In general, horror games use different kinds of terror to scare players. Some use monstrous-looking creatures, while others offer traumatic experiences or turn forests into nightmares.
However, there are some titles that use time manipulation to make players feel frightened. Today, we are going to list some of the best horror games that twist time against you to full effect.
Singularity
Singularity was released in 2010 and is easily as one of the best first-person shooter survival games by Raven Software. The title allows players to manipulate time to the point where they can influence the literal ending of the story.
You control Captain Nathaniel Renko, a US soldier who is sent to an unknown and mysterious island in Russia. As you enter the location, a strange blast knocks down the Renko’s helicopter, forcing them to explore the island.
As you dig deeper into the mysterious island, they find the TMD (Time Manipulation Device), which can be used to reveal the backstory of the place, combat enemies by aging them, or even revert them to their monstrous forms.
Moreover, it allows players to influence how the game concludes, as different timelines could become the actual reality based on player choices. In that sense, Singularity offers a great time twist, making it one of the best horror games with time manipulation ever released.
P.T.
It’s not secret that P.T. is undoubtedly one of the strangest games I’ve ever played. It was released in 2014 as a teaser for the then-upcoming Silent Hills, which was later cancelled by Konami. The game was being developed by Hideo Kojima, one of the most popular developers in the gaming industry.
While the game (or teaser, as it was) doesn’t offer any time-traveling mechanics or devices, it manipulates the chronology of the story in a way that makes players feel trapped in some sort of endless loop of guilt. P.T. doesn’t offer any kind of linear progress; there is no clear starting or ending to the title.
It’s the actions that control the game, featuring an unnamed, silent protagonist who wakes up in a haunted house with only a hallway. As the player walks through it, they continuously see strange and disturbing events around them. It offers a loop that lets players repeatedly relive the trauma, making for one harrowing experience.
Visage
Similar to P.T., Visage was released as a psychological horror game with hyperrealistic visuals. This time, however, players took on the role of Dwayne. The game starts with the protagonist committing suicide. However, in the next scene, he wakes up in a haunted house, not knowing whether he is alive or dead.
The game then lets players explore the home, which serves as a gateway to the tragic stories of all the people who once lived there. Every chapter offers different stories of the former residents, making the protagonist experience the trauma and disturbing mental illnesses of other people.
Visage offers nonlinear storytelling, as the players aren’t only watching the past, but also living it. Time manipulation is also an intriguing part of the game; one moment, you are in a fancy bathroom, and the next, you are somewhere in a creepy hospital.
The game uses time against players, making it a terrifying experience, and is definitely one that players will remember for a very long time.
Blair Witch
Blair Witch is a survival horror game made by Bloober Team, and released in 2019. The fact that it’s made by the same people who did Layers of Fear, Medium, and the Silent Hill 2 remake is worthy of note.
The game puts you in the shoes of Ellis Lynch, a former police officer searching for a missing boy with his dog, Bullet, in the Black Hill forest. Blair Witch begins to terrify players when they witness strange things happening in the forest.
Things become even scarier when Ellis finds a video camera. It’s one of the main mechanics used to manipulate time, as players can use it to fast-forward. Moreover, you can use the camera to rewind time, which allows you to remove any objects blocking their way, and much more.
Players have to find the missing boy by using the camera to trace his whereabouts. However, the guilt and past trauma of Ellis Lynch also start to take effect, making the experience even more terrifying, but ultimately worthwhile.
Baisu
Baisu was released in 2024 as a psychological and photorealistic bodycam game from indie developer TripleDucks Studio. In the game, you control Clay Kriest, a detective who receives an urgent call for help.
As soon as he arrives, he finds himself caught in a much darker mystery than he expected. Time manipulation is crucial to the game, as it helps in combat by slowing or freezing time to dodge enemy attacks and even altering environmental challenges to help solve puzzles.
The story features multiple endings and offers an immersive experience by using the player’s actual microphone and recording clips. Baisu is currently only available on Steam, and is a must-play for those who love bodycam horror games.
It should be noted that the titles mentioned here aren’t listed in any particular order, and all of them offer equally terrifying experiences to players with their use of time manipulation, making them feel trapped or reliving their traumas.
