Summary
Analog Horroris a newer sub-genre that has largely flourished through several series on YouTube. It is a unique type of horror, focusing less on making the audience jump, but rather,ondisturbingthe viewer through atmosphere and uncanny visuals. A main characteristic of Analog Horror is the use of low-fidelity graphics to encapsulate the esthetics of late-20th-century media. This is commonly done with film grain, making each game feel like it is playing on a VHS tape.
The following list looks at thebest games that have attempted to utilize the Analog Horror style, to varying levels of success, but all of them will leave the player feeling unnerved. Many of these games are only available as Itch.io downloads, and are made by small teams or solo developers, and as such, any that aren’t available on traditional digital storefronts will have download links attached.
Soon to be a major motion picture,Iron Lungis possibly the most famous game on this list, thanks to its popularity with YouTubers like Markiplier. The game is simple,with the player taking control of a submarine and exploring an ocean of blood on an unknown planet. The only way they can see anything outside their small metal tube is through a grainy, unfocused camera.
As the player explores, they will be given progressively more disturbing images through the sub’s camera, each one coated in a thick layer of analog grain. As the oxygen levels drop, and sounds from outside become louder, it becomes more difficult for players to want to take the next picture, as they become unsure of what may appear.
7Group-864 Training Program
A New Take On SCP
Many gamers will be familiar with the concept of theSCP Foundation, from its website and written stories to its many successful games.Group-864 Training Programis a new take on this. Instead of putting the player in the shoes of an employee being chased by some horrific creature, this game instead makes the player a new hire at the Foundation, as they are told about what their new life will be.
The game is a short, text-based experience, and doesn’t feel as disturbing as it may wish. However, it is a great little addition to the SCP canon for any fan of the franchise, and it feels like an ancient computer program running on a cheap CRT monitor.
Home Safety Hotlineis a bizarre game, putting the player in the position of being a call center worker tasked with helping callers figure out which uncanny being is inhabiting their home. Using the text guide on a sickly green monitor, the player must correctly diagnose each infestation and give the caller the correct advice on how to get rid of it.
Failure leads to management scolding the player and eventually firing them. There are so many layers to peel back inHome Safety Hotlineand the uncanny visuals of each monster add an additional level of fear, without the need for jumpscares.
58AM
A Horrible Spot The Difference Game
A surprising number of these Analog Horror games make the player work some kind of job, and8AMis no exception. The player is given a desk with a monitor and a notepad, and it is their job to check the monitor every hour between midnight and 8 am to ensure nothing is wrong. On the monitor, the player is faced with16 CCTV cameras placed around a family home.
8AMfeels like a twisted game of spot-the-difference. If players see anything different each time they check the camera, they have to note it down. This can range from one member of the family being out of bed to some much more disturbing visuals. While the models aren’t super detailed, it is daunting to keep flicking through the cameras, knowing that, at any moment, something could be there.
4Discover The Ocean
So Much More Than A Game
A nice relief from the onslaught of horror,Discover The Oceanis just an interactive, educational DVD, allowing players toexplore the vast world of the ocean. Until, of course, the camera begins to drop, and drop, and drop, and the player is faced with indescribable visuals and sounds and left sitting there with only questions.
This very short experience is creepy to begin with, but if a player wants to get the full experience, they have to then follow up with the secret codes left in the video to unravel an expansive ARG.Discover The Oceantakes full advantage of being made in the Internet age, despite having the appearance of a pre-2000s video.
3Maple County
Training The Police On How To Deal With The Uncanny
Maple Countyis a short but terrifying experience in which the player takes the place of a recruit in the Maple County Police Department. However, the training tape they’re shown reveals that something is deeply wrong in Maple County. The police are being trained on how to deal with threats that look human but are not quite.
As is common in many Analog Horror games,Maple Countyis full of distorted faces, uncanny visuals, and unsettling audio. Inspired mainly byThe Mandela Catalog, one of the pinnacles of Analog Horror,Maple Countywill give the player with a shiver down their spine, and a need to second-guess any portraits they see for some time afterward.
2The Complex: Found Footage
The Backrooms, But Analog
The Complex: Found Footageis one of many, many dives into the Backrooms, all inspired by images of liminal, empty spaces. While not the scariest Backrooms game, and far from the most entertaining,The Complexis arguably the one that feels the most disturbing. Unlike other iterations of this setting,The Complexdoesn’t overwhelm the player with horrific creatures and jumpscares.
Instead, this game forces the player to come to terms with being alone, listening only to the sound of their footsteps. They’ll see flashes of creatures around corners, and brief glimpses of movement, but nothing will ever attack. The player is simply lost in an endless maze of sickly fluorescent lights and gross yellow wallpaper.
1Assessment Examination
Don’t Fail The Test
The final entry on this list isAssessment Examination, another game in the universe ofTheMandela Catalog.Yet another simple text and image-based game, the player is given a test to determine whether they are suitable for a job with the A.A.D. The player must decide which images depict threats, which are trustworthy, and then give up their most inner thoughts.
They are finally left with the message that, if they do not hear back, they must pray, and hope whatever god they believe in can hear them. The game answers absolutely nothing, requiring players to be somewhat familiar with the contents ofThe Mandela Catalog.Whether or not the player knows what is going on,Assessment Examinationis a fantastic short experience that will leave anyone questioning their understanding of the universe.
