There are plenty of genres of horror in video games; from survival horror, to psychological horror. But the genre of horror that was popular back in 2011was RPG horror games. It was the next big thing to play during that time.

The three main staples of that horror genre were IB, The Witch’s House, and Mad Father. Each has its marks for its popularity; IB for being the most emotional, The Witch’s House for the biggest plot twist, and Mad Father for being the scariest. 

IB has, in total, seven endings to the game, each having a variety of emotions it could put on the player. Such emotions being extremely sad, to bittersweet, to the best ending. Ib (also the name of the game) is a young girl who visits an art gallery of the famous artist, Guertena, with her parents. Though, she soon realizes something is wrong and gets thrown into the land of art. 

The Witch’s House fanbase agrees with the secret ending, which makes the game much darker, due to the fact that it reveals a truth about the character you play. It takes place of a blond girl who wakes up in a garden trying to figure out what happened to her. She sees in the distance a house, and finds out what lurks in the house. 

Mad Father gives the player fear on entering the next room, making sure that nothing lurks just out of view. After the main character’s mother passed away, her father is what keeps Aya going in her life, even though she knows her father’s dark secret.

Though these are the main staples for the horror RPG genre, there are plenty of other games in this genre from Yume Nikki, to Pocket Mirror. Both have their own complex stories, but they are both made in different periods. One was made back in the early 2010s, and the other was made in the late 2010s. It goes to show that even though that genre hasn’t been touched as much as it used to. That doesn’t mean that it’s gotten stale over the years. 

The problem isn’t that there isn’t enough, but it’s more just what it lacks in today’s gaming genre. People see that the graphics are more on the pixeled side, and since they never heard of them before, they’re not willing to give them a try. Now, since they are in low numbers, maybe one of the reasons could be that they’re hard to make? 

Well, not really. RPG horror games are one of the easier types of horror games to make, because it doesn’t require a lot except for understanding how to make a good story, and having a program for it. Another question: well, let’s say that we did bring RPG horror games back, will they thrive in the gaming community today?

 Yes, yes, it would. The reason being is that not too long ago an RPG horror game came out called OMORI. OMORI boomed in the community for its story. It currently has a unique approach to combat and endings. The horror gaming community currently enjoys the genre of psychological horror, because it is harder to pull off, and leaves a longer-lasting impression. 

          RPG horror games are something that a lot of people need to give a try. It truly is a wonderful experience. Although I do recommend the free variations of the old RPG horror games, like Mad father, and The Witch’s House, there are remastered versions of them with better graphics, with IB coming up with a remastered version too.  Go try it out! See why this genre holds a special place in my childhood heart.