What are some good games with a creepy/eerie atmosphere but not outright horror?
The epitome of what I’m trying to refer to is the Playdead games (Limbo and Inside). Dark Souls and BioShock both hit on this idea but not quite so directly. The game BADLAND is also a great example of this, too. The mobile game The Silent Age also did this exceptionally well. Never quite knowing what’s going on, and maybe some tension without release, but again not straight up horror. A feeling of uneasiness is what I’m looking for.
When playing through Inside, there’s never any moments where you’re scared, but you’re never sure what’s going on and there’s always a level of unease. What are all the mindless zombie-like people? Why is everyone hunting the player? What happened to this city? What’s the goal of the character the player controls? What exactly is going on here? That’s what I’m looking for. If you know of any other games which do this, I’d greatly appreciate hearing about them. It’s a very specific niche so I’m not sure how many games do this, but the games that I’ve seen do this tend to be some form of post-disaster or dystopia. I’ve seen some great artwork do this too. Zdzisław Beksiński had done some stuff like this. Some great dystopian novels also do this quite well.
Outer Wilds. It's better to play it without knowing much beforehand. All I'm gonna say is: it will make you feel very lonely and even vulnerable at times, although it's not a horror game by any means. It's a beautiful videogame with a mind-blowing story.
Half Life/Black Mesa. I replayed it recently and I had forgotten the level of unease that pervades most of it. While short of horror, there's been an obvious disaster, people are panicking, and it's unclear to the PC what is going on for most of the game.
I'd say Arkane's Prey hits that for me. The feeling of isolation, not only on the station, but by virtue of being in space, and the story itself. The mechanics of the mimic enemies can create emergent jump scares, but I'd definitely say it's not a horror game.
I'd also say Death Stranding, at times. While the human NPCs are very wholesome, the atmosphere and experience of delivering the packages out through the timefallen wasteland and that isolation lends itself well to introspection and the BTs are pretty creepy and axiety-inducing until you're used to them and can fight them.
Control does a good job of starting out uncomfortable and weird, and continuing to escalate as the story progresses. A great deal of unease since you don't understand what's going on with your character or the environment she finds herself in.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice kinda fits this description. It's a game about a mentally ill viking(ish) warrior so it's more "psychological" creepiness than zombies, but it definitely achieves what it seeks out to do as with its atmosphere without being outright horror. The game is not for everybody since the gameplay can be a bit offputting.
STALKER for that horror undercurrent, Deus Ex Mankind Divided probably has the best atmosphere of any game I've ever played and the fact the franchise was abandoned for that marvel brain-rot is a crying shame.
What Remains of Edith Finch. It's not horror at all but you're the last person alive in your family, exploring your childhood home, which is a crazy house with tons of weird add-ons and secret passages, exploring how your family members died. Mental illness, insane unlucky accidents, all that. It's a really truly excellent game. It's unsettling in a way that keeps you on edge without ever being actually afraid
Firewatch. The story and gameplay don't lead you to believe you're in for a paranoia existential plot but it certainly goes there. Sounds right up your alley. It's an amazing game and certainly hits the point of scaring you without jump scares with an uneasy tension.
Check out Manlybadasshero's channel, he plays a lot of games like that. CJU does as well. A lot of them are very narrative-based, which might not be what you're looking for. The Coffin of Andy and Leyley for example, freaking fantastic game but it's a slow creepy burn rather than action-oriented. Little Misfortune is another personal favorite, and the Tartarus Key. They also play some random ass games like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VWL4vKRp8U where it's a dystopian world and you never really find out what's going on, which sounds similar to what you're into.
Returnal. It has an unsettling atmosphere on an unknown alien planet and a mysterious story that you piece together. It’s very tense and you are isolated with just your character’s thoughts, I highly recommend it.
There's 2 indie games that are SETI simulators. The original is Signal Simulator. It spawned a newer one, done like a half life clone, called Voices of the Void. Neither game is outright horror, but both give you a feeling of isolation induced paranoia. You feel like you're constantly being watched. There's a few random events that are creepy, but the idea is not outright terror.
I think Oxenfree has an eerie atmosphere. I haven’t played the second one yet since it got released just a few days ago, but I really enjoyed the first one.
I'm surprised I haven't seen Morrowind in the comments yet. The storytelling gave me the impression that Todd Howard must've played a lot of DND campaigns while under the influence of psychedelics just to lay the setting for the plot. I highly recommend because I've had a lot of moments throughout my playthrough asking myself "wait, did that actually happen?" And, "Is this a Bethesda bug, or is the game straight up cursed?". Also, Many of the characters, creatures, and a certain "house", or faction in the game are straight up Lovecraftian, with aesthetics pretty on par with Bekzinski's art-style.
I also think the Marathon series fits the bill on a lot of these aspects. It's Bungie's precursor to Halo, and while its narrative may be similar, I think the devs had to get creative with the limited software capabilities available at the time and so the narrative ended up being an experience I'd describe as "wild and uncanny".
I never did finish it, but The Solus Project is, I'm pretty sure, exactly what you're asking for. 2017 first person exploration game, very environmental, set on a subtly creepy and somewhat confusing alien world. I got a copy in my Steam library...somehow that was cheap enough I don't remember and played a big chunk of it a couple years ago.
Less action than the Half Life/Unreal/Marathon alien horror FPS lineage, but similar feel.
Firewatch is a good example of this. Wandering round an empty forest, seeing an evergrowing forest fire all the time. It's quite eerie but not outright horror.
I saw a game that fits this bill mentioned on two videos recently. It's called BABBDI and you explore a eery city where everyone you meet can't move other than to twist their heads to look at you. Nothing ever puts you in danger and that's established right away. But everything looks... Off.
I wouldn't say it's that much niche.
I can recommend the first Alan Wake game (since the sequel is allegedly going more into horror). It's a game that makes you tense without showing you guts or jump scares every 2 minutes. I remember it making me pretty anxious about staying in the light (it's the premise of the game, you can't be hurt in the light, the monsters come from the shadows).
it's a step more horror-y, but little nightmares always felt to me like the third playdead game. i solidly recommend playing the first one first too
there's also far: lone sails (and its sequel, but I haven't played that); and it's a bit more low-budget i also really liked darq
salt & sanctuary had this atmosphere; but i've never finished it so i can't comment on its quality. and some other souls likes as well - thymesia and helloint come to mind
also portal (1) kind of fits this if you haven't played it
SOMA with the safe mode that makes the monsters not attack you is still really creepy and an extremely atmospheric game, but without the amnesia type hide and run horror elements.
I couldn't see it recommended anywhere which surprises me considering the hype around it when it first came out. This is the only game I have ever played that gave me a genuine feeling of unease throughout. Pretty sure it is free on steam too.
America McGees Alice and Alice Madness Returns are both great game, the first one is very very dated, but the second game plays quite well with some manual patching. I strongly recommend Madness Returns and it has a creepy atmosphere like you'd want
This might not hit the right genre for you based on the games you mentioned, but I feel like a lot of visual novels have that setting without horror. For example: 999, the Zero Escape games, Danganronpa, maybe AI Somnium Files as well can be creepy at times, CORPSE FACTORY
I'm playing The Long Dark and I think it fits what you are looking for, however it is a survival game so if your not looking for a walking simulatior steer clear.
The premise is your plane was brought down by an eletro magnetic storm in the Canadian wilderness mid winter and you have to survive and unravel the mystery of what's happening.
Very creepy, lonely vibes with some really unsettling sequences, but no jump scares or anything.
Subnautica is not a horror game, and was not intended to be scary; and yet the way it captures the dark, oppressive nature of deep waters makes it an extremely terrifying experience.
I want a second little monsters and little monsters two, those are great and creepy.
And I'd also like to mention a game I just played called the alien cube, which is like a lovecraftian story that you're the star of. It's really good and a couple parts are genuinely nerve-wracking,l. there's not so much outright horror as there is pervasive creepiness and sudden high tension moments.
Bramble is a new game that's kinda got those limbo vibes, but with Scandinavian/Norse tones to the story. I beat it in one setting in about 4 hours, but it was the most gripping experience with a game I've had in a few years. There's a few mechanic switches, the final level is an awesome visual and musical fest, and the second to last boss fight was one of the most creative bosses I think I've ever seen in a game.
It's also on Gamepass right now so it's "free" if you have that.
Northern Journey. It's a hard game to put into any traditional genre. It's a Norwegian "happysad" action-adventure game with some of the most eerie visual and sound design I've seen without being outright horror.
Signal Simulator is a game about being completely alone in a base in the desert doing science stuff in search of aliens. It's not really horror but there's plenty of uneasy stuff in it.
There's also a newer game inspired by it called Voices of the Void which is more actively developed. Technically, it's not horror but the developer likes to fuck with you in all kinds of ways.