Summary
Thehorror genreis extremely versatile as it allows developers to tell stories set virtually anywhere and still deliver a terrifying experience that fans of spine-chilling tales will love. As long as there are supernatural elements, beyond-the-grave encounters, or psychopathic killers involved, even a colorful, innocent-looking nursery might work.
That said, few settings are as effective at making players shiver asabandoned hospitals and asylums. After all, those places have a lot of history revolving around loss, disease, and a good deal of suffering—what’s better than that to tell a nightmare-inducing story? Here are some of thebest horror games set in hospitals.
5The Town Of Light
A Psychological Horror Game Revolving Around A Tortured Former Asylum Patient
Set in the Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra in the otherwise beautiful Tuscan region of Italy,The Town of Lightfollows the protagonist Renée as she returns to the asylum where she was once involuntarily committed. Now in ruins, the mental institution still haunts her, as memories of her time within its walls were less than pleasant.
The Town of Lightwill have players explore the ruins of the asylum to help Renée remember fragments of her past while discovering dark secrets of the infamous mental institution. Thisthrilling psychological horror titlewill make players doubt Renée’s sanity and even their own, as reality is not always what it seems.The Town of Lightfeatures an interesting art style that works well with its Italian setting.
4Dementium: The Ward
A First-Person Horror Game Involving Amnesia And Several Mysteries To Uncover
When William Redmoor,the lead character of the game who suffers from amnesia,wakes up in the deserted and eerie halls of Redmoor Hospital, the nightmare and his struggle for survival begin.Dementium: The Wardis filled with cryptic messages and various vicious creatures who will stop at nothing to kill William and end players' run early. Players will have to navigate the building’s dark, quiet and spine-chilling halls to uncover more details about their current situation and find a way out before it’s too late.
While the game was originally released in 2007, it features a very particular art style that’s reminiscent of first-person shooter games from the early 90s. This concept works very well withDementium: The Wardand helps boost the feeling of uncertainty behind the opening of every door. The game’s developers announced that a port for theNintendo Switchwould be released in 2023, and another for the PlayStation 4 and 5 would come in 2024.
The Evil Withinbegins with Detective Sebastian Castellanos and his partners Joseph Oda and Juli Kidman arriving at agruesome crime scenewithin the Beacon Mental Hospital. As they explore the premises, they come across some CCTV footage showing fellow officers firing at an unknown threat and then trying to flee when they realize bullets and other attempts at standing their ground are futile. This unleashes a series of events that will have players exploring different areas to uncover the truth behind the vicious killings and the mysterious events happening around them.
WhileThe Evil Within’s story isn’t limited to the Beacon Mental Hospital, it plays a key role in the events of the game and many situations revolving around it. This institution represents the starting point of Detective Castellanos' adventure, which has not only captivated many players over the years but also kicked off a series of DLCs for the original game and even a sequel.
Outlastnot only helped put developer Red Barrels on the map but also redefined what horror games could be in the early 2010s. This title focuses on the story of Miles Upshur, a freelance journalist who receives an interesting tip-off regarding a mental asylum known as Mount Massive Asylum. When Miles reaches the mental institution, he soon realizes that the place is no longer on lockdown and the staff have either been killed or taken by the patients who are now roaming free through the building’s halls. The game will have players control Miles as he tries to escape the nightmarish asylum and live to tell the story.
Along the way, Miles will encounter several former inmates who pose a direct threat to his survival, and the chasing sequences involved in said encounters are more than enough to give nightmares to even the bravest horror fans. TheOutlastfranchiseexcels at the quality of its villainsand horror elements, delivering a wonderful experience in both the first installment and the sequel.
Silent Hill 2does not take place in a hospital setting—at least not in its entirety. The game focuses on James Sunderland, who receives a letter from his late wife three years after she died from a terminal illness. Intrigued, James decides to visit the town of Silent Hill in Maine to get some answers; however, he will find the once lovely town covered in a thick fog that harbors pure evil and deadly dangers lurking around every corner. The game takes players around many areas in the town of Silent Hill and one of them is the infamous Brookhaven Hospital, a mental institution located in the South Vale.
Brookhaven Hospital is not only one of the best parts of the game due to the bleak atmosphere that lingers inside it, but also because it symbolizes the fear and desperation of those who were once institutionalized in it. The recently releasedSilent Hill 2remakealso features this mental institution, which means the developers felt it deserved to be featured, even when other things from the original game were either removed or changed.
