Who knows how far they reach and what inhabits them? Forests provoke such questions, so they belong to the best setting choices for spooky video games!
Imagine a simple walk through the forest at dusk. The last few birds are still whistling their songs, and shadows are getting longer and longer. Nature is beautiful, but trees and roots take on strange, twisted shapes in the approaching darkness. There is no sun in the sky, and the wind gets stronger. You can’t see if anyone is following the same route.
Hopefully not, but that would mean you’re alone and surrounded by the overwhelming might of the woods and everything that claims it as its territory. Sounds like a fun option for an evening gaming session? Great! We’ve collected six atmospheric game ideas based on this exact feeling – but scarier!
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Through The Woods | 2016-10-27 | Adventure | Antagonist |
 | The Forest | 2018-04-30 | Adventure | Endnight Games Ltd |
 | Alan Wake | 2012-02-16 | Adventure | Remedy Entertainment |
 | Sons Of The Forest | 2023-02-23 | Survival Horror | Endnight Games Ltd |
 | The Quarry Deluxe Edition | 2022-06-10 | Interactive Horror | Supermassive Games |
 | Blair Witch | 2019-08-30 | Adventure | Bloober Team |
 | Alan Wake 2 | 2023-10-27 | Action | Remedy Entertainment |
 | Outlast 2 | 2017-04-25 | Adventure | Red Barrels |
 | Darkwood | 2017-07-17 | Adventure | Acid Wizard Studio |
 | Slender The Arrival | 2013-10-28 | Adventure | Blue Isle Studios |
Slender: The Arrival
| Release date: | 2013-10-28 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Blue Isle Studios |
In this game, the gloomy forest is one of your last problems. But in increasing overall fright, it definitely gets the job done.
Slender from 2013 offers an innovative approach to the legendary video game from ten years ago. Play it as a lone girl discovering her friend’s terrifying fate. Your task is to collect necessary clues while being watched by Slender Man. Every step forward means further delusions, and this game is much scarier than any previous Slender installation.
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Blair Witch
| Release date: | 2019-08-30 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Bloober Team |
What if witches are real? What if the truth is more petrifying than anything you ever imagined? Entering the forest is the only way to find out.
When a little boy goes missing in the Black Hills forest, an ex-cop sets out to find him. Accompanied by his faithful dog, the man discovers that malformed time and space in this place affect his mind. The clock is ticking, and the increasing madness stops him from finding little Peter.
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Alan Wake
| Release date: | 2012-02-16 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Remedy Entertainment |
Alan is a famous horror writer, but due to low motivation, he travels with his wife to Bright Falls to find a new source of inspiration. The man soon learns that staying home would make more sense.
When Alan’s wife disappears, he instantly sets out to look for her. But the idyllic Bright Falls has changed, and the hero cannot remember the events he now encounters. What’s worse, it seems that surrounding reality has something to do with the plot of his latest novel.
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Until Dawn
| Release date: | 2015-08-25 |
| Genre: | Adventure-horror |
| Developer: | Supermassive Games |
Last year saw a tragic accident during an ordinary winter trip of a group of friends to a mountain cabin. But that was only a prelude to the terrifying events destined for this year.
Despite the unpleasant memories, a team of best friends decides to visit the brother of two deceased girls. Very soon, an ordinary party alters to a nightmare when a mysterious psychopath makes his first moves. Will they survive until dawn?
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Slender: The Eight Pages
| Release date: | 2012-06-26 |
| Genre: | Adventuure |
| Developer: | Parsec Productions |
It is a free-to-play Slender: The Arrival predecessor based on similar mechanics but with a slightly less complicated approach. Collect eight pages about the mysterious Slender Man and run for your life!
Find yourself in a dark, scary forest where all you have is a single flashlight. Your task is to gather eight pages of a manuscript about a mysterious, faceless man who soon begins to stalk you. Looking in his direction affects your mental state, so hurry up because every step means he is getting closer!
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Outlast 2
| Release date: | 2017-04-25 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Red Barrels |
Blake Langermann and his wife travel by helicopter to uncover the secret of a mysterious woman’s disappearance. But the vehicle crashes and the only civilization in the area is a village of odd cultists waiting for the world’s ultimate end.
Endless forest, religious themes, weird locals, and the omnipresent sense of danger – that is what you have to prepare for when playing this game. Being an outsider, you have no weapons, so stealth is the best strategy. Find Blake’s wife, unravel the mystery of this cursed village, and see what hideous things these humans are capable of.
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Conclusion
Many scary bedtime stories take place in forests. They are a symbol of something forbidden, mysterious, and unexplored. What do you know about your local woods? Probably no more that they are full of trees and moss.
But game developers wonder what lives beneath them and what they have possibly seen. They don’t even have to convince you this setting is scary! On some level, we are all afraid of woods. And that’s why forest games are so incredibly immersive.