What Was The First Horror Game?

Horror games have been a staple in the gaming industry for a long time. For many of us, they've shaped our childhood and continue to remain present as we become adults. What was the very first horror game out there though? If you've been dying to know the answer to this question, you've come to the right place.

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Here, we are going to take a look at the video game that is considered the first in the horror genre. There is some debate on the true first horror game, so we'll take a look at all the potential answers out there.

The First Horror Game

Many believe that Haunted House was the first horror video game, which came out in 1982. This wasn't a pure horror game like you know today. In this game, your goal is to go through a haunted house and eventually make it to the top floor.

Haunted House required a plastic overlay decal that you would need to put on a screen. This made up the house itself.

Haunted House was an arcade game and overall, very basic. The screen displayed the entire house at the same time, and the 'character' that you control was a white square. When the white square moved through the house, the decal would create a tint and light up eyes. The effect was pretty cool; you can see it in action in a playthrough by Odyssey Now on YouTube.

Despite the simplicity, Haunted House delivered a unique and thrilling experience for gamers looking to dip their toes into the world of horror.

Hunt The Wumpus

While Haunted House was a horror-inspired video game, some consider the first true horror game to be Hunt the Wumpus, which came out in 1973.

Hunt the Wumpus was a text-based adventure game that is regarded as one of the first survival horror games out there. You could play Hunt the Wumpus on a personal computer and it didn't require any external items like Haunted House did.

In terms of gameplay, Hunt the Wumpus tasked you with, well... hunting the Wumpus. This creature is located in a cave system made of 20 different caverns. The real horror element was the complete darkness. Rather than looking around, you had to rely on your senses, such as how the wind felt or if you smelled the Wumpus.

There is a Magic the Gathering card called Hunted Wumpus, which is based on this game.

While Haunted House came out first, Hunt the Wumpus definitely embraced the horror to deliver a chilling experience. To answer the big question of 'what was the first horror video game?', the answer is Haunted House, but with a sidenote of Hunt the Wumpus being the first on PC (rather than an arcade game).

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