*Dark* game recommendations?

[chronoteeth]

after the recent release of majora's mask i come to thinkin about it and realising that its overwhelmingly dark and depressing. like SH2 but more hidden

anyone have any recommendations for games that have a certain... feeling to it? horror is to be apart yeah, but very different kind of dark. no FNAF or RE, something that could even be considered depressing, morose, or even disturbing at points??

[Big C]

The STALKER series and the Metro Redux games.

The Hideous Destructor mod from our very own ZDoom forums, with the Dark Doom/flashlight/ambient music mods.

The FEAR series.

Black Mesa, maybe. It's certainly way scarier and even sadder than the original Half Life---"Anomalous Materials" is now like something out of a disaster movie and it's horrifying. Also, it's free!

Transistor and Bastion are both rather melancholy, but not particularly nightmarish.

The Thief series can best be described as steampunk film noir, with all the seedy crime that entails, plus a tinge of Lovecraftian horror and manmade horrors. Also recommended is the Dark Mod, which is a free standalone Thief-esque game built on the DooM 3 engine. It's more faithful to the original Thief 1/2 than either Deadly Shadows or the more recent Thief game is, and continues to receive updates---the guard AI is VERY detailed.

[chronoteeth]

I guess to add to it something more ethereal and macab, less scary. stuff like NIER, or i have no mouth and i must scream. both necessarily not scary games but very disturbing and you always think something is off or wrong

[xenoxols]

Maybe Fallout 1? It's the only serious title in the series.

[Big C]

Maybe Fallout 1? It's the only serious title in the series.

I dunno, Fallout New Vegas got pretty grim at points. Especially in Lonesome Road, that was STALKER-levels of harshness.

And even Old World Blues' silliness was covering up the prison camp and horrific, Mengele-esque science experiments that the Think Tank used to run on POWs from the U.S.-China War.

EDIT: Further recommendations:

-The Binding of Isaac: ReBirth.
-Wolfenstein: The New Order. Perfect midpoint between silly, campy classic Wolfenstein and a dead-serious portrayal of how horrific the actual Reich could get.
-Dark Souls 1 and 2. They are dark, and full of souls. And both games are nut-crushingly hard. GET GOOD OR DIE (REPEATEDLY) TRYING.
-Dead Space 1 and 2. Dead Space 3 may or may not be worth playing.
-System Shock 2.
-Telltale Games' The Walking Dead. The undead are the least of your problems here, and it's a zombie game with MUCH more emphasis on the characters, their interpersonal drama, and their story than on fighting wave after wave of ghouls.
-Spec Ops: The Line. Imagine Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, except set in Dubai after a catastrophic sandstorm except deep upriver in Africa/Vietnam.
-American McGee's Alice and Alice: Madness Returns. Really, REALLY screwed up games. In a good way.
-Alien: Isolation. THIS is how you keep survival-horror fresh.
-Alan Wake. It's basically a playable Stephen King novel.
-Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines. Imagine an urban horror-fantasy version of Deus Ex and you get an idea of what's in store for you.

[Nash]

Silent Hill 3
Lone Survivor
PT/Silent Hills demo (if you have a PS4)
The Last Half of Darkness Part 1 (oooold MS DOS game)
Dementium The Ward (Nintendo DS)
Dementium II (PC)

[SamVision]

Play Doom 64 again, that game will never get old for me.

[NantoCodd]

Afraid of Monsters DC (Half Life Mod)
Cry of Fear (previously mod, now standalone)
Manhunt

[Remmirath]

Super Metroid or Metroid Fusion. Take your pick.

[xenoxols]

I'll pick Super Metroid, thank you.

[Nevander]

Play Doom 64 again, that game will never get old for me.

I cannot agree with this more. Doom 64 is perfect.

[chopkinsca]

You should check out Shadowman.

[Reactor]

Limbo. It's the most renowned, and depressing game I met so far. Resident Evil 3 "Nemesis" is also quite dark-ish in almost every leval.

[Naitguolf]

Play Doom 64 again, that game will never get old for me.

I cannot agree with this more. Doom 64 is perfect.

To me its more Quake, than DooM, so...

Anyway, Quake 1 is pretty dark in some places.

[MaxED]

Hmm... Why don't I see anyone mention The Cat Lady?