Horror is a genre that is far from one-dimensional. Within the ever-growing genre of horror in video games comes sub-genres within sub-genres that find whatever niche players are itching for to give them a proper scare they can't find anywhere else. Among the psychological horrors, thrillers, and survival horrors is a niche called FMV horror.
FMV horror is a unique sub-genre in the sense that the games are categorized together because of a similar medium rather than a shared theme or atmosphere. FMV stands for "full-motion video" and involves live-action actors, sets, and props to create the game's cutscenes and gameplay, often overlaying a UI (user interface) on top of the live-action footage. For any horror game fanatics that are looking for a realistic, immersive experience filled with suspense and unpredictable scares, here are some of the best horror FMV games out there.
7 I Saw Black Clouds
This story begins with a girl named Kristina as she learns of the death of her friend Emily. Emily had suddenly taken her own life with little to no warning and Kristina begins to grow suspicious. Kristina uncovers an old tale about a young maid named Agnes, a story that many disregard as a mere urban legend until Kristina finds footage of a late Emily pleading for Agnes to leave her alone.
While light on the gameplay (such as QTEs), I Saw Black Clouds still successfully delivers an interesting story with supernatural elements and four possible endings, while slipping in a few great scares along the way.
6 Night Trap
While rather tame in the present day and age, Night Trap was the making news all the way back in 1992 as one of the most controversial video games of all time. Night Trap may seem like a bit of a joke rather than a true horror experience, but (believe it or not), this game has made its name in the modern-day FMV horror scene as a cult classic.
Night Trap follows the story of a group of teenage girls as they innocently enjoy a sleepover. However, what the girls don't know is that the house is secretly infested with deadly vampire-like creatures named augers. The player acts as a member of the Special Control Attack Team and must monitor all the rooms of the house and trigger traps at the right time to protect the innocent girls from the vicious augers.
While it seems a bit silly through a modern lens, it's still important to remember that the infamous Night Trap paved the way for many horror FMV games that followed in its footsteps throughout the years.
5 At Dead Of Night
This particular game is unique in the sense that it technically isn't fully FMV. At Dead Of Night is a horror game that mixes mediums and uses both FMV and 3D rendered elements in its gameplay and cutscenes. While the backgrounds and sets in the game are 3D rendered, all the characters are portrayed by live-action actors. The mix of the mediums gives the game its own unique, spooky feel, giving each environment an eerie unfamiliarity while still remaining realistic and immersive.
The story follows a young girl named Maya who finds herself trapped in a creepy hotel run by a terrifying man named Jimmy Hall. Maya must summon and contact the ghosts within the hotel in order to rescue her friends and uncover the secret behind the crazed hotel owner in order to safely find her escape.
4 Sara Is Missing
Sara Is Missing is a unique horror FMV experience that utilizes the portrait screen mode to emulate a modern-day smartphone interface. The player is given little to no context and is simply presented with a mysterious phone. Along the way, it becomes clear (as the title suggests) that a girl named Sara had gone missing and the only lead the player has about her whereabouts is her phone.
The player must navigate through the phone and solve numerous puzzles in order to access contacts, pictures, videos, and audio files in order to find clues and track down the missing girl.
3 Hotel 626
It's a shame that one of the best FMV horror games that managed to terrify the masses is no longer available to play. Hotel 626 was a short FMV experience that served as a promotional game for Doritos (as odd as that is) all the way back in 2008. To ensure the best (a.k.a. spookiest) experience for the player, the game was only available to play from 6 AM to 6 PM (giving the game its iconic name), giving the player no sunlight to give them comfort when entering the haunted hotel.
Hotel 626 wasn't a cheap marketing gimmick that was tossed to the side and ignored. It instead made a name for itself and quickly grew in popularity as an incredible horror FMV game that was completely free! The game used the computer's microphone, webcam, and even involved entering the player's cellphone number for a chilling voice message. Sadly, the site has been deactivated since 2011.
2 Morph Girl
Morph Girl isn't the typical horror game where the protagonist is haunted by a creepy girl with long hair and an obscured face, even though it may seem that way at first. This FMV game revolves around a heartbreaking story about a young woman, Elena, who was recently widowed. After losing her beloved wife Rebecca to ongoing health complications, Elena finds herself ruminating about their last few days together.
Finding herself deeply depressed, guilty, and heartbroken about her loss and the friction in the relationship in Rebecca's last days, Elena begins to experience strange and eerie occurrences in her house that even begin to bleed into her workplace.
Morph Girl is about fear just as much as it is about whether it is healthy to accept a sense of empty happiness in our lives if it means pain later on.
1 Simulacra
Simulacra is the spiritual predecessor of Sara Is Missing, but still manages to deliver a unique experience to long-time fans of indie developers, Kaigan Games. The player finds themselves suddenly presented with a smartphone, this time belonging to a girl named Anna. According to the multiple missed calls and numerous texts, it becomes apparent that Anna has gone missing, leaving the player as her only hope to be found and rescued from whatever threat she's hiding from in the mysterious video on her phone.
Simulacra is filled with plenty of fun and intriguing puzzles that grant the player access to more important files on Anna's phone upon being solved. Simulacra has a similar storyline to Sara Is Missing. However, the game manages to keep the twist at the end hidden and rather unpredictable as Anna's fate is vastly different from the previous game's star, Sara.