A good horror game doesn’t have to be an action game or a title where you’re sneaking around while trying to avoid dangers. Hidden object adventure games can be excellent horrors, too.
The hidden object genre is a type of puzzle adventure game where the main gameplay element is to look for various hidden items. These are usually hidden well enough to prove a sufficient challenge – it may take a while before you can find them all, buried beneath piles of junk and other items that are meant to distract the players.
Hidden object games require focus and good perception but can be a great learning tool as well. Playing such games will actually train your perceptual abilities that may be of use in real life. For example, if you lost your car keys, having a higher level of visual perception, pattern recognition, and correlation understanding may allow you to find them quicker.
Read on to find out some of the best horror hidden object games to play.
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Enigmatis The Ghosts Of Maple Creek | 2011-09-01 | Adventure | Artifex Mundi |
 | True Fear Forsaken Souls | 2016-10-19 | Adventure | Goblinz |
 | Crystals Of Time | 2014-06-13 | Adventure | exosyphen studios |
 | The Book Of Desires | 2015-12-18 | Adventure | Meridian'93 |
 | Fall Of The New Age Premium Edition | 2014-01-03 | Adventure | Shaman Games Studio |
 | Taken Souls Blood Ritual Collectors Edition | 2015-03-23 | Adventure | Space Monkey International |
 | Contract With The Devil | 2015-12-11 | Adventure | AZ-Art Development Studio |
 | Mystery Castle The Mirrors Secret | 2015-12-18 | Adventure | Meridian'93 |
 | Demon Hunter 3 Revelation | 2016-12-01 | Adventure | Brave Giant LTD |
 | Eventide Slavic Fable | 2016-01-28 | Adventure | The House of Fables |
True Fear: Forsaken Souls
| Release date: | 2016-10-19 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Goblinz |
Immerse yourself in a psychological horror experience with the first game on the list, True Fear: Forsaken Souls.
In True Fear, you will be tasked with exploring a seemingly abandoned mansion in order to reveal its secrets and the nightmares it hides. Although a large portion of the game revolves around finding certain objects at each scene, there are also numerous puzzles that require more thinking, finding and analyzing clues, and connecting the dots.
It may be difficult for such a game to be genuinely scary, so the development team decided to include cutscenes that are supposed to fill that space and build extra tension. Combined with the game’s natural suspense and eerie sounds, it’s safe to say that the overall result is more than satisfactory.
| Key features |
|---|
|
House of 1000 Doors: Family Secrets
| Release date: | 2014-04-07 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Alawar Casual |
Another fun choice on the list would be House of 1000 Doors from 2012 – a classic adventure hidden object experience with an extra pinch of nostalgia.
House of 1000 Doors tells the story of Kate Reed, a writer of ghost stories, as she gets invited to a mysterious house, which sounds like a perfect opportunity to find some valuable material and inspiration for a new, exciting novel. Explore unimaginable worlds and help Kate overcome the challenges as she follows the spiritual trail.
House of 1000 Doors is not as scary as a typical horror game – the colors are bright and the overall feeling lands on a more casual and relaxing note. It has its creepy moments, but it’s definitely much more peaceful and light-hearted – a perfect Halloween title for people with weaker hearts or a lower tolerance for stress and anxiety.
| Key features |
|---|
|
Phantasmat: The Dread of Oakville
| Release date: | 2018-10-12 |
| Genre: | Hidden Object |
| Developer: | Eipix Entertainment |
Begin a new adventure filled with eerie elements and a mystic atmosphere, where tons of puzzles await to be solved.
Abandoned town is never a good omen – here it seems to be a direct sign of disaster looming, and it will be your job to investigate the case and, hopefully, bring things back to normal.
The game combines classic hidden object gameplay with point-and-click adventure elements, which means you’ll have to not only find the necessary items in each of the scenes, but also solve other types of puzzles and minigames, make clever use of found objects, and interact with the environment to open up new possibilities. The scariness factor is rather low, but it can still potentially cause a bit of discomfort when played late at night. Don’t worry, though – it’s certainly not enough to cause a heart attack.
| Key features |
|---|
|
Rusty Lake: Roots
| Release date: | 2016-10-20 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Rusty Lake |
From a more unique side of the spectrum of horror-themed hidden object games, we’ve got Rusty Lake – a game that stands out due to its visual style and gameplay formula.
Usually, hidden object games present players with a scene full of seemingly random objects, asking the player to find the few selected ones. Here, however, nothing is that simple – more often than not, the items you’re asked to find are hidden behind some kind of puzzle you need to solve first. And these puzzles often require some unique approach, to say the least – an approach that seemingly defies all logic and common sense, which makes everything all the funnier.
There’s a lot of silly humor, some of which you may even find primitive. However, if occasional fart jokes are down your alley, this might be just the game for you.
| Key features |
|---|
|
Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst
| Release date: | 2006-12-15 |
| Genre: | Point'n'click |
| Developer: | Big Fish Studios |
Next, we’ve got something tailored specifically for a more casual audience that simply wants to have a good, relaxing time with a video game in their free time.
In Ravenhearst you will be tasked with recovering missing pages from the diary that seems to be holding the key information related to the mysterious manor you’ve found yourself in. Piece all the bits together and learn the story that involves supernatural phenomena that can’t be explained by any known physical laws.
The puzzles aren’t particularly hard, but if you still happen to hit a wall, there’s always a hint button that will allow you to push through even the most difficult tasks.
The vital question is: will you be able to reveal the haunted house’s secrets and discover the truth behind its past… without relying on the hint button?
| Key features |
|---|
|
Twisted Lands: Shadow Town
| Release date: | 2015-10-28 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Alawar |
Enter the abandoned mansion and investigate the place while searching for answers that could help you find your missing wife.
Uncanny sights, evil influence, and creepy sounds add a lot to the game’s atmosphere and make Twisted Lands a bit spookier than other titles on the list.
The game is a classic take on the hidden object genre, which means you’ll be usually tasked with finding specified items on the scene, but every now and then you’ll also have to solve a different type of puzzle that adds a little variety to gameplay. As you get closer to revealing the truth, the puzzles will become more demanding, requiring you to connect the dots on your own. Thankfully, whenever you feel like you’re stuck, there’s a hint button to the rescue.
| Key features |
|---|
|
Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart
| Release date: | 2012-04-19 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Artifex Mundi |
The final game on the scary hidden objects games list comes with a Lovecraftian horror touch with mostly sea and underwater settings.
Nightmares from the Deep is a pirate tale where you will have to do your best to help the protagonist rescue her missing daughter. Gameplay-wise you can expect the classic combination of hidden object hunting with other types of puzzles for a more varied experience. The story is presented in an easy-to-understand form, which makes it a pleasure to follow and learn about the details.
What makes the game stand out from the crowd is undoubtedly the setting. The game takes a lot of inspiration from Lovecraftian horrors in terms of both the setting and the creatures you will meet. Prepare to explore the sea and the underwater environment full of mysteries and riddles to solve.
| Key features |
|---|
|
Conclusion
Horror hidden object games usually aren’t as scary as other kinds of horror games from genres such as stealth or action. The puzzle-solving gameplay loop leaves little to no room to build a proper, terrifying atmosphere that could give players a fright.
The scary element – if present – comes in the form of cutscenes or during the transition between the scenes.
However, it’s not the main purpose of such games. They’re on the more relaxed side of horror games to allow you to think and work on your perceptual abilities, making them more suitable for people who can’t take a proper horror, but still would like to experience a bit of innocent spookiness.
Explore horror-themed hidden object games and make use of that unique opportunity to train your brain and enhance your skills that could be useful in real life.