Summary
There are plenty of different games to keep you busy if you’re fans of the fantasy genre. You can narrow this myriad of worlds down a little if you also like a good fright. Not every fantasy world is full of rainbows and unicorns.
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Many hold dark secrets and bloodthirsty creatures. While the adventures involved often equip you with plenty of skills and weaponry to fight off whatever goes bump in the night, some of these worlds are still more than scary enough to want to limit your time in them as much as you can.
10Middle-Earth - Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Being a ranger of The Black Gate is a hard life. It only gets worse when Sauron’s Uruk-hai storm the gate and kill you and your family inShadow Of War.
Not even resurrection at the hands of ring maker Celebrimbor makes a life in Middle-Earth any easier. Creatures and dark powers are around every corner here, and many times death seems like a preferable alternative to the many creepy things Talion has to deal with. At least he gets some cool new powers though. So there is a plus.
9Sanctuary - Diablo
You’d think a place called Sanctuary would be a little more relaxing. It usually is, if it wasn’t for all the demons trying to ruin that.
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The world of theDiabloseries is not for the faint of heart. The demons of The Burning Hells have lofty goals, and you just happen to be the one standing between them and their land grab against High Heaven. It’s a world stuck in the middle of two great powers, and game after game the people of Sanctuary are left to pick up the pieces.
8The Estate - Darkest Dungeon
A fictional world centuries before ours, the Estate and the lands surrounding it in Darkest Dungeon are a place rife with evil and madness.
After the death of the Estate’s owner, you are tasked with returning there and bringing the area back to it’s once splendorous status. You’ll hire various mercenaries all as flawed as the lands around you to fight the many monsters that inhabit the areas surrounding. It’s an area that corrupts and maims anyone who stays for too long.
7Helheim - Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
There are few fantasy settings as grim and oppressive as that of Hellblade’s own rendition of the early Viking centuries.
While Senua’s world is dark enough, the only thing that makes it worse is her entering Helheim itself. Land of death, darkness, and monsters aplenty, Senua has to use all her wits and power to get out alive, even then it’s a journey that will alter her for the rest of her life. It makes for a game that is unforgiving in many senses.
6Earthrealm - Mortal Kombat
Earthrealm is incredibly similar to our own Earth. The key difference is theMortal Kombattournament that brings all the realms together for brutal head-to-head fights.
It’s definitely not your average sport to sit down with a plate of nachos and watch. It’s gruesome, bloody, and often times the fate of the realms hinges on the ideals of the winner. It would be pretty frustrating to be going about your day wondering if a demon from another world was going to blow up Earth tomorrow.
5The Continent - The Witcher
TheWitcher’s Continent is a place beset upon by all sorts of different struggles, some of which the people don’t even realize.
Whether it be war,bloodthirsty monsters, or just everyday problems in life, the people of The Continent have it tough. It must be pretty hard waking up to go fishing and worrying whether or not a Drowner will pull you under. Or if war will come to your village today. Not to mention if vampires or The Wild Hunt decides to knock on your door.
4Cvstodia - Blasphemous
You’d think somewhere that a thing called The Miracle happened would be a nice place, right? Blasphemous' Cvstodia proves that’s definitely not true.
This Miracle seems to have turned many of Cvstodia’s citizens into horrific monsters. Thankfully, though it has also given you as The Penitent One a job to do. Still yet, for anyone who just wants a quiet day on the countryside, they won’t be finding it here. Too many monsters and holy blood for that to happen.
3Wallachia - Castlevania
Settled in the middle of Europe, Wallachia is an area dotted with all types of civilizations. It’s a shame about all the vampires though.
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Wallachia has seen a lot throughout theCastlevaniaseries, and very little of it good. Dracula, Death himself, and everything in-between has haunted those lands. If it wasn’t for the Belmont family and those helping them Wallachia surely would have been lost for good. But, if you see a large castle in the distance it’s best to start running.
2Yharnam - Bloodborne
Creepy, gothic, and full of people obsessed with blood. You could do a lot better than to settle down inBloodborne’s Yharnam.
If the constant smog and darkness don’t scare you, your neighbors turning into horrific monsters would. Even those hunters who are fighting back against the corruption aren’t wholly good. It’s one of the most grim worlds that have come about in gaming, with darkness and death seemingly around every corner.
1The Lands Between - Elden Ring
There are a wide variety of places to discover in The Lands Between ofElden Ring, though all of them are horrifying in their own way.
What more would you expect from a land thrown into chaos by the death of their lord. Monsters roam every square inch, tarnished are destined for death after death, and an entire area of the continent has been taken over bycancerous Scarlet Rot. There’s plenty to be scared of in The Lands Between no matter where in it you end up.
