Horror games have branched into multiple genres over the years, including survival, fantasy, sci-fi and even multiplayer titles. These games all manage to perfectly marry together their subgenre with layers of horror that will strike fear into the hearts of players, and the cosmic horror genre is no different.
Cosmic horror involves things thatgo beyond the limits of human imagination,such as the creatures and themes found in H.P. Lovecraft’s writing that are described as incomprehensible to the human mind, but that hasn’t stopped developers from trying to recreate them, and some to great success.
Updated Jun 14, 2025, by Mara Cowley:Cosmic horror gamesare one of the most popular genres, as evidenced by the amount of games that exist old and new, with more sure to come. They bring the maddening horror of Old Gods, eldritch abominations and questions such as what it truly means to be human, and what is their significance in the grand schemes of things. These games thrill and terrorize their players while challenging their views on the universe and humanity, making them unique and remarkable experiences. Many games have already been covered in this article, but many more still dwell in the shadows of anonymity. This article has been updated with a few moreeldritch horror video gamesto bring their terror into the light.
Transcending Human Consciousness
Conarium
Conarium is a chilling Lovecraftian game that follows the gripping story of four scientists and their endeavour to challenge what we normally consider to be the “absolute” limits of nature. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s novella At the Mountains of Madness, but largely set after the original story.You, as Frank Gilman, open your eyes inside a room filled with strange, pulsating noises. Patterns of lights executing a Danse Macabre on the walls is presented by a queer device on the table. Having recalled nothing other than that you’re in Upuaut, an Antarctic base located near the South Pole, you find the place deserted and have a distinct feeling of something being terribly wrong. Somehow knowing that your memories cannot guide you enforces a strange feeling of vulnerability, a familiar yet alien sensation of being a part of a peculiar whole… Soon you will discover that having used the device during the expedition, you have died but then returned subtly changed, speaking of strange memories and of strange places. You have lost something important or gained something sinister…Explore the Antarctic base, as well as dreams and visions. Study clues and unlock secrets, whilst avoiding macabre beings at all cost.
Lovecraftian horror often delves into what being human is really all about, and how we could possibly expand upon what we are, transcending to something greater and other-worldly. These themes are the core of the cosmic horrorConarium.Players are put in the shoes of Frank Gilman, one member of a small team of scientists working in the Antarctic, who awakens in a room with a strange device, and missing memories of how he got there and what happened to his colleagues.
As players explore Frank’s surroundings to piece together the puzzle, strange events will occur that are as cosmic as they are horrifying, such as odd dreams or visions that could be Frank’s missing memories. Though this concept for a video game is not unique by any means, it still delivers a scary experience that any Lovecraftian fan is sure to appreciate.
War veteran turned PICharles Reed is tasked with discovering the source of nightmares that have begun plaguing a Professor based in Oakmont, who has met with others who share these horrifying visions. This leads him to enterThe Sinking City, where the horrors begin.
The Sinking Cityis about as Lovecraftian as games get, featuring a Victorian town inhabited by many occult practitioners and infested with a plague that instills madness and hysteria. These are always core consequences of dabbling in dark arts dealing with otherworldly horrors. Featuring eldritch monsters and the famed Lovecraft city of Innsmouth,The Sinking Cityis a quintessential title for any cosmic horror fan.
9Moons of Madness
Eldritch Horror Takes Off Into Space
Most cosmic horror games remain grounded on earth, taking players to eerie cities, decrepit buildings and ancient crumbling temples where cultists can raise eldritch deities. But, this is whereMoons of Madnessseparates itself from the rest of the crop, breathing a refreshing new breath of life into the genre by taking it into space.
Space, with all its great vastness and emptiness, makes it ripe for a horror setting, whichMoons of Madnesstakes full advantage of. Set on Mars after a mysterious signal of intelligent origin is discovered, players will explore the planet while being unaware of what they might be sharing the desolate planet with, until their sanity falls apart at the seams. Terrifying monsters and vivid hallucinations will plague their time on the planet, and test the limits of their courage.
8Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Combines the Legendary Detective and Lovecraftian Horror
Originally released in 2007, the 2023 remake ofThe Awakenedretells the story as Sherlock Holmes grapples with cosmic horror and madness as he searches for a young manservant that has gone missing. Holmes’s search takes him to some peculiar places such as a mental institute in Switzerland, New Orleans, and a lighthouse in Scotland. With the power of a new engine, more atmosphere and eeriness has graced these locations.
The mash-up between Sir Conan Doyle and Lovecraft is a strange one, and yet it works.The Victorian settingis the perfect fit for both, and who better to uncover and bust the cult of Cthulhu than the best detective ever to grace the pages of novels?
Based on the Pen and Paper RPG
Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu, the official videogame inspired by Chaosium’s classic pen and paper RPG, brings you deep into a world of creeping madness and shrouded Old Gods within Lovecraft’s iconic universe.1924. Private Investigator Pierce is sent to look into the tragic death of the Hawkins family on the isolated Darkwater Island. Soon enough, Pierce is pulled into a terrifying world of conspiracies, cultists, and cosmic horrors. Nothing is as it seems. Sanity is an irregular bedfellow, all too often replaced by whisperings in the dark. Strange creatures, weird science, and sinister cults dominate the Cthulhu Mythos, intent on realizing their mad schemes to bring about the end of everything.Your mind will suffer - between sanity and psychosis, your senses will be disrupted until you question the reality of everything around you. Trust no one. Slinking shadows hide lurking figures… and all the while, the Great Dreamer prepares for his awakening.
Toted as the officialCall of Cthulhugame based on the TTRPG of the same name, thisgame is about as Lovecraftianas they come. It follows the tale of Edward Pierce, a detective who has turned to sleeping pills and the bottom of bottles to escape from the nightmares plaguing his sleep. He is soon contacted by someone to look into a mysterious death in Darkwater, where there is only a painting left as a clue.
Things take a sinister turn in Darkwater, involving a cult that worships a God not of this world -Cthulhu. The goal of the cult is to bring him into the world, and the player’s choices will impact what kind of ending they get. Either way,Call of Cthulhuis filled to the brim with cosmic goodness (or badness) wherever players turn.
The Shadow That Lurks
Amnesia The Dark Descent
STAY IN THE LIGHT….Amnesia: The Dark Descent puts you in the shoes of Daniel as he wakes up in a desolate castle, barely remembering anything about his past. Exploring the eerie pathways, you must also take part in Daniel’s troubled memories. The horror does not only come from the outside, but from the inside as well A disturbing odyssey into the dark corners of the human mind awaits.As you start to lose your sanity, you start to see things. Are they real or are you imagining them?Exploration based adventure game from a first person perspective.Danger can lurk behind every corner. your only means of protection are hiding, running and using your wits!DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO SURVIVE?
For a game that is more subtle with its cosmic associations,Frictional Games' breakout hitAmnesia The Dark Descentfits the bill perfectly. Players control the main protagonist, Daniel, who awakens in Castle Brennenburg with self-induced amnesia. He begins to piece the puzzle together as he explores the castle, slowly regaining his memories all the while evading the hostile monsters that roam the halls.
The threat of the Shadow is the cosmic influence at the crux of the game, a mysterious red tissue that is said to break down reality, guarding a mysterious orb that was uncovered on an expedition in the desert. Not much is known about the Shadow, but it is a real, living threat that is not of this world.
There’s nothing quite as relaxing as fishing in video games. The ability to partake in the calming past-time from the comfort of one’s home is truly a rare treat to help decompress after a long day…unless the game in question isDredge, of course.
This game takes soothing fishing gameplay and places it within a cosmic horror context in which the fisherman the player controls finds more than just salmon during his fishing adventures, encountering increasingly startling creatures that are Lovecraftian in nature. With these horrors at the center of this title, along with the ability to explore the map, trade items, and upgrade the boat, there is a lot more than scares in this indie horror title.
Sharing a name with one of H.P. Lovecraft’s stories,Dreams in the Witch Houseis a point-and-click horror title with some RPG elements such as inventory management and character stats, one of the main stats being sanity that players must try to keep unscathed as much as possible.
Beltane is fast approaching and Walter must do his best to prepare for it, and players get to decide on how to do so. Staying in an old boarding house surrounded by rumors, Walter finds himself plagued by nightmares and must find a way tokeep his sanity intactlest he lose his life and his soul to the cosmic machinations at work.
Darkwood
Craft weapons, prepare traps, fortify hideouts - you will explore and scavenge the eerie forests of the Soviet Bloc by day, then hunker down in your hideout at night. With nightmarish forces corrupting the woods, wait and pray for the sun to come up the next morning.
Wade through the grueling, bizarre world of Darkwood and delve into the creepiest secrets of its inhabitants to escape the infested land before it destroys your body and consumes your mind.
No jump scares: an atmospheric horror experience that creates a feeling of tension without cheap horror tricks.
Day and night cycle: roam the corrupted woods by Day and use your hideout to seek survival during the night.
Randomly generated map and events: the world will vary for each play-through and each player.
Crafting: scavenge for materials to upgrade your hideout and create weapons, traps or potions.
Skills and perks: develop your character by injecting a strange essence into your bloodstream.
No hand holding: test your skills and figure out things on your own!
Branching storyline: shape the world of Darkwood and determine the fate of its inhabitants.
Darkwoodis one of the best survival horror games of recent years, combining survival gameplay with a horror setting that could be plucked from the pages of a Lovecraft book. A mysterious forest has appeared in the Soviet bloc, overtaking acres of land with no signs of stopping. If that isn’t cosmic horror enough, those trapped in the forest don’t remain the same, twisting into monstrous abominations.
Players need to make the most of their daylight hours preparing for nightfall, which is when the horrors arrive. It is certainly not a typical cosmic horror game, dabbling in a completely different genre of horror, but this makes it the perfect choice for fans looking for a more unique experience.
This entry in FromSoftware’s library of brutally difficult action RPGs introduced elements of horror, specifically cosmic horror, into its franchise. Playing as a Hunter, players travel through the plague-riddled Yharnam, a gothic, Victorian-style city that definitely fits into any Lovecraftian story. A sickness ravages the city that turns victims into wolf-like creatures, but there are far more horrifying creatures lying in wait.
Tentacled monstrosities and creatures that defy all logic and understanding,Bloodborneis home to many eldritch monstrosities that serve to make thisFromSoftware game delightfully horrifying.
