There are fewer reactions as natural as a frightened scream. Whether it’s a startle response or a chase by a terrifying creature, uttering a cry of panic is not only normal, but downright expected. To take that answer and use it against you is one of the most cunning tricks in the world of horror.
That’s exactly what these games do. Each checks for a microphone to listen to and uses the audio input in new and creative ways. Whether it’s casting magical incantations or communicating with ghosts, they’re all worth giving a shout-out to.
9/9 Escape the Ayuowki
Of all the games on this list, this one may have the strangest origins. Based on a Spanish creepypasta, inspired by a disturbing animatronic based on Michael Jackson. The name Ayuowki is just a phrasing of “are you okay?”, a phrase that is finally sung in Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.
Not that lore matters much in the gameplay. Mechanically, you have to roam a haunted mansion while dodging the monster that can hear you talking through the microphone. Therefore, you must be quiet to avoid detection.
8/9 Welcome to the game
The internet is dangerous, especially when you start diving into the deeper, darker corners. Welcome To The Game is a mysterious horror game in which your task is to discover the secret entrance path for a specific site on the deep web. But as you search, you expose yourself to hackers, kidnappers, killers and countless disturbing websites.
In the first game, you risk being discovered by a kidnapper. If you suspect he’s coming, turn off the lights and hide. While hiding, the game listens to your microphone for sound, drawing the kidnapper’s attention.
The second game, Welcome To The Game II, works in much the same way. The only notable change is that an assassin named Lucas replaces the kidnapper. Both games are known for their above-average difficulty and lack of checkpoints, so be prepared for a challenge when you give this one a try.
7/9 The Backrooms 1998
One day you’re just skateboarding with the bros when you accidentally wipe out a gnarled style. But instead of eating pavement, you keep falling. Finally you land somewhere else, somewhere wrong. The carpeting is a little damp, the walls covered in broken yellow wallpaper, and old fluorescent lights buzzing above you. Welcome to the Backrooms.
All in all, The Backrooms 1998 is your standard indie horror experience. You are in a weird place, walking around looking for items and dodging the big scary monster. As you might expect, certain hide sequences reference your microphone, requiring you to remain silent to avoid detection.
This is one of many indie games inspired by The Backrooms, an online anthology of creepypasta/horror stories based on a fictional universe between realities.
6/9 In silence
At first glance, In Silence is just another multiplayer voice chat horror game. However, it is always something more than that. The main mechanism of the game is based on the bad visibility of the monster player. Instead, they rely on audio queues to navigate. Because of this, the monster is more likely to hear the survivors talking to each other than to see them visually.
Being a cooperative 1v4 horror game, cooperation among the survivors is necessary to succeed. Knowing that talking too much will reveal their location to the monster adds an air of danger and fear, especially since it’s a different person and not an AI.
5/9 Fears to fathom: Norwood Hitchhike
The second episode of a five-part anthology, Norwood Hitchhike, centers on a young woman named Holly while on a long road trip. They stop at a motel for the night and some suspicious locals seem to be watching her.
Eventually someone tries to break into her room. To survive, you have to hide in the hall closet. During this segment, the game will activate your microphone and any sound will reveal your location to the intruder. That scene is the only reference to the microphone, with little to no allusion to its function beforehand. What makes this a little more terrifying than your standard ‘hide and don’t make noise’ mechanic is how unprepared most players will be for it.
4/9 Tonsil Terror
A nice aspect of this era of indie game development is that it’s easier than ever to produce and publish your own game. This, in turn, means that more foolish ideas are brought to fruition. Take Tonsil Terror for example.
You don’t have a traditional first-person perspective. Instead, your gaze takes place in your own mouth. In silence, the mouth is almost completely closed, blocking most of your view by teeth, gums, and uvula. However, you can open the mouth and increase visibility by (you guessed it) yelling. Aside from any throat stress, this will also draw the attention of the monster ghost stuff present in the game.
For the softer voice, the mechanic is completely optional. Pressing the space bar simulates a scream.
3/9 Albedo, by ApeStudio
Not to be confused with Albedo: Eyes From Outer Space, a sci-fi shooter game, this Albedo lets you cast magical spells to aid a trapped supernatural entity. With their guidance, you will traverse a creepy mansion, dodge its owner and collect gems.
Albedo deserves recognition, if only because he didn’t go for the ‘don’t speak or the monster will find you’ cliché. Instead, the mic mechanic is the magic. You cast every magic spell you learn by reciting the trigger word. For example, to turn on a lamp, say “luxo” out loud.
Other than that, it’s your pretty standard horror game where you collect and hide things, but the unique approach to the microphone functionality gives it enough novelty to stand out.
2/9 suffocated
As far as creativity goes, Stifled takes the biggest pie. This game is not an entirely original concept; it’s a spiritual successor to an indie title called Lurking. Mainly played in the dark, sound waves reveal the world to you. Every sound emphasizes the world around you, whether it’s from a nearby phone, your footsteps, or even your microphone input.
But their ambition also proved to be their downfall. Enemies can also locate you with sound. So to stay hidden during the stealth segments, you have to keep quiet. You just need sound to see where you’re going. Do you see the problem? There’s not much fun messing around in the dark.
Stifled also has a VR mode, although we don’t recommend trying it out. It just introduces a clunkier interface to an already imperfect experience. But if you can see past the rough edges, it’s one of the more creative ways a game has used the mic input.
1/9 Phasmophobia
Take the best of each entry for this, combine them and you get Phasmophobia. In this ghost investigation game, you and up to three others must walk through a haunted location using a variety of tools, trying to identify what kind of ghost you are dealing with.
The microphone plays an important role in several aspects of the investigation. The ghost can be found if you speak while hiding, provoke the ghost by calling its name and try to communicate by asking it questions through the ghost box (to which it will respond accurately).
You don’t actually need a microphone to use the spirit box. Holding the voice chat key for a few seconds will register as input to the equipment, which will respond accordingly.
In addition, it is also the best implementation of proximity-based voice chat we have ever seen. Not only will voices become quieter with distance, but everything from the size of the room to whether they are behind a door will distort the effect, giving a hugely authentic experience.
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