Best Dark Games on Steam
Games with grim tone, heavy themes, shadowy worlds, or bleak atmosphere.
Browse all Dark →
1The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - You are Geralt of Rivia, mercenary monster slayer. Before you stands a war-torn, monster-infested continent you can explore at will. Your current contract? Tracking down Ciri — the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.
May 18, 2015
In this game, you can…
- miss a unique card from an NPC, then later find that same card lying under a tree of hanged civilians if you never won it.
- pay out of your own pocket to take care of an orphan, finishing the quest with less money than you started.
- ignore the main quest and travel the continent just to find one specific card and beat one specific merchant at Gwent.
- turn a simple contract into a whole mini-drama, like mediating a divorce and then stumbling into a curse and a missing-person hunt.
- build fights around prep: read a monster entry, choose the right oil, brew a potion, pack bombs, then walk in ready.
- switch from swordplay to a full spell-and-alchemy style: parry, dodge, shield up, cast, then escalate to oils and bombs for bosses.
- walk into a huge city without a loading screen, then watch people change routines from day to night and react to rain.
- make small choices that ripple forward and change outcomes much later, leaving you stuck with the consequences.
2Phasmophobia - Phasmophobia is a 4 player online co-op psychological horror. Paranormal activity is on the rise and it’s up to you and your team to use all the ghost-hunting equipment at your disposal in order to gather as much evidence as you can.
Sep 18, 2020
In this game, you can…
- use your real voice to taunt a ghost, and it can hunt you for what you say.
- ask a ghost questions, hear it answer "close" and "die," then get strangled while your friends photograph the body for cash.
- trigger a cursed item that starts a deadly round of hide-and-seek while you listen from a hiding spot.
- insult a ghost inside the house, and it can instantly lock the door and start hunting your teammate.
- sit in the truck watching cameras and sensors while your friends investigate inside and try not to get hunted.
- take a photo of a ghost standing over a collapsing teammate, and sell that death moment as mission-paying evidence.
- watch a ghost ignore everyone else during a hunt, beeline to the basement to stare at you, then walk away.
3The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a randomly generated action RPG shooter with heavy Rogue-like elements. Following Isaac on his journey players will find bizarre treasures that change Isaac’s form giving him super human abilities and enabling him to fight off droves of mysterious creatures, discover secrets and fight his way to safety.
Nov 4, 2014
In this game, you can…
- shoot tears that orbit you, float in place, explode, become knives, or turn into screen-filling lasers.
- sell your soul for devil powers like wings, then keep descending into your mother's womb and even hell.
- unlock a dead version of yourself, use it to kill yourself, and get dice powers as the reward
- turn one item pickup into a complete reroute of how you fight and survive.
- find secret rooms and hidden shops by probing walls, then turn a quiet floor into a jackpot of weird items.
- step into a dice room and reroll the whole run's fate in a single gamble.
- start as a naked baby, get a cat for making a deal, then climb deeper through basement floors via holes in the ground.
- stack item synergies until bosses die instantly and your attacks become an unstoppable flood.
4Deep Rock Galactic - Deep Rock Galactic is a 1-4 player co-op FPS featuring dwarven space miners, procedurally-generated destructible environments, and endless hordes of alien monsters. Explore cave systems, mine for minerals, and work together to survive!
May 13, 2020
In this game, you can…
- drink a round that rockets the whole team forward, then slam into each other and the station while shouting and tossing mugs.
- freeze enemies solid, drill them to pieces, and heal off them while they can't move or fight back.
- hit the drop pod with seconds left, spot a teammate down far away, and turn the escape into a full rescue run mid-extraction.
- turn a pre-mission lobby into a hangout with beer, dancing, minigames, and physical goofing around instead of menus.
- grapple to impossible-to-reach minerals, then have a teammate shoot a platform under you so you can mine safely and get out.
- finish the objective, call extraction, then carve a brand-new tunnel straight to the drop pod while bugs race you through it.
- fight off swarms in caves that aren't preset arenas, so every defense turns into a new improvisation based on cliffs, tunnels, and open voids.
- bring a solo drone that mines, lights caves, carries minerals, digs paths, and can revive you so you can still finish missions alone.
5Hogwarts Legacy - Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world.
Feb 10, 2023
In this game, you can…
- turn an enemy into an explosive barrel, then throw them into their friends.
- stuff rescued magical beasts into an enchanted suitcase, then take them back to your secret room.
- build up a personal Room of Requirement base to brew potions, grow plants, decorate, and care for beasts.
- sneak around Hogwarts at night and pick locks to loot houses and cabinets.
- learn the Unforgivable Curses and cast Crucio or Avada Kedavra in fights.
- fly a broom or Hippogriff across the countryside and skim low over the ground from Hogwarts to the Highlands.
- chain spells to float enemies, burn them, and slam them into the ground in rapid duels.
- learn new spells in class, then immediately use them to unlock paths and solve castle secrets.
6Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition - Game of the Year - The Game Awards 2019 Best Action Game of 2019 - IGN Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the award winning adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.
Mar 21, 2019
In this game, you can…
- come back to life mid-fight and keep swinging.
- stomp a spear thrust by stepping on the attacker's weapon.
- get ambushed by a giant ape that grabs its own poop and throws it at you.
- grapple across rooftops, trees, and cliffs to hit enemies from above.
- erase a mini-boss's first health bar by opening with a stealth backstab.
- turn boss fights into a posture-breaking duel where constant pressure leads to a single finishing blow.
- throw firecrackers and other tools to stun enemies and create openings instead of trading hits.
- replay major bosses in dedicated challenge modes after finishing the story.
7Undertale - UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.
Sep 15, 2015
In this game, you can…
- decide whether to spare or kill every single character, and watch the dialogue, music, endings, and even boss behavior change.
- murder everyone on purpose and have the game treat it like a moral catastrophe that it remembers even when you try to play nice later.
- pet a dog over and over until the game reacts, then get carried across a river by a duck that picks you up and flies you over.
- talk enemies down and end fights without killing anyone.
- dodge enemy attacks in real time while you pick dialogue options to change what the enemy does next.
- accidentally kill one monster and end up on a different route, then reset and unlock a completely new pacifist path by sparing everyone.
- go on a date with a skeleton and build friendships that unlock new scenes and outcomes instead of just giving you stats.
- finish what feels like the ending, get pushed to rethink your choices, then replay and see huge route-specific scenes you missed.
8Resident Evil 4 - Survival is just the beginning. Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City. Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors, tracks the president's kidnapped daughter to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the locals.
Mar 23, 2023
In this game, you can…
- stun a villager and follow up by suplexing them onto the ground.
- board a minecart and ride it through a combat-heavy escape sequence that plays like an action set piece.
- hunt down regenerating enemies that crawl and leap at you while you search for their weak points.
- parry attacks with a knife instead of just getting grabbed.
- stun an enemy with a shot, then roundhouse-kick them into the crowd.
- sneak behind enemies and take them out with a silent kill.
- scavenge jewels and valuables, sell almost anything, then rebuild your weapons and upgrades chapter by chapter.
- fight a chainsaw-wielding maniac during an early village assault that turns into a full-on survival set piece.
- get thrown into a giant lake monster encounter where the water itself becomes a threat you have to respect.
9Doki Doki Literature Club! - The Literature Club is full of cute girls! Will you write the way into their heart? This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.
Oct 6, 2017
In this game, you can…
- have a character break the fourth wall and address you like she knows you're at the computer.
- check the game's files for secrets as part of what the story is asking you to do.
- watch the story pretend to restart, then keep changing as it reveals it wasn't actually over.
- write poems by picking single words, each choice steering the poem toward a specific girl.
- pursue a childhood-friend romance, confess your love, and have the route end with her suicide.
- see dialogue and visuals degrade into corrupted-looking text as the game starts to fall apart.
- replay to shift who you spend time with and which poem words you pick, and uncover different storylines.
10Resident Evil 2 - A deadly virus engulfs the residents of Raccoon City in September of 1998, plunging the city into chaos as flesh eating zombies roam the streets for survivors. An unparalleled adrenaline rush, gripping storyline, and unimaginable horrors await you. Witness the return of Resident Evil 2.
Jan 24, 2019
In this game, you can…
- board up first-floor windows so zombies stop climbing in for good.
- walk instead of run because some enemies track you by sound, and sprinting can get you jumped.
- cripple zombies by cutting their legs with a knife, then pull that same knife back out of them to reuse it.
- be hunted through the police station by Mr. X, who can show up mid-map-check and force you to run.
- shoot enemies until limbs come off and bodies pile up physically, with other zombies stumbling over the mess.
- spin items in your inventory to reveal hidden mechanisms, turning a "key item" into something usable.
- watch rooms turn blue on the map when you've collected everything inside, so you can route-plan with confidence.
- play two campaigns where Leon and Claire get different weapons, characters, scenes, and unique final bosses.
