Sunday, October 16, 2022
It
is the spooky time of year again and what better way to get a chill
down your spine than with a horror visual novel. While this is not
the genre visual novels tend to venture into frequently, those which
do offer some of the most compelling horror experiences available in
any medium. This list will cover games of various lengths and types
of horror in order to give a good overview of what is out there and
its quality. Now let the scares begin...
Top 10
10. Miniature Garden -
One
of the most important aspects of a good horror game is a constant
tense atmosphere since there is nothing that kills fear faster than
a sense of safety. It is this tension which Miniature Garden uses as
the sole basis of its horror and is an example of how this feeling
can be used to its full effectiveness. Very little of what might be
traditionally called scary actually happen in game. There are no jump
scares and no monsters stalking the hallways, instead it is the
unknown which drives the sense of fear experienced by the player.
Just as the protagonist, Yasunari, is trapped by supernatural forces
with no understanding of what is going on, so too do you share this
position of weakness. Our fear of what we do not understand makes us
jump a shadows and Miniature Garden gives the player a bread crumb to
get their imagination rolling, the rumor that an unnatural death will
befall someone on the night of the festival. Its
relatively short length means that this one trick does not
overstay its welcome and the game provides a concise morsel of horror.
9. Sound of Drop -fall into poison-
The
ocean is a big and scary place filled with strange creatures whose
alien forms inspire as much wonder as they do fear. An aquarium is a
human made microcosm of the human obsession with the deep blue and
it contains many specimens to stare at from behind glass. But what if
that safety barrier of glass went way and this once human place
became the realm of that unknown world. This fear is the backbone of
Sound of Drop’s horror and it understands how the sea can be
leveraged to get under a player's skin. In particular it makes liberal
use of bad endings in order to sell the danger of the situation and
the powerlessness of our protagonists. To support this horror there
is a strong mystery which slowly comes into the light as events
unfold and acts as a hook to keep the player engaged with the narrative
so they have something to grasp onto to overcome their fear and press onward through the game. Overall this is a strong and focused visual
novel which knows how to get the most out of its chosen source of
spooks.
8. Lynne -
For
the eighth place we have a less standard form of horror, the trauma
of being a teenager. At first glance this seems like it would be less
scary than having a monster chase you or some other more direct
threat, but it is in the human mind that the greatest fears can
fester. Lynne perfectly captures the lost of control over mind and
body which teenagers experience and uses it to resonate with the
players own memories of this time in their lives. In doing this it
creates unease and as events slowly spiral out of control you feel
the dread of what is to come build up since these are feelings you
have had writ large on screen. This a game with a strong emotional
core which it cleverly uses to invoke a dread centric horror and
plays with your own experiences.
7. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows -
Of
the visual novels so far on this list, Book of Shadows is the first
to utilise the more traditional trappings of horror such a gore and
violence. These are used in a moderate manner with key horror scenes
being given free rein with these tools and restraint being shown in
everywhere else. Book of Shadows is a game focused around playing
with highs and lows. This could be high and low tension or the highs
and lows within a narrative context. It takes an almost gleeful
approach to building up the players hopes only to dash them or
subvert the standard outcome. Not knowing how things are going to
turn out adds a great deal of weight to each choice the player makes
and creates a fear born of this uncertainty. Book of Shadows is not
for the faint of heart, but for those looking for a new twist on a
more standard horror game are in for a treat.
6. Doki Doki Literature Club! -
Placing
Doki Doki Literature Club in a horror list might count as a spoiler
given how it initially presents itself, but it has been out long enough
that even people who have not played it know about its genre shift.
While this visual novel is somewhat of a one trick pony, this single
trick is extremely effective the first time you play through it and
has justly earned the game a reputation for the narrative and mechanical
tricks up its sleeve. It is difficult to say to much about what it it
does since its short length means there are not many examples to draw
from and talking about even one of them is ruining a good portion of
the fun. Instead I will say this, Doki Doki Literature Club is a
visual novel which completely understands the trappings of its medium
and by extension how to mess with them in a meta context to create a
horror atmosphere through taking the familiar and undermining it.
5. Chaos Head Noah / Chaos Child -
For
our fifth place with have a pair of visual novels from the same
series which share a similar approach to enacting their horror, Chaos
Head and Chaos Child. These both centre around their protagonists
being unreliable narrators and creating a sense of fear from that
lack of a safe source of information. This is further emphasised
through the Delusion Triggers which act as these games’ choices
where the player is asked to muddy the waters even more by choosing a
false set of events for the protagonist to witness. So when sudden
and violent things happen you are never quite sure if it is real or
just a figment of an unreliable mind, but you are still left with the
feeling something is wrong and you should be worried. These games
masterfully use this uncertainty to build up their horror in a
creeping manner which slowly seeps into your mind as you begin to
realise exactly what sort of situation these characters are in.
4. Spirit Hunter: NG -
Urban
legends, ghost and spirits are common features of horror but few can
do them justice in the visceral way Spirit Hunter: NG manages to achieve.
If there is one thing this game understands it is that build up is key
to making a monster scary. It is quite common for there to only be
the hints of a monster's presence for a long time before you get to see
them in the flesh. Their horrific traces tell the tale of what they
can do and this builds a tension which makes the actual encounter
with the monster all the more scary. This is wonderfully complemented
by the exceptional designs of the monsters themselves and their
motions as their grotesque forms writhe and twitch in wholly
unnatural ways. NG is a treat for fans of monster focused horror and
never has it been so much of a joy to be attacked by these
monstrosities.
3. soundless - A MODERN SALEM IN REMOTE AREA -
Isolation
and paranoia are powerful emotions which form the heart of soundless’
introspective horror. Mercy is isolated and cut off from her emotions
making her the perfect protagonist for a story about descending into
madness. She has been wronged by those around her and it is this
which the game uses to get the player to sympathise with her before
everything spirals out of control and right and wrong become much
blurrier. Watching stability descend into unrelenting chaos and the
feelings of powerlessness over the situation on the part of the
player keeps the fear of what will happen next high in your mind.
With the recent release of the Final Verse update there has never been a
better time to get immersed in this twisted tale.
2. Higurashi When They Cry -
It
should come as no surprise to find Higurashi on a list of the best
horror visual novels. There are few games which can match its ability
to stimulate fear in the player and maintain it for such a long time.
Higurashi makes use of the contrast between its slice of life and
horror sections to heighten the effectiveness of both by having the
player emphasise with the characters and invest in their struggles to
stay alive. This is all supported by a mystery which keeps you
guessing the whole way through and even as truths become revealed the
unclear nature of the picture shifts to make sure you remain engaged.
Keeping the delicate balance between each of these parts is something
Higurashi excels at and is the main reason it earns its position on
this list.
1. Phenomeno -
VNDB Play
Time – 3 hours
The
number one spot is occupied by a somewhat unusual game. Phenomeno is
an adaptation of a horror novel into visual novel form and does an
excellent job at showcasing how the medium can elevate a horror
narrative. This is at its core a haunted house story with a heavy
dose of the supernatural and a lot of uncertainty to create the
complete horror package. Since the game was developed by Nitro Plus,
it comes as little surprise that there a strong understanding of how
to use the features of visual novels effectively throughout its short
duration. We have it all here, cleaver use of sound and music,
distinctive and clear visual style and a mastery over using text
placement to control the tone of the narrative. While Higurashi is
arguably the better game, it is difficult to recommend it given its
over 100 hour length but Phenomeno is a much shorter and sweeter
experience for someone looking for a scare this month and so
ultimately won out as the best horror visual novel.
