Top 20 Games Where You Can't Fight Back
#20: “Dead by Daylight” (2016)
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Of course, we’re bending the rules here a bit. But the fact remains that for many players, you’re completely helpless in “Dead by Daylight.” The asymmetric multiplayer game puts most players in the shoes of survivors while one lucky duck gets to hunt them as the killer. While the killer wants to sacrifice them to a demonic entity, the Survivors must repair generators to escape. Survivors can use obstacles to their advantage and choose from different perks, but they’re mostly all used to make sure you and your allies keep breathing. If you run into the killer, it’s best to just run the other way.
#19: “Poppy Playtime” (2021)
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Although “Poppy Playtime” has only had two chapters released as of writing, they both confront you with nightmarish enemies you’re almost powerless to stop. Players control a former employee of Playtime Co., an abandoned toy factory, as they search for the truth about what happened there. Most of the time, you’ll be solving puzzles with the GrabPack and uncovering pieces of the mystery. However, both chapters end with you being chased by monstrous versions of Playtime’s mascots. Running is all you can do as the GrabPack has no real power behind it. Only by luck is the player character able to lead them into a trap, and their swift demises.
#18: “P.T.” (2014)
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We know it’s only a playable teaser. But since it never actually led to a full game, we’re still counting it here. The doomed “Silent Hills” collaboration between Konami, Hideo Kojima, and Guillermo del Toro is one of the scariest gaming experiences ever. And part of what makes it so terrifying is how helpless you are. The entire teaser takes place in a hallway, with access to only a couple rooms. As you continue solving puzzles through loops, the hallway grows more disheveled and a disturbing specter begins following you. All you can do is keep walking and hoping that somehow, you’ll make it out before she gets you.
#17: “Oxenfree” (2016)
This sci-fi indie game follows a group of teens seeking fun one night on a historic island off the coast of their home. But they get a lot more adventure than they bargained for when they accidentally open a dimensional rift. From there, all manner of strange things start happening, like certain events getting looped. As you come to find out, spirits have come through the rift and they are VERY eager to mess with you. When not dealing with your friends getting possessed or the spirits testing your mind and will, all you can do is try to look for a way off the island. Though you’ll be wondering what’s real and what isn’t by the end.
#16: “Corpse Party” (2008)
A haunted island is pretty spooky. But a haunted school in an alternate dimension is even worse. “Corpse Party” follows several students after they’re transported to the ultra-creepy Heavenly Host Elementary School. As they find out, it’s haunted by a vengeful ghost who was murdered long ago. The majority of “Corpse Party” plays like a visual novel, with most of your gameplay consisting of walking and interacting with objects. That means when you come across an enemy or obstacle, you better be careful. Funnily enough, this was a remake of a 1996, Japan-only PC game that was closer to an RPG and even had battle mechanics. Removing that does make things scarier, though.
#15: “Frogger” (1981)
Well, a frog can’t realistically fight a car, can it? The premise of this arcade classic is simple: guide your little frog buddy through different hazards, like oncoming traffic and, for some strange reason, water. Of course, you’ll also have to dodge some more natural enemies like snakes and otters. It was a monster hit for Konami, with the quick nature causing players to drop innumerable quarters. At the dawn of 3D, “Frogger” was expanded upon in terms of gameplay and level design, yet it kept its “no combat” mentality. It wasn’t until 2001’s “The Great Quest” that Frogger was allowed to fight back. But the original incarnation remains the most iconic.
#14: “3D Monster Maze” (1981)
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As you probably could’ve guessed, most games that don’t let you fight back are in the survival horror genre. It seems that’s always been the case. Released for the Sinclair ZX81 computer in 1981, “3D Monster Maze” is…well, pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Players are tasked with navigating a maze in first-person while a Tyrannosaurus Rex hunts them. You gain points the longer you roam, and the game gives you messages to signal how close the T-Rex is. We can imagine the ‘RUN HE IS BEHIND YOU’ message instilled a similar fear in players as several unstoppable pursuers in modern horror do now.
#13: “SCP - Containment Breach” (2012)
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If you find the Weeping Angels from “Doctor Who” scary, you best stay away from this one. In “SCP - Containment Breach,” you play as a test subject in an underground facility where a breach lets loose numerous monstrous entities. The one who kicks off the horror is a statue that only moves and attacks when you can’t see it, playing into the game’s signature blink meter. Unfortunately for you, “SCP” is also procedurally generated, meaning you’ll never know which other monsters may be lying in wait. Adding to the mayhem is the facility’s task force trying to contain the breach, which won’t hesitate to put you down while you have nothing to defend yourself with.
#12: “SOMA” (2015)
Set in 2104, you wake up as the last human inside an underwater facility and must piece together what’s happening. Most of that entails exploring the facility’s different areas, collecting the proper resources and solving puzzles to lead to your escape. But with aggressive robots, a murderous AI, mutated fauna, and several horrific sea creatures, that’s much easier said than done. Naturally, you have no way to fight off these various threats and must rely on stealth to make it through. Coming into contact with an enemy is out of the question as any of them would kill you as soon as they look at you. All you can do is work towards your goal and hope for the best.
#11: “Pitfall!” (1982)
Before platformers let us jump on the heads of Goombas, or any enemy for that matter, “Pitfall!” gave the genre its roots. Released for the Atari 2600 in 1982, “Pitfall!” became one of the system’s best-selling releases. As Pitfall Harry, players needed to progress through different screens, collecting treasures and avoiding obstacles by jumping, climbing, and swinging on vines. While some hazards appeared as quick sand or pits, others were enemies like scorpions and crocodiles. With no way to clear a screen of enemies, all you could do was maneuver around them. Some of its sequels would bring in combat, though none of them ever reached the iconicism of the first.
#10: “Slender: The Eight Pages” (2012)
“Slender: The Eight Pages” took the internet by storm in 2012. Everywhere you looked, people were getting petrified by the lanky, blank-faced figure known as Slender Man. The concept, while simple, turned out to be genius. Dropped into the middle of a dark forest, players are forced to explore and collect eight drawings. All the while, you have to avoid the titular antagonist. As you collect the pages, the fog grows thicker and Slender Man grows ever closer to you. All you have is a flashlight, which can die if used too much, and there’s no telling where Slender Man will pop up next. It’s no wonder people couldn’t stop talking about it.
#9: “Papers, Please” (2013)
With moral dilemmas this complex, it would honestly be easier if there were enemies to fight in “Papers, Please.” Set in the fictional Arstotzka, players control an immigration officer at the country’s border. By reviewing each person’s documents, you must decide whether or not they get in. However, with rising political tensions, the threat of terrorism, and reduced income for your family should your work ethic falter, the process grows exceptionally tense. Anyone could be an enemy to your country, or your country itself could be the enemy. That depends on you, as well as the game’s procedural generation blended with scripted events. “Papers, Please” has 20 different endings, though reaching any of them will require tough decisions.
#8: “Iron Helix” (1993)
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Set in the midst of a Cold War between humans and aliens, “Iron Helix” sees an Earth fleet ship go rogue after its security robot kills the crew. With plans to use the ship’s weaponry to destroy a peaceful alien planet, you’re tasked with stopping it so actual war doesn’t break out. Your character is never in any actual danger as you control another robot from the safety of your own ship. By gathering DNA of the deceased crew and solving puzzles, your robo-buddy can make it further into the ship in order to destroy it. Of course, the rogue security robot will be hunting you the entire time and you have no way to stop it.
#7: “Silent Hill: Shattered Memories” (2009)
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Most games in the “Silent Hill” series make you feel powerless. But “Shattered Memories” is the only one that doesn’t ever give you a weapon. It follows the same premise as the original; Harry Mason searches for his missing daughter after crashing his car in Silent Hill. However, it makes a lot of gameplay changes. You only have a flashlight and a smartphone, using both to navigate the town and piece together its history. But you’ll also occasionally enter an alternate, ‘Nightmare’ dimension, where you’ll have to contend with twisted monsters. While you can slow them down with obstacles, break free if they grab you, or fend them off with flares, there’s no way for you to actively fight them.
#6: “Clock Tower” (1995)
Like “3D Monster Maze,” “Clock Tower” was an important step in the evolution of survival horror. The point-and-click adventure follows Jennifer Simpson, an orphan girl adopted by a wealthy family along with several others. But after arriving at their mansion, she receives the exact opposite of a warm welcome. As Jennifer, players must navigate the mansion, collecting clues and solving puzzles to find an escape. Meanwhile, she’s hunted by an assailant known as Scissorman, who will murder her if he gets the chance. Most of the time, you’ll need to hide from him, but you can also set traps and attempt to run away. Good luck with that.
#5: “Limbo” (2010)
Simple in its premise and design, “Limbo” is overflowing with ways in which you can die. You play as a nameless little boy searching for his sister in a dark and incredibly dangerous forest. Only by solving environmental puzzles can you progress to find her. Of course, hidden around every corner is something waiting to kill you. Whether it be a giant spider, a pit of spikes, a crushing boulder, other humans, or just so many other things, you’ll see all manner of brutal deaths before your playthrough is finished. There’s a lot of trial and error as there’s no way to defend yourself against the hazards, sentient or otherwise.
#4: “Five Nights at Freddy’s” (2014)
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What is now a Horror media empire began as a straightforward yet genuinely terrifying point-and-click adventure. As a nightly security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, your job is to survive 5 nights, or levels, without the haunted animatronics catching you. With only a few security cameras to track their movement and a limited supply of electricity, you have to keep them at bay throughout the night. Each of your pursuers has different movement patterns, and the cameras only give you a glimpse. If you run out of electricity, you may as well just give up right then and there, as there’s then nothing to keep them from barging in on you.
#3: “Outlast” (2013)
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Upon receiving a tip about inhumane treatment of patients at a psychiatric hospital, journalist Miles Upshur takes it upon himself to investigate. Unfortunately, he decides to do so in the middle of the night without any means to defend himself. Armed only with a video camera, players must navigate the hospital that has fallen to violent patients and something far more sinister. Throughout, you’ll be forced to run and hide from homicidal residents, with the camera’s night vision giving you an upper hand at staying hidden. You can’t even take a swing to break free if one of them catches you. The sense of dread is permeated by a parade of jump scares that’ll make you wish for any kind of weapon.
#2: “Inside” (2016)
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With “Limbo,” developer Playdead crafted an artful, puzzle-platformer with danger lurking at every turn. With “Inside,” the studio perfected that concept. Again controlling a nameless boy, players must explore a dystopian world while solving puzzles. While some come paired with deadly hazards, others are surrounded by enemies which actively try to cause you harm, like dogs and machines. You can try to avoid them, but confronting them is a sure-fire way to experience one of the game's many, MANY methods in which you can perish. “Inside” received a ton of praise in a variety of categories. But its atmosphere, which goes hand-in-hand with the player’s helplessness, is what makes it shine the most.
#1: “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” (2010)
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Some monsters are only as scary as the place you encounter them. And so everything in “Amnesia” is downright chilling. Players control Daniel, who awakens in a castle with no memories other than his name and that something is hunting him. As you explore, you uncover more of Daniel’s past and the nature of the monsters. Most of what Daniel can do comes down to solving puzzles and collecting items. However, you also have to keep track of his sanity meter, which can raise if you’re in the dark too long, witness something disturbing, or look directly at a monster. Needless to say, it’ll rise pretty quickly. And there isn’t much you can do to stop any of it.
