When it comes to horror, H.P. Lovecraft could be called the father of cosmic horrors worldwide and the maker of the stuff of nightmares and madness. His stories are still told, spin-offs are still made, and people are still terrified by what is in the darkness. Games have become a great way for these stories to be brought to life, with more and more Lovecraftian horror games released every year.

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Some of these Lovecraft-inspired cosmic horror games are a little older than others but remain just as terrifying as those that followed. All of them all great additions to the Lovecraftian world. Players will not only have to leave the lights on while playing them but also make sure that nothing is lurking in the darkness once they are done.

Updated November 3, 2023, by Tom Bowen: Despite the author having lived and died almost a full century ago, the work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft remains just as relevant today as it's ever been. It's provided inspiration for countless movies since the author's death, and, in recent years, has even started to have a noticeable impact on the video game industry. Many indie developers have been inspired by the writer's work, as too have one or two big-name AAA developers. They might not be quite as terrifying as the books on which some of them are based, but the best Lovecraftian games are pretty scary nonetheless. *A video version of the article has also been added, highlighting ten games from this List.

1 Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Steam Rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (All Reviews)

Amnesia: The Dark Descent places players into the shoes of Daniel, a man who is investigating Brennenburg Castle. Not only does Daniel's health need to be monitored in this game, but also his sanity, with his fear of the darkness being something that can have serious consequences if players allow him to become overwhelmed.

Throughout the game, Daniel will have chances to avoid monsters, as he has no way of protecting himself, and opportunities to recover with laudanum. Despite being released in 2010, this is still a unique psychological masterpiece that continues to haunt players' nightmares. A sequel, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs, was released in 2013.

2 Blackout: The Darkest Night

Steam Rating: Positive (All Reviews)

After a few minor delays and setbacks, Blackout: The Darkest Night was finally released in mid-2021. It's a non-linear fiction game set in a modern world in which players find themselves following a man who has lost himself in the city streets, not remembering anything.

Flashbacks start to reveal lost memories about the terrible events that occurred and what was seen, and choices are to be made on whether to dig deeper into the mystery or completely ignore it. This is a choice-based title where every decision will affect the ending of the game.

3 Bloodborne

Metacritic Rating: 92 (PS4)

Bloodborne is dubbed a Soulslike game and is in the same ranks as Dark Souls and Remnant: From The Ashes when it comes to gameplay. A lot of the lore in Bloodborne is on par with Dark Souls in its complexity, and it has been cited as one of the greatest games of all time by critics.

There has been a card game and a comic book series based on Bloodborne, as well as a DLC expansion, The Old Hunters, which was released in 2015. It struggles to differentiate itself from the Soulslike tag, but, for most purposes, it's a unique game that most players will enjoy.

4 Call of Cthulhu

Steam Rating: Mostly Positive (All Reviews)

Call of Cthulhu is a semi-open world game that is all about surviving a Lovecraftian world's horrors and was one of the most highly anticipated games of 2018. This psychological horror experience, based on Lovecraft's most famous short story, is one that requires the player to be crafty in both stealth and investigative abilities while following Edward Pierce.

Edward is led into a world of horror unimaginable to the human mind while investigating a case. The game is based on the player's choices throughout the story, with dialogue, exploration, and events that will shape Edward's sanity in the end game while also determining the dialog choices that players get to choose from.

5 Conarium

Steam Rating: Mostly Positive (All Reviews)

When it comes to creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere, Conarium is up there with the very best. The tight narrow spaces that players are forced to navigate can at times be absolutely terrifying, while the dull, muted colors and encroaching darkness that surrounds them help to build suspense through the uncertainty that they evoke.

Had more time been spent working on the game's script and a bit more money on hiring voice actors, this could easily have been a fantastic game. Instead, it's one of those titles that is good in places but falls just short of crossing the greatness threshold despite its obvious potential. Even so, anybody looking for a solid Lovecraftian experience should be more than satisfied with what's on offer here.

6 The Consuming Shadow

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Developed and published by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame, The Consuming Shadow combines rogue-like mechanics with survival horror themes in a minimalistic yet surprisingly effective way. It might not look like much, but the use of silhouettes contributes a lot to the game's atmosphere, and this, in turn, makes the game far more immersive than might first appear possible.

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Plenty of interesting ideas went into the game, and although they don't all land flawlessly, most of them do lead to a better experience for the player. Some of the game's many abilities do seem a little pointless, however, and the procedurally generated exploration areas can start to feel very repetitive after just a few hours of playing. Ultimately, though, it's a solid indie title that's well worth checking out.

7 Curse of the Old Gods

Steam Rating: Mostly Positive (All Reviews)

Curse of the Old Gods plays a lot like some of the classic point-and-click titles from the nineties and doesn't look too dissimilar either. It features some well-thought-out puzzles and a story that manages to create moments of real suspense while also keeping players engaged.

The writing is solid for the most part and the color palette contributes a lot to the overall aesthetic and the game's often jarring tone. It's a little on the short side at just over two hours long, although given that the game is free to play, it seems a little unfair to hold that against it.

8 Darkwood

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

It may have taken a while to get out of early access, but, when it finally did, Darkwood definitely didn't disappoint. This top-down survival horror game is truly terrifying at times and provides far more content than one might expect from a crowdfunded title. It looks great and uses lighting and color fantastically to create some incredibly intimidating atmospheres and plenty of chilling moments.

While the developers have gone on record to say that none of them had read any Lovecraft prior to working on the game, the similarities between Lovecraft and Darkwood are clear for all to see. Although not directly, it seems incredibly likely that some of the people and games that did inspire the devs had themselves taken some of their inspiration from the horror writer's work.

9 Dredge

Steam Rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (All Reviews)

Released in March of 2023, Dredge is a fishing game with a dark secret lurking beneath its surface. Players are tasked with using their fishing boat to explore a mysterious archipelago, where they'll catch and encounter all manner of Lovecraftian monstrosities down in the water's depths.

The game is beautifully presented and manages to blend the fishing and Lovecraftian genres together surprisingly well. Gameplay is a lot deeper than one might expect too, with players really needing to work hard in order to fully master the mechanics of Dredge.

10 Eldritch

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Eldritch: Mountains of Madness is an immersive retro-aesthetic roguelike about going into the depths of Antarctica in a 10-story dungeon. This all makes for a wild ride and takes players through adventures in uncovering eldritch horrors and trying to live to tell the tale.

Eldritch was one of the more popular games of its genre and also of its time. It's really no wonder why either, considering the excellent job that the game does of keeping players on their toes with the ever-present threat of permadeath lurking right around every corner.

11 Forgive Me Father

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Forgive Me Father's is not too dissimilar to XIII (the 2003 original, not the 2020 remake), both in terms of its cartoonish art style and its combat mechanics. Where the two games differ, however, is that Forgive Me Father is considerably darker, thanks in large to the seemingly endless waves of Lovecraft-inspired monsters.

The game came to Steam's Early Access program in late 2021 and got a full release the following April. It proved to be so popular with players that the developers started working on a sequel almost right away, with Forgive Me Father 2 hitting the platform just in time for Halloween of 2023.

12 Gray Dawn

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Released in 2018, Gray Dawn is a psychological thriller that continues to terrify and delight players. The game revolves around a priest, Father Abraham, who is trying to find a missing altar boy but instead finds himself in the midst of twisted religious practices.

This is a survival horror from the first-person perspective. As players follow Father Abraham as he attempts to prove that he wasn't involved in the altar boy's disappearance or the murder of several children, they are taken along to investigate, solve puzzles, and progress through the story with impactful dialogue choices.

13 Lobotomy Corporation | Monster Management Simulation

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Lobotomy Corporation is one of those games that nobody realized they wanted until they actually played it. Granted, there's perhaps not quite as much depth to the game as there is to some of the genre's more popular titles, but players can still expect to sink 30 hours or more into this addictive monsterpiece.

Though the developers don't cite Lovecraft as a direct inspiration, the games that they do list as having influenced the title are all Lovecraftian in nature. Unlike some of those other titles though, this isn't really a scary game, with the title's focus very much on monster management rather than attempting to freak players out.

14 Remnant: From the Ashes

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Perhaps one of the most notable Lovecraftian-style games of the past few years, Remnant: From the Ashes features fantastic co-op gameplay, a wide variety of fun-to-use weapons, and an interesting character customization system that allows players to tweak and tailor their characters to better suit their preferred play style.

The wonderfully-designed bosses are arguably one of the game's biggest selling points though, with each one providing a healthy amount of nightmare fuel. Sadly, the story can be a little generic in places and melee combat is pretty bad too, but those who enjoy taking down terrifying monsters should be able to overlook these flaws.

15 Scorn

Steam Rating: Mostly Positive (All Reviews)

Scorn is a somewhat divisive game, but most seem to be in agreement that its visuals really are top-notch. Playing through the game can at times feel like venturing through a lucid nightmare or a bad acid trip, with some of the horror elements on display being truly terrifying indeed.

It may be a little on the short side and the level design is remarkably linear, but the overall experience should be one that really appeals to fans of cosmic horror. It's one of the best games inspired by the work of H.R. Giger and H.P. Lovecraft and well worth picking up in a sale.

16 The Secret World

Steam Rating: Mixed (All Reviews)

The Secret World is an MMORPG based on horror and psychological warfare in the modern world, with Templars, the Illuminati, and an organization known as the Dragon. Each of these groups has its own agenda and helps to push players through a storyline that's full of quests, puzzles, and amazing horror, while also customizing how they play the game with its innovative skill system.

Each player is a supernatural hero working toward a better world while facing the war between good and evil. As they do so, they'll need to carry out quests that will shape the world and their personal story as they journey through the game's fantastic Lovecraftian world.

17 The Sinking City

Steam Rating: Mostly Positive (All Reviews)

Released in 2019 and set in the fictional city of Oakmont, Massachusetts in the 1920s, The Sinking City follows Charles W. Reed, a private investigator who fights to find out why he's haunted by terrifying visions. While doing so, he becomes tangled in the mystery of Oakmont's problems and the flood that plagues the town.

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The flood brings mass hysteria and madness to citizens, and the town is on the verge of collapse when he arrives by invitation. His investigations lead to him stumbling upon a nefarious plot to bring Cthulhu back to the world, and it's up to him and the player to stop it.

18 Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones

Steam Rating: Mixed (All Reviews)

Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones sees a supernatural event known as Black Day come to Arkham, Massachusetts. This leads to the city being cut off from the rest of the world, and chaos taking control. A cult worshipping the old ones, the mob, and other entities vie for power while recruiting new members into their midst.

Players follow the story through several characters' choices in this RPG and are thrown into a detailed world rife with eldritch horror. Each decision shapes the game and the character as they progress through a dynamic world full of atmosphere.

19 Sundered: Eldritch Edition

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

In this Metroidvania game, the player follows Eshe as she navigates a horror-filled world in which she is thrust into situations that test her humanity. She acquires the Trapezohedron, a being that grants her the power to defend herself, and technology along the way to help her as she finds Elder Shards and destroys them.

Each time they are destroyed, the protagonist has the choice to let them make her more powerful or save her humanity. In the end, there are two choices in Sundered: Eldritch Edition: remain human and stay trapped forever or become corrupted and release eldritch darkness upon the world.

20 Sunless Sea

Steam Rating: Very Positive (All Reviews)

Sunless Sea isn't built around revolutionary new ideas, but instead takes old concepts and mechanics and implements them into its gameplay loop with near-flawless precision. It's packing a really well-written story, plenty of interesting characters, and more than its fair share of death and despair.

Innovation is a wonderful thing, but there's nothing wrong with a game drawing its inspiration from those that came before it. Sunless Sea does this to great effect and still manages to feel unique without really treading too much new ground. The giant angler crabs and sentient icebergs are pretty scary, but it's the sense of uncertainty that the game is able to evoke that is truly terrifying.

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