Summary
There are few better combinations than horror video games and Lovecraft, which is why there are so many great examples to pick from. Lovecraftian fiction iswell known for popularizing cosmic horror, a kind of fear that is wrapped up in the unknown and the incomprehensible, usually involving great big alien monsters that see humans as little more than ants.
Lovecraftian horror can be so much more than just Cthulhu and tentacles, though, which is exactly why video games are a great place to explore all the different and brilliant possibilities. Countlesshorror games feature Lovecraftian elements, but some are arguably better than others.
One of the main challenges in Lovecraftian horror video games is how to communicate the idea of stress and insanity. WhileDarkest Dungeondidn’t invent the sanity meter in video games, it may well have mastered it through the Stress mechanic.
In short, not only doDarkest Dungeonplayers have tomanage a party full of renegadesas they plunder the horrific depths of many dungeons and keep their HP high, but if they get too stressed, they can suffer a mental breakdown, making them less reliable in combat and also costing a lot of money back in the Hamlet to fix. Not coincidentally, this gives the player a lot of stress too, making it a great example ofLovecraftian horror in video games.
Lovecraft and a fear of the ocean go together like cookies and cream, which is exactly why the brilliant indie gameDredgeworks so well. Players take control of a silent fisherman stuck on a plethora of islandshaunted by Lovecraftian entities, where there doesn’t seem to be much of an escape, and the sealife grows more and more hostile, particularly as night descends.
What follows is a delightful game that gives anyone with a fear of the ocean the shivers. It knows how to tap into the interminable depths deep below the water and the eldritch creatures that could lurk below. Thalassophobes should certainly beware of this horror game.
WhileAmnesia: The Dark Descentdeserves credit for revolutionizing the horror video game scene throughout the 2010s andgarnering lots of new horror fans, it’s far less well known for its Lovecraftian elements because of its outwardly Gothic atmosphere.
However, the game’s deep lore isall about ancient god-like figureswho defy comprehension of the protagonist and antagonist, spawning horrors that literally send the player insane by looking at them. It’s a subtle but strong evocation of the Lovecraftian in a setting where some may not think to find it, and it cuts to the core of Lovecraft’s nihilistic and terrifying philosophy that drives the intellectual side of his stories.
Some horror games evoke the Lovecraftian subtly, but others, like the 2023 remake ofDead Space, do it through blood, guts, and mayhem. Taking placeaboard the Ishimura, a mining ship, players take control of Isaac Clarke as he explores the ship, searching for his wife who was stationed there as horrific monsters known as necromorphs stalk the halls.
It becomes pretty clear as the game progresses that a mysterious object known as The Marker is responsible for sending the crew of the Ishimura insane andturning its inhabitants into bloody monsters. The Marker’s motivations or mechanics are entirely unknown; it just sends whoever is in proximity to it insane, which is about as Lovecraftian as an object can get.
Though most knowBloodborneas a Lovecraftian game these days, some may not remember that the Lovecraftian elements were actually a big surprise when the title first came out, as it was marketed first on its Gothic elements of werewolves and vampire aesthetics.
However, as players dived deeper and deeper into the sordid world of Yharnam andconquered its rogues gallery of bosses, it soon became clear that the blood that the Yharnamites thought was a miracle cure was actually their demise, as it came from cosmic outer beings that now run rampant over the world, warping reality as they see fit. There’s no experience quite like seeing the Amygdalas draped around the spires of Yharnam when the player reaches enough Insight, which is the perfect evocation of the madness at the core of all Lovecraftian horror.
