Happy (almost) Halloween! As it is October, it is unofficially horror season. If you're already in the middle of a horror movie or horror book marathon, you might be looking for the best horror games to play this Halloween.
If so, you're in luck. We've spent the last few weeks playing and curating a list of spooky and spooky games for horror game fans of all kinds. These games all launched on their respective platforms this year, although in some cases they were playable elsewhere in previous years.
On this list you will find alarms in all formats and teams large and small. Find the scares that suit you and let us know how you like them. Here are 20 horror games to play this Halloween.
Big budget spells
These picks come from bigger teams with bigger budgets, which leads to bigger scares.
Resident Evil Village
While Resident Evil needs no introduction, there are times when games from earlier in the year get lost in the fall redesign. Village is a unique entry in the long-running series due to its curious cast of never-before-seen characters and monsters and you'd do well to remember it as perhaps the quintessential horror game of the year.
Back 4 Blood
Back 4 Blood is exactly what it sounds like: a new horde shooter similar to Left 4 Dead, but unlike the others we've seen, this one comes from the original team at Turtle Rock. While it has its flaws, it's still a go-to for co-op zombie slaying. If you need more of the subgenre, also check out World War Z: Aftermath and Aliens: Colonial Marines.
The way
One of the first big games of the year, The Medium is pretty much described as Bloober Team's Silent Hill audition. Rumors persist that the team is working with Konami to bring the classic series back to life, but in the meantime, experience this gorgeous horror with old school horror sensibilities and music from Akira Yamaoka.
little nightmares 2
If I can put my thumb on the scale, I think Little Nightmares 2 is my favorite horror of the year. This grotesque sequel to Tarsier's unforgettable 2017 game rekindles the series' penchant for some of the most unsettling imagery in horror games of all time. He sets out to create a world of childish nightmares and he gloriously succeeds.
Independent incantations
These selections offer smaller but arguably more interesting versions of the murderous and macabre.
If on a winter's night, four travelers
This pixel-art indie is perhaps the hottest of the year, and its setup is a bit like Hitchcock with a Poe twist. In just a few hours, Four Travelers will mark you with a story you'll be thinking about long after Halloween.
Eternal
Undying rejects the sad dad trope and instead opts for a fresher story about, well, a sad mom. Why is she sad? Because she is infected with a zombie plague, so she has little time to get her child to safety. This survival game combines gameplay and story very well and although it is only in early access, it is already worth it.
night link
If you're short on time, Nightslink offers the best alarms-to-minutes ratio. Lasting just 30 minutes, Nightslink's mystifying tale of a quasi-drug dealer in a dystopian hellscape will leave you feeling like you need a shower – and isn't that the sign? an effective horror story?
Mundaun
You will hear GOTY buzz for Mundaun from many who have played it. This pencil-drawn horror is rustic and confusing at every turn, and it delights in leaving players confused and dangerous, even in its often wide-open plains and quiet cabins.
In tip-top shape
In Sound Mind is memorable for its mix of old and new school horror elements. Extensive hub levels allow for exploration, while puzzles bring out flavors of PS1-era horror. It's a fun and unpredictable mix overall and so manages to appeal to horror fans of all kinds.
Tormented Souls
If you'd rather play something that strictly adheres to the design of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tormented Souls is a faithfully crafted creation dedicated to that era. Eerie crest keys, labyrinthine exploration of a mansion, and monsters that take nightmares to new heights, Tormented Souls is the horror game for the horror historian.
Pursue the static
Chasing Static's visual style and puzzle-solving borrow heavily from the original Silent Hill - it even opens in a restaurant - but the first-person perspective sets it apart while making its inspiration obvious. Like Tormented Souls, it's modern horror that proudly nods to its roots and is made for fans who want the same.
VR Voodoo
These selections can be played in immersive virtual reality. Warning: VR horror is not for the faint of heart.
Resident Evil 4: Édition VR
We'll have more to say about Resident Evil 4's foray into virtual reality soon, but for now (and without breaking the embargo), we'll just say that Resident Evil 4 is coming to Oculus Quest 2 soon. suits you, you may be onto something.
Wraith: The Oblivion – Beyond
From the same overarching series as Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse comes Wraith, a first-person horror with fantastic settings to explore on your VR headset. if you've never played horror in VR, this is arguably the best way to learn about the genre, and Wraith is as good a starting point as any.
Cosmodread
Although Dead Space isn't in VR, Cosmodread is the closest we can get yet. It comes as a horror roguelite, challenging players to explore its twisty, derelict spaceship as otherworldly horrors lurk in the light. As horror and VR go hand in hand, so do the horror and rogue elements, so Cosmodread makes for an appealing mix of all three.
Lairs Adjacent to Horror
These selections are gruesome, but shouldn't be as scary as the ones listed above.
encryption
I have to say something about each of these games, but I prefer not to say anything about this one. It's scary, it's weird, but it's so unlike anything you've probably ever played that you really should know as little as possible. One note: this involves a deck of cards, but the full experience is much more than that. Try it even if it's not your type. It's about to be one of the biggest games of the year.
scarlet hollow
This horror-adventure game has been adored by its players this year, as evidenced by its very positive rating on Steam. . It also features hand-drawn artwork by award-winning webcomic artist Abby Howard, so it stands out from a sea of other horror visual novels.
Echo generation
In a way, Echo Generation is sometimes more Stranger Things than the official Stranger Things game - even its central characters seem ripped right out of the series. This voxel-art adventure delves into mysteries and monsters without going too far into spooky stuff, making it a good pick for family scares.
Return
One of PlayStation's biggest PS5 games of the year, Returnal is a roguelite with a blatant obsession with Ridley Scott's Alien. When she crash-lands on an alien planet, Selene has no idea the monsters she'll face will be there to greet her again and again as she plunges headfirst into a time loop she can't. not yet understand. In a year of timeloop games, Returnal is perhaps the best of them all.
Alan Wake remastered
Remedy's 2010 cult classic is reborn 11 years later and is still one of the most stylish thrillers of all time on consoles or PC. This remaster is very well done and represents the first appearance of the game on PlayStation consoles. But no matter where you play it, it's definitely spooky enough for Halloween without totally veering into horror territory.
Whether it's for our range of horror game recommendations to dive into in October or even beyond. Are there any others you could recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.
