RPGs with Horror as the main theme?

[wishbonetail]

Anyway, my pick would be darkwood.

How the fuck is it an rpg ?

Don't get me wrong, it's quite good survival horror, but so is Lamentum, and neither are rpg.

 

[Sarathiour]

At least it have some amount of C&C and a perk selection system.

 

[agris]

RPG designation is debatable, but doesn’t the original Prey from 2006 qualify? I haven’t played it, I’m just generally aware of its existence and subsequent memory-hole’ing

How the fuck is it an rpg ?

Don't get me wrong, it's quite good horror shooter, but so is FEAR, and neither are rpg.

My hazy memory thought it was what people call an imsim today.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

If you're a pussy arachnophobic nearly every RPG is a horror ackackackackack

 

[Harthwain]

I've tried looking for good horror RPGs before but it's pretty much already been said in this thread that the normal formula for an RPG typically doesn't lend itself too well to horror.

I think it can, with some adjustments.

Yes, usually RPGs are about players getting more powerful and overcoming obstacled. However, it is possible to tweak this and give the player the ability to rise in power by setting his goal to preserve the status quo. Lovecraft is a good inspiration here: instead of being the classic hero you are more or less destined to be a tragic figure and all you can hope for are a varying degrees of loss, ranging from outright losing (and dooming the world) to preserving the world but at some cost. And that ought to be considered a pretty good outcome, too. The Consuming Shadow does this type of "victory" very well.

The RPG stats also are good fit - you can have health and sanity. The first is for fighting monsters, the second is another resource. One that you need in order to keep playing (and lack of which makes the difficulty level to rise). Then there are weapons, which can use stats (such as Might, Accuracy, Dexterity, etc.) and be combined with a combat system. The best part? All of this is just a base you could build upon further. How about having Stamina as a resource? For running, shooting (because you have to hold your breath to fire accurately) and using melee weapons? Why not have localized damage (including wounds for specific body parts with various effects), instead of the abstracted health pool?

The horror part itself comes down lagerly to presentation. The Consuming Shadow was amazing in this regard, considering how simple its visuals and the overall gameplay loop are. The only downside of that game was the fact it was heavily focused on the action (and the fact that you get stronger with each run, meaning the difficulty can get trivial at some point).

Why would you even want an rpg to be a horror game, now that I think about it?

Well, I asked the question mainly because I got interested if there are some horror-themed RPGs I don't know about.

 

[HeatEXTEND]

Not exactly an RPG but Darkwood is not bad.

How the fuck is it an rpg ?

Don't get me wrong, it's quite good survival horror, but so is Lamentum, and neither are rpg.

Whatever.

Spoiler

shit, it was a joke wasn't it?

 

[wishbonetail]

Not exactly an RPG but Darkwood is not bad.

How the fuck is it an rpg ?

Don't get me wrong, it's quite good survival horror, but so is Lamentum, and neither are rpg.

Whatever.

Spoiler

shit, it was a joke wasn't it?

Heh, you got me.
However, as i said earlier, Darkwood is a masterepiece, a unique product, which doesnt get an attention it deserves.

 

[InSight]

Fallouts intro sets the mood right from the start, when troop in PA execute prisoner and then waves at the camera, while the jolly music playes at the background.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=geLiEiAiQJA

Fallout include 3 intro's. The intro described has one of the Powered-Amored troops laughing at the shoot again due to the prisoner leg twitch(is laughing at dead not considered horrid?). What was also omitted is the slow zoom out until the wreckage of the room and city are shown. The music in that intro serves the purpose of shock(which is part of horror). A peaceful/kind/jolly music used with a war/destroyed/desolated scenery.

The other intro's include "War, war never changes" or the overseer's briefing "we got a problem, a big one... no water, no vault". Their tune do not set the mood of a silly/goofy and absurd game.

The ear is part of the skin. Skin touch a feel. One can also judge/measure the mood/feel/theme of the game with it. A good example of how sound/music was used to describe horror is found in Divinity Original Sin 2. When centipede-like or fleshy walls appear, a quick sharp violin sounds play that suppose to make one's skin crawl. Violin is has been described the most pleasant sounding but also the most horrid sounding depending on skill/use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KaoOdgX50U (includes lists of the music names)
Most of the music(which sets contribute to the mood/theme) can be described as the silence before the storm, impending doom, and dread if not horror.
If not mistaken, the wasteland music is the one mostly heard and can be described as horror themed, it would fit a horror game.

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Goofiness and absurdism are more clearly included in Fallout 2 and Bethesda's Fallout not factoring the UI/character sheet caricatures. Likewise they are more popular as a result. Goofiness lead to jokes/laughter and Fallout 1 is at most a dark humor(grim).
Depending on what the memory prioritizes, goofiness is the least memorable in Fallout 1, games limitation considered. Some gore/death animation may be considered absurd but do not detract from horror. Both are not the consistent/frequent theme/mood when compared to horror.

Compare the game's Katamari Damaci intro to that of Fallout as a contrast/example to what may be consider/described goofy and absurd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQFHoAvha30

Fallout (1997) is a horror themed but not a horror game. Horror visualy and ethically/psychologically but not emotionally for horror games are designed to scare/tense often.

 

[monilloman]

Parasite Eve, think of FF7 levels and movement combined with silent hill tone and enemy encounter and you get the gist.

 

[Ninjerk]

Parasite Eve, think of FF7 levels and movement combined with silent hill tone and enemy encounter and you get the gist.

I remember seeing ads for that back in the day and always wondered if it was worth playing.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I remember seeing ads for that back in the day and always wondered if it was worth playing.

It has issues, but its still solid. The battle system isn't great, its somewhat akin to a cross between a standard JRPG battle system and a survival horror game. I haven't played the first sequel, but that's a more actionized game and doesn't quite tick off the same boxes as the original.

 

[wishbonetail]

Fallout include 3 intro's. The intro described has one of the Powered-Amored troops laughing at the shoot again due to the prisoner leg twitch(is laughing at dead not considered horrid?). What was also omitted is the slow zoom out until the wreckage of the room and city are shown. The music in that intro serves the purpose of shock(which is part of horror). A peaceful/kind/jolly music used with a war/destroyed/desolated scenery.

"Our dedicated boys keep peace in newly annexed Canada", over the top execution, waving at the camera, and it on the news. It is surreal and purposely overblown for a viewer to understand it is a satire on militarism. It is very close to Monty Pyton sketches.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-pU8TFsg0
A HORROR, aint it?
That is why i said it sets the mood. And dont forget the vault boy imagery.
Also, your comments are funny when read in HAL9000s voice.

 

[InSight]

"Our dedicated boys keep peace in newly annexed Canada", over the top execution, waving at the camera, and it on the news. It is surreal and purposely overblown for a viewer to understand it is a satire on militarism.

The words don't match the description/depictions.

surreal definition

surreal
sə-rē′əl
adjective

1. Having qualities attributed to or associated with surrealism.
2. Having an oddly dreamlike quality.
3. Resembling a dream: fantastic and incongruous
4. characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtapositions
5. resembling a dream

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

incongruous definition

incongruous
ĭn-kŏng′groo͞-əs
adjective

1. Lacking in harmony; incompatible.
2. Not in agreement, as with principles; inconsistent.
3. Not in keeping with what is correct, proper, or logical; inappropriate.
4. Not congruous; reciprocally disagreeing; not capable of harmonizing or readily assimilating; inharmonious; inappropriate; unsuitable; not fitting; inconsistent; improper
5. two numbers, which, with respect to a third, are such that their difference can not be divided by it without a remainder, the two numbers being said to be incongruous with respect to the third; as, twenty and twenty-five are incongruous with respect to four.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

If true, how is it overblown?
Based on info on Vietnam war and modern wars in general, event similar happened. Their is a photograph/picture taken when a bullet was existing a kneeling prisoner's head.
The news/media were used to advertise the war.
The scene could also be used for viewer to understand how corrupt/evil/dire the times were.

And dont forget the vault boy imagery.

The UI/character sheet caricatures was referring to the vault boy imagery.

That is why i said it sets the mood

It is faulty to take a brief part and use it as overall conclusion as if 1st impressions are everything let alone on a seconds of cut-scene/movie. One should not let one part overshadow the rest. The rats and skeleton outside the vault gate at games start can set the mood and these are in-game. Movies/cut-scenes can make VideoGames worse/better but they can be played without them.

Number all the main events in the game that are not hidden, necessary to complete the game, then compare how many of them are close/similar to Monty Python or behave in manner that is silly/absurd in the in-game situations/conditions/explanations.

The opinion that Fallout 1997 has silly and absurd main tune/mood/theme is silly/goofy/absurd is overblown.
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=Sp-pU8TFsg0
A HORROR, aint it?

Yes, based solely on the start to half of the given video is horrible(Horror-able).
Analyzing the video at face value(ignoring the act/pretense/satire) and ethical level it is horrible due:

• Gore & torture, the act include screams of pain.
  
• Possibility of demeaning of serious issue's such as organ theft by creating link/association between laughter/joy and death(desensitizing).
  
• Using male to depict female in dress and behavior.

Evil people tend to twist/pervert/combine the good/right with bad/evil/wrong for the purpose of making evil and thus horrible deeds/action more acceptable and less resistant to by others(desensitizing). This is a general observation, the question if the people involved are aware of this and its effect/influence on people is another matter.

 

[InSight]

Neverwinter Nights, the first chapter of the game is centered around a plague hitting the titular city. Bodies are being burned in the street, people can be heard crying in the distance, and outside of the center of town, madness reins under the thick smoke.

In addition

Spoiler

toward the end of the chapter, one can find a scared boy placed in dungeon of fort teeming with undead, one of them perhaps include the remains of its father. The boy's portrait was fitting for that situation, the impact it provided

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

when you kill hundreds of monsters in the movie it's not pure horror anymore.

Killing hundreds of monsters is still horror if you go with a psychological or Lovecraftian approach of corrupting the main characters through the process of fighting (i.e. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.").

I think it can, with some adjustments.

Yes, usually RPGs are about players getting more powerful and overcoming obstacled. However, it is possible to tweak this and give the player the ability to rise in power by setting his goal to preserve the status quo. Lovecraft is a good inspiration here: instead of being the classic hero you are more or less destined to be a tragic figure and all you can hope for are a varying degrees of loss, ranging from outright losing (and dooming the world) to preserving the world but at some cost. And that ought to be considered a pretty good outcome, too. The Consuming Shadow does this type of "victory" very well.

Any main character that can succeed without making some kind of personal sacrifice is, broadly speaking, a Mary Sue. That means "preserving the world but at some cost" is a basic requirement for the main character to be a hero, traditional or otherwise.

 

[wishbonetail]

The words don't match the description/depictions...lots of text

Oh, boy. Okay, basically you mean that post-apoc is a horror genre, because everything is destroyed, people are dead? Then, i presume, we should consider every game genre, aside puzzle games, a horror, because something is being destroyed and people get killed.

 

[wishbonetail]

Killing hundreds of monsters is still horror if you go with a psychological or Lovecraftian approach of corrupting the main characters through the process of fighting (i.e. "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.").

Killing hundreds of monsters is an action flick. The more action there is, the less realistic it seems. The less realistic it is, the less connection we feel with the main protagonist, wich lessens immersion effect and suspence. And horror effect is based on build up and suspence.

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

Killing hundreds of monsters is an action flick. The more action there is, the less realistic it seems. The less realistic it is, the less connection we feel with the main protagonist, wich lessens immersion effect and suspence. And horror effect is based on build up and suspence.

It's easy to make mowing down hoards of enemies into something other than action. Just look at World War 1 machine gunners. They were the soldiers with the highest rates of battle fatigue, because mowing down hoards of enemies turns fighting into an exercise of drudgery akin to working on an assembly line. Couple that with having to hear and see all those messy deaths firsthand, and the script practically writes itself.

 

[wishbonetail]

Killing hundreds of monsters is an action flick. The more action there is, the less realistic it seems. The less realistic it is, the less connection we feel with the main protagonist, wich lessens immersion effect and suspence. And horror effect is based on build up and suspence.

It's easy to make mowing down hoards of enemies into something other than action. Just look at World War 1 machine gunners. They were the soldiers with the highest rates of battle fatigue, because mowing down hoards of enemies turns fighting into an exercise of drudgery akin to working on an assembly line. Couple that with having to hear and see all those messy deaths firsthand, and the script practically writes itself.

This won't create horror effect. This will make you desensitised and numb to violence.

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

This won't create horror effect. This will make you desensitised and numb to violence.

Becoming desensitized and numb to violence is a horror effect. That person will become increasingly willing to use instrumental violence outside of combat as a result. That is a form of psychological and moral corruption and a theme tied to the horror genre.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Pretty rare to be frightened in a game. Maybe jump-scares via real time monster is possible (looking at you daggerfall spiders and certain mobs). TB? Hardly. Then again, maybe horror goes beyond just fear. Some games can bring utter disgust surface (like sucubus, agony types).

I was more horrified from blue screen if death or virus warnings and lock ups. Now that shit horrifies and enrages. I actually tend to hate games that mirror this even mockingly. When a file even destroys back up drives and is on back up disks .... despair sets in.


Now whores rpgs......

 

[wishbonetail]

Becoming desensitized and numb to violence is a horror effect. That person will become increasingly willing to use instrumental violence outside of combat as a result. That is a form of psychological and moral corruption and a theme tied to the horror genre.

Are we talking about the thrills gamer or spectator would get from respective media? Because there are conventional things like suspence, fear of the dark, unknown, build up to the event, which is more frightening than event itself.
Bombarding viewer with violence and numbing him is a different type of horror, which doesnt not give thrills, only said fatigue and feeling of relief, when its over. This is usually relevant to the war thematics. But I do not think anyone would mean Saving Private Ryan, Battlefield or Call of Duty, when horror genre is mentioned.
There is a brilliant game called The Harvester, which explores said themes. It is about violence in media, how the participant slowly shifts his moral compass the more violence is presented to him. I think, Fallout devs were partly inspired by this game. The same hyperbolized Americas 50's, the same hyperbolized militarism and violence. Starts as a PointnClick adventure, which slowly builds up its shock content to the point of insane bloodbath, while losing its shock value by the end. What is brilliant is that was the devs intention.

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

Are we talking about the thrills gamer or spectator would get from respective media?

It's not the spectator that gets desensitized to violence, but the soldier that is depicted. Empirical research has shown that witnessing violence in media only desensitizes the viewer to violent media, but does not desensitize the viewer to violence in real life. Witnessing violence in media is not at all analogous to witnessing violence in real life.

Because there are conventional things like suspence, fear of the dark, unknown, build up to the event, which is more frightening than event itself.

The central conflict would not be the fighting itself, the fighting would serve as part the build up, and the event would happen after the fighting ended, or with the fighting as a backdrop. Imagine Apocalypse Now but told from the perspective of Colonel Kurtz.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

RPGS? Dunno....
Playstation? Digitally I suppose...

Too Spooky to open

 

[InSight]

Then, i presume, we should consider every game genre, aside puzzle games, a horror, because something is being destroyed and people get killed.

Fallout (1997) is a horror themed but not a horror game.

That passage has been placed to prevent such presumption/conclusions.

The topic title is "RPG's with horror as main theme".

Not all destruction is horrible for some provide the opposite of horror such as delight, calmness(from relief). Consider horrid disease/illness/sickness which caused by bacteria. Destruction of ruined building to make place for a better/safer building to be built in its place.
Their destruction/death which results in a stop to horror, not cause/continue it.

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To further explain the difference between a horror game to a game which is horror themed, Resident Evil remake (a pinnacle horror game for its time) will be compared to Fallout(1997).

horror + horror game genre definition

horror
hôr′ər, hŏr′-
noun

1. An intense, painful feeling of repugnance and fear.
2. A state or condition marked by this feeling: synonym: fear.
3. An intense dislike or abhorrence.
4. A cause of horror.
5. A genre of fiction or other artistic work evoking suspense and horror, especially through the depiction of gruesome or supernatural elements.
6. One that is unpleasant, ugly, or disagreeable.

Horror is a genre which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust.

Elaborating RE and Fallout

Resident Evil remake
Tension/fear continually provided by enemies both existence & anticipation. Some enemies require more steps to completely nullify/end if not they become a greater threat than they were

game spoilers

Zombies downed will raise again after a period at times stronger and deadlier as result. The means of preventing this are limited and require further exploration and thus further exposure to danger. The aiming method is not always successful. The player would require to backtrack thus more in danger

Fallout (1997)

game spoilers

Note:its been around 2 decades since the game been played thus correction if misremembered are welcome.

If one is to take the Khan's the bandits of shady shade as example, once dealt with they are not a threat or concern to the player character neither there is a need/possibility to visit the place again.

Most enemies(such as these on world map) do not require the players mind to preoccupy with, to consider throughout the game and the game provide means commonly available to handle them without much future negative consequences, a waste of ammo but experience points gained thus the PC can get better/stronger/power. Once their are dead they stay dead and thus not a source of scare/fear and tension.

Summery

Summery:
Fallout

1. Reward: System/rules provide rewards for each comabt encounter.
   
2. Turn based control allow calm assessment of each situation. Also allows to attack without allowing the target/s to respond/act making it defenseless.
   
3. Threats: often revealed,at times at long distance in plain sight or can be revealed/highlighted with combat mode if object such as wall hides them.
4. Tension/fear provided by time limit which represent the vaults dwellers lifeblood, specific areas into the unknown and possible care for companions life.

RE

1. Reward: Does not always provide rewards for tackling enemies and can serve as punishment, making the game more difficult. Rewards are few and towered the game's end.
   
2. Real time; can evoke stress ,require timed coordination for avoiding damage.
3. Threats: obscure, rooms separate vision , limiting camera angles, some enemies are hidden, revealing/appearing under specific conditions.
4. Tension/fear provided by resilience of enemies, their unexpected anticipation and scarce/limited resources be it weapons or ammo(when compared to fallout) to handle them.

Fallout's theme presents ideas that can evoke horror when considered. Playing the game can detract/distract from such ideas.
Both games provide horror based imagery, things one would evoke/cause disgust, fear, dislike, hatred if presented in life and not desensitized or with ill-mind(due evil ,degree of psychopathy). In Fallout the player is not given means/control to change the state of the world as a whole and for the better(the great disaster has happened), the PC goal/task is to preserve its home. A place depicted as welcoming and clean place contrast to the outside world with many hostiles, suspicions, deformities(mutants thus ugliness) and dirt. A horror-able world/settings/theme but mostly not a horror inducing mechanics/rules/situations.

One can conclude that a main factor of horror games( in their rules/mechanics/systems and not visuals/graphics/depictions alone) is in the degree's they limit the player's actions may it by obscuring, complication or punishment, for the purpose/goal/objective of causing/maintaining fear/tension.

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Oh, boy. Okay, basically you mean that post-apoc is a horror genre, because everything is destroyed, people are dead?

• Apocalypse from Ancient Greek ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis) 'revelation, disclosure'

Not all revelations are of horrible/bad thus post-apocalypse should not be specific to horror despite it being used so, assuming post=after.

A real war is horrible for it has consequences/harm even to these not involved or partook willingly and is wasteful, yet it is a means by which the resources/wealth of the world are allocated. According to bible prophecies some are/were caused/ordained by Yahuha/יהוה/YHWH. Certain state's/condition can obscure such fact. like a blind/uncontrollable rage that resulted in the death of one's own family, cause of regret. The game Fallout depicts a fictional aftermath based on fears & assumptions.

Conclusion:game genre which depicts the negative aftermath/consequence/impact of war is horror themed.
Maxwell's post supplemented the explanation. It is horrid/horrible when people, more-so good people are made to do evil.