Top 10 Horror Games That You Can Play To Scare Yourself Silly This Halloween

The spookiest day of the year has come to haunt us yet again! To celebrate, we’re listing down our top ten horror games (on all platforms) that you can play to scare the socks off of you and/or your friends this Halloween! Most of these games are currently on sale as part of Steam’s Halloween sale so if you’re a PC gamer, now is the best time for you all to check all these games out. The list below is in no particular order.

Top 10 horror games to play this Halloween

Phasmophobia

Phasmophobia is currently one of the most played games on Steam ever since it came out on Early Access last year. The premise is pretty simple, you play as one of four paranormal investigators tasked to investigate and identify a ghost that’s haunting the location that you have chosen in-game. The game offers you a large choice of tools to aid you in your investigation that includes a UV light, a spirit box, different types of cameras, an EMF reader, and even an ouija board. Be warned though, your investigation will upset the ghost which will then hunt you. Investigate the location fast or die trying.

Phasmophobia is a recent personal favourite horror game of mine as I have played the game quite a lot with my friends and cousins. To me, it never fails to bring the scares to almost every round I play. Recently, Phasmophobia has had a major update that pretty much overhauled the whole look and feel of the game. The update more or less made the game scarier than before by making the ghost’s AI more intelligent than before which in turn makes it harder for you to escape it…with your life.

Phasmophobia is one of the top horror games you can play right now and it is available on Steam.

Alien: Isolation

The next horror game on our list is Alien: Isolation, considered by many as one of the scariest games ever made. In Alien: Isolation, you play as Amanda Ripley, the granddaughter of Ellen Ripley, the protagonist of the original Alien movie franchise. Set fifteen years after the original movie, Amanda is on a quest to uncover the cause of her mother’s disappearance but little did she know that the same monster that terrified her mother all those years ago is set to terrify her as well.

Alien: Isolation is one of those horror games that I absolutely love but absolutely hate at the same time. Yes, the game was a blast to play but God did it mess with my anxiety and my claustrophobia. I was pretty impressed by the Alien’s brilliant AI that kept me on my increasingly shot wits to keep myself from dying in its clutches. The feeling of desperation was incredibly real with this game. Just thinking about is causing me Vietnam flashbacks right now.

Alien: Isolation is available on Steam, Epic Games Store, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Outlast

Outlast is a horror game that has been on numerous ‘Best Horror Game’ lists and for a very good reason. The game is s**t-your-pants scary. I remember having an absolutely torrid time playing this game because I couldn’t get past just how scary and stressful the whole experience was. I have been to a few real-life ‘ghost hunts’ and to be completely honest, I’d rather go for those again than play Outlast again.

In Outlast, you play as an investigative reporter investigating an abandoned mental asylum that was recently re-opened for ‘research’. What he finds inside the asylum is a terrifying nightmare filled with horrors that teeter between mad science and religious fanatics. You’ll have to find a way to escape the asylum without confronting any of the threats inside, accompanied by nothing but a handheld camera with a battery that constantly runs out of juice.

Outlast is available on Steam, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Resident Evil 2 Remake

The Resident Evil 2 was released back in 2019 and was lauded by many fans and critics alike for its faithful update of the original game’s premise while also providing great gameplay and great scares as well. You play as franchise favourites Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they try and find a way to escape Raccoon CIty which has been overrun by a viral outbreak that turns people into zombies and other freakish monsters.

I wasn’t all that excited about the game and passed on it initially when it first came out. I didn’t play the original Resident Evil 2 when I was younger and my introduction to the franchise was Resident Evil 4 which I found to be really fun. I finally picked up the game sometime last year when it went on sale and boy, was I in for a fun but terrifying ride. The gameplay was fun and solid and the lack of ammo with most of the weapons forced me to think my way out of situations rather than blast my way through. Speaking of thinking, the puzzles in RE2 are really fun and downright, well, puzzling.

I remember getting super stressed when the Tyrant was around because he’s literally unstoppable, that is until you find a way to stop him. There are times when I just screamed uncontrollably whenever the dude just pops up out of nowhere and just decides to go all Terminator on your sorry butt. Resident Evil 2 is available on Steam, PS4 and Xbox One.

Dead Space 2

Dead Space 2 is the second game in the brilliant sci-fi horror Dead Space series. You once again play as Isaac Clarke, the protagonist from the first game, three years after the events in the original game. The game starts with him waking up on a space station that has been overrun by mutant creatures called Necromorphs. Now Isaac has to fight his way through to find out what exactly caused the outbreak and why.

I love the Dead Space franchise and in particular this one because it literally took what made the first game great and just cranked it up tenfold. The first few moments of the game were one of the best and terrifying roller coaster rides I’ve ever experienced in a horror game. The game strikes a great balance between action and horror that not many games could pull off. Dead Space 2 at times makes you feel like ‘Hell yeah I can take these buggers’ but then just unloads on you so hard you’ll be screeching and begging for the Necromorphs to just die already.

Dead Space 2 is only available on PC right now through Steam and Origin.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 and 2

You might be wondering why Five Nights at Freddy’s is on this list. I know that some people may have written off the whole series as nothing more than one-trick ponies that merely rely on jumpscares to be scary. True but not many people remember that the early games in the series were genuinely great horror games. Yes, they did rely on jumpscares to get you to jump off your seat in fear but they also had great gameplay that required a steely backbone and strategy to win. Also, the early games were really creepy and had an ominous vibe to them which the newer games sorely lacks.

Five Nights at Freddy’s is a point-and-click game that sees you play as a security guard at a pizza restaurant that features the restaurant’s animatronic mascots. You then discover, through voicemails left by your predecessor you find out that the animatronic mascots become active and move around at night. You also learn that the mascots will kill you if they see you. So the whole premise of the game is for the player to avoid the mascots and survive for five nights (hence the game’s name) which will become increasingly more difficult to do as you progress.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 also follows the first game’s premise (new security guard, survive the mascots) but with a few slight differences. The sequel is set at a different location than the first game and does not feature doors like in the first game that the players can close to ward off the mascots. Players will instead use a torchlight to scare them away as well as other means to deter them away. Similar to the first game, you will have to survive five nights, each night becoming increasingly more difficult.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 and 2 are available on PC through Steam, Android, iOS as well as Nintendo Switch.

Slender: The Eight Pages

Now we move on to a modern classic when it comes to the horror game genre. Borne out of a Creepypasta meme, Slender: The Eight Pages introduces you to the terrifying, suit-wearing Slender Man and took the internet and the gaming world by storm when it came out in 2012, gaining a huge following through ‘Let’s Play’ videos on YouTube. The premise is simple and straightforward, the player has to find eight pages of a diary while the Slender Man chases you, becoming more aggressive as you collect more and more pages. Collect all pages before the Slender Man catches you and kills you.

I remember being absolutely terrified by this game back in 2012 mainly because I hadn’t really played horror games all that much back then. Also, the gameplay itself was pretty effective in creating a sense of dread and tension especially when you’re halfway through collecting all the pages. Not to mention that the atmosphere of the game made you feel extremely claustrophobic even though the game was mostly set out in an open area.

Slender: The Eight Pages was a pretty short and effectively scary game that manages to achieve what many of its other more high-budgeted peers at that time could not; deliver scares while also being very entertaining to play. Slender: The Eight Pages is available now on PC.

Doki Doki Literature Club

Don’t let the cutesy anime aesthetic fool you, Doki Doki Literature Club is one of the best horror games you can play right now, delivering a scary and an incredibly disturbing experience that will leave you feeling cold. Doki Doki Literature Club is a visual novel where you play as a high school student joining your school’s literature club after being invited in by your childhood Sayori. There you meet the members of the literature club which you have the option to woo. From there the game takes you down a path that turns the game from an innocent dating sim into a psychological horror fest.

Recommended by a friend, I really did not know what to expect from Doki Doki Literature Club when I first played it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the visual novel genre especially something with this type of aesthetic but I am glad (or maybe regret?) playing the game until the end because this game is really messed up. Not going to go into spoilers but there are some character paths that really affected me psychologically, either for the better or for the worse. You’ll have to experience the game yourself to fully understand why so many people rate this game so highly.

Doki Doki Literature Club is available now Steam. A new Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! was also recently released which include new content as well as upgraded graphics. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is available on Steam, Epic Games Store, PS4, PS5, XBox One, Xbox Series X and S as well as Nintendo Switch.

Lust From Beyond

Lust From Beyond is the most recent horror game on this launch and was released back in March this year. The game presents a Victorian and gothic horror experience that is filled with (as the name of the game suggests) erotic and sexual images and scenes of intense gore. The game’s whole look and feel is inspired by the works of horror greats such as H.P. Lovecraft and H.R. Giger and it defintely shows. If you enjoy the atmosphere of old school gothic horror movies like Dracula or The Haunting, then you’re in for a treat.

Lust From Beyond sees you play as Victor, a man plagued by dreams and visions of pain and pleasure who seek the help of the Cult of Ecstacy in order to uncover the meaning of his visions. From there you will travel through a paranormal world where you face off against supernatural beings to survive, either by running or hiding or even fighting your way through. You will also encounter many puzzle mechanics throughout the game that will test your wits.

I randomly discovered Lust From Beyond while I was browsing through Steam a few months ago. The premise of the game intrigued me enough for me to purchase the game and have a go at it. The game is by no means the best horror game out there but the overall psychological horror aspect of it is something that I truly enjoyed. The whole aesthetic of the game is also pretty interesting as I personally find gothic designs to be incredibly eerie. A word of warning though, the game has some pretty intense scenes of nudity and eroticism that can get borderline pornographic at times. So, play at your own risk.

Lust From Beyond is available right now on Steam. Lust from Beyond: M Edition is also coming soon to PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch that removes all the intense nudity that’s present in the original game.

Left 4 Dead 2

Hear me out. Left 4 Dead 2 is probably not what you would traditionally think when someone mentions horror games but I am definitely including the game on this list for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s my list so what I say goes. Two, it has zombies. Three, this game gets outright scary and stressful when played on higher difficulties. Four, try play the ‘Hard Rain’ campaign on Realism and tell me this does not belong in the horror game category.

Left 4 Dead 2 is a co-op multiplayer game where you play as one of four survivors fighting their way through hordes of mutated zombies through various maps. Players will have to rely on good coordination and communication between party members in order for them to survive the game, especially when playing on higher difficulties. The game also has other multiplayer modes for you to play including modes where you play as the zombies and its mutated brethren to take out the human survivors.

There’s a reason why Left 4 Dead 2 is still popular and widely played on Steam even though the game is more than a decade old. Its gameplay is fun and frantic that for the most part still holds up even today. The modding community behind the game is also another reason why the game is still popular with new custom maps being churned out pretty consistently. You can try playing these custom maps for a truly terrifying Left 4 Dead 2 experience:

• Dark Wood
• The Bloody Moors

Left 4 Dead 2 is available on Steam.

And that’s the Top 10 horror games you can play to scare yourself this Halloween. Have other horror games that you love that isn’t on our list? Write in the comments on our Facebook page and let us know! For more news, tips and tricks or interesting content like this, do stay tuned to us here at Pokde.net!