Zombies, and demons, and ghosts! Oh my! Here are our top picks for horror games to play this Halloween.
Spooky season is in full swing, and what better way to get you in the mood than playing a spooky scary game? Whether it's jump scares or suspense that get you going, we’ve got something that’ll be right down your street. Brace yourself!
Resident Evil 3
Resident Evil 3 is one of nine main games in the series, and it got a remake recently. Players are constantly made to feel on edge with the claustrophobic rooms, limited firearms, and never-ending monsters. It's a proper edge-of-your-seat game. It also shipped out at the same time as Resident Evil: Resistance, a multiplayer co-op horror experience.
Outlast
Outlast revolutionised the horror genre, moving away from puzzle-solving and suspense, to straight-up jump scares and fear. It follows journalist Miles Upshur who investigates Mount Massive Asylum, which is a remote psychiatric hospital. Players endure flickering lights, deformed humans, and jerky camera movements. It's an exceptionally scary experience.
Friday the 13th (The Game)
Friday the 13th is a great multiplayer horror game. Up to eight people can play in one session, perfect for a late night with mates. The game randomly selects one player to be Jason Voorhees with the others playing as counsellors. They'll have to escape the map by completing a series of puzzles and challenges whilst being hunted down by Jason.
A great exploration of the classic horror franchise, it can be nail-bitingly tense, especially in the later stages.
BioShock Remastered
BioShock is a first-person shooter game set in an immersive underwater utopia created by an eccentric billionaire with radical philosophies. You play as Jack who was the sole survivor of a plane crash, ending up in this strange underwater city.
Your goal is to escape by evolving (using a serum developed in the city), collecting resources, and fighting the denizens. Although not a straight-up horror game, the eerie atmosphere makes it hard to not feel uneasy the whole time.
Slender: The Arrival
The Arrival is the official adaptation of the Slender Man film. It's a short game that can be partially completed in just under two hours or fully completed in around six. The Arrival is so TERRIFYING that we’re glad that the game can be completed quickly. The fewer encounters with Slenderman the better. If you’ve watched the film, you’ll know what we’re talking about…
Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia is a four-player online co-op psychological horror where you collect as much evidence as possible of hauntings. You'll be given objectives, including identifying what type of ghost it is. It’s had a huge update recently, with new maps, tweaked ghosts, and even more jump scares.
@therealmaggstor This ghost got tired of my shenanigans real quick #phasmophobia #phasmo #phasmophobiagame #phasmotok #phasmophobiafunny ♬ original sound - Maggstor
The Forest
After a crash landing leaves you as the lone survivor on a mysterious island, you must search for your son Timmy. The game is open-world which is unique for a successful horror game, making it much less predictable than linear games. Fans of body horror, cannibals and weird creatures are in for a treat (well, trick) when it comes to The Forest…
Emily Wants to Play
In Emily Wants to Play, you play as a pizza delivery man trapped in Emily’s house with her three dolls. The aim of the game is to survive from 11 pm to 6 am by avoiding Emily and her dolls by completing tasks. If Emily or one of her dolls jumps scares you then you lose. The game creates a nail-biting atmosphere with limited sounds and echoing audio.
Dying Light
Dying light is a post-apocalyptic open-world game which is run by flesh-eating zombies. During the day the zombies are slower, meaning it's the perfect opportunity for you to collect resources and weapons. The game promotes fight or flight with multiple fighting combos as well as advanced parkour features. During the night, zombies are aggressive and fast, so players must be smart, vigilant, and calculated.
Alien: Isolation
Isolation is another game based on a film, and this time it's a horror classic: Alien. Isolation follows the daughter of Ellen Ripley (Alien protagonist), Amanda Ripley, 15 years after the events of Alien. Ellen discovers that an alien is loose on her station and she must find a way to escape.
The game emphasises the need for stealth in order to survive. You'll also need to be unpredictable as the game learns how you play and tries to counter it. Players can also use tools and weapons to protect themselves from Alien attacks.
Darkwood
Darkwood is a top-down semi-open world horror game where players manage limited resources to protect themselves from imminent threats. Players craft, trade and gather resources, exploring new parts of the map, with the goal being to simply survive. At night there are deadly threats that players must try to avoid in order to continue living and progressing.
Visage
Visage is a first-person psychological horror game that is an incredibly mind-boggling experience. It deploys psychological effects to distort the house that you are exploring, combining reality with illusions. You play as Dwayne Anderson who explores the backstories and memories of the various prior inhabitants of this mysterious (haunted) house.
Dead by Daylight
Dead by Daylight is a cooperative multiplayer horror game where four players try to escape the killer. You do this by turning multiple power generators on and restoring electricity to the map, unlocking the gates. The horror comes from the claustrophobic maps and the tension of not knowing where the killer is.
@siptonic was this a bit toxic?? #dbd #dbdclips #dbdfunny #dbdtiktok #deadbydaylight #feng ♬ original sound - Siptonic
Luigi’s Mansion
Super Mario Brothers is an absolute classic. In this spin-off you play as the lesser-celebrated Luigi, exploring a haunted mansion with ghosts in every room. Your goal is to capture the ghosts using your flashlight and the “Poltergust 3000”.
After catching all the ghosts in a given room, you'll face a boss to be defeated with a certain mechanic. We’ve chucked Luigi’s Mansion in this list for our slightly more timid gamers. If you find this scary then we’re afraid horror is not the genre for you.
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