The best horror games of all time are ones which instill fear within you, bringing a series of adrenaline-filled set pieces to your gaming experience.
It’s fun to be scared by horror media, and that’s what a lot of games over the years have managed to do quite effectively. From classic survival horror titles to modern action shooters, there are lots of great horror games to enjoy.
In case you’re curious about where to start if you’re a newcomer to the genre, or instead a big horror fan looking to brush up on any entries you may have missed, we’ve compiled a list of the best horror video games of all time.
13. F.E.A.R.
F.E.A.R., which stands for First Encounter Assault Recon, is a trilogy of first-person horror shooters following an elite squad of the United States Army as they combat supernatural forces which threaten the country.
While action horror games had toyed with finding a right balance between full-on scares and exciting action prior to this, F.E.A.R. was an excellent example of the genre being able to deliver both in a way that featured great gunplay but also absolutely terrifying horror set pieces.
Advert
12. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
The Amnesia series, particularly the first one, kicked off the Let’s Play phenomenon that hit mainstream YouTube culture in the 2010s. Its focus on survival gameplay that didn’t empower the player with weapons to defend themselves is a big reason why the game was so successful.
One thing the game does extremely well is making darkness itself an enemy that you need to avoid. The player character’s sanity metre is reduced when in the dark, which can result in hallucinations and an increased chance of being attacked by monsters.
11. Mundaun
Mundaun is a first-person folk horror featuring an experimental art style where everything has been hand-drawn by pencil and scanned into the game engine. It’s a brilliant art style that perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the game’s isolated, atmospheric horror.
In particular, the game’s huge sense of forbidding dread is one of Mundaun’s key strengths. The game tasks you with climbing a mountain to discover answers following the death of your grandfather, and the sheer discomfort of exploring this mountain (on foot, by car, or by sled) leads to some truly inspired scary situations.
10. Limbo
Limbo is arguably one of the most iconic indie horrors of all time, blending a simple side-scrolling puzzle game with an eerie monochromatic art style. The dark presentation of the game’s visuals, combined with the creepy monster design and bleak tone of the story makes for a really interesting horror.
Meanwhile, its short length and low budget style was appealing for those who wanted something different out of their horror games in 2010, which occurred around the time the indie game boom was in full swing.
9. Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead 2 is a fantastic co-op game, and there’s a good reason for it. It’s a game that is simple to learn, but difficult to master. Each level is incredibly fun to play through with mates, with every campaign offering some variety. Bored of co-op? Take your skills into the Versus Mode and try your hand at playing against human survivors.
Following the likes of Half-Life and Portal, we already know Valve is the best at character and creature design, and Left 4 Dead’s homage to old horror movies is timeless, even today. We all remember that inherent fear that sets in when fighting a tank for the first time, or the absolute dread when hearing a witch cry out in the distance.
8. Darkwood
Another indie horror on our list that fills us with dread. If you’re a fan of The Blair Witch Project, Darkwood is the best video game equivalent of that “getting lost in the woods” feeling, and it’s an experience that still sends shivers down my spine even nine years after playing it.
The game is set in a strange forest that is mysteriously growing across Europe at an alarming rate, causing trapped survivors to transform into horrible monsters and abominations. It’s a horror game that prides itself on being scary without having any jump scares, simply letting the atmosphere do all the talking.
7. Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
The recent remake of Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly got me revisiting its sequel recently, which is arguably where the franchise peaked in regards to its spooky atmosphere and survival gameplay.
While you’re either going to love or hate the series’ photography-based combat system, Fatal Frame III’s use of multiple protagonists and streamlined controls have evolved to the point where the game is actually a lot more enjoyable than past iterations. It’s a shame the series couldn’t quite figure out its identity after this entry, because it felt like Tecmo was onto a winner formula at this point.
6. Alien: Isolation
One of the best horror games of all time is actually based on one of the best horror films of all time, who’d have thought that? Alien: Isolation serves as a sequel to the original movie, showing Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, and her encounter with a Xenomorph aboard the Sevastopol space station.
Featuring a mix of survival and stealth gameplay, Alien: Isolation’s own iteration of the stalker mechanic is probably the best game to do it, where you have to use your wits and tools to evade detection from the titular alien, which can rip you apart without hesitation should it discover you.
5. Bloodborne
FromSoftware has made a load of great games, but it’s interesting that its best game is also the one that has most leaned into horror. Bloodborne features inspiration from the likes of Bram Stoker, H.P. Lovecraft, and Christophe Gans’ Brotherhood of the Wolf.
The Gothic city of Yharnam has so many layers to the existential horror that is going on behind the scenes, and it’s only as you continue playing the game and defeating more bosses that you’re able to start peeling back these layers. By the time you get to the end of the game, it’s clear just far into cosmic horror FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki has gone here.
4. Dead Space
While Alien was a solid choice of inspiration for Electronic Arts’ Dead Space, it also drew elements from films like Event Horizon and Solaris, resulting in an experience that was downright terrifying. Once again, the “you’re trapped in space with a cosmic terror” genre absolutely thrives in the video game space.
The design of the Necromorphs as being entirely made up of human parts, but twisted in a way that makes them feel so wholly alien is a terrifying prospect, almost emphasising how weak and squishy we are as a species.
3. Resident Evil
The original Resident Evil is one of the earliest—and best—examples of the survival horror genre, and there are plenty of features and mechanics in the game that have persisted in similar games to this day.
The intimate, claustrophobic setting of the Spencer Mansion is a key part of what made this game so successful in being scary. The fixed camera angles and eerie music leads you into staying on high alert throughout the entire story, where zombie threats could be lurking around every corner, and surprise attacks can catch you off-guard when you’re least expecting them.
2. Silent Hill 2
Most Silent Hill fans will start with this one, and it’s easy to see why it’s easily the best. While the whole series is largely concerned with the occult and wider backstory of the titular town, Silent Hill 2’s narrative is more personal, telling a story of a man’s personal demons that have personified into physical threats.
The foggy atmosphere of Silent Hill, which originally came about as a technical restraint that turned into an artistic choice, is a key identifier of what people associate with the series. And this vibe was perfectly captured in Silent Hill 2’s mix of misty outdoors and dark, tight interior spaces. We’d recommend playing the 2024 remake, though the original is where it’s truly at.
1. Resident Evil 4
There are many reasons why Resident Evil 4 appears at the top of these lists, to the point where I’d be here all day listing them all. The switch to action is seen as a controversial choice nowadays, but at the time going from fixed-camera perspective to over-the-shoulder third person was groundbreaking.
But the main reason why Resident Evil 4 is the best of the series, and the best of horror games in general, is it’s just fun. The shooting is fun, the puzzles are fun, the story is trashy, pulpy fun. All of the set pieces, such as the opening village attack and the cabin standoff, or the trudge through the castle and the fight against the various goofy bosses in the latter half of the game, it’s all just at the peak of where we were at in the mid-2000s of gaming.
Topics: List, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil, Capcom, Features, Dead Space, Bloodborne, Silent Hill