Summary
- Games without combat focus on powerlessness, fear, and grief for emotional impact.
- Some titles like "That Dragon, Cancer" and "Before Your Eyes" explore themes of mortality and loss.
- Lack of control in games like "Outlast" and "Mortuary Assistant" heightens tension and horror.
Power in games often comes from the ability to fight back, to control the outcome of dangerous encounters, or to grow stronger with time. Yet some titles remove that entirely, forcing players into roles where combat is absent or not needed for the story to progress. The result is a kind of vulnerability that reshapes storytelling, making fear, grief, or helplessness the true focus.
These games build their impact not from victory, but from a lack of power to change outcomes. Whether exploring childhood fears, witnessing the quiet collapse of a community, or confronting mortality head-on, they use the absence of control to heighten emotion. By stripping away the usual tools of power, they remind players that sometimes the strongest experiences come from what cannot be changed.
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That Dragon, Cancer
A Story Where The End Is Already Decided
That Dragon, Cancer
- Released
- January 12, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Numinous Games
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Designed as a deeply personal tribute, That Dragon, Cancer places players in the shoes of parents navigating a child’s terminal illness. There are no systems to master and no strategies to win, as the experience is about enduring something unfixable with no way of changing it.
This lack of control underscores the painful reality it portrays. The inability to alter the outcome mirrors the family’s own powerlessness, transforming the game into an act of empathy. It’s harrowing and tender, using the absence of agency as its most important mechanic.
Among The Sleep
Childhood Fears Made Real
Among the Sleep
- Released
- May 29, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Krillbite Studios
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Action-Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Among the Sleep places players in the role of a toddler wandering through surreal, nightmarish environments, armed only with a teddy bear companion. There’s no option to fight back against the looming threats, and survival comes solely from hiding and navigating the dark.
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The game’s premise leans into the vulnerability of childhood, where even simple shadows or distant sounds feel overwhelming. Its powerless perspective turns ordinary fears into monstrous encounters, reminding players of how fragile and dependent they once were.
Outlast
Nothing But A Camera To Help You
Outlast
- Released
- November 4, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature // Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Red Barrels
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Linux, macOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Outlast has long stood as the king of horror, and for good reason. The game thrusts players into a derelict mental hospital full of death and decay, giving them just a few batteries and a night vision camera to guide them through the horrors within.
The lack of combat or ways to fight back makes the whole experience all the more agonizing. Players can only run and hide, and at times, have to do both under intense pressure. They are forced into progressively worse situations with every moment that passes.
Before Your Eyes
Unable To Change The Past
Before Your Eyes
- Released
- April 8, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
Before Your Eyes is an emotional roller coaster that takes the concept of life being gone in the blink of an eye in the most literal sense. Every flicker of the player's eyelids moves the story forward or changes how the scene looks, and with no way of going back, time is the real enemy.
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The sense of powerlessness comes from the desire to return to the past and change things or do things differently, despite being repeatedly told it's not possible. The game is a meditative experience that explores the nature of memories and life itself in the most personal and intimate way possible.
Five Nights At Freddy's
Horrors Approaching With No Weapons In Their Way
Five Nights at Freddy's
- Released
- August 8, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
FNAF practically invented a whole new kind of horror game with its unique mechanics. It forced players into a single, stationary position, giving them access to only a few tools to ward off the aggressive and relentless monsters lurking around every corner.
The game excels at building tension without ever having the player move. With both time and power on their mind, their stress level never falls far. The lack of ways to run or fight back means that at any moment, a robotic nightmare could end the player's night.
Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture
Eerie And Mysterious From Start To Finish
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
- Released
- August 11, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes, Alcohol Reference, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Set in a rural English village struck by a mysterious catastrophe, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture casts players as observers piecing together what happened to the people there. There are no actions that can prevent the inevitable, only fragments of lives to uncover and a story that slowly unfolds with every step taken.
This enforced passivity deepens the game’s contemplative tone. Powerlessness here isn’t terrifying but melancholic, and it forces players to focus on loss and inevitability. By refusing players any means of intervention, the game ensures the only path forward is quiet acceptance of what has already happened.
What Remains Of Edith Finch
Mourning Lives That Cannot Be Saved
What Remains of Edith Finch
- Released
- April 25, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Violence, Blood, Drug Reference, Language
- Developer(s)
- Giant Sparrow
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
What Remains of Edith Finch is structured around the inevitability of death, as players step into the final moments of various family members. Each vignette is interactive, but the outcomes are preordained. No choice can alter them, no matter how much the player tries.
This creates a narrative where powerlessness is baked into the very structure. The interactivity immerses players in each life, but the inability to avert tragedy reinforces the central theme of mortality and the lack of power to rewrite it.
The Mortuary Assistant
A Mundane Job Becomes Gruesome Horror
The Mortuary Assistant
- Released
- August 2, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- DarkStone Digital
- Genre(s)
- Indie Games, Adventure, Simulation
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
The Mortuary Assistant takes the simple premise of working in a morgue and adds an extra layer of fear and tension. The result is a deeply horrifying experience without ever allowing the player to fight back.
Players complete basic tasks like embalming and note-taking, all while being bombarded by demons and spirits from another realm. They face horrors from their past, and all the guilt and fear that comes with them. The lack of power feeds into the feeling of defenselessness, as, despite constant frights from all sides, there is no way of avoiding the terrors and scares.
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