As the nights grow longer, the season of Halloween approaches, bringing with it a demand for frights and macabre entertainment. A curated list of 13 video games has been compiled to satisfy this appetite for horror, offering a range of terrifying experiences playable on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and VR.
Resident Evil Requiem
This entry in the long-running survival horror series serves as a celebration of its 30th anniversary. Resident Evil Requiem expertly balances campy action with genuine scares, particularly in its opening hours. Players step into the role of Grace Ashcroft, a new protagonist navigating atmospheric first-person segments within a haunted care center filled with disturbingly aware zombies. Series veteran Leon S. Kennedy later joins, offering a shift to third-person action and quips before the game returns to its horror roots, culminating in a fan-service-heavy finale. It is considered one of the year's best games.
Silent Hill: Townfall
Another cornerstone of survival horror, Silent Hill, known for its moodier, psychological scares, continues its tradition with Silent Hill: Townfall. This installment shifts the setting to a small, tragedy-stricken Scottish island. Developer Screen Burn adopts an intimate first-person perspective and focuses on stealth over combat. The game presents a gritty, British narrative across multiple protagonists, creating an effective and suffocating horror experience that, while relentless, showcases the series' willingness to reinvent itself.
Reanimal
From the creators of Little Nightmares, Tarsier Studios' Reanimal follows two young protagonists, Boy and Girl, lost in a hostile world. Players traverse the environment by platforming, solving puzzles, and evading horrifying creatures. The game distinguishes itself with a sumptuous cinematic presentation and a significantly darker, more violent tone than its predecessor. While a two-player co-op option is available, the solo experience is equally captivating, offering a grimly artistic and enigmatic adventure.
Iron Lung
David Szymanski's Iron Lung is a masterclass in lo-fi horror. Players are confined to a claustrophobic submersible exploring a blood ocean on an alien planet. With no windows, navigation relies on a glitchy TV screen displaying glimpses of the darkness outside. Movement is a tense affair of blind micro-bursts and cautious rotations, amplified by stellar sound design that suggests unseen horrors. The game's oppressive atmosphere and short runtime of around 45 minutes make for a suffocatingly stressful experience.
Ghost Town
Available exclusively in VR, Ghost Town from Fireproof Games shares the tactile puzzle-box design of The Room series but expands into a propulsive urban fantasy adventure. Set in a vividly recreated 1983 London, players guide protagonist Edith Penrose, a ghost hunter searching for her brother. The journey extends from the city's gritty streets to the North Sea and beyond, featuring engaging writing, world-building, and imaginative set-pieces, including a notable segment involving a lighthouse trapped in time.
The Séance of Blake Manor
Set in 1879 Ireland, The Séance of Blake Manor casts players as private investigator Declan Ward, summoned to Blake Manor, now a grand hotel, three days before Halloween. Guests gather for a Grand Séance, and players must investigate empty rooms, gather clues, and interrogate guests, all while managing time as an approaching calamity looms. The game unfolds with clockwork precision, transitioning from day to night as new secrets and nightmarish hallucinations emerge.
Myhouse.wad
A touching tribute to a late friend, Myhouse.wad is a Doom mod that meticulously recreates the creator's childhood home. Discovered on a floppy disk from his friend's belongings, the level serves as a poignant memorial. Despite requiring some effort to set up for players new to Doom mods, it offers a brief but emotionally resonant experience, hinting at unseen entities within the nostalgic 90s FPS environment.
Servant of the Lake
From the Rusty Lake series, Servant of the Lake takes players to 1839 to serve the peculiar Vanderboom family during a strange reunion. While less structurally ambitious than some previous entries, it excels in its refined point-and-click adventure and room-escape puzzles. The game gradually transitions from bucolic scenery to disturbing elements, offering a darkly amusing and weird experience that calls for new players.
Horses
Infamous for being banned by Steam and Epic Games, Horses unfolds on a farm where humans are held captive. The game initially presents mundane farm tasks, with the grim reality of the captivity going unacknowledged. As the narrative progresses, it delves into the grotesque, but its true power lies in its unique, destabilizing mood, which blends surreal comedy with arthouse experimentalism. It offers a disturbing yet thought-provoking experience.
Clive Barker's Hellraiser Revival
While its gunplay and stealth mechanics are described as wobbly, Clive Barker's Hellraiser Revival shines when players enter the Labyrinth. This dimension, a nightmarish, Escher-esque realm, features puzzles, platforming, and pursuit sequences that make the experience worthwhile. As the game progresses, the line between the Labyrinth and the real world blurs, and the combat becomes more engaging. It is a visceral experience not for the squeamish, but a treat for body horror fans.
The 7th Guest VR (and flatscreen Remake)
Vertigo Games' remake of the 1990s CD-ROM adventure, The 7th Guest, offers a spooky puzzle experience. The VR version utilizes 1:1 movement for clever puzzles and features volumetric live-action characters. A non-VR version was later released for consoles and PC, retaining the cult classic's charm and eerie mansion exploration, even if it loses some immersion on flatscreens.
Forbidden Solitaire
This found-media horror game presents itself as a relic from the 90s multimedia boom. Players explore the titular CD-ROM game, which is entwined with a fictional narrative of gruesome deaths. The game's story is conveyed through police records, news reports, and VHS recordings, while the core gameplay involves playing a version of solitaire. It effectively blends a creepy narrative with engaging puzzle mechanics.
Routine
After a decade in development hell, Routine delivers a cracking first-person sci-fi horror experience with an old-school vibe. Set on a retro-futuristic lunar resort, its 80s tech aesthetic creates a disorienting atmosphere. Players explore the abandoned resort with a versatile C.A.T. device, facing Terminator-like security bots. The game emphasizes claustrophobic stealth and panicked pursuits, promising a tense and challenging shift for players.