Spooky season never sleeps – horror games are for all year round. Below is a selection of some of our favorite scary games, from those that are great to play with friends to those that are best enjoyed alone with lights off, headphones on, just as the clock strikes midnight. Scaredy cats beware!
1. PHASMOPHOBIA
Phasmophobia burst onto the scene in 2020, just in time to freak groups of friends looking for something spooky to do during the pandemic. An immersive ghost-hunting experience, Phasmophobia sees you using iconic ghost-hunting equipment such as EMF readers, spirit boxes, and night vision cameras to hunt for ghosts – ghosts which can see and hear you and, more often than not, are all too ready to pick you and your friends off one by one in a gruesome fashion.
2. DEAD BY DAYLIGHT
An asymmetrical competitive horror game, Dead by Daylight pitches four survivors against one murderous killer. Employing all sorts of horror tropes and an ever-widening cast of infamous survivors and killers (characters from Alien, Resident Evil, Hellraiser, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Stranger Things to name but a few), running for your life – or to end someone else’s – has never been more fun.
3. ALIEN: ISOLATION
Without a doubt the best video game inspired by the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation is a survival horror game that pits the daughter of sci-fi icon Ellen Ripley against the eponymous extra terrestrial. Featuring a story full of twists and turns as well as the terrifying xenomorph itself, armed with its own unique and terrifying AI-driven instincts, you must help Amanda Ripley survive aboard the Sevastopol – or die trying.
4. FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S
From indie game series popularized by top YouTube streamers to a blockbuster movie and more, the original Five Nights at Freddy’s game is still a nail-biting experience. In it, you assume the role of a hapless security guard put in charge of watching a Chuck E. Cheese style pizza place – for the night shift, of course. You’ll spend your time avoiding murderous animatronics and trying to hold out until 6am each morning – definitely not for the faint of heart.
5. SOMA
Made by the evil geniuses behind Amnesia: The Dark Descent, SOMA is a sci-fi horror game that will make you question your very existence. Set deep beneath the ocean waves, you must try and uncover what happened to isolated underwater facility PATHOS-II, all while avoiding a plethora of dangers including crazed robots, terrifying creatures, and the inscrutable machinations of an omnipresent AI. The game is hard to explain without spoilers so definitely one best experienced for yourself, and don’t worry – since its release the devs have introduced a so-called “safe mode”, making enemies far less lethal but the story no less unsettling.
6. RESIDENT EVIL 2
Resident Evil 2 is held by many to be the best game in the series, and 2019 saw this genre-defining masterpiece of a horror video game completely rebuilt from the ground up with Capcom’s RE Engine. With modernized controls, breathtakingly realistic visuals (could be considered among the top realistic games around), bloodcurdling audio, and a deeper narrative experience, this shiny new action-packed version of Resident Evil 2 lets you take on the role of rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and tackle tense exploration, puzzles, and of course plenty of zombies.
7. PROJECT ZOMBOID
Speaking of zombies: how well would you survive during a zombie apocalypse? There’s one way to find out: by playing Project Zomboid. Try and eke out a living in a vast map either alone or with friends, leveling up your character with a highly customizable RPG skillset as you fight, loot, and craft your way to survival. Just watch out for those zombies: one bite later and your friends might find themselves getting chased down by your undead corpse.
8. ALAN WAKE 2
The long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Alan Wake has arrived, with the eponymous author having gone missing after a force of supernatural darkness started bringing his writing to life. Now, accomplished FBI agent Saga Anderson has been sent to investigate a series of ritualistic murders in a small-town Pacific Northwest community. Although on two different journeys in two separate realities, Alan Wake and Saga Anderson’s fates are entwined – but can they break out of the sinister horror story they’re trapped in and become the heroes they need to be?
9. RESIDENT EVIL VILLAGE
While Resident Evil 2 was so nice they made it twice, Resident Evil Village certainly made an impression even before its release – and in no small part thanks to the statuesque Lady Dimitrescu. While this AAA game might not be at the top of the Resident Evil tree in most fans’ books, with such beautiful environments, thrilling set pieces, and intriguing characters (different from your typical RPG fantasy characters), it’s impossible to ignore this entry into the horror game franchise. With everything from gloriously gothic vampires to creepy puppets, there’s plenty of nightmare fuel to be had – even if some people were a little too keen to succumb to Lady Dimitrescu murderous impulses at times.
10. DEAD SPACE
The original Dead Space struck such a chord that the sci-fi survival horror game was rebuilt from the ground up and rereleased at the beginning of 2023. In it, you assume the role of Isaac Clarke, an engineer tasked with repairing the mining ship the USG Ishimura. However, it soon becomes clear that something isn’t quite right, with the ship's crew slaughtered and Isaac’s partner missing somewhere on board. Can he survive the horrors he finds here or will he become another monstrous creature crawling aboard the depths of the Ishimura?
11. BLOODBORNE
FromSoftware’s unique take on gothic eldritch horror has not left the gaming industry’s imagination since its release in 2015. In addition to the developer’s usual fast and furious combat mechanics, Bloodborne takes you down a dark mysterious narrative path that includes plenty of blood-slick cobbled streets, towering Victorian cityscapes, and unfathomable Lovecraftian netherrealms. A masterpiece of “show don’t tell”, you too will learn to fear the old blood.
So, is your body ready? Get stuck into this smorgasbord of scares before something else snatches you in the night!
