What are one of the best horror video games on PC? Scary video games have a tendency to show conventional motion ideas on their heads, forcing you to run and conceal out of your enemies. They go away you feeling weak reasonably than empowered, and greater than most, they’re the gaming experiences that hang-out you lengthy after you play.
After all, there may be way more to one of the best horror video games than bounce scares and gore. So whereas we now have included a number of apparent picks like among the greatest PC video games, Outlast and Amnesia, you may as well anticipate finding video games that use completely different techniques to boost your heartbeat and get your palms sweating, whether or not that’s a dread-inducing environment and cautious pacing, or unpredictable multiplayer antics such as you’ll discover in Phasmophobia.
One of the best horror video games to play on PC are:
The Outlast Trials
This prequel to the Outlast sequence casts again to the occasions previous the traditional horror video games, as hopeful candidates who tick all or one of many bins (misplaced, lonely, poor, confused) are taken to a secret facility to be unknowingly experimented on in thoughts management and brainwashing.
To flee the ability, you could full the trials, a set of story-driven remedy periods and challenges created to check your stealth capabilities and teamwork. The Outlast Trials is a co-op sport with as much as 4 gamers, however you may play solo if you want.
Reveil
The primary-person narrative horror from Pixelsplit trades within the cutesy aesthetic they’re greatest identified for and delves intro the eerie Reveil. Although it’s not as scary of horrifying as among the different video games on this checklist, it does have its moments from bounce scares to lengthy, darkish corridors, and issues lurking behind hidden corners.
Reveil has been in comparison with PT and the early Resident Evil video games, so you may anticipate puzzles, supernatural happenings, and collectibles. If you happen to’re getting caught in, take a look at our guides on the answer to the prop chest puzzle and all Reveil collectible places.
Alan Wake 2
Ambiance is a big deal for horror video games, and whereas many play together with your notion, Alan Wake 2 tap-dances on prime of these expectations, significantly throughout these sequences the place you information Alan deeper into The Darkish Place. Our Alan Wake 2 evaluate highlights that whereas it’s been 13 years for the reason that authentic, Treatment hasn’t missed a step in making a disturbing horror sport properly well worth the wait.
Do you have to resolve to delve deeper, there are some things you have to be conscious of, corresponding to one of the best Alan Wake 2 Phrases of Energy to get early on, the places of all Alan Wake 2 weapons, and simply how one can get the Alan Wake 2 lighthouse key, provided that it’s not close to there in any respect.
Deadly Firm
Deadly Firm is a horror sport greatest skilled with a detailed group of associates, and whereas it’s nonetheless in early entry, it’s already captivated many people right here at epicgamejourney. You and your staff of courageous explorers should collect scrap to promote to the Firm, and also you’ll solely do this by hopping between deserted moons. Nevertheless, simply because the bases are lengthy since devoid of human exercise doesn’t imply you’re really alone.
You’ll have to work collectively to collect sufficient junk earlier than the monsters get your staff to fulfill your quota and maintain your lives. Even within the relative security of your spaceship, although, don’t get too complacent. If you are navigating your teammates by means of deserted bases, it solely takes a second of carelessness to get jumped on by a monster masquerading as a pleasant. With fixed updates including new threats, maps, and extra, our solely suggestion is to maintain speaking and grip that shovel tight. They’re your solely dependable methods to defend your self.
Dredge
Typically, the best horrors lurk within the briny depths. Dredge has you discover an archipelago stuffed to the brim with aquatic creatures and maintain your tiny fishing trawler protected as you collect your catch and full requests from the residents of every island. Nevertheless, risks is lurking within the fog, and nighttime brings out the massive beasts, nibbling at your ship’s hull to get at your tasty fish.
Followers of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos will see many parallels between the deep sea monsters swatting your ship with their overwhelmingly sized tails. It turns midnight expeditions out to see right into a determined wrestle for survival. It was probably the greatest indie video games of 2023 and is an intense journey from the get-go.
SIGNALIS
A tense and thrilling survival horror a couple of humanoid robotic looking for her pal on an remoted and deserted moon base. Add in a mysterious virus and a few mutated and bloodthirsty murderers, and SIGNALIS makes for a terrifying and lonely expertise. The stress slowly mounts, and as you’re frantically looking information and fixing puzzles, there’s an inescapable realization that the top purpose gained’t be good.
Scorn
Scorn’s grim aesthetic of mutilated physique components and fleshy, dingy corridors make this probably the greatest horror video games we’ve performed. Although it lacks in jumpscares, it greater than makes up for in gory goodness, and it’s simple to see the inspiration of H.R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński work in Scorn’s skeletal constructions, blood-veined flooring, and mechanisms manufactured from appendages.
Scorn makes use of gore to create moments of unease as a substitute of shock as you progress by means of a non-linear path fixing puzzles in virtually close to silence (apart from the odd squelch). There are many abominations to battle (or conceal from) alongside the best way, however like a quiet scream, Scorn turns into more and more extra unhinged as you begin to unearth its remoted world’s secrets and techniques.
Lifeless House Remake
It’s lengthy been on this checklist, however the latest Lifeless House Remake did such a great job with a fan-favorite sci-fi horror sport. However whereas the Lifeless House Remake evaluate highlights the extra trendy tweaks that make it particular in its personal proper, a lot of the reward ought to go to the unique. Just like the horror sport adaptation of Occasion Horizon that by no means was, Lifeless House is the story of a enjoyable cabal of ne’er-do-well cultists who carry a deep area mining ship to its flickering, malfunctioning knees.
You’re a mechanic armed with a laser cutter able to strategically dismembering the legions of already malformed alien creatures who now infest the ship, however regardless of your highly effective weaponry, you might be by no means near being relaxed. Like all one of the best horror video games, Lifeless House’s model of horror is disturbing and infrequently lashes out at your psyche, subtly mixing violence and paranoia to create an atmospheric and unrelentingly bleak miasma of despair. If you end up misplaced within the Remake, then our Lifeless House weapons and Lifeless House go well with upgrades can supply some safety from the terrors hiding within the vents.
Phasmophobia
Though Phasmophobia is primarily a horror sport, you might take a look at it as a co-op detective sport as you and as much as three different investigators discover a haunted location to infer what kind of ghost is spooking out the premises earlier than reporting again. It requires teamwork, your greatest detective hat, and regular nerves to navigate the darkish, tight corridors and eerily quiet rooms.
Utilizing tools, corresponding to ouija boards, a spirit field, a crucifix, and smudge sticks – you and your staff want to analyze the haunting and full duties corresponding to taking an image of soiled water, or asking the ghost questions. Watch out, although, all of your prying will seemingly upset the ghost, and also you don’t wish to be round when it begins searching.
Lifeless by Daylight
Uneven multiplayer horror video games don’t come higher than Lifeless by Daylight. You play as both a lone killer or one in every of 4 human survivors determined to flee the map. The survivors can’t do a lot to battle again, however working as a staff can misdirect, bait, and frustrate the killer whereas getting ready for his or her escape. It’s a delightfully easy format that performs host to among the greatest scares in gaming, and since it’s all player-driven, you may by no means actually predict what’s across the nook.
However Lifeless by Daylight’s actual power is in its always increasing lineup of playable killers. Developer Behaviour Interactive has added virtually each horror icon you may consider to its roster, from traditional slashers like Ghostface and The Form to gaming’s most feared, together with Resident Evil’s Nemesis and Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head. Every of them boasts a singular set of talents that displays their model of homicide and malice, and it’s as much as survivors to adapt to whichever killer they’re being stalked by. Be sure to seize the most recent working DBD codes. You possibly can take a look at or Lifeless by Daylight killers tier checklist for tips about who to select.
Amnesia: The Bunker
Not for the reason that first Amnesia sport have we seen any of the follow-ups be as thrilling to play. Whereas we didn’t evaluate it upon launch, Nat summarized what makes it such a particular and terrifying expertise, calling it WW1 poetry in movement.
As for the sport itself, it’s six hours of relentless survival horror set through the First World Struggle. It additionally lately received extra content material by way of the Halloween replace when you’ve already accomplished the primary sport. After all, if you wish to delve into the horror for your self, we now have particulars on the Amnesia The Bunker map and the steps for easy methods to save the Amnesia The Bunker prisoner.
Oxenfree 2: Misplaced Alerts
How do you observe up Oxenfree? That’s the large query for a lot of going into the indie traditional, however as our Oxenfree 2 evaluate factors out, it does so by casting “off adolescence in a bid to discover the trials and tribulations of maturity, that includes genuine dialogue that packs an emotional punch”.
Persevering with 5 years from the place the unique left us off, Oxenfree 2: Misplaced Alerts improves a lot of the earlier video games’ shortcomings, corresponding to the shortage of skipping necessary dialogue. It additionally boasts a far greater island and a deeper thriller to unravel that can take all of your crafty. If you happen to had been a fan of the primary story, the second half gained’t disappoint. We simply so occur to have the Oxenfree 2 letter places when you get caught.
Resident Evil 4 Remake
Ever since Resident Evil 2 received its stellar remake a number of years in the past, it was virtually inevitable that Resident Evil 4 would get an analogous therapy. Nevertheless, few of us had been ready for simply how significantly better it might be than the unique. In his Resident Evil 4 Remake evaluate, Ed says that it “improves the moment-to-moment expertise of probably the greatest video games ever made”.
From up to date boss fights, the elimination of QTEs, and even some alterations to the story, Resident Evil 4 Remake is its personal beast. The Separate Methods DLC additionally makes itself greater than only a retread of Leon’s journey with one other character. If you happen to get it and wish to problem your self, listed below are all of the Resident Evil 4 S-Rank necessities, in addition to an inventory of an important Resident Evil 4 unlockables you’ll find.
Slay the Princess
Slay The Princess provides you one easy activity: kill the woman on the backside of the basement of a log cabin within the woods. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, who do you belief? The Princess, who’s chained up and helpless, or the sport’s narrator egging you on. A lot is unknown, however on this visible novel, your selections matter enormously, and with a number of endings, there are such a lot of methods for issues to finish badly.
With minimalist pencil artwork and splendidly creepy performances from its lead actors, Slay the Princess is as well-written as it’s deeply unsettling. It is perhaps tempting to see extra of it earlier than taking part in, however we extremely advocate that you just don’t actually take a look at something past the Steam web page. It is because you run the danger of spoiling this sport’s twisted narrative and the various selections you could make alongside the best way.
The Mortuary Assistant
Engaged on cadavers is way from the standard premise for a videogame, however The Mortuary Assistant provides a supernatural twist to the process. Throughout a late-night embalming session, it quickly turns into obvious that these our bodies aren’t regular, and shortly, a name with the native mortician confirms it: rumors of demonic possession are true, and also you now can’t go away.
To purge these heretical spirits, you could observe occult rituals to determine the demons, banish them by gathering clues, and one way or the other carry out your common duties of embalming the corpses. This primary-person horror sport will take a number of playthroughs so that you can see all the things, however if you would like a style of the terrors inside, you may obtain the demo from the Steam web page and see why that is an underrated horror gem.
Little Nightmares 2
Heading off the residents within the authentic Little Nightmares was robust sufficient, however Little Nightmares 2 has Six, who’s now sporting a paper bag, rescue a brand new companion Mono. Together with his assist, she hopes to make sense of the Sign Tower that corrupts the land. Along with the platforming and instant-death traps, there are new assailants to flee from, together with the Trainer and the Hunter, they usually’re simply as terrifying because the assailants from the primary sport.
With extra environmental puzzles that require cooperation between the 2 kids, it is a worthy sequel to one of the intense horror video games of latest years. We advocate taking part in the primary half earlier than the second because it’s a direct continuation of the story, however when you fancy seeing what the sequence is all about, Little Nightmares 2 comes with its personal demo on the Steam web page when you want to strive it beforehand.
Inside
Much like Little Nightmares, our protagonist should escape a darkish world, the place he’s hunted and alone, transferring by means of lethal obstacles and avoiding detection. Utilizing a thoughts management helmet, he can management the hapless, unwitting crowds of individuals discovered huddled all through to assist him transfer objects and clear up puzzles. You’ll additionally most likely die quite a bit, and like its predecessor Limbo, all of the methods you may die are graphic and cruel earlier than the display fades to black.
Inside’s artwork model makes use of monochromatic backdrops and sporadic flashes of coloration to create a very unsettling expertise, together with the sparing use of sound and ambient lighting – this sinister, narrative-driven platform sport is a horrifyingly haunting experience.
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus is plenty of video games packed into one inviting post-apocalyptic slice of Russia: it’s a story-focused household drama as a lot as it’s a Wolfenstein-esque, heavy metal-scored FPS. Nevertheless, there are many spine-tingling horror sport sequences creeping en path to the climactic Metro Exodus ending.
4A Video games’ irradiated outing means that you can select whether or not you need Artyom’s journey to be a guns-blazing assault or a stealthy affair shrouded in darkness, due to the sport’s day/night time mechanic. However, when you sleep by means of the daylight to creep up in your opponents in pitch darkness, anticipate a a lot scarier expertise. Human enemies is perhaps on the again foot, however the chill of a howling Watchmen or the cost of a Humanimal is excruciatingly unsettling.
But, as we identified in our Metro Exodus PC evaluate, it is a sport that’s at its most terrifying when it modifications the principles. The sport’s early levels educate you to extinguish the sunshine and grasp the shadows. Then, within the spider-infested bunkers beneath the Caspian Sea, it turns into your weapon. Your arachnid foes are fatally weak to gentle, in order that they skulk about in any dimly lit crevice they’ll discover. As their disgusting, bushy legs scrabble madly in opposition to the partitions, it turns into obvious that, in Metro Exodus, you may by no means let your guard down.
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation is a horror sport about being caught on an area station with a (spoiler) large scary alien, which, due to some devious AI and degree design, is extra terrifying than it ever has any proper to be. As we found whereas writing our Alien: Isolation evaluate, this horror sport is successfully a first-person hiding simulator – your monstrous stalker can’t be overwhelmed, shot, or bashed into submission.
One of the best horror video games make you’re feeling completely powerless, and in Alien: Isolation, it’s your wits, your knack for crawling beneath desks and into lockers, and quite a lot of distractions that can prevent from the hulking, Gigerian horror. A lethal creature who can seem at any second, unscripted and with out warning: what extra may you ask for from a horror sport antagonist?
Outlast
Using the ‘discovered footage’ model of latest horror cinema, Outlast is a first-person exploration sport set inside an deserted psychiatric hospital. Like all deserted psychiatric hospitals in horror video games, this one is populated by a forged of deranged sufferers and merciless workers, whom you could keep away from to outlive with your whole guts nonetheless inside your physique. These tropes is perhaps properly and really lined in cinema, however horror video games can take advantage of out of those clichés, and Outlast is the proof.
With the intention to discover your manner round Outlast’s darkish corridors, you could cautiously peer by means of your camcorder’s green-tinged infrared mode. This offers Outlast a distinctly eerie visible id whereas leaving you feeling weak to baddies creeping up behind you. Your digital camera’s batteries solely final a couple of minutes, so it’s a small mercy that the hospital you might be exploring is stuffed with batteries that match the precise make and mannequin of your digital camera. Phew.
SOMA
This sci-fi horror from the creators of Amnesia: The Darkish Descent takes the creepiest parts from the hit horror and creates an entire new darkish journey deep beneath the ocean. Stranded after an experiment goes flawed in an underwater facility, you could clear up puzzles, pore over paperwork, and unlock hidden passages to uncover the horrifying secrets and techniques onboard PATHOS-II.
After all, like all horror from Frictional Video games, you may anticipate loads of scares, lurking monsters, and the fixed worry that one thing follows.
System Shock 2
System Shock 2 kicked a specific taste of first-person survival horror video games into gear. It boasts an open-ended construction with an infinite maze of decks and quarters that promote exploration and discovery. It’s a lot like being caught in a haunted John Lewis, besides with psychic loss of life monkeys.
The faster-than-light Von Braun is a persistent world that seems to exist and unfold even whereas your again is turned – constructing a heightened sense of place aboard the scarcely populated starship.
However it’s corrupted synthetic intelligence SHODAN who makes System Shock 2 one of many best horror video games to have ever graced our honest platform. Proper up there with HAL 9000 within the soothingly voiced but subtly evil pc stakes, she torments and tips you endlessly, remodeling an already terrifying survival RPG into an isolationist horror traditional. Few area video games match System Shock 2’s sense of isolation.
Apsulov: Finish of Gods
We’ve got three phrases for you: Future. Viking. Horror. That’s proper, Indignant Demon Studio’s Apsulov is an absolute must-play for Norse mythology lovers all over the place.
In Apsulov, you awaken in a analysis facility that’s been constructed to open gateways to the 9 realms and exploit them, whereas housing a strong, historic artifact. Whereas humanity has benefited enormously from the worlds of Yggdrasil, it might have forgotten that portals are a two-way road… Now, armed with the Jarngreipr, a prosthetic that has the means to channel the facility of this artifact, you’ll must contest with the evil powers past Midgard to forestall your world from being consumed.
That’s all from us, the easiest horror video games out there on PC. If you happen to’re in want of a little bit R&R, why not take a look at one of the best card video games or constructing video games on PC? It’s okay; you may come out from behind no matter piece of furnishings you’ve been cowering behind; that actually is all the things – we’re not going to throw an inexpensive bounce scare into the credit or something like that.
