soola

soola

The Crucible
Supporter
I haven’t come across a great depiction of horror in the isometric RPG genre and I’m wondering why that is. The closest a game came to being scary was the
Bloodmoon Island at least starting out but it fizzled after a while

There are plenty of great games in the first-person or even third person viewpoint (VtM: Bloodlines, Elder Scrolls, RDR2 has some good horror vibes, Witcher 3 has decent vibes).

I’m interested to hear if any of you have felt there was good horror in an isometric RPG. If so, which ones? Maybe I just haven’t played enough of them.

If you agree that there aren’t any, why do you think that is? Is it something to do with the viewpoint or the writing just hasn’t been there? Or something else?
 
Rogue Trader has plenty of horror. So does BG3.

You won't come across an entire isometric RPG in the horror genre because there aren't any. There are some good isometric horror adventure games, like the two Stasis games.
 
Definitely check out the developer of Stasis THE BROTHERHOOD GAMES.:nod:

Four games that are isometric horror games, and they helped with Wasteland 3.
 
Baldur’s Gate 3 is worthy of mention but I still think Larian has a ways to go to really push that envelope. I’m talking “Amnesia: The Bunker”, “Resident Evil”, “Silent Hill” kinda levels.

I mostly felt the BG3 Horror was an homage to these other games; especially in a lot of the design of the characters in Act 2 for instance. In D&D lore, Shadowfell absolutely was the right place to reach for ideas from with the tie-in with Illithid Tadpole transformation. But it still isn’t getting to that frightful chills sort of level.

Maybe I’m jaded lol.
 
HellRazor said:
Viewpoint is part of it. It's a lot harder to pull off jump scares in an isometric view. Also, first person view is better suited for creating the atmosphere a good horror RPG needs.
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Hmm. You make great points.

Is it all jump scares though? Couldn’t there be some sort of psychological dread without being “cheap” like that?

A weird comparison but I think it’s a decent simile: clean standup comedy. Some stand up comics use cuss words to “shock” the audience into laughter but the philosophy of clean comedy: not using crass/crude language but making laughs through all ages appropriate humor requires more skill but is possible.

Why not no jump scares for horror?
 
Here's four more games that might fit your criteria as well.^^
store.steampowered.com

Death Trash on Steam

Death Trash features a post-apocalyptic world where cosmic horrors long for humanity but meet punks with shotguns. It combines old-school role-playing, modern action gameplay and player freedom. Create your own character and explore a handcrafted world.
store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com
store.steampowered.com

Yet Another Zombie Survivors on Steam

The Horde is coming but you're ready to fight it! Assemble your team and decide upon their enhancements to find the most efficient synergies against thousands of the undead. Survive. Then evolve. Then break all the limits in this deceivingly simple but addictive reverse bullet hell.
store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com
store.steampowered.com

Sanitarium on Steam

Originally released in 1998 on PC, and awarded as the Adventure Game of the Year, The timeless horror point-and-click, Sanitarium, is returning to frighten the bravest adventure game fans.
store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com
store.steampowered.com

Project Zomboid on Steam

Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..
store.steampowered.com store.steampowered.com
 
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Gorky 17 is an isometric horror RPG.

For something more recent, there's Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones. And Dead State.
 
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