Phasmophobia offers a cooperative horror puzzle experience with replay value due to ghost-hunting mechanics.
Horror games finally give players the opportunity to secure the best frights at the comfort of their consoles – with recent titles practically immersing players in horrific situations with impressive graphics and rather intuitive mechanics. However, with hundreds or even thousands of horror titles at a player’s disposal, it might be difficult to find the “right” horror titles that will be worth their purchase.
This can be a problem, as games being priced at around USD 70 for Triple-A and more modern titles, players might think it’s too much of a risk to cash in on a horror game that might not even be up to the kind of frights they’re looking for. Thankfully, there are actually games across the previous decade that are more than worth the value that players can spend in them.
Note:
Free games will not be considered for the list.
Five Nights At Freddy’s
A Terrifying Point-And-Click Experience That Spawned A Franchise
- Price: USD 4.99 (STEAM)
At first glance, one might be surprised how a point-and-click experience like Five Nights At Freddy’s spawned an entire horror franchise – but the idea of the helpless Mike Schmidt having to survive the graveyard shift in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza against killer animatronics can certainly pique a player’s interest. What’s hard about having to monitor cameras and turning on the lights in the pizzeria, and closing the doors when the animatronics are too close to Mike’s office? Well, Five Nights At Freddy’s ups the scare factor with a limited electricity supply.
When players run out of electricity, the lights close and the doors open – leaving Mike defenseless against the game’s animatronics and players open to a jump scare. Mike has to use his tools sparingly, even if it means only using them just inches away from a killer animatronic entering the office. Despite spawning multiple sequels and spinoffs, some consider the simplistic but immersive nature of the OGDead By Daylight
Dead By Daylight
It’s Survivors Versus A Killer In A 4v1 Fight For Survival
- Price: USD 7.99 (STEAM) – $6.65 at Gamivo
Players who ever screamed at a horror movie character for being stupid can finally “do it” themselves with Dead By Daylight, a cooperative 4v1 horror title that pits four players as Survivors against another player Killer out to “offer” them to the Entity in the Fog. Essentially positioned as a quasi-crossover title, Dead By Daylight offers its fair share of Survivors with special talents and Killers with unique abilities – both of which are either from Dead By Daylight’s own lore or from versions of horror movie characters dragged into the Fog and into their respective Realms.
While at first glance not seemingly a “horror” title as Survivors and Killers are all players, matches in these Realms become showdowns for survival – encapsulating the essence of survival horror itself. Survivors have to repair Generators and power Exit Gates, all the while Killers are out to chase them, destroy their Generators, and attach them to Hooks to offer them to the Entity. This game forces Killers to use their powers strategically to outwit Survivors, while the latter are forced to overcome their fear with their wit as they try to outmaneuver the Killer every step of the way.
Left 4 Dead 2
A Replayable Zombie Co-Op That’s As Scary As It Is Fun
- Price: USD 9.99 (STEAM) – $0.97 at Gamivo
Anyone who’s played Left 4 Dead 2 might think its rather B-Film spoof meta-premise seems anything but scary. However, this 2009 hit from Valve is not just replayable for its rather campy setup and horde-based mechanics, but in the sheer fright of putting four players (or even one player and three allies) in the face of impossible odds against zombies that don’t seem to stop. Playing through the Campaign means going through various stages of a “story,” and a Realism mode hides a lot of the visually-gamified components in the hopes of creating a more horrific scenario.
Despite the sheer comedic thrills of friends helping each other out in the face of zombie attacks, Left 4 Dead 2 can slowly frighten players when they least expect it – ammunition running out, health packs running low, and the sight of a Witch that can be rattled into a lethal assault with the slightest of sounds. Even the sight of a Charger and a Tank can send co-op teams into fight-or-flight mode, as they can end playthroughs rather quickly.
Phasmophobia
Hunt Ghosts With Friends Within A Replayable Horror Experience
- Price: USD 19.99 (STEAM) – $5.37 at Gamivo
For a game whose mechanics could reduce into more of a cooperative horror puzzle experience, Phasmophobia offers quite a lot of replayability due to this very nature. Phasmophobia players are ghost hunters sent to a specific location, and they need to strategically use real-life ghost-hunting gadgets to detect supernatural activity. The game’s roster of ghosts always displays three prominent “behaviors” that players need to spot in order to properly guess its identity. And they need to do it fast before the ghost starts killing them.
There are catches, however. Phasmophobia levels aren’t just houses but also campgrounds and prison complexes – all of which have intricate maps and hiding spots that players need to take note of. There’s even a Spirit Box that players can quite literally “speak” to in the hopes of triggering a ghost response. What makes Phasmophobia especially appealing is its distinct lack of jumpscares. While hauntings feature flickering ghosts, they never quite deliberately “shock” players – making Phasmophobia a more bearable experience even for the easily-scared. And with the option to play with both friends and random players, Phasmophobia can become both a horrific and hilarious experience.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Darkness Itself Is The Enemy
- Price: USD 19.99 (STEAM) – $5.04 at Gamivo
For a 2010 title, Amnesia: The Dark Descent makes a stark departure to the idea of survival horror with its heavy psychological premise. Set in Castle Brennenburg, protagonist Daniel – who is also an amnesiac – must avoid the horrors of this fortress while solving puzzles that could hopefully help him realize why he lost his memory in the first place. While this premise is not quite dissimilar to Resident Evil needing players to explore a vast mansion, Amnesia: The Dark Descent takes a dark twist at the survival horror formula with the fact that Daniel has no means of fighting the monsters that pursue him.
With this in mind, Daniel can only hide. And when monsters see him, Daniel should get out of their sight or go hide in the dark where they can’t see him. Unfortunately, darkness itself is the enemy – Daniel loses his Sanity when he sees horrific events or stays in the shadows for too long, resulting in auditory and visual hallucinations throughout the game screen. This level of immersion is quite unprecedented in survival horror, leading Amnesia to receive quite the number of accolades since its release.
Outlast
The Perfect Encapsulation Of Found Footage Horror
- Price: USD 19.99 (STEAM) – $1.02 at Gamivo
Just because a game is a classic doesn’t mean it can’t stand up to horror titles today, and this is precisely what Outlast represents. Presented as a found footage psychological horror film, Outlast tells the journey of investigative journalist Miles Upshur as he investigates the dilapidated psychiatric facility known as Mount Massive Asylum. After being tipped that the facility is a site of inhumane experiments, he gets more than what he came for when he discovers the hospital is a site of its fair share of deranged inmates more than willing to pursue and kill him.
Banking on the “realistic” notion of a smart but non-combative journalist, Miles cannot fight enemies in Outlast. Rather, he can only try to hide and outrun them in his journey. The game’s emphasis on stealth, vaulting, running, and sneaking about is even more emphasized with its fair share of jump scares – courtesy of grotesque enemies and a gripping but horrifying story that will leave players sleeping at night.
Alien: Isolation
The Epitome Of Hopeless Alien Immersion
- Price: USD 39.99 (STEAM) – $3.57 at Gamivo
Despite its 2014 release, Alien: Isolation remains a gripping horror title that demands attention whenever it’s played. Essentially the perfect encapsulation of the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation puts players in the perspective of Amanda Ripley, a good 15 years after the ending of the first Alien film. In a desperate bid to search for her mother Ellen Ripley, Amanda stumbles upon the space station Sevastopol that had stored the Nostromo’s (Ellen’s ship in the film) flight recorder. Unfortunately for Amanda, she gets more than what she bargained for – she has to fight hostile humans, androids, and even an Alien that constantly stalks her in the ship.
Unlike other horror games where players can destroy its monsters, Alien: Isolation retains the imagery of the Alien as the “perfect predator” – Amanda cannot kill the Alien. She can only hope to hide from it – hoping her equipment can detect it before the Alien can spot her. Noise she makes can prompt a quick response, and lights she produces can attract its attention. Such is the attention to detail of Alien: Isolation that it’s earned praise (and infamy) for its artificial intelligence, level design, and merciless mechanics.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Relive Claire And Leon’s Story In Raccoon City
- Price: USD 39.99 (STEAM) – $6.69 at Gamivo
Gamers both familiar and unfamiliar with the OG Resident Evil 2 will still have an exhilarating time surviving the horrors of Raccoon City in Resident Evil 2 Remake. Aside from boasting improved graphics and smoother gameplay, the upgraded RE2 Remake takes its time to expand on existing Resident Evil lore with more grounded interactions, attention to detail, and immersion that encapsulated what made the original Resident Evil 2 a replayable experience.
Essentially told from two perspectives, Resident Evil 2 Remake tells the story of rookie RCPD officer Leon Kennedy who stumbles upon a city-wide zombie outbreak on his first day on the job. On the opposite side of the coin is Claire Redfield, a university student trying to find her brother Chris, who was actually the protagonist of Resident Evil 1 Remake. Fate has it that Leon and Claire stumble upon each other at the onset of the outbreak, and their adventures would constantly have their paths cross as they try to survive an entire city’s worth of zombies. The presence of two protagonists essentially demands four different playthroughs, all of which tell a different story. Combined with a fourth-person view with more visceral action, Resident Evil 2 Remake is a worthwhile re-exploration of Capcom’s classic survival horror franchise.
Dead Space
The Title That Redefined Modern Sci-Fi Horror
- Price: USD 19.99 (STEAM)
Despite its 2008 release, Dead Space was a refreshing take on the survival horror genre for its grim sci-fi premise, tense sci-fi action, and a riveting plot that will leave players desperate to ensure starship engineer Isaac Clarke stays alive to find out what happened to the love of his life. Unfortunately for him, his trip in the USG Ishimura is interrupted with the discovery of its new horrific residents – revived corpses named Necromorphs. Despite its action horror backdrop, the desolate nature of the ship and the difficulty in dealing with Necromorphs has made Dead Space into quite a compelling experience.
For starters, Isaac constantly deals with different environments, such as vacuums with limited air supplies or zero-gravity zones that change the dynamics of combat. Limited ammunition, Nodes, and health pickups are the only means for Isaac to stay alive, while enemies adapt to injuries with new mechanics that force players to stay on their toes. The game’s menus being “integrated” into the environment (health bars in Isaac’s suit, ammunition displayed on weapons, information displays as holograms, pause menu not pausing the game) was especially praised – allowing players to sink themselves into Isaac’s journey sans the distraction.
Silent Hill 2 Remake
A Riveting Recreation Of A Psychological Horror Experience
- Price: USD 69.99 (STEAM) $36.27 at Gamivo
Konami finally releases a remake of the acclaimed Silent Hill 2 in 2024, making Silent Hill 2 Remake a refreshing take on the horror title since the game’s critical response after the original’s 2001 release. The game still takes place in the eponymous town of Silent Hill, with players taking the role of James Sunderland as he answers the “invitation” of his deceased wife. Unlike the original game’s predetermined camera, Silent Hill 2 takes a page off Resident Evil Remake’s book and plays with a third-person perspective and new combat mechanics.
Despite predictable scares that survival horror savants will likely remember from their first playthroughs, Silent Hill 2 Remake can still manage to take a player’s breath away with a renewed visceral take on its atmosphere. Improved graphics meant Silent Hill 2 Remake could bathe players in the frights of the Otherworld – no jump scares required.
What are your thoughts on this list? Did I miss any games you thought should be on it?
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