dead, but that he's responsible for it. It's a crushing climax that's even harsher depending on which of the game's endings the player receives.
9 The Last Of Us Part II
Release Date:June 19, 2020
The Last of Us and its apocalyptic landscape features some cutthroat, horrific events. Still, Joel's big decision regarding Ellie's fate during the game's end triggers a series of devastating turns in its sequel. The Last Of Us Part II is considerably darker than its predecessor. It forces the player to experience genuine loss and recontextualize its heroes through a fresh perspective.
A pivotal character's demise early on in Ellie's side of the story is one of the darkest events to transpire in a video game. The Last of Us Part II then makes the audience walk a mile in the shoes of this killer, Abby, and empathize with her by the end.
8 The Binding Of Isaac
Release Date: September 28, 2011
Many dark video games make their mark because of ultra-realistic graphics that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. The Binding of Isaac is an indie roguelike game with rudimentary graphics, but it still manages to thoroughly get under the audience's skin. Drawing inspiration from the harsh Biblical story of Isaac, players control Isaac, a frail child who runs away from his mother after he learns he's on the chopping block.
Isaac encounters a basement filled with physical and psychological horrors while he struggles to prove that he deserves to exist. The independent nature of The Binding of Isaac allows the game to explore controversial and uncomfortable storytelling.
7 The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Release Date: April 27, 2000
Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise has no end in sight. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask faced a tough task by having to follow The Ocarina of Time, but the Nintendo 64 sequel finds success by embracing a darker, more adult atmosphere for a Zelda game.
In Majora's Mask, Link must stop the destruction of the world, which will happen three days after the moon collides with Termina. This apocalyptic premise is a lot for Zelda, but the game is full of foreboding imagery. The game's signature masks that Link must wear to gain unique skills present themselves as painful transformations instead of empowering upgrades.
6 Eternal Darkness
Release Date: June 24, 2002
Eternal Darkness is an original survival horror game that remains exclusive to the GameCube, but it has claimed an impressive cult status over the years. Eternal Darkness is deeply inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe.
The horror game adopts a unique structure where the player controls a dozen different figures, all of whom have faced and failed against the game's apocalyptic forces. Eternal Darkness' primary protagonist is Alex Roivas, but the game's nihilistic cosmic horror feels impossible to defeat after the audience experiences death and destruction as all of the other characters.
5 BioShock
Release Date: August 21, 2007
The BioShock trilogy is a masterpiece in storytelling and gameplay that's been difficult to top. BioShock excels with its distinct level designs and the phenomenal world-building that helps bring the underwater world of Rapture to life. It's possible to breeze through BioShock without taking in the larger commentary or themes regarding control, addiction, and greed, but the player is still forced to confront difficult truths.
The whole Little Sister element forces players to consider the cost of sacrifice and if they're more important than the common man. The games carefully condition callous behavior, and the final twist recontextualizes everything that's happened and who's the real villain.
4 Rule Of Rose
Release Date: January 19, 2006
Rule of Rose is a 2006 survival horror title for the PlayStation 2 that largely flew under the radar. Steeped in fantastical themes and metaphors, Rule of Rose looks at a 19-year-old named Jennifer who winds up in a macabre world where cruel children reign supreme.
Rule of Rose dwells in constant pain as Jennifer must provide constant offerings to the children who control her fate. Rule of Rose never allows its darkness to relinquish, even in its ending, and it underscores a message that presents children as evil, irredeemable monsters.
3 Heavy Rain
Release Date: February 23, 2010
David Cage's Heavy Rain is an ambitious action-adventure game that focuses on the dreadful slayings of an exaggerated serial murderer, the Origami Killer, who drowns his victims through wicked means. Heavy Rain doesn't shy away from the dark nature of the Origami Killer's crimes.
Thisatmospheric title includes a lot of abuse toward children that's hard to endure. Heavy Rain's big twist also reveals that one of the game's four playable characters is actually the Origami Killer, which makes the audience complicit in these evil acts.
2 Twisted Metal: Black
Release Date: June 18, 2001
Racing games aren't typically known for their intricate narratives, which is why it's so surprising that Twisted Metal: Black wallows in such cynical territory. Twisted Metal: Black was the franchise's big, violent PlayStation 2 debut. All of the characters in Twisted Metal: Black are tortured souls from the Blackfield Asylum mental institution. Calypso, a mysterious figure who can grant anyone's wish, hosts the latest Twisted Metal tournament.
Most of the goals and wishes in Twisted Metal: Black revolve around revenge, murder, and chaos. Some missions are truly macabre, like Cage's wish to have his compassion for humanity removed so that he can become the world's best serial killer.
1 Manhunt
Release Date: November 18, 2003
Manhunt and its standalone sequel, Manhunt 2, are considered to be some of the most violent games ever made. Sometimes aggression and brutality are secondary in an action title, but the whole point of Manhunt is to be as debased as possible.
Manhunt's bleak plot revolves around James Earl Cash, a death row inmate who is given a chance to free himself and his family if he jumps through Director Starkweather's hoops and massacres dangerous individuals. Manhunt rewards depravity, and this disgusting onslaught has no silver lining. Even the seemingly "happy" ending that Cash is promised is a ruse.