Video Games and Liminal Spaces: Exploring the Empty and the Uncanny

Liminal spaces evoke feelings of unease, nostalgia, and mystery, and video games have long been an effective medium for capturing these eerie in-between places. Whether through abandoned hallways, empty shopping malls, or vast, desolate landscapes, games use liminal spaces to create unique emotional experiences for players. But what makes these spaces so unsettling, and why are they so effective in video game design?

What Are Liminal Spaces?

Liminal spaces are transitional environments—places that exist between one state and another. These can be physical locations, such as an empty airport at night, or conceptual spaces, such as the boundary between reality and dreams. In video games, these unsettling spaces often manifest as vacant environments, repetitive architecture, and disconnected atmospheres, creating a surreal sense of isolation.

How Video Games Use Liminal Spaces

Many games tap into liminal spaces to enhance immersion, tension, and emotional depth. Here are some of the ways they achieve this effect:

Abandoned and Empty Locations

• Games like Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil use deserted towns, hospitals, and hotels to make players feel trapped in a world that is familiar yet deeply unsettling.
• The lack of NPCs or minimal soundscapes heightens the feeling of loneliness and suspense.

Dreamlike or Repetitive Architecture

• The Stanley Parable plays with looping hallways and offices, creating an uncanny experience where nothing feels quite right.
• Control (2019) uses brutalist architecture and shifting spaces to disorient players and evoke feelings of being in a liminal reality.

Unfinished or Glitch-Like Aesthetics

• Games such as Yume Nikki and LSD: Dream Emulator embrace surreal, dreamlike visuals that feel like they exist in an incomplete, in-between state.
• Some games even use intentional bugs or visual distortions to mimic the feeling of being stuck in a liminal space.

Endless, Inescapable Spaces

• The Backrooms games, inspired by the internet urban legend, place players in infinite office spaces filled with unnatural lighting and an overwhelming sense of isolation.
• Minecraft’s procedural landscapes, when devoid of life or structures, can create a similarly eerie, liminal experience.

Why Are Liminal Spaces So Effective in Gaming?

Liminal spaces trigger a psychological response known as the uncanny valley effect—things look familiar but feel disturbingly off. This taps into a deep sense of unease, making players question their surroundings and creating an immersive, almost hypnotic atmosphere. Games use this effect to enhance horror, mystery, and exploration elements, making them emotionally resonant and unforgettable.

These uncanny spaces in video games offer a unique way to evoke fear, nostalgia, and curiosity. Whether through empty hallways, looping architecture, or surreal landscapes, these spaces challenge our perception of reality, leaving a lasting impact on players. As gaming continues to evolve, developers will likely find even more creative ways to use liminal spaces to shape unforgettable gaming experiences.

Also Read: Indian Frescoes: Ajanta and Ellora Caves as Sacred Narratives

—Silviya.Y