Hotels are a hotbed of horror in pop culture and folklore. They mix an intimate living space with a foreign atmosphere, which is often a good recipe for horror. While we might sleep, eat, and get cleaned at hotels, they’re ultimately foreign and uncomfortable spaces. You also have to wonder, how well do you know your hotel room?
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Another reason hotels make such a scary setting is the underlying feeling of unease. Each room and every floor is eerily almost identical. As a result, it should come as no surprise that many scary games feature hotels. These games feature some of the creepiest hotels ever depicted.
Released:2020
Platforms:Android, iOS, macOS, Switch, Windows, PS4
A recent bizarre entry into full motion video isDeath Come True. You play as Makoto Karaki, who is woken by his hotel phone. You then discover a Special Investigator in your bathtub and news reports stating that you are a serial killer.
One of the best parts of the game is the various choices you can select in the story. The game’s hotel is a bizarre and time-bending place, which leads to an emotionally thrilling experience.
Released:1996
Platforms:Windows, Mac
A little discussed game, 9 features cameos from Robert DeNiro, Christopher Reeves, Aerosmith, and Jim Belushi. Two antagonists called The Toxic Twins (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry) also reside in the hotel. You play as a character who inherits the hotel and discovers its puzzles.
In solving puzzles, you pursue a method to remove the Toxic Twins from the hotel. 9’s hotel feels slightly familiar but mostly bizarre. This game is a strange experience, and it’s uncomfortable how everything feels familiar but slightly off.
Released:2009
Platforms:Windows
The last story in a trilogy, Lost Souls, tells the tale of a fallen police officer searching for a girl who has been missing for five years. After it was discovered that he was manipulating evidence, the officer lost his job. By finding the girl, you hope to clear your name. In the game, you encounter an abandoned hotel whose emptiness and dilapidation are fear-inducing.
Each time you enter a new room, you’ll anxiously await its surprise. While the graphics are a bit dated, Lost Soul’s visuals are still mostly strong, and its sound is still sharp. This is one of the most nightmarish hotels ever depicted in a video game.
Released:2022
Platforms:Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S
The Devil In Mecloses theDark Pictures Anthologyon a high note. While not a direct copy, the game’s abandoned hotel borrows its design from the murder castle ofH.H. Holmes. Throughout the hotel, you encounter various obstacles, including many deadly ones.
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You play a film crew who goes to collect footage at the hotel. While previous entries in the Dark Pictures Anthology were inspired by the paranormal, this game’s storyline comes directly from historical events and true crime.
Platforms:Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Walking simulators are more common than you might think. These simulators often tell intimate tales in engaging environments. This game is no exception and sees you travel through a strange hotel while telling the tale of a girl who learns about her past in the building. The game is equal parts a scary story and soap opera.
You play as Nicole, who is returning to her parent’s abandoned Montana hotel, The Timberland. Ten years earlier, Nicole and her mother left the Timberland after discovering that Nicole’s father had a close relationship with another girl, Rachel Foster. You will spend moments afraid of what lurks behind each corner, while other sections will see you proceeding through the darkness with only a Polaroid flash as guidance.
At Dead Of Night is billed as “part horror film, part horror game, and part ghost hunt.” The game offers a short but memorable horror story. It opens with a young woman checking into a remote hotel. The hotel’s owner turns out to have a dangerous alter ego that would rival Norman Bates. You end up utilizing several tools as you pass through the hotel, including a ghost communicator, a compass, and a scrying mirror.
The game’s hotel is dark, atmospheric, and filled with ghosts. If you’re the type who is enticed by inadequately lit halls and untouched rooms, you’ll love this game’s atmosphere.
Released:2003
Platforms:PS2
This bizarre game mixes survival horror with LucasArts-style puzzles. The plot involves you entering the Gregory House. After you are trapped by an old rat named Gregory inside the hotel, you must find an escape.
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If you can retrieve the lost souls in the hotel, you can return to the world. A guest of the hotel holds each soul in the game. Despite its cartoon style, the game plays much like other survival horror entries. Given its mixture of humor and surreality, the game is a bit like a fever dream.
Released:2021
Platforms:Windows, X/S, PS5, Luna
A lot of games that feature two stories often place too much emphasis on just one of the narratives.In the psychological horrorgame,The Medium, you alternate between the real world and the spiritual one. The game offers difficult puzzles and features a spirit guide named Marianne, who is led to the abandoned hotel to uncover her psychic abilities. Learning about the unfortunate events within the hotel is the game’s focus.
Collecting evidence slowly builds to an engaging story. Most of the hotel is dark or barely lit. The screen is also split: on one side, you see Marianne in the real world, and on the other, you are greeted with her spiritual form.
Platforms:PS5, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Series X, Series S
Oxide Room 104 is a challenging game set in a hotel. In an interesting twist, the hotel changes each time your character dies. Making matters challenging, you only have a limited number of lives. Where many of the games on this list rely on a quiet and moody atmosphere to scare you, this game features more aggressive villains,including venomous plants and other creatures.
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You play as Matthew, who is trying to escape the hotel. Exactly how you leave the hotel depends on how you play. The hotel is called the Night Soul Motel, where a Doctor performs illegal operations on unknowing victims.
Year:2020
Released:PS5, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Series X, Series S
If you like gothic 19th-century games, you’re able to’t missMaid of Sker. The story involves a woman who begs a man to visit the reopening of her father’s hotel. You later learn the hotel has fallen into disrepair. As you proceed through chapels, gardens, and other amendments you would only see in a luxury hotel; you encounter a wide range of challenges.
The game continues to improve due to its ability to successfully build tension and draw you into the plot. While you might not have heard of Maid of Sker, this is one of the best gothic horror games.
