How would you feel if all the people and their noises suddenly disappeared? Initially, such an experience could probably be quite fun! Until you start to feel terrified by all those empty spaces.
Horror game developers constantly invent new methods of terrifying their audience. Some of these techniques reach very primal, almost inexplicable dreads, like the fear of abandoned places. They aim to scare with the lack of frightening monsters and supernatural phenomena, instead providing this unsettling feeling of loneliness, repetition, and alienation.
They prompt questions like ‘What if I’m not as alone as I think?’ That sensation is exceptionally present in Stanley Kubrick’s movies. Does that sound like fun? If so, you’ll love this list of the best liminal video games!
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Paratopic | 2018-09-06 | Adventure | Arbitrary Metric |
 | The Mortuary Assistant | 2022-08-02 | Horror | DarkStone Digital |
 | Five Nights At Freddys Security Breach | 2021-12-17 | Horror | Steel Wool Studios |
 | Five Nights At Freddys | 2014-08-18 | Adventure | Scott Cawthon |
Silent Hill 2
| Release date: | 2001-09-23 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Team Silent |
After receiving a letter from his sadly deceased wife, James travels to Silent Hill – their once ‘special place.’ But little does he know that following her trace may result in discovering a secret he never wanted to unravel.
Silent Hill 2 is a phenomenal survival horror shrouded in fog and liminal spaces. Exploring a forsaken town means two things – an ominous feeling of loneliness and incredibly terrifying encounters with creatures that shouldn’t exist. And the best thing is that this dark adventure has six unique endings with two funny included!
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Control
| Release date: | 2019-08-27 |
| Genre: | Action |
| Developer: | Remedy Entertainment |
It is a disturbing third-person shooter telling the story of Jesse Faden traveling to the Federal Bureau of Control in New York. But when its director dies in mysterious circumstances, she will be the only one to solve the case.
Use a rich arsenal of weapons and powers to fight newly encountered opponents in the brutalist spaces of the Federal Bureau of Control. What exactly hides in this place? And what happened to Jesse’s brother? Fight them all and unravel the truth!
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Layers of Fear
| Release date: | 2023-06-15 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Anshar Studios |
Can insanity transform your surroundings? This game blurs the thin line between the real world and complete madness!
Play as a painter desiring to complete his life’s masterpiece. Sounds simple? Oh, you sweet summer child, that is just the beginning of your new, intensely disturbing adventure. Explore the abandoned rooms of a forgotten house and try to gather your equipment. But beware, every move can change your surroundings, trigger terrifying visions, or awaken forgotten memories!
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P.T. (Playable Teaser)
| Release date: | 2014-08-12 |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Developer: | Kojima Productions |
It is a deleted project by Kojima (under the 7780s Studio name) introducing the distressing adventure of a man exploring an unknown house. Solving all the puzzles unravels this mystery!
P.T. is a brilliant production by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, focusing on exploration and solving highly disturbing puzzles. Prepare for odd sounds, terrifying incidents, and transforming surroundings. All these features deliver the definition of liminal spaces involving a strange space-time loop.
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NaissanceE
| Release date: | 2014-02-13 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Limasse Five |
Lucy is lost somewhere in the non-reality of megastructures hovering in the middle of nowhere. What awaits her at the end of this story?
NaissanceE puts the feeling of alienation at the core of your experience. It’s all about exploration, following cryptic directions, and admiring the visited places. Some are scary, others mysterious, but the fundamental question is – what is this place?
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The Stanley Parable
| Release date: | 2013-10-17 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Galactic Cafe |
Play as Stanley, an anonymous employee working for a massive company. Until the day his computer and everything around him turns off – this is the beginning of his extraordinary adventure!
When Stanley leaves his desk to investigate what happened, he can hear the narrator’s voice advising him what to do next. The only problem is this strategy may not provide any answers. So Stanley is on his own in the office maze, and his new job is to find if there is a way out of this ever-changing system.
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Five Nights At Freddy's
| Release date: | 2014-08-18 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Scott Cawthon |
Play as a man starting a security guard job at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Alone, with something unimaginably evil hiding in the shadows.
The pizzeria has unique mascots – robotic animatronics that sometimes get naughty at night. Luckily, you also work at night, and your job is to watch them on the cameras. What if they’re not in the proper spots? Well, you may have a little problem, but the ringing phone should explain the details of this unusual situation. Good luck!
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Conclusion
As you can see, liminal horror doesn’t require loud monsters and endless jump scares to be scary. Sometimes, all it needs is the complete opposite. Human imagination is powerful, so confronted with liminal spaces and an utter lack of company, it begins to fill in the gaps with the most creepy scenarios.
That is the result of the developers’ complex work combining this feeling with mysterious ambient sounds, a spooky story, and a suspicious environment. It is a new level of fear. Primal, invisible, striking to the core because you know no one will hear you scream.