Do you ever crave thrills, chills, and heart-pounding moments? Are you one to really immerse yourself in virtual worlds where fear waits at every corner? If so, then you are in for a real treat! This guide is going to run down 24 scary games. In this list, we have brain-bending psychological horrors and edge-of-your-seat action survival thrillers, so there’s definitely something for every kind of horror fan from. Well, lower the lights, pick up your controller, and get ready to step into Nightmare-land.
24 Scary Games to Haunt Your Dreams
1. Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is arguably the bleakest, darkest game ever made. Team Silent’s nightmarish vision is retained when it gets a 2024 remake. It’s a modern reminder not just of a period when Konami reigned supreme in survival horror but of the unique strength of Silent Hill 2’s seething wretchedness. Twenty-three years later, many are still afraid. Silent Hill 2 follows James Sunderland, a recently widowed man who travels to the mysterious town of Silent Hill. Players control James as he wanders around a monster-ridden town.
The game is presented in the third person, and there are different viewpoints. Mary has been dead for three years from an unnamed degenerative disease, and James finds himself drawn to Silent Hill after receiving a letter from her. As James explores the fog and darkness of Silent Hill, he meets Angela Orosco, a troubled nineteen-year-old looking for her mother; Eddie Dombrowski, a bullied and paranoid man; Laura, an 8-year-old girl who knew Mary and doesn’t think very highly of James; and Maria, a woman who resembles Mary.
2. Resident Evil
With its iconic characters, heroes, and villains, the Resident Evil franchise started off with an incident at a mansion where the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team went missing. So, Chris Redfield and the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team started investigating the mansion. The series went on to see a viral outbreak in Raccoon City, where Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield fight their way through the city.
The Resident Evil franchise is popular among scary games fans. Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake are standouts. However, the Beneviento basement section of Resident Evil 8 is somewhat cited as particularly terrifying. Resident Evil 7 is lauded for its tension-building. At the same time, the remake of Resident Evil 2 is famous for its use of shadows to build a scary atmosphere. Read our guide for Resident Evil games in chronological order. Also, learn more about the Resident Evil 6 dharacters.
3. Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame, known as Zero in Japan and Project Zero in Europe and Australia, is a Japanese survival horror video game series by Koei Tecmo. Debuting in 2001, the series is set in 1980s Japan, focusing on locations plagued by supernatural events. Characters use Camera Obscura to capture and pacify spirits, drawing on elements of Japanese horror and often featuring female protagonists.
Makoto Shibata and Keisuke Kikuchi developed the series to be as frightening as possible, drawing on Shibata’s spiritual experiences and Japanese horror films. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly is considered one of the scariest horror games.
In the first Fatal Frame game, players control Miku Hinasaki as she explores the haunted Himuro Mansion in search of her brother. Miku uses the Camera Obscura to fight hostile ghosts, switching the camera’s view to first-person.
4. Forbidden Siren 2
Something more obscure but equally terrifying, though, is Forbidden Siren 2. Set in 1976, the story follows a group of stranded survivors on a remote Japanese island. Playing with the best of J-horror tropes, this episodic-style mystery has a high learning curve. Get the hang of the unique ‘sight jacking’ mechanic – which allows you to look through the eyes of both friends and enemies as you progress through its rain-soaked locations – is tricky. However, once you nail it, you’ve got a unique horror experience.
5. Clock Tower
Clock Tower is a horror game as well as a cult classic where players are followed around by a villain. The game centers around Jennifer, who is looking for Ms. Mary after all her friends go missing. Players traverse Barrows Mansion, searching for clues and avoiding the murderous Scissorman.
The appearances of Scissorman are unpredictable, fostering a sense of dread. Players can disguise themselves in various locations to avoid him, but it’s not a guarantee. Players will have to endure “Panic” checks in stressful situations, where they must mash a button to escape.
6. Dead By Daylight
Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical, multiplayer, survival horror game developed and published by Canadian studio Behaviour Interactive. Having launched in 2016, the game is a commercial success, boasting over 60 million players, and has become a leading title in the genre. Dead by Daylight has four players as Survivors and one player as the Killer. The Survivors win by repairing five out of seven generators to power the exit gates and leaving the map safely. The Killer has to sacrifice all Survivors to an evil entity called the Entity by impaling them on hooks before escape.
7. Phasmophobia Scary Game
Phasmophobia hit the gaming world like a bat out of hell. Four players band together as amateur ghostbusters, equipped with tools such as night-vision cameras, holy water, and radios. Explore haunted houses and abandoned prisons as you shout out to the spirits of the other side, collecting clues in the process and trying to solve the case of what ghost haunts your location. As time ticks down, the chances of encountering a ghost grow, as does the danger. Nothing compares to watching your friend bend and break like a rag doll when one of Phasmophobia’s many evil spirits catches up to them while you make a desperate run for the door instead.
8. Condemned: Criminal Origins
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a first-person survival horror game that offers a unique and intense experience. Players take on the role of Ethan Thomas, an FBI agent investigating a series of brutal crimes in a dark, decaying urban environment.
The game emphasizes melee combat, with firearms being scarce and limited in ammunition. Players can use a variety of improvised weapons found in the environment, such as pipes, boards with nails, and even mannequin arms. The combat system is visceral and weighty, requiring players to carefully time their attacks and blocks.
9. The Evil Within
Returning to survival horror under Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, the 2014 release The Evil Within didn’t disappoint with its warped world. The Evil Within has tough as nails gameplay, scarce resources, an interesting plot, and a great enemy design make the game extremely enjoyable. This wickedly imaginative, tense, and tough game is a must-try.
10. Slender: The Eight Pages
In this game, you have to stay one step ahead of the “Slender Man” — a tall, faceless, tuxedo-wearing terror who pursues you for the 10 or so minutes it will (hopefully) take you to escape. It’s simple but kind of terrifying, and its stalking threat stays with you for much longer than it takes to play.
11. Stay Out of the House
Over the last few years, a lot of fandoms have tried to recapture the nostalgic, deeply disturbing aesthetic of analog horror — a subgenre built around turn-of-the-millennium tech and found footage — but few have captured it quite as well as developer Puppet Combo. Having more than 20 published and developed games, Stay Out of the House is a good one to get a taste of that this publisher has to offer.
12. Until Dawn Scary Game
Until Dawn, a 2015 survival-horror game, is about a group of teens who go on vacation to a secluded mountain lodge and discover that some evil entity is intent on slaughtering them. If you can’t figure out Until Dawn’s logic, the characters will die horrible deaths, and the game takes every opportunity to scare the hell out of you. While many of the games on this list are here for their inherent fear factor, Until Dawn deserves a place for more meta reasons, too. It’s filled with winks to the slasher genre, and the over-the-top twists are still enjoyable even if you can see them coming from a mile away. You’ll laugh as often as you scream, if not more so, and few horror games capture that sense of grisly fun so well.
13. Little Nightmares 2
Little Nightmare 2 is very, very wrong, and I mean that in a good way. The sequel goes all in on this original creepy children’s story universe but somehow up the grossness score to an impressive degree. The oddness just seeps under your skin as you wander. From creepy juddering mannequins to faceless, lost people — faces apparently erased by the TV static they’ll die staring at — there’s very little in this game that won’t put you on edge. The controls never quite rise to the game’s demands, and there are one or two trial-and-error fights to blunder through. But persevere, and you’ll face probably one of the most traumatic games on this list.
14. SOMA
SOMA has problems, largely from the clumsy stealth section. Still, it also has, hands down, one of the most unpleasantly disturbing stories of anything on this list. This plays with ideas of consciousness and what makes you ‘you’ in a terrifying way. When you’re not exploring the rusting, decrepit undersea base of PATHOS II, you’re playing with some pretty heavy metaphysic concepts fit to give you nightmares. This is a world filled with broken machines full of glitching human consciousnesses and slimy growths that expand and morph into something terrible the longer you spend exploring.
The undersea and biotech elements make a Bioshock comparison hard to avoid. Still, while there are similarities – man’s hubris and science pushed too far, especially – this is far more unpleasant and ethically shocking. The new ‘safe mode’ means you can also now play it just for the story – finish it and see if you can sleep after.
15. The Mortuary Assistant
In The Mortuary Assistant, you play a mortician’s apprentice embalming corpses and uncovering dark secrets. Utilizing psychological horror, it establishes a menacing atmosphere through diverted visuals and menacing sound, delving into concepts of mortality, the occult, and psychological instability. As they embalm corpses, players also have to deal with strange happenings that oscillate between reality and hallucination, generating dread and paranoia as they contend with sinister forces.
16. Returnal
Returnal is a roguelike third-person shooter with elements of psychological horror and action. Players are stuck in a time loop on an alien world, fighting beasts and discovering an ancient civilization. Environments are dark, surreal, and unsettling, filled with grotesque landscapes and haunting remains. Psychological horror unfolds as our protagonist undergoes flashbacks, visions, and isolation. Tension builds as players seek to escape and discover the secrets of the planet, with punishing gameplay and atmospheric horror to keep them on their toes.
17. The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is an episodic adventure game set in Robert Kirkman’s comic book world. Players make choices that affect the story as it unfolds. They explore the emotional, psychological aspects of the zombie apocalypse and landscape of ordinary people, primarily survival, morality, and loss. The real horror is in hard decisions, and the impact they have in a world plagued with walking corpses.
18. Mundaun Scary Game
Mundaun is a hand-penciled horror game in a shadowy, remote Swiss Alps valley. Players search through a land of surreal images drawn from folklore. The gameplay focuses heavily on atmosphere, psychological horror, and isolation while players uncover secrets and face the darkness. The artwork, sound design, and story all come together to create an unsettling experience.
19. Amnesia: The Bunker
Amnesia: The Bunker takes place during World War I and features players against a behemoth that hides within the walls, chasing you, never satisfied. Like Alien Isolation’s horrific Xenomorph, the antagonist in The Bunker is somewhat unscripted, and your goals shift a little with every playthrough, so you will own your failures and crow over your victories all the more. Just don’t forget to lock that safe room door behind you — if you make it back. This is a must-play for scary games fans.
20. Still Wakes The Deep
Still Wakes The Deep tries to invoke fear in you with every corner you turn. You play as an electrician on an oil rig that somehow drills into an alien, which subsequently transforms most of the ship into horrendous genetic malformations. As Caz, you try to navigate the metallic behemoth of an oil rig trying to escape. The game is beautiful, placing you in grotesque environments where you can see the infectious alien slowly taking over…
The reason why this game hasn’t done as well as many of the others on this list is simply because of its pacing. The game feels extremely linear, even though it has a beautiful map. There are no collectibles, no backtracking, and most of the doors you meet throughout the game are sealed shut. Because of this, it often feels like you are being forced into a certain path, which sets the wrong tone for a horror game that relies on immersion to deliver its message. While the game is scary, its linear gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, especially considering the developers have clearly put in a lot of love to develop the game’s visuals.
21. Inside Scary Game
Inside is a dark puzzle platformer in which a boy navigates around a dystopian world. It uses visual storytelling, creating dread through its minimalist style, sound, and ambiguous narrative. Things take a sinister turn as the boy is subjected to grotesque experiments, suggesting a dark conspiracy behind it all, and players will piece together the dark events that took place.
22. Manhunt
Manhunt is an action stealth video game in which a death row inmate must participate in snuff films that exploit extreme violence. Its gritty atmosphere, realistic sound and voyeuristic camera foster unease as players navigate dangerous situations. It’s also been target to controversy, but still, it’s a great example of extreme scary games.
23. Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Condemned 2: Bloodshot is a first-person action horror game with a focus on melee combat and psychological horror. Players explore crime scenes and fight psychopaths, unraveling an impending conspiracy. The settings are dark and upsetting, rife with violence. Also, the combat is visceral, and psychological horror elements manifest as the protagonist wrestles with inner demons.
24. Cold Fear
Cold Fear is a survival horror game set on a violently storm-tossed whaling vessel in the Bering Sea. Players fight mutated beasts and endure brutal conditions as they discover a conspiracy. The environments are claustrophobic and terrifying, filled with flooded hallways and with enemies that relentlessly pursue you. Resources are limited, threats are ever-present, and tension is high as players struggle to survive, both against the cold and the horrors inside the ship.
Final Thoughts on Playing Scary Games
And there you have it, 24 scary games that will make sure you get plenty of hours of entertainment and sleepless nights. Whether you have a long history with horror or are still warming up to the genre, you’ll find something on this list to satisfy your need to be terrified. Just be sure to play with the lights on, and consider keeping a friend around for moral support .
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