Top-Down RPGs and Horror

[Mr. Magniloquent]

It occurred to me that there aren't many classic top-down RPGs that effectively convey horror. The main games that comes to mind are Diablo I & II, with a strong emphasis on the first. The only party-based top-down RPG where I can remember a good horror moment, was first encountering One-of-Many in Mask of the Betrayer. Even then, presentation was quite close as I was using the over-the-shoulder camera view. I imagine top-down perspective causes the player to be too far removed from the scenery to feel the impact of horror elements.

Are there any top down RPGs with that do horror well?

 

[Lord_Potato]

Maybe you should try Fear and Hunger? Grim atmosphere, lots of body horror elements, very high lethality combat that might cripple you even when you manage to survive, a save system that may murder you instead of saving your progress... True hardcore package for true hardcore gamers. I'm a bit afraid to play it myself.

 

[Lim-Dûl]

Sanitarium is top-down and it's pretty good at conveying horror though it's not an RPG

 

[Glop_dweller]

When did Diablo become seen as Top-Down? (...or an RPG?)

Nocturne (By Terminal Reality) Is a decent horror title—though (as above) also not an RPG.

Vampire : Masquerade is an RPG.

*Neither are top-down; both are third person. Nocturne is fixed perspective.

Spoiler

 

[Fowyr]

Roguelikes are top-down as it gets, but there are horror moments in some of them.
Darkseed 2 (an adventure game) had pretty intense chase through the mirror maze that was top-down or even isometric, could not remember its angle now.

 

[Glop_dweller]

Roguelikes are top-down as it gets...

Heavy Barrel, and Gauntlet are as top-down as it gets.

 

[Fowyr]

Roguelikes are top-down as it gets...

Heavy Barrel, and Gauntlet are as top-down as it gets.

Still. you could easily imagine ASCII roguelike as top-down (just imagine Aleshar or adventure game Dreamweb). But this is semantics of diagonal-down, bird's eye view, isometric, top-down, and several other types, often vaguely defined, of game perspective and projections.
BTW, BloodNet was great and party-based.
I think, Mr. Magniloquent not so really eloquent when he tries to convey that he meant with "top-down RPG".

 

[Sotomonte]

Some time ago I found, and started following, a party-based top-down RPG. It looks like it will have elements of horror/mystery/urban legends/etc: Elemental Enigma

The developer describes it as a 2D supernatural-mystery isometric RPG... a demo will supposedly be coming soon.

 

[udm]

I found Ao Oni to be somewhat unsettling.

Then there's Darkwood which is scary shit.

 

[Harthwain]

It occurred to me that there aren't many classic top-down RPGs that effectively convey horror. The main games that comes to mind are Diablo I & II, with a strong emphasis on the first.

HellSign is pretty good in this department, although it's isometric (so not exactly top-down) and not exactly RPG (you assign skills points).

Are there any top down RPGs with that do horror well?

You could try Darkwood. It's top-down survival horror with only some RPG elements (you can picks skills on level ups, you can also "Make decisions that impact the world of Darkwood, its inhabitants and the story you experience").

Nocturne (By Terminal Reality) Is a decent horror title—though (as above) also not an RPG.

Is that agent(?) Stranger from Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr?

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Blood Omen - Legacy of Kain, more a top-down action/adventure/JRPG, than an RPG.
Also Darkwood, more a top-down survival game than an RPG.
Maybe Weird West too.

 

[Diggfinger]

Here's a classic: Sweet Home!
Works great on modern PCs with emulators (like Mesen)

Very innovative with great party control, simple but satisfying turn-based combat, and an awesome horror setting!

The game is based on the 1989 film of the same name, by legendary Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

 

[wishbonetail]

What happened to exactly the same thread not so long ago?
Anyway, you might want to try Gorky 17.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

It occurred to me that there aren't many classic top-down RPGs that effectively convey horror. The main games that comes to mind are Diablo I & II, with a strong emphasis on the first.

HellSign is pretty good in this department, although it's isometric (so not exactly top-down) and not exactly RPG (you assign skills points).

Isometric is fine too. I was trying to refer to anything not first person or over the shoulder. Hellsign is a good suggestion. I've been meaning to play that, but it fell of of my radar.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

Didn't we have something like this just for horror RPGs? That's a tough thing to answer because such things are rare to begin with. This makes me think more of all those RPGmaker horror games, which are rarely true RPGs. Ib was really good though.
Laplace no Ma is supposed to be interesting, and the SNES port of it was translated a while back.

 

[Bastardchops]

Duskers is the only rpg I can think of.

 

[wishbonetail]

Didn't we have something like this just for horror RPGs? That's a tough thing to answer because such things are rare to begin with. This makes me think more of all those RPGmaker horror games, which are rarely true RPGs. Ib was really good though.
Laplace no Ma is supposed to be interesting, and the SNES port of it was translated a while back.

Mythos The Beginning and Waste Walkers are rpgmaker titles. Both suffer from inept rpgmaker systems, otherwise would have been a great action-adventure games.

 

[Skdursh]

Veil of Darkness

Daemonica

Didn't we have something like this just for horror RPGs? That's a tough thing to answer because such things are rare to begin with. This makes me think more of all those RPGmaker horror games, which are rarely true RPGs. Ib was really good though.
Laplace no Ma is supposed to be interesting, and the SNES port of it was translated a while back.

Laplace no Ma translation

 

[Lord_Potato]

Veil of Darkness

Daemonica

Didn't we have something like this just for horror RPGs? That's a tough thing to answer because such things are rare to begin with. This makes me think more of all those RPGmaker horror games, which are rarely true RPGs. Ib was really good though.
Laplace no Ma is supposed to be interesting, and the SNES port of it was translated a while back.

Laplace no Ma translation

CRGAddict recently disqualified Veil of Darkness as a rpg. Is Daemonica one? Mostly I see it called adventure game or adventure game with rpg elements.

 

[buffalo bill]

Infra Arcana is the only game I remember playing that ever made me feel fear.

 

[Skdursh]

CRGAddict recently disqualified Veil of Darkness as a rpg. Is Daemonica one? Mostly I see it called adventure game or adventure game with rpg elements.

CRPGAddict isn't the God-Arbiter of RPGs and I say they are both close enough to fall in the Adventure-ARPG subgenre.

CRPGAddict has also literally played and reviewed ZORK! among several other text adventures that are absolutely not RPGs, so his standards in general are very "genre-fluid".

 

[Comte_II]

Infra Arcana is the only game I remember playing that ever made me feel fear.

I agree bro

 

[Comte_II]

CRGAddict recently disqualified Veil of Darkness as a rpg. Is Daemonica one? Mostly I see it called adventure game or adventure game with rpg elements.

CRPGAddict isn't the God-Arbiter of RPGs and I say they are both close enough to fall in the Adventure-RPG subgenre.

Crpg addict is a globohomo shill.

 

[Lord_Potato]

CRGAddict recently disqualified Veil of Darkness as a rpg. Is Daemonica one? Mostly I see it called adventure game or adventure game with rpg elements.

CRPGAddict isn't the God-Arbiter of RPGs and I say they are both close enough to fall in the Adventure-RPG subgenre.

Crpg addict is a globohomo shill.

What does that have to do with anything?

Don't change this place into Politics forum.

 

[Fowyr]

CRGAddict recently disqualified Veil of Darkness as a rpg.

CRPGAddict isn't the God-Arbiter of RPGs and I say they are both close enough to fall in the Adventure-ARPG subgenre.

Veil of Darkness never was an RPG. It's a great example of taking character system out of real RPG (previous games on this engine were RPGs - Darkspyre, Dusk of the Gods and The Summoning) that makes a game "just" an action-adventure.
Great game, finished it several times.