Top 5 Darkest Open-World Games That Will Leave You Terrified

Open-world games offer players not only a vast amount of content to explore but also the thrill of adventure and curiosity. Take the example of The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, where players can experience a lighthearted world that still holds onto hope, despite the occasional dark event. However, some open-world games take a different approach, where both the characters and players struggle to find any sense of optimism. These games are known for their dark nature and the constant hope that things won't get worse.

5 Far Cry Series

The Far Cry series boasts visually stunning scenery that takes inspiration from real-life locations around the world. However, this beauty is often juxtaposed with the brutal reality of the game's storyline. The games feature a range of enemies, from a Doomsday cult in Montana to a ruthless Caribbean dictator, and anyone who opposes their regime or values becomes a target. The consequences can range from property damage to kidnapping, brainwashing, and even murder and torture at the hands of the main antagonist.

4 State Of Decay Series

In State of Decay, players are immersed in a zombie-infested world where survival is paramount. It's not just about killing zombies, but also about strategic thinking to keep yourself and your group alive. The game's most crucial aspect is recruiting survivors with different skills, traits, attitudes, and inventory, some of which are related to story missions and others randomly generated. These survivors become playable characters, providing players with a range of skills and traits to accomplish various goals. However, maintaining a home base is an ongoing challenge as the game world is continuously running, and neglecting it could result in losing survivors permanently.

3 The Forest

In The Forest, the focus is on survival horror within an open-world setting. Players take on the role of Eric LeBlanc, a man who has survived a plane crash and must rescue his kidnapped son from a mysterious figure in red. To survive in this isolated land, players must scavenge, build, and hunt in any way possible. However, the player soon realizes that they are not the only ones on the peninsula, as a tribe of cannibalistic mutants also call it home. But even more terrifying creatures lurk in the caves beneath the forest's surface, making survival even more challenging.

2 Dying Light Series

The Dying Light series is a gripping open-world survival horror game that immerses players in a world ravaged by an unexplained epidemic. In the first game, players are tasked with infiltrating a quarantined city to retrieve a stolen file from a rogue political figure. In the second installment, a deadlier strain of the virus has spread worldwide, decimating the majority of the population and leaving humanity to fend for itself in scattered settlements. The virus turns people into violent zombies, and the only temporary cure is a limited supply of Antizin. The infected are terrifying enough during the day, but at night, the situation worsens with the emergence of Volatiles - deadly special infected creatures that roam the dark.

1 Don't Starve Together

Don't Starve Together is a multiplayer survival game set in the dark fantasy world of The Constant. Players must work together to survive the various dangers that threaten their existence, including hostile creatures like giant spiders and the constant need to manage their hunger. With the added threat of darkness, players must ensure they have a light source at all times to avoid being consumed by the deadly shadows.