You’re in the right place if you want to scare yourself silly with some of the best horror games of all time. There are a lot of very scary video games you can play, whether you want to lose sleep because you’re afraid of what’s hiding in the dark or you just want to laugh because you’re scared.
What is a horror game?
Horror games are a type of video game that are based on scary stories and are usually meant to scare the player. Most video game genres are based on how the game is played. Horror games, on the other hand, are usually based on a story or an image, and they use a variety of game types.
10 Best Horror Games of All Time
1. Visage
Visage is an independent first-person psychological horror game that is not for the faint of heart.
Sadsquare Studios made the game, and players take on the role of Dwayne Anderson as he explores a strangely built house with a lot of dark secrets to uncover. The game came out in 2020. The game itself will probably remind you of the hard-to-find Silent Hills demo, P.T., which is even more reason to check it out.
2. Until Dawn
The Dark Pictures Anthology comes from the same place as Until Dawn (which features other amazing horror titles such as Little Hope, Man of Medan, and House of Ashes). Each of these games, including Until Dawn, has a strong storyline and lets you make choices that affect how the story goes and who you meet.
Even though the other games in the Anthology are based on Until Dawn, it was the 2015 horror game that started it all. Until Dawn takes the form of a teen slasher, which we’ve all seen in movies like Friday the 13th and Halloween, and turns it into an interactive, story-based game where you try to keep teens safe from whatever is hiding in the mountains.
3. Dead by Daylight
We don’t have a lot of good choices when it comes to multiplayer horror games. The multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, on the other hand, is one of the best we’ve seen in recent years. The formula isn’t new, but it might be done better here than in the Friday the 13th game.
Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical horror that pits four survivors against one killer. Most of the time, the killer is a familiar face from Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, or, more recently, The Ring. A lot of Dead by Daylight’s content comes from licenced collaborations with other horror franchises to bring as many well-known characters as possible to the game. It’s fun to run into classic horror villains and heroes all the time.
This one has a lot of jump scares, but if you play with friends, you’ll have a lot more fun. Dead by Daylight is a great way for horror movie fans to blow off some steam.
4. Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia is another multiplayer horror game that works well, and this independent ghost-hunting game is still getting new features added to it all the time. It might even leave early access one day!
In the game, you and your team of paranormal investigators go to different homes and places, like a prison and a campground, to look for ghosts. The team here will be your friends (or a random lobby, or no one, it’s up to you). As you scare yourself to death, you’ll find that Phasmophobia is a lot of fun when you’re not listening to your scared friends scream their lungs out.
You can also play Phasmophobia in VR, which makes the supernatural experience even more real. I’m too scared of heights to try Phasmophobia in VR. It’s hard enough for me to stay alive as it is.
5. Poppy Playtime
Poppy playtime was developed by MOB Games. The player takes on the role of a former worker at the toy company Playtime Co. who goes back to the company’s empty toy factory 10 years after all of its workers have vanished.
It turns out that the toys in the factory have come to life and are actively trying to hurt people. The designer added more VHS videos that can be played anywhere in the building to tell the story of Poppy Playtime in more detail.
Some of the game’s challenges will require you to use a tool called a GrabPack. This is a bag with two long arms that can be used to grab things far away, pull yourself up, swing, and more.
6. Five Nights At Freddy’s
In the original, players took on the role of a security guard who had to stop bad animatronics from chasing him down. Even though the games’ stories and styles have changed over time, fans never get tired of going back to the first one to see some of the scariest dolls in video games.
7. Bendy And The Ink Machine
Bendy and the Ink Machine came out in 2017 in five parts, similar to how Poppy Playtime was released. In 2018, all five parts came out at once. It’s about a retired animator who goes back to his old job after a mysterious letter asks him to.
Once he gets there, he finds that strange things have been happening, which people say are caused by an ink machine. Like Poppy Playtime, the player works from the first-person view, solving puzzles and fighting to move on. The game has a lot of lore and a lot of atmosphere, but the ending is a little strange. There is also a sequel coming out this year.
8. Among The Sleep
Going back to survival horror, if playing as a young child isn’t bad enough, how about playing as a toddler? In Among the Sleep, players have to waddle or crawl their way through a series of puzzles while being chased by Hyda, a monster that looks like a troll.
Among the Sleep is a survival horror game with a unique message. It’s about a mother who won’t let her son see his father. This is what drives the story and makes this game one of the best on this list, if not the scariest.
9. Hello Neighbor
Hello Neighbor is a well-known stealthy horror game that is also a unique experience. It is known for its hard puzzles and the fact that the neighbour villain who is after the young character is a learning AI. Also, the game is long, at least compared to Poppy Playtime.
10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
You wouldn’t be surprised if a horror game had a sanity system now, but on the Gamecube, you could say it was a game-changer (literally). One of the first horror games to take advantage of this was Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, and it messes with players in the best way.
There are some great games that didn’t make this list in this post, but it’s not because they’re bad or because I didn’t like them. It’s just that I’d be here for weeks if I talked about them all.
Why people like playing horror games?
1. To be exposed to danger in a controlled setting
One reason scary video games are so popular is that they let us experience and interact with scary things without putting us in any real danger.
Because video games let you do things, they are great at this. When you’re safe, it’s one thing to watch a scary movie. It’s one thing to be in control of a scary video game and tell yourself you’re not in danger. Some might say that horror games are even scarier because the player doesn’t have to worry about getting hurt.
This lets us enjoy all the things we find interesting about scary games. You can focus on things like creature design, sound design (more on this later), gameplay, story, and actually being scared while being completely safe.
Like on a roller coaster, you get all the fun of a good scare with almost no risk. Not too bad, huh?
2. Playing scary games is exciting
We play scary games, of course, to get scared. But what is it that makes us want to be scared to begin with?
Well, one reason we like being scared is because it’s exciting. A good scare can make you feel tense and give you a rush of adrenaline, which can be really, really fun.
Play Horror Games Right Now
When you barely escape a chase in Outlast or watch the Alien in Alien: Isolation come into the room you’re hiding in, you might be scared and out of breath, but it’s tempting to keep playing just to feel that thrill again and again.
Good horror games, and good horror in general, keep us playing not just because they scare us, but also because of the atmosphere they create.
Setting the right mood is important for horror games because it could make the difference between a scary game and a silly one. Games like The Evil Within, Darkwood, and Alien: Isolation (yes, this is the third time we’ve mentioned it, but it really is a gem of a horror game) do a great job of creating a world that makes you both scared and amazed.
Conclusion
Which scary PC games are the best? Most horror games take action games in a different direction and make you run and hide from your enemies. Scary games make you feel weak instead of strong, and more than most games, they are the ones that stay with you long after you play them.
