The best robot horror games

Key takeaways

• Robots in video games often exploit phobias and offer immersive horror experiences.

• Games like Generation Zero and Atomic Heart create terror through hostile enemy robots.

• The haunting robots in games like SOMA and The Prototype offer unique and atmospheric horror.

Robots already exist in many aspects of life, from remote-controlled toys to factory machines to food delivery vehicles. As technology and artificial intelligence develop at breakneck speeds, concerns are also growing about their potential to become sentient and hostile.

Therefore, including robots in video games has become increasingly common, with many iconic mechanical characters existing as zelda, consequences, and borderlandsto name a few. But when it comes to considering the potentially dangerous consequences of advanced technology, horror games do it best. Featuring alien machinery and human-made droids, these are some of the The best horror games that revolve around robots.

9

Generation Zero

A first-person shooter with truly terrifying enemies

Generation Zero It takes place in 1980s Sweden, where killer robots have invaded, killing everyone in their path. In the game, the player takes on the role of a teenager who returns from a trip to some coastal islands to discover that everyone is missing or dead, and must find a way to defeat the attackers. Despite presenting a somewhat explicit story, the open world leaves a lot to discover through the environment.

Although not necessarily marketed as horror, robots exploit a variety of phobias, from spider-like “ticks” to huge, fast-moving “tanks,” which are especially terrifying when night falls. The looter shooter elements (missions, base building, and weapon customization) also offer immersive multiplayer genre crossover for those who prefer FPS horror.

8

atomic heart

Explores biotechnology and body horror in an alternate historical context

atomic heart takes place in an alternate reality where the Soviet Union has made significant technological advances and has become the world’s superpower after World War II. After being invited to Installation 3826 and learning that the work robots have become violent, veteran Major Nechayev, also known as “P-3”, must find and apprehend the person responsible for his malfunction.

While it is not a horror game in the sense of supernatural, atomic heart It lends itself to the body horror genre. The facility is riddled with biomechanical experiments gone wrong, resulting in some genuinely grotesque bosses and disturbing enemies. Although the game is sometimes complicated, the story is engaging and explores many political themes through a combination of open world and upgradable combat types.

7

Five nights at freddy’s

A survival horror with simple but effective mechanics

One of the most well-known horror game franchises, Five nights at Freddy’s sees the player take on the role of a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s pizzeria. However, the animatronic pets appear to have a mind of their own and the player must lure them away from his office using lights, cameras, and mechanical doors.

FNAF becomes a terrifying survival game by combining simple mechanics, limited control and a complex story to deliver an experience worthy of its cult status. There have been many FNAF games, including fan-games and spin-offs, as well as a graphic novel series and a film.

6

SIGNALING

A dystopian landscape full of a moving story

After being cryogenically frozen, a “Replika” technician (humanoid worker robot), Elster, lands and awakens on the planet Leng. The player must progress through the planet’s mining facilities to search for his human companion, Ariane. However, the human population is dead and the remaining Replikas have become aggressive.

SIGNALING creates an engaging atmosphere through third-person camera angles, cinematic pixel graphics, and intricate world-building. The story is revealed through scenes, notes and the environment. It combines puzzles, exploration, gunplay and stealth, offering something for all types of players. Terrifying enemy encounters and dystopian settings are offset by a moving plot that has multiple possible endings.

5

SOMA

Sci-fi horror game that explores human identity

SOMA follows Simon Jarrett who, after attending a brain scan for injuries sustained in a car accident, wakes up in “PATHOS-II.” In this underground energy and technology facility, the player must make his way and discover the truth about the fate of its inhabitants.

As expected from the creators of the Amnesia franchise, SOMA It has incredible story pacing and environmental and sound design. Without instructions on where to go or what to do, the player feels lost, which increases the immersion and tension of the game. Combined with disturbing and hostile robots that the player cannot fight, this game proves to be incredibly atmospheric and great for fans of psychological horror.

4

The prototype

A shorter experience with an incredibly amazing story and visuals

• Release: July 31, 2023
• Developer: rain slice
• Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux

In The prototype, The player controls a tester of the prototype of the latest model from “Pandaemonium Technologies”: a talking companion that works for all ages as a family, friend or entertainment. Having features such as realistic movements, singing voice, and human speech, the player must determine whether their responses to stimuli are “normal” or “non-normal.”

As the game progresses, the prototype’s behavior and dialogue become increasingly sinister and the disturbing truth about Pandaemonium Technologies is revealed. The design of the robot is extremely strange and, despite being a shorter experience, The prototype transforms a simple concept and mechanic into a truly terrifying experience.

3

INPUT6

A stealth horror with unique mechanics

• Release: December 23, 2022
• Developer: GOOSTRONAUT
• Platform: windows

INPUT6 is a found footage style game in which the player must investigate the abandoned TECH-AID ROBOTICS factory to discover why the company closed. The problem is that there is also a malfunctioning hostile animatronic maid, “Maidai”, wandering around the facility. The player’s goal is to find five remote controls to turn it off.

The player can jump between specific “entrances” to different areas of the factory and escape the robot by switching between them when it appears. There is also a story element to the game, with elements that allude to and reveal the reason for TECH-AID’s downfall. The jumps when switching inputs and the timer introduce additional elements of tension into the game.

2

bioshock

A cautionary tale about genetic modification with a unique art style

bioshock It is an FPS action game. In it, the player takes control of Jack, whose plane crashed into the Atlantic. After being transported via a lighthouse to “Rapture,” an underwater city isolated from post-World War II society, he must embark on a quest to rescue the family of his guide, Atlas.

Although bioshock It lacks the typical characteristics of a horror game, the plot is extremely disturbing. As the player progresses, he will discover that not everyone and everything is what it seems. The game addresses socioeconomic issues such as class, revolution, and deals with them in very dark and atmospheric ways.

1

TOBOR

Dystopian horror with interesting characters and great world building

• Release: November 15, 2023
• Developer: Cogoo
• Platform: Windows, MacOS

players of TOBOR Take on the role of “TOBOR no.2b”, a spy robot in Undercroft. Monitoring 16 different surveillance feeds over seven days, they must report findings of eavesdropping and item scans to RA Corporation headquarters. There are only three rules: do not empathize, interfere or betray the Corporation.

As this game is more narrative-based, it is relatively slower paced, but has excellent world-building elements with predominant dark and dystopian themes and unique characters. The experience is determined by the player’s decisions with multiple possible endings.