i like her lie i tried to believe - i haven't finished it but i really like it
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Higurashi (classic, very long)
Umineko (classic, very long)
Danganronpa 1-3 (classics)
The way we all go (bad end simulator)
Sound of Drop (bad end simulator)
We know the Devil (I loved it but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea)
Doki Doki Literature Club (it's not romance despite the title)
Corpse Party (I haven't played that one yet but I can at least tell it's horror)
The House in Fata Morgana (haven't played this one either but it should fit?)
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One's I've played
Saya no Uta (https://store.steampowered.com/app/702050/The_Song_of_Saya/) :
- I played Saya no Uta which is more pure horror, but also has some psychological horror elements. It's a bit shorter, but it's one of those well regarded VNs that everyone considers playing in the english VN sphere
Danganronpa Series (https://store.steampowered.com/app/413410/Danganronpa_Trigger_Happy_Havoc/)
- I played 1 and 2 and really liked them a lot, and they do have elements of psychological horror given the main premise is the idea of making high school students take part in a death game, although I feel it's mostly focused on mystery and I wouldn't really say it's a psychological horror game, just has minor elements of it that effects the characters in the game. This one also has gameplay elements which are really fun.
One's I've heard of, but haven't played
Wonderful Everyday (https://store.steampowered.com/app/658620/Wonderful_Everyday_Down_the_RabbitHole/)
- This is one I've wanted to play since I've heard it's one of the most disturbing VNs ever and it's very well regarded
CHAOS;HEAD and CHAOS;CHILD (https://store.steampowered.com/app/970570/CHAOSCHILD/)
- Both of these games are made by the same people who made STIENS;GATE and overall both seem to have a greater focus on psycho horror elements (CHAOS;HEAD especially). CHAOS;HEAD was also made before STIENS;GATE although sadly its not on Steam.
Higurashi: When They Cry (https://store.steampowered.com/app/310360/Higurashi_When_They_Cry_Hou__Ch1_Onikakushi/)
- While I haven't played it, I've heard great things about which I'm pretty sure has such elements. They made chapter 1 free (I think its technically temporary, so might as well get it)
YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1293820/YOU_and_ME_and_HER_A_Love_Story/)
- I've also heard good things about for psychological horror, but once again, haven't played it
Search methods
Steam Tag Search (https://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=Reviews_DESC&tags=3799%2C1721)
- Here is a steam tag search sorted by rating, although just note that some games in the results are not really pure VNs, but its a nice way to quickly check out some games that fit what your looking for on Steam
VNDB Denpa Genre Search (https://vndb.org/g960)
- VNDB is a great way to find VNs regardless of where they are sold, and the Denpa genre is a pretty good one to look at as it seems to be a sort of psychological horror (although I think it's more specific)
- Here's a video about the genre if you want to know more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4atId5S-RY
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+1 for Saya no Uta
Higurashi has a slow start, about 4-5 hours of cutesy slice of life before the psychological horror begins.
To add some as suggestions:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/303310/The_House_in_Fata_Morgana/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1156990/Return_to_Shironagasu_Island/
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Root Double, maybe? Admittedly it's the only pure Visual Novel I've played, but it's pretty good and very Psychological Horror-y at times.
(Sorry, don't have any horror anime to recommend. I primarily watch comedies.)
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I really loved that one: Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
It's a 30 minute game but it's really good. Made me want to buy the sequel that also looks neat.
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+1. It's really short, but definitely a cool little experience. And this one is definitely psychological horror! It's pretty linear with some choices that can lead to a game over and one ending.
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the amount of these we exploded all over the place in kindergarten, mostly by mistake
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Higurashi may be a good fit, but definitely try out the first free episode before you buy any more of them.
For me it has insane amounts of boring setup in each of the games, I gave up mid-3rd. I think it's a relatively common complain in the negative reviews - if you can deal with this, the games are actually good.
I don't own it, but The Letter advertises itself as a horror VN if I'm not mistaken, and has good reviews.
In a way Hatoful Boyfriend. Plays like a dating sim, but has thriller-mystery elements (the lingering feel of something is not okay), and an unlockable horror kinetic novel.
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Higurashi (and other VNs this guy makes) is split into a "question" part and an "answer" part. For Higurashi, games 1-4 are the question arcs and 5-8 the answer arcs. The answer parts pretty much abandon all the slice-of-life moments and go full horror/suspense, the vibe is completely different from the other games and much more exciting to read. Since game 4 is much shorter compared to the other games, sadly I'll have to say that you abandoned the series right before it got really good.
Funny you mention The Letter though, I'm playing through it right now. It's not psychological horror, it's a very generic and typical horror story. What makes it great is that it has an insane amount of choices you can make that all affect the game greatly. It might be the most choice-driven game I've ever played aside from those AI choose-your-own-adventure things.
I'll contribute with Fatal Twelve and Quantum Suicide for the list of psychological horror-ish VNs.
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Since game 4 is much shorter compared to the other games, sadly I'll have to say that you abandoned the series right before it got really good.
I know, but as I own only games 1-5 from the games, I still need to power through the games I own, and spend €10-15 and I don't know how many hours to finish the story, that didn't succeed at really catching my attention. I rather took games 1-3 as a sunk cost, the series doesn't seem to really align with me. Maybe if they give the remaining games in a bundle for beans, sometime in the future...
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Yeah, that's why just starting with the first one is a good idea, even if I think it might be the worst game of the bunch. The VNs can be really hard to digest though, maybe watching the classic anime would be a better choice if the story interests you at all.
I think it's interesting that it was the third game that made you drop it, since imo it's the best of the Question games. Since it's pretty much a (mild spoiler) murder story from the perspective of the culprit.
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2nd one was critical, and I thought the next one will be better enough to keep my focus.
I was close to hurting someone when they made a cardgame into a 5-10 minutes long OH MY GOD, THIS IS THAT CARD, HOW SHE DO IT scene... I don't even know in which game. It's like someone took the If UNO was an anime as an example to follow. It doesn't help when I'm bored, I start to lose attention, and I slow down. It was like hell, worse than actually doing my dayjob, or learning something. I may have some slight PTSD from that, lol
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That's Higurashi for ya... I don't think you're ready to read the 20 minute long Mahjong scene in game 4 where they only use terms to describe the game we pitiful non-Japanese people don't understand. Wish I was joking. While I appreciate that they're establishing characters as more than horror props, the writer isn't an expert on pacing.
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The answer parts pretty much abandon all the slice-of-life moments and go full horror/suspense
Uh no, they're still there in episodes 5-8 and in fact episode 7 is more or less 90% boring stuff and things only start to get interesting like 30 minutes before the end :x Easily the worst of them all and it seriously tanked my enthusiasm for the series, thankfully episode 8 was way better (even though it still had its fair share of boring moments).
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I didn't play it, but I heard Sucker for Love is one. You can't have a Lovecraftian work without any horror in it for sure :P
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thanks for the augestions, most were what I was looking for built up my wishlist, now to hunt for some deals.
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its not my cup of tea this genre
but, i played "sorry. (entschuldigung)" and it was a good and short game
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Hmmm... its not psychological horror (not even "horror" per se) but certainly contains the elements of it. Its also a bit like Steins;Gate, in that it includes pseudoscientific explanations in a well applied way that leads to a very intriguing story. There is a little romance-stuff, but its not focused on too much.
Remember11
This is the last episode of a trilogy [edit: according to vndb, its actually a ...tetralogy?], but the episodes are just thematically connected, not character- or storywise. Each one starts tabula rasa so you wont miss anything (although I'd advise You to also play Never7 and Ever17, both good in their own way).
Oldies but goldies.
Also, others mentioned Chaos;Gate and Saya, both great choices, although Saya is a pretty extreme title as its an ero-guro VN. Despite the..."genre", its really well written and I'd even say has a hint of lovecraftian existential horror.
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Ive only liked steins gate and am not into romantic ones. kinda feeling an urge to try something new out. usualy the psychological horror types of animes etc im more likely to be drawn towards their art style. could also use some anime recs also since youre ready here
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