Horror games are designed first and foremost to invoke feelings of horror and dread in the player, utilizing all the mechanics a good game should, from well-timed and composed music and audio cues, map layouts, monster design, and even lighting mechanics.

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As such, even the scariest horror games offer some source of light to their players, but some go above and beyond. Rather than just clicking a button to see a few feet further, these games offer a unique mechanic to their lighting to make it more interesting and useful to the player.

6 Alan Wake

This Twin Peaks-inspired horror game centers around the titular protagonist who vacations to the city of Bright Falls to try and get past his two-year-long writer's block. After an argument with his wife Alice, Alan storms out in a fit of rage only to hear her scream as she is dragged into a lake. He wakes up on the side of the road in his car, with no memories of how he had gotten there, a missing wife to find, and monsters made of shadows to contend with.

Though Alan is armed with a gun, light will also be his weapon against the forces of darkness. The creatures, known as the Taken, are vulnerable to light. If they are hit by it, it makes them vulnerable to weapon damage, allowing Wake to dispose of them and progress further through the game. Flashlights, flash bangs, flares, streetlights, searchlights, and any source of light the players can get their hands on are free to use, making clever use of the game's environment.

5 Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Enter Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the first game in the famous franchise series that kick-started the internet's love of scream-inducing indie horror games. Those who dared not brave the hallways of Castle Brennenburg themselves were watching "let's players" take on the challenge for them as they chased down Daniel's suppressed memories to uncover the reason behind the self-induced amnesia and the secrets behind the mysterious owner of the castle.

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Amnesia arms the player with a lantern as their mobile source of light, while also scattering candles players can light if they have enough tinderboxes to spare. The sources of light aren't just to brighten environments, they are also key to maintaining the main character's sanity, as dwindling sanity can cause hallucinations and tilting camera angles that can hinder navigation. But players should take care not to rely on it too much, as the monsters are drawn to the light.

4 Madison

Madison is a unique game that features a camera at the heart of both its gameplay and story, as it is gifted to the young 16-year-old protagonist Lucas on his birthday. But this isn't just any normal camera bought from a store, as it once belonged to a 30-year-old serial killer, which becomes the key to ending a macabre ritual.

While most of the gameplay mechanics center around using the camera to snap pictures to solve puzzles and progress, there are also gameplay mechanics that rely on the flash function of the camera. In places that are too dark to see, players can snap a picture and briefly flood their immediate surroundings with light to see where exactly they are and where they need to go. In typical horror game style, sometimes the players will see something they wish they hadn't while making use of this mechanic.

3 Tormented Souls

Taking inspiration from horror giants such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tormented Souls brought back the retro gameplay of fixed camera angles to heighten its brand of horror as main character Caroline Walker explores the terrifying hospital she awakens in that was once a mansion.

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With plenty of puzzles that require careful thinking to get the right solution, terrifying monsters that pose a deadly threat, and the general struggle of navigating such a large area with fixed cameras, players already have their hands full, but there is another mechanic they should be mindful of: darkness is deadly. If they wish to survive, they better hope they have a portable source of light, or enough around the environment before the deathly grip of darkness closes in.

2 Lights Off

Whereas most horror games see players scrambling to turn sources of light on for their sanity and safety, Lights Off is a unique experimental free-to-play game that takes players through a common childhood fear of what might be lying in wait for darkness to fall.

Players will need to turn off all the lights on their way to bed, preying on that suspenseful feeling that there might be monsters next time they flick off their lights. With this being virtually the only gameplay in this title, it definitely stands out as a unique and interesting way to make light so important and hammer home the horror aspect of not having any to guarantee safety.

1 Flicker Of Hope

Another free-to-play horror game, Flicker of Hope is a cutesy short indie horror game that puts players in the tiny waxy shoes of an adorable lit candle that lives in a cathedral that has suffered the ravages of a plague. Though the dark hallways are littered with the bodies of those who succumbed to the illness, the tiny brave candle is not the only one alive, however.

Wishing to fulfill the now-dead monk's mission to fill the monastery with light to bring hope to the world, Jean Wick must totter through the landscapes, find his way around the debris blocking his path, and douse his light to prevent him from being discovered by Mara, a nun fallen into the throes of despair as she failed to heal victims, as well as flesh-eating insects. The use of a douter to keep Jean Wick's presence secret is unique, using light differently from most other games.

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