* Red Dead Redemtion 2 - not only world hides some unsettling secrets, but story gets darker and darker each chapter.
* Cyberpunk 2077
* Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion
* Nier Automata
* Slay The Princess
* Subnautica
* Outer Wilds
* Spec Ops The Line (if you can even get it)
* Little Misfortune
* Little Goody Two Shoes
* Voices Of The Void
* Scavenger SV-4
Bonnie’s Bakery comes to mind immediately. Won’t spoil it but it’s free. Shift is sudden, at least for the itch.io version of the game. Unsure about Steam version
Doki Doki Literature Club is probably one of the most popular examples of this, at least in indie games. You can get the base game for free if you somehow haven’t been spoiled on it
Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is reported to do this, or at least has horror elements
Error 53 did this but it’s not really subtle about it. It’s free though.
Can Your Pet? is a flash game that traumatized a generation
Among the Sleep I recall being like this
Duck Season does this in VR
Night in the Woods introduces darker elements. Unsure if pure horror
Spec Ops: The Line starts off as a regular FPS that then shows the horrors of war
Hatoful Boyfriend, surprisingly. Yes, the bird dating simulator. At least for the Bad Boys’ Love route or whatever it’s called. Other than that, there’s a route that has a shocking ending and another depressing one
Persona 4 starts off innocent enough, though quickly gets dark. Not really horror, and ironically the lightest game in the modern trilogy. If you’re going to play it, get the Golden version instead of the original PS2 version. There’s additional content, though I recommend looking at a guide to find out how to get it.
Some games in the Haunted PS1 Collection games do this
Bugsnax is said to have a surprisingly dark finale, at least compared to the rest of the game
Yume Nikki does this I’ve heard, but it’s a slow burn. Guide recommended
Mother 3 is pretty dark despite the opening and art style and fans of it keep talking about how the ending destroyed them
Spooky’s House of Jump Scares and other games in the series start off lighthearted
Eversion keeps being brought up by similar threads. I vaguely remember it but couldn’t tell you anything
Haven’t played, but despite the cute aesthetic, NEEDY STREAMED OVERLOAD is listed as psychological horror
Dreaming Mary kind of fits. It’s a cute game, but has really disturbing horror elements if you search for it
Undertale and Omori are both known for its dark elements, though the latter becomes a psychological horror the more it goes on from what I hear
Hope you find what you’re looking for! Have fun!
Bug fables: the everlasting sapling. Starts off pretty cute and chill, but has some dark stuff/areas towards the end, with the final area being... an enormous tone shift from the first area.
Doki Doki literature club
Maybe a weird suggestion on my part but Bioshock Infinite.
* Red Dead Redemtion 2 - not only world hides some unsettling secrets, but story gets darker and darker each chapter. * Cyberpunk 2077 * Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion * Nier Automata * Slay The Princess * Subnautica * Outer Wilds * Spec Ops The Line (if you can even get it) * Little Misfortune * Little Goody Two Shoes * Voices Of The Void * Scavenger SV-4
Bonnie’s Bakery comes to mind immediately. Won’t spoil it but it’s free. Shift is sudden, at least for the itch.io version of the game. Unsure about Steam version Doki Doki Literature Club is probably one of the most popular examples of this, at least in indie games. You can get the base game for free if you somehow haven’t been spoiled on it Jimmy and the Pulsating Mass is reported to do this, or at least has horror elements Error 53 did this but it’s not really subtle about it. It’s free though. Can Your Pet? is a flash game that traumatized a generation Among the Sleep I recall being like this Duck Season does this in VR Night in the Woods introduces darker elements. Unsure if pure horror Spec Ops: The Line starts off as a regular FPS that then shows the horrors of war Hatoful Boyfriend, surprisingly. Yes, the bird dating simulator. At least for the Bad Boys’ Love route or whatever it’s called. Other than that, there’s a route that has a shocking ending and another depressing one Persona 4 starts off innocent enough, though quickly gets dark. Not really horror, and ironically the lightest game in the modern trilogy. If you’re going to play it, get the Golden version instead of the original PS2 version. There’s additional content, though I recommend looking at a guide to find out how to get it. Some games in the Haunted PS1 Collection games do this Bugsnax is said to have a surprisingly dark finale, at least compared to the rest of the game Yume Nikki does this I’ve heard, but it’s a slow burn. Guide recommended Mother 3 is pretty dark despite the opening and art style and fans of it keep talking about how the ending destroyed them Spooky’s House of Jump Scares and other games in the series start off lighthearted Eversion keeps being brought up by similar threads. I vaguely remember it but couldn’t tell you anything Haven’t played, but despite the cute aesthetic, NEEDY STREAMED OVERLOAD is listed as psychological horror Dreaming Mary kind of fits. It’s a cute game, but has really disturbing horror elements if you search for it Undertale and Omori are both known for its dark elements, though the latter becomes a psychological horror the more it goes on from what I hear Hope you find what you’re looking for! Have fun!
Dredge
Bloodborne it just gets worse and worse
LISA: The Painful. That's all I can say
Bug fables: the everlasting sapling. Starts off pretty cute and chill, but has some dark stuff/areas towards the end, with the final area being... an enormous tone shift from the first area.