Oh, the cosmic horror! I can not think of any other horror subgenre that manages to evoke the feeling of existential dread and unknowingness so well.
Mostly inspired by the works of thewriter H.P. Lovecraft, this subgenre is defined by its themes of fearing the unknown, forbidden knowledge, complete isolation, madness, and the presence of eldritch beings too terrifying for the human mind to grasp. What is not to love, right?
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There is also a lovely quote from Lovecraft that sums everything up for me. “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” — which pretty much represents the essence of cosmic horror.
And the good news is that this subgenre is gaining more space in the media every year, and it’s no different in the video game industry since we have some games that successfully portray Lovecraftian horror, rewarding us with scary and must-play experiences. Walk with me as we we take a closer look at them.
10Eldritch
Cosmic Horror Kind Of Cute?
Do not be fooled by its cute, blocky graphics.Eldritchis a challenging survival game with a roguelike and immersive-sims touch, where the player is trapped inside a mysterious library and needs to find a way out.
For that, you must exploreprocedurally generated dungeonsthat may lead to ancient secrets and weird worlds, and face countless unknown horrors using different weapons, special items, and even magic. There are also some pretty neat stealth sequences.
It is a kind of Lovecraft meetsMinecraft(in a good way, I promise), and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good labyrinth exploration. Sadly, the game is short and quite easy. It can be beaten in about two hours, which may leave you wanting more when it ends.
9Dagon: by H.P. Lovecraft
Gotta Love A Freebie
Dagon: By H. P. Lovecraft
As the title suggests,Dagon: by H.P. Lovecraftis a free-to-play game that adapts the events of “Dagon”, one of H.P. Lovecraft’s earliest stories, written in 1917.
It is a short, narrative-driven experience that offers a fully interactive way to explore the tale and evoke the dread of being lost at sea — which was one of the writer’s biggest fears —, while a malicious sea monster deity of sorts is lurking around.
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I have got to confess that this is also one of my biggest fears. It gives me the creeps by only thinking about it, which makes this freebie terrifying for people like me.
That said, this game is worth playing, especially for its well-crafted environments that create a deep and immersive atmosphere, resulting in a great way to step into the writer’s mind.
Yeah, Science
Betting on a different twist,Conariumis a psychological horror game that is a kind of spiritual successor to an H.P. Lovecraft work: “At the Mountains of Madness”, written in 1931 and one of his most well-known tales.
The original story is about a scientific expedition to Antarctica that ends up discovering the ruins of a city built by the Elder Things, a race of ancient and alien beings. Conarium’s story is set years after these events, and the player controls Frank Gilman, one of the expedition members.
With a lot of exploration sequences and challenging puzzles, the game follows Gilman and three other scientists as they attempt to push the limits of nature… when everything spirals out of control.
It is a short but immersive experience, packed with references to the classic story, that is worth visiting.
7Moons of Madness
Lost In Space And Time
Moons of Madness
Moons of Madnessis often described as a Lovecraftian experience set in space, taking place on a very mysterious version of Mars — a premise that sounds exciting by itself, right? Because it is.
Its story puts the player in the role of an astronaut who needs to investigate the source of unknown signals coming from the red planet. Once there, you get to discover some not-so-pleasant ancient mysteries hidden there.
Ultimately, it’s apsychological horror gamethat gradually builds a tense and quite suffocating atmosphere, keeping players on edge from the beginning to the end.
It also makes you question the protagonist’s sanity (or insanity, who knows) as you uncover the terrifying truths lurking beneath the surface.
6Call of Cthulhu
Finally, Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu
I like to describeCall of Cthulhuas a strange, kind of clunky, and bizarre investigation game — which, for me, perfectly matches the essence of cosmic horror.
The game starts by following a private detective after he’s hired to investigate the mysterious death of an entire family that used to live on a small and isolated island. As soon as he gets there, he realizes that something very strange and unusual is happening to all the locals.
It is quite narrative-driven with puzzle sequences and multiple endings, but the atmosphere alone makes this an experience worth visiting.
And, as the title suggests, some mysteries even lead to a direct connection with Cthulhu himself, the most famous creature ever created by Lovecraft.
5The Sinking City
True Madness Experience
The Sinking City
Despite having an open world structure,The Sinking Cityis an investigation game with a quite linear story that takes a lot of inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft’s works, especially the iconic Cthulhu mythos.
You take on the role of a private detective (yes, here we go again) who needs to investigate a town that has fallen into ruins after its inhabitants went mad for no apparent reason.
However, he didn’t expect that he would also be affected by the same madness while trying to unravel the mystery.
It is easily one of the best cosmic horror games out there, presenting a great story, a scary Sherlock Holmes vibe alongside a surrounding atmosphere, and a bit of psychological terror. A very pleasant mixture for cozy Wednesdays.
4Darkest Dungeon
Gothic Players, Arise
Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeonis a turn-based RPG with a high difficulty level and very punishing mechanics, perfect for soulslike fans who also love cosmic horror like myself.
Presenting a gothic art style, its story unravels around a group of people that need to survive and manage psychological stress during expeditions focused on defeating terrifying monsters that are lurking in dark forests, forgotten labyrinths, and ruined crypts.
What I love about this game is that it translates the Lovecraftian essence directly into the gameplay.
For example, one key feature is that the player has to manage not only his main character’s mental health, but also be aware of the whole team members’ sanity, which adds an extra psychological tension to every decision.
3World of Horror
Lovecraft Meets Junji Ito
World of Horror
World of Horroris a truly unique experience, since it draws strong inspirations not only from the works and creations by H.P. Lovecraft but also from Junji Ito, who is the most influential and kick-ass horror manga artist of the contemporary era. Yes, I am a big fan. How did you notice?
That said, this game is a point-and-click adventure, very narrative-focused, that presents a retro 1-bit aesthetic. It feels like you are playing a manga that was submerged in Cthulhu waters.
The game puts you right in the middle of a small Japanese town, where ancient gods have awakened out of nowhere and triggered a series of inexplicable events. Now, it’s your job to find out how to put a stop to the madness without giving in to it.
2Look Outside
Or Better, Don’t
Francis Coulombe
Release Date
August 06, 2025
Survival horror, role-playing
Created by a solo developer,Look Outsideis a survival RPG that can be described as a disturbing mix betweenUndertaleand cosmic horror, which is great at surprising its players with uncanny, scary, and even funny moments.
The game’s story is set in a single apartment building,taking place completely indoors, after a cosmic event starts happening in the sky. Those who look outside go completely insane (there you go), and can even become something… not human.
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It’s up to the main character - luckily unemployed, so he never looked or went outside when everything went to feculence -, to leave his apartment to explore the building and discover what the hell (quite literally) is happening.
That leads the player to crazy situations with the neighbors, who are no longer who they were before…
1Bloodborne
Soulsbornecraftian
Bloodborne
Fextralife Wiki
Behold our winner!Bloodborneis an action RPG from the acclaimed Japanese studio FromSoftware, which features everything that you would expect from a nice Soulsborne: high difficulty level, plenty of bosses to defeat, and semi-open worlds to explore.
All of that is presented in a world deeply inspired by cosmic horror in general, with an amazing gothic aesthetic and a story that perfectly matches the feeling of fearing the unknown. Throughout the game, we are manipulated by beings beyond human comprehension, while suffering from high levels of insanity.
There is no direct adaptation of Lovecraft’s works in Bloodborne, but it is one of the best Lovecraftian horror experiences I have ever had.
It is one of those games that I would do (almost) anything to play again as if it were my first time. A true masterpiece.
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