Top 15 Best Horror Games of All Time
Dead Space 2
Dead Space 2 throws the player into the shoes of Issac Clarke, who must go through abandoned space stations to bring an end to the Necromorphs that are infiltrating on Sprawl. Dark hallways, terrifying monsters, and the quiet noise of space makes Dead Space 2 only one of the best horror games of all time, but it’s also one of the scariest.
The omnipresent feeling of dread and that sense of solitude in Dead Space 2 allows the player to truly immerse themselves in this high-quality horror experience. Its sequel would later add multiplayer into the mix, thus removing some of the scares and immersion, so make sure to stick with the first two Dead Space titles, as they are much much better than 3.
Silent Hill 2
After losing his wife, the main character in Silent Hill 2 finds himself in the town of Silent Hill, after apparently receiving a letter from her. He goes to Silent Hill to search for the now deceased woman, leading James on a trip that he will never forget. The moody and foggy atmosphere of the town, along with the brain-racking puzzles, and whatever the Pyramid Head is, is what makes Silent Hill 2 super horrifying,
The twist towards the end of the game will go down in history as one of the best in video games. I don’t want to spoil it, but all of the twisted and messed up monsters that he meets in the strange town are actually figments of his psyche and imagination; essentially, things are not quite how they see, especially the mystery surrounding his wife’s death.
Resident Evil 2
Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 2 had no right to be as good as it ended up being. Seeing Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and the Racoon City Station in HD for the first time was such a treat.
Playing a horror game inside of a Police Station for the majority of a video game doesn’t sound an interesting concept, from a gameplay perspective, but let me tell you; solving puzzles, avoiding the ever-terrifying Mr. X, and figuring out the layouts of the map is great fun, well more scary than fun.
We have to commend Capcom for bringing us the best version of the classic PlayStation survival horror game.
Outlast
Outlast strips away the one thing that makes horror games less terrifying, and that thing is, a weapon. Using only the light from a camcorder –which requires batteries to use by the way– you have to explore a very scary mental hospital, and yes, there is a crazy man who is trying to kill you.
We’re not sure why someone would want to just wander into a decrepit mental hospital anyways, even for journalism’s sake, but from the get-go, Outlast promises players many horrific encounters. Oh, and don’t worry, if you get scared, you can always admit yourself to the hospital as a patient –I’m sure the employees will take very good care of you.
Amnesia
There’s no combat in Amnesia; instead of worrying about your health bar, you must focus on a sanity bar that’s present at all time during Amnesia. If you go too close to one of the terrifying enemies, your sanity bar goes down, causing the player to die. You have to crouch behind dressers and hide inside of lockers if you’re trying to live.
Getting through Amnesia is a slow and difficult task to achieve, but as long as you keep quiet, remain hidden, and stay attentive, then escaping this insane castle just might be feasible. Just please, do not try to hit the monsters, they will not die.
Until Dawn
The PS4 exclusive, Until Dawn, played out like a campy horror movie, where a group of young 20-somethings ends up in a “haunted” cabin in the middle of nowhere. In Until Dawn, you get to take control of each character throughout the narrative and make nail-biting decisions that might ultimately safe or end their lives.
Not only is there a creepy guy with a flamethrower wandering around the mountain, but there are literally evil monsters out there trying to kill all of the millennials. Yea, you better make the right decisions or else you’re done for.
Fatal Frame 2
This Japanese survival horror series doesn’t really have any sort of physical combat, but you can essentially deal damage to spirits by using a camera and taking photos of the ghosts.
It sucks when you’re playing a horror game that forces the player to avoid combat all around, but the gameplay mechanic of the camera was quite novel, as other games haven’t really done that prior. Who knew that ghostly spirits would be so defenseless towards a simple camera?
Also, Fatal Frame takes place in a rural Japanese setting, which just kinda makes the whole situation even creepier.
Soma
Soma comes from the same developers who put out Amnesia and takes place on an underwater facility. Oh, and guess what? The machines in this facility start to become sentient and of course, you have to hide from all of them.
While Soma isn’t as scary as Amnesia is, it focuses more on the narrative and setting than just running away from frightening monsters of the night. The voice acting and attention to the plot was praised by critics and Soma’s suspenseful moments made it one horror game that we can’t forget.
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation puts you on a ship in space all by your lone self. You do have some buddies around you though, and those buddies are Aliens… maybe they’re not too friendly. Playing as Amanda Ripley, you’re gonna have to use some stealth and trickery to find your way to freedom and in turn, safety.
Fans of the Alien franchise will find that avoiding one single Alien is way scarier than it sounds. Figuring out safe paths and different ways to distract the Alien through trial-and-error will always be rewarding.
F.E.A.R.
The premise of F.E.A.R. is all too cool if you ask me. You play as a super-powered special agent who is on a task force team that is on a mission to fight the supernatural — isn’t that incredible? The intense shooting and combat sequences found in F.E.A.R. cannot be missed.
F.E.A.R.’s variety of weapons and tools that it provides to players, makes it one of the most satisfying horror experiences out there. The visuals and audio alone stand out from the rest, making players “F.E.A.R.” for their lives.
Evil Within
Dying Light was the ultimate mix of parkour and high-octane zombie-killing action… well, more so running away than killing. In Dying Light you have to take on quests that require you to go to zombie-infested areas, complete a task, and then book it back to home base without dying – it was exhilarating yet frightening.
Dying Light
Dying Light was the ultimate mix of parkour and high-octane zombie-killing action… well, more so running away than killing. In Dying Light you have to take on quests that require you to go to zombie-infested areas, complete a task, and then book it back to home base without dying – it was exhilarating yet frightening. If you felt brave enough, you can even stay out in the field during the night-time, but we wouldn’t advise that, as the zombie packs become bigger and tougher to take down. The risk and reward aspect of Dying Light’s satisfying side missions also tested the strength of players.
System Shock 2
This disturbing first-person horror action-RPG was created by the same folks who worked on Bioshock. Oh, and System Shock 2 was the one that originally had all of the moody, atmospheric, and tense nature stuff going for it, plus a little bit of horror.
This first-person shooter was the one that put a new perspective as to what a horror game could be. A shooter with RPG and horror elements all wrapped up in a nice little red bow –too bad it didn’t sell all that well. Nevertheless, we hope to see a System Shock 3 one day.
Eternal Darkness
The big hook in this mind trip of a game is the sanity meter, a bar that decreases when an enemy spots you. The lower the meter goes, the higher of the chance of seeing weird stuff increases. Statues might start looking at your player, and your GameCube might even begin to glitch.
You won’t find any other game on the Nintendo GameCube such as this one. Eternal Darkness will mess with your head in the creepiest ways possible.
The Last of Us
Who can forget Joel and Ellie’s harrowing journey full of terrifying creatures like the Clickers and the countless men with guns?Sneaking around to avoid the mutated mushroom monsters made us hold our breath more than once.
The twists, the many deaths that Joel and Ellie see with their own eyes, and the perilous situations that the duo find themselves in is truly harrowing.
Resident Evil 2 (Remake)
Silent Hill 2
Dead Space 2
Outlast
Amnesia
Until Dawn
Fatal Frame II
Soma
Alien: Isolation
Eternal Darkness
System Shock 2
F.E.A.R.
The Evil Within
Dying Light
The Last of Us
About the author
Greysun Morales
Greysun eats ramen 12 times a week and will never get tired of it. Playing Games Since: 1993, Favorite Genres: Action-Adventure, JRPG, Platformers, and Anything With Ramen