Horror games have always had one main goal, make the player feel afraid. There are many ways to do that, from disturbing creature designs to loud jumpscares to creepy sound design. However, one of the most effective methods is much simpler than all of those. If you really want a player to feel vulnerable, do not let them fight back.
Some horror games try to mix fear with action, which can work sometimes, but it usually lowers the amount of tension. The moment a player is handed a shotgun and enough ammo, the game stops being about survival and starts becoming a test of aim. That does not automatically make the game bad, but it does make it less scary.
Fear relies heavily on vulnerability. If the player has no reliable way to defend themselves, every encounter suddenly matters more. The monster is not just an obstacle to clear. It is a threat that the player has to avoid, outsmart, or hide from. That changes the entire feeling of the game.
The best example of this is how players react in games where running is their main option. Instead of thinking, "Can I kill this thing?" they think, "How do I survive this?" That shift in mindset is huge. It turns every hallway, every door, and every sound into something the player has to take seriously.
Another reason combat makes horror weaker is that it makes the enemy more understandable. Once a player knows how much damage a monster can take, how to dodge it, and how to beat it, that monster becomes less mysterious. It turns from a nightmare into a gameplay system.
That is why so many horror enemies become less scary over time when the player is allowed to fight them. At first they are terrifying, but eventually they just become something to optimize around. The player stops fearing them and starts calculating them.
When the player cannot fight back, the atmosphere has more room to shine. The darkness matters more. The sound design matters more. The layout of the building matters more. Everything becomes more intense because the player knows they cannot just solve the problem with violence.
That is also why hiding mechanics, limited movement, and resource scarcity often work so well in horror. They force the player to stay locked into the mood of the game. Instead of overpowering the horror, they have to sit with it.
Not every horror game needs to remove combat completely, but if a game wants to be truly terrifying, limiting the player's ability to fight is one of the strongest tools it can use. Fear works best when the player feels small, powerless, and unsure of what to do next. The less control they have in the moment, the more memorable the horror usually becomes.