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FMV Horror Games: Live-Action Horror to Play

FMV horror games put real actors on screen: filmed ghosts, killers and victims you watch, question or hide from. These range from the CD-ROM classics of the 1990s to modern live-action and found-phone horror.

The games

  1. At Dead Of Night key art: a lit Victorian hotel on a stormy clifftop above the sea at night, with lightning striking the water MysteryAt Dead Of NightLive-action horror at its most played: guide Maya through a remote hotel, talking to ghosts with a voice receiver while the landlord stalks the corridors.
  2. The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker key art: a black tentacled skull silhouette on a glowing green mosaic, with the title in pale serif letters PsychologicalThe Infectious Madness of Doctor DekkerType any question to a murdered psychiatrist's filmed patients and work out which of them killed him, in a Lovecraftian mystery.
  3. Phantasmagoria store art: the title in dark gothic capitals with a pale outline, over a soft blue-white glow on a black background Fixed cameraPhantasmagoriaSierra's 1995 horror adventure filmed with live actors: a novelist, a dead magician's mansion and nightmares from the first night.
  4. SIMULACRA key art: a dark-haired woman stands before a wall of phone screens showing apps, photos and chats, with pink streaks across them Multiple endingsSIMULACRAA lost woman's phone, with her video logs, texts and photos, and something inside it that grows stranger by the hour.
  5. Dead Take key art: a bald man in a dark jacket sits alone in a dim cinema facing a teal screen, with red-lit empty seats and a glass of red drink beside him PsychologicalDead TakeSplice together corrupted video files in a Hollywood mansion to find out what happened to a friend after a party, with filmed actors.
  6. The 7th Guest Remake key art: Stauf's Victorian mansion under a purple, stormy sky, a figure standing in a lit upper window Puzzle horrorThe 7th Guest RemakeThe 1993 puzzle mansion rebuilt, with the ghosts of Stauf's six guests played by live actors in volumetric video.
  7. Shivers key art: the blue gothic title beside a glowing orange ring that frames a staring eye, on a dark purple background Puzzle horrorShiversSierra's 1995 night in a haunted museum, with live-action ghosts telling what happened to those who came before.
  8. D: The Game key art: a large ragged red letter D frames a pale face with long black hair, between dark staircases Multiple endingsD: The GameKenji Eno's 1995 horror interactive movie: two real hours, no saves, and a castle inside a hospital where a father has killed.
  9. Realms of the Haunting key art: the jagged yellow title over faded, red-toned faces of three characters, one in round glasses, on a grungy backdrop of occult marks Puzzle horrorRealms of the HauntingA 1996 mix of first-person adventure, shooting and filmed scenes with live actors in a haunted Cornish mansion.
  10. Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within key art: the title over a blurred, snarling wolf-like head with bared teeth Puzzle horrorGabriel Knight 2: The Beast WithinSierra's 1995 werewolf mystery, filmed with live actors over photographed German locations.
  11. Harvester key art: a hooded figure with glowing red eyes raises a gleaming scythe under a purple and red night sky, with a domed building and red-lit minarets to the right PsychologicalHarvesterA 1996 cult classic of filmed actors in a 1950s town whose cult asks for bloodier tasks every day.
  12. The 11th Hour key art: a tarnished antique clock face and gears beside the cracked porcelain face of a staring doll, in dark sepia tones Puzzle horrorThe 11th HourThe 1995 sequel to The 7th Guest: a reporter returns to Stauf's mansion as live-action scenes reveal its new crimes; its Steam reviews are mixed.
  13. SIMULACRA 2 key art: a woman holding a glowing phone stands among four other characters against a purple ink-blot background Multiple endingsSIMULACRA 2A dead influencer's wiped phone, restored file by file, with filmed video calls and clips.
  14. Sara is Missing title art: glitched white letters over a distorted image of a woman Multiple endingsSara is MissingFree and short: a missing woman's phone, its messages and videos, and callers who push you on.
  15. Forbidden Solitaire key art: a screaming bearded man and a tower with glowing windows in purple light, with a red gem in an eye shape under the title Multiple endingsForbidden SolitaireA cursed 1995 CD-ROM of bloody solitaire wrapped in a 90s FMV-style hellscape.
  16. Killing Time: Resurrected key art: a fanged zombie in a bloodied apron swinging a spine, a zombie chef with cleavers and a red-eyed clown holding a pie, before orange and red rings Action horrorKilling Time: ResurrectedA 1990s shooter remastered, where filmed ghosts show what happened on a cursed 1930s estate.
  17. HORSES key art: a terrified man's face below a dark shadow topped by a man in a hat and a bridled horse's head, in red and purple under the white title PsychologicalHORSESFourteen days on a secluded farm in a first-person game with live-action sequences; a controversial, disturbing game sold on GOG and itch.io.

Full-motion video horror began on CD-ROM in the 1990s. Phantasmagoria filmed its whole story with live actors in a dead magician's mansion, and The 7th Guest's sequel The 11th Hour and Sierra's Shivers used filmed ghosts to tell what happened in their houses. Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within filmed a werewolf case in Bavaria with live actors over photographed locations, harvester put its cult and its 1950s town on film, Realms of the Haunting mixed filmed scenes with first-person adventure and shooting, and Kenji Eno's D made you solve a castle in two real hours with no saves. Killing Time: Resurrected remasters a shooter from the same era whose filmed ghosts show the story.

Modern FMV horror is often better. At Dead Of Night is the most played, a hotel at night where you guide Maya past a stalking landlord and talk to ghosts, and The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker lets you type any question to filmed patients to find a murderer among them. Dead Take uses filmed actors and corrupted clips in a Hollywood mansion, and The 7th Guest Remake brings back the 1993 mansion with its ghosts in volumetric video.

Found-phone horror is its own branch. SIMULACRA hands you a missing woman's phone, full of video logs and messages that turn strange, SIMULACRA 2 does the same with a dead influencer's wiped phone, and Sara is Missing does it free and in a short sitting.

Two more borrow the look rather than the format: Forbidden Solitaire wraps bloody solitaire in a fake 90s FMV CD-ROM, and HORSES, a controversial game refused by Steam, uses live-action sequences on a farm whose rules turn disturbing.

If you play one, play At Dead Of Night; if you want the classic CD-ROM feel, try Phantasmagoria or D.

Questions

What is an FMV horror game?

A horror game that uses full-motion video, filmed footage of real actors, for its story or its play, as Phantasmagoria, At Dead Of Night and Doctor Dekker do.

What is the best FMV horror game?

At Dead Of Night is the most played and among the best rated by players, and The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker is the best known for letting you question its characters freely.

Are there free FMV horror games?

Sara is Missing is free, a short found-phone horror game.

Are FMV horror games on consoles?

Doctor Dekker, SIMULACRA and Killing Time: Resurrected are on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, and The 7th Guest Remake on PlayStation and Xbox.

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