50 Best Horror Games Of All Time
There’s no genre that can make you feel alive quite like the best horror games can. Sure, FPS games can provide some high-speed, furious action and open world games may take your breath away when you gaze upon a new horizon, but there’s nothing close to the feeling from playing the best horror games to remind you of your mortality, whether that’s through creeping tension or some loud and proud jump scares.
Just like their movie counterparts, horror games tend to attract a more niche audience but one that’s still pretty sizeable. There’s a reason why so many horror titles can be found on Steam: any chance players can get to feel their hearts fall out of their backsides and they will take it.
To remind the industry of what good can come from spending money on producing stuff people actually want, we’ve compiled a list of the scariest horror games that are sure to spook you rotten. Bear in mind that any games listed for PS4 and Xbox One will also work on PS5 and Xbox Series X | S respectively thanks to backwards compatibility.
The Best Horror Games of All Time
50. Slender: The Arrival
Developer: Blue Isle Studios
Publisher: Blue Isle Studios
Platform(s) PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch, Wii U
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Everyone is sick to the back teeth of Slender Man with Hollywood grinding away just about any fear of him remaining thanks to the disastrous adaptation from 2018. Slender is also guilty of inspiring many half-assed imitators, though you don’t tend to imitate something that isn’t fantastic.
Heavily reliant on jumpscares, Slender: The Arrival also has a creeping tension throughout thanks to excellent audio design. A sequence in an underground bunker with a hooded assailant and also Slender himself to content with is pure torture on the nerves.
The game loses its effectiveness somewhat after that, but it’s still a deeply unsettling experience.
49. Five Nights At Freddy’s
Developer: Scott Cawthon
Publisher: Scott Cawthon
Platform(s) PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, Android
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
While there’s no denying that the seventeen sequels that followed ruined a lot of the magic for Five Nights At Freddy’s, the first game in the franchise is still a laser-focused jumpscare simulator that often succeeds at robbing you of your nerve.
You play as a new security guy at a creepy place for kids by the name of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Trouble is, the animatronics come to life at night, leaving you desperately swivelling from side to side to make sure they can’t get in while also balancing electricity levels.
It’s not one for those who can’t multi-task.
48. Penumbra Overture
Developer: Frictional Games
Publisher: Frictional Games
Platform(s) PC
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Penumbra Overture is almost always overlooked when it comes to discussing the best horror games ever made. Maybe it’s down to its younger brother, Amnesia, stealing all of the acclaim or it just not reaching enough people, but Penumbra Overture is almost always left out of the conversation.
The first in a string of episodic games, Overture follows a physicist dealing with loss who finds himself in Greenland at the behest of a mysterious letter. Curiously for a Frictional game, there is combat, though it’s definitely a little rough around the edges.
Still, the spooks are solid and it has plenty of follow-up chapters to dive into if you’re feeling chilly.
47. Among the Sleep
Developer: Krillbite Studio
Publisher: Krillbite Studio
Platform(s) PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
We’re at our most vulnerable when we’re young, what with us not being able to say sentences that well and having a weird, squishy bit on our skulls and all. Among the Sleep pitches an unusual scenario for a horror game: you play as a young baby who ventures out of their cot and into a nightmare.
But is it really as simple as that?
Such an interesting premise is backed by some solid, mostly PG scares built on suspense and a story that keeps going places you wouldn’t expect. There’s also a bear who tries to guide you through the nightmare, so that’s another tick for Among the Sleep.
46. Hunt: Showdown
Developer: Crytek
Publisher: Crytek
Platform(s) PC, PS4, Xbox One
Single-player/multiplayer: Multiplayer
A battle royale-esque game with disturbing elements may not feel like a great fit here, but just try playing it in the dark solo with a chunky pair of headphones and watch how often you twitch at every little bit of audio in Hunt: Showdown. The audio design in this game is designed to make you question everything.
It’s good that Hunt has the creatures to back up the things that go bump in the night, then. Featuring twisted designs, such as a woman with a severely broken neck who shoots out poisonous bugs and the scariest spider in a game since Limbo, and a superbly Southern Gothic aesthetic, we dare you to get little Timmy to play this instead of Fortnite and see if he keeps going on about V-Bucks afterwards.
He probably won’t be able to do much of anything, actually.
From our Hunt: Showdown review:
Hunt: Showdown is an incredibly intense and sometimes nerve-racking game that will require a lot from you. In return, it delivers an experience and a world you will have a hard time finding anywhere else.
45. Outlast 2
Developer: Red Barrels
Publisher: Red Barrels
Platform(s) PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
While not quite as concentrated as the original game, Outlast 2 still has plenty of scares and blood-pumping chase sequences to induce a heart attack to offer. Our resting heart rate still hasn’t recovered from that cursed sawmill level.
Just like the first game, you take control of a defenceless protagonist armed with nothing but a camera as a bunch of lunatics seek you out in the dark. You have to find your missing wife who is deep within a cult in Arizona, one corn field at a time.
The trial and error nature gives you some reprieve from the scares and kills the tension somewhat, but nobody forgets the first time they met Nick and Laird.
From our Outlast 2 review:
“It dares you to look away, to give in and watch a documentary about red pandas, but if you can look the reaper in the eye and steel your stomach, prepare to be absolutely blown away.”
44. Clock Tower
Developer: Human Entertainment
Publisher: Human Entertainment
Platform(s) PC, PS1, Famicom, WonderSwan
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
The world of horror owes a debt of gratitude to Clock Tower, one of the originators of survival horror that started brightly before unfortunately dimming the longer it continued. A 3D sequel to Clock Tower, confusingly itself called Clock Tower, lost a lot of the magic of 2D point and click.
The series has been up and down ever since, it very much at a down right now with it being dormant since the early 2000s. It’s a shame, because the original game in which you must solve puzzles while being hunted by Scissorman still has plenty to offer.
Sure, it’s not as scary as most modern games, but this Argento-inspired horror has proved influential for a reason.
43. Dino Crisis
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s) PC, PS1, Dreamcast
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Only a mind like Shinji Mikami could sit down at the drawing board and think “Resident Evil, but dinosaurs”. Following the rampant success of the zombie series and the popularity of Jurassic Park, he set to work on making a survival horror with his own bonkers touch.
Following SORT’s deployment to a remote research facility, they soon discover that a reportedly dead scientist isn’t dead at all and has actually been creating velociraptors and T-Rex, as you do.
Featuring classic tank controls and frights, Dino Crisis spawned a more action-oriented sequel and a third entry that we just don’t talk about. With fans pining for a fourth game in the series, a new Dino Crisis feels like it would just print money.
42. Layers of Fear 2
Developer: Bloober Team
Publisher: Bloober Team
Platform(s) PC, PS4, Xbox One
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Almost a surprise release, Layers of Fear 2 was somewhat overlooked during the course of 2019 with even the booming voice of Tony Todd not helping it stand out among the crowd. It’s a shame because it offer a lot of improvements over the original and you might even argue that it’s scarier at a few points.
Certainly a more visually ambitious horror, Layers of Fear 2 transports you aboard a cruise ship with a disturbing story revolving around a sibling pair of stowaways. It’s not going to be as straightforward as it sounds.
A love letter to the golden age of Hollywood, there are plenty of layers to this one, especially with the option to find multiple endings.
From our Layers of Fear 2 review:
“Though its conclusion may perturb thanks to some obtuse storytelling, Layers of Fear 2’s unconventional and artistic approach to horror make it a real gem of the genre.”
41. Devotion
Developer: Red Candle Games
Publisher: Red Candle Games
Platform(s) PC
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
The wild controversy surrounding Devotion has unfortunately meant that the game itself has been somewhat forgotten, not helped by the fact that it’s no longer for sale on somewhere like Steam. It’s a crying shame that such a small detail could end up derailing an entire studio and stop so many potential fans from experiencing a true horror gem.
Red Candle’s first 3D game following the also excellent Detention, this Taiwanese production follows a family as they relive the stages of their lives in a creepy apartment complex before going to unexpected places.
Low on scares, Devotion is a masterclass in how to build bubbling tension and storytelling that really deserves to see the light of day again in a big way. Here’s hoping it now being relisted gives it a second chance.
40. Manhunt
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar North
Platform(s) PC, PS4, PS3, PS2, Xbox
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
One of the most controversial games ever made, and for good reason. Manhunt went for shock value when it released in the PlayStation 2 era and it certainly made the headlines it craved. Finding itself banned from release in certain countries, the Texas Chain Saw Massacre of video games is a horror game where the real monster is the “hero”.
You play as James Earl Cash, who’s “sentenced” to a sick game of life or death in Carcer City. Sneaking your way around its gang-infested areas, you must survive any way you see fit, including suffocation by plastic bag — and that’s one of the game’s most PG moments.
Dark as they come, Manhunt is a visceral game that ruined the youths of many, though it might not quite have the same effect these days.
39. Observer
Developer: Bloober Team
Publisher: Aspyr
Platform(s) PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, Switch
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
A cyberpunk horror game, Observer (stylised as >observer_) is the most recent effort from the mind-warpers over at Bloober Team, who are also responsible for the equally chilling Layers of Fear. Set in the near future, you play as the titular Observer as he “jacks” into the minds of criminal suspects.
Like a twisted version of Minority Report, Observer doesn’t flinch away from taking you to the darkest recesses of the human mind. You can expect the places you visit to be as twisted as the criminals themselves.
Featuring a surprisingly committed performance from the late Rutger Hauer and the unforgettable visuals that Bloober are becoming notorious for, Observer is a game you should plug in to if you haven’t yet.
38. Dead By Daylight
Developer: Behaviour Digital Inc.
Publisher: Behaviour Digital Inc.
Platform(s) PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, Switch
Single-player/multiplayer: Multiplayer
We had to choose between this or Friday the 13th: The Game to be higher up, but with the latter’s current stick spot regarding licensing, we went with the multiplayer horror game with some stability. Dead By Daylight may also arguably be the better of the two anyway, thanks to its wider cast of murderers.
Teamwork is key in Dead By Daylight as you work to power generators to escape a massive but also somehow claustrophobic map. On the flipside, you can play as a killer and hunt other players down and even hang them on hooks for a sacrifice.
If that isn’t the most metal sounding game ever, we don’t know what it is.
37. Silent Hill 4: The Room
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platform(s) PC, PS2, Xbox
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Arguably the last great Silent Hill game, The Room represented a pretty big change in formula for the franchise, so much so that it doesn’t even take place in Silent Hill itself. Instead, you play as Henry Townshend as he tries to escape his apartment while stumbling into supernatural worlds.
With the action in the eponymous room taking place in first-person and less obscure puzzles to tackle, Silent Hill 4 was a significant departure to a less demanding experience, though the scares from the first three games were certainly still present.
Definitely one of the most underappreciated “big” horror games ever.
36. Siren: Blood Curse
Developer: Sony Worldwide Studios
Publisher: SIE
Platform(s) PS3
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Probably the most “abstract” entry on this list, Siren: Blood Curse is a PS3 title that didn’t get much of a look-in in the West. It might be down to it treading a fine line between the bizarre and innovative thanks to the Sight-Jack System, which allows you to see from the perspective of your attackers.
Those attackers take the form of deranged villagers who have become the victims of a curse with you playing as a cast of hapless TV crew members. You unfurl the mystery as time goes on, as well as learn how to get to grips with the slightly odd controls.
It’s a tough experience and one that may annoy with its trial and error approach, but Siren: Blood Curse’s oppressive mood and constant twists will keep you hooked.
35. Resident Evil Village
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s) PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Resident Evil Village would have been a big hit because of its suitably big vampire lady, regardless of whether the game was any good or not. Luckily, Capcom provided the meat to go with the thirst.
Coming across like a mixture of the fourth and seventh Resident Evil games, Village picks up the baton left by VII and sprinkles some more action on top. Add in some light hunting, a rotund merchant who’s hard not to love, and the customarily bonkers storyline for a Resident Evil game and you get a sequel that leaves it all out on the floor.
Sure, the final third veers close towards boulder-punching levels of nonsense, but it’s also just about the most Resident Evil thing we’ve ever seen.
From our Resident Evil Village review:
“Ethan Winters is having another bad day as he fights to save his daughter in an adventure that has a lot to offer, even if it falls just short of its predecessor.”
34. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Tecmo
Platform(s) PS2, Xbox
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Another horror game that’s not what you would call conventional, Fatal Frame II has become a cult classic and often agreed upon as the best in the franchise. A slightly more accessible game than its predecessor, it tasks you with taking photographs of ghosts, which should be enough to sell you all on its own.
While the passage of time has dulled the effectiveness of some of its scares, Fatal Frame II still constantly fosters a sense of unease and an almost unwillingness to look through the camera to see which nightmares await you next.
It’s been too long since the last Fatal Frame game.
33. The Suffering
Developer: Surreal Software
Publisher: Midway Games
Platform(s) PC, PS2, Xbox
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
Not quite so much an out-an-out horror with scares a minute, The Suffering favours action by tasking you with killing some of the most deformed and unforgettable creatures ever depicted in a video game. It’s been almost a decade and a half and the needle eye guys still creep into our nightmares.
You play as Torque: a criminal locked up in Abbot State Penitentiary when all manner of supernatural madness is unleashed. With a healthy supply of weaponry and Torque able to call upon his inner demons for a more powerful form, The Suffering is more of a body horror and one that still holds up well to this day.
You may have to track down an old PS2 or Xbox copy as this brilliant series has sadly not had the remaster treatment.
32. The Thing
Developer: Computer Artworks
Publisher: Black Label Games/Konami
Platform(s) PC, PS2, Xbox
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
The definition of a cult classic, The Thing is one of the most beloved movie adaptations for a reason: it picks up exactly where John Carpenter left off with you encountering the Things and all the paranoia that they bring among your squadmates.
The Thing should really be looked back on as a majorly innovative and pioneering horror game. Featuring multiple perspectives, utilising the fear of your squad to change the way they perform, and also your friends possibly being infected with the Thing, it’s a testing and stressful horror that we wouldn’t mind being remade.
31. Silent Hill 3
Developer: Team Silent/Konami
Publisher: Konami
Platform(s) PC, PS2
Single-player/multiplayer: Single-player
It was always going to be hard for Konami to follow Silent Hill 2 and the third entry in the series doesn’t take a huge amount of risks to deviate from what was previously so successful. It’s still completely malevolent and full of imagery that would likely make even the guys at Troma wince.
You play as Heather Mason, the daughter of the protagonist from the first game, as she becomes embroiled in the machinations of a cult. Silent Hill 3 leans into its aesthetic more than its prequels with a constant monochrome sheen to the game, giving it a gritty style that somehow makes it that bit more gruesome.
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