Best of
The best horror games
Horror in games works differently than in film: you cannot look away, you have to keep walking. That is exactly what makes the genre so effective and so exhausting. Loud jump-scare rollercoaster or dread that slowly crawls up your neck, these are the ones that actually land.
This list in numbers
- 85 games in this category
- 88 average rating of the top 30
- 13 median playtime in hours
- 27 release years covered (1999 to 2026)
- 5 of 30 playable in co-op
- 16 of 30 are cheap or free
Why these three lead
Resident Evil 4 (Remake 2023) takes the top spot with 95 out of 100, followed by Alan Wake 2 at 93 and Resident Evil 2 (Remake 2019) at 93. All three clear the 88 point average of this list, and the gap to the rest of the field is small enough that your own taste matters more than the ranking.
How this list is put together
I start from every game in the database that fits this category, currently 85, and sort them by the aggregated critic rating. The 30 highest scoring titles make the list. No publisher can pay to appear here, and the affiliate links have no effect on the order. The full method is explained under how I pick.
- 1
Resident Evil 4 (Remake 2023) Profile
A remake of the classic in which Leon S. Kennedy must rescue the president's daughter from the clutches of a Spanish cult. A perfect balance of horror, action and clever resource management.
PCPlayStationXboxMobile - 2
Alan Wake 2 Profile
Two parallel investigations, an FBI agent and a trapped writer, weave together into one of the most unusual horror stories of recent years. Reality and fiction blend more and more the deeper you dig.
PCPlayStationXbox - 3
Resident Evil 2 (Remake 2019) Profile
In a zombie infested Raccoon City, two police officers fight for survival with scarce resources. Tight corridors, classic puzzle design and constant threat from undead creatures create lasting tension.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitchMobile - 4
System Shock 2 Profile
Aboard a spaceship taken over by a hostile AI, players fight for survival against mutants and the manipulative SHODAN. Its blend of horror, RPG elements and resource management made it a template for later genre classics.
- 5
Resident Evil Requiem Profile
The ninth entry in the Resident Evil series weaves together the stories of FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft and agent Leon S. Kennedy into an oppressive survival horror experience. Two distinct gameplay styles collide to create an emotional, nerve wracking journey.
XboxSwitchPCPlayStation - 6
Dead Space 2 Profile
Three years after the first nightmare, engineer Isaac Clarke wakes up on a space station full of necromorphs and must fight for survival once again. Faster pacing, bigger set pieces and dense sci fi horror atmosphere make the sequel a genre highlight.
PCPlayStationXbox - 7
Silent Hill 2 (Remake 2024) Profile
James Sunderland follows a letter from his dead wife into the fog shrouded town of Silent Hill and is forced to confront his own guilt. Psychological horror with an oppressive atmosphere and rich symbolism.
PCPlayStationXbox - 8
Dead Space (Remake 2023)
Aboard the crippled mining ship Ishimura, engineer Isaac Clarke fights mutated Necromorphs. Strategic dismemberment and an oppressive, seamless sci-fi setting create constant horror.
PCPlayStationXbox - 9
Left 4 Dead 2
A co-op classic against zombie hordes, where a dynamic AI called the Director tailors pacing and difficulty to every individual match. Four survivors must fight their way through with limited resources until rescue arrives.
PCXbox - 10
BioShock
After a plane crash, players end up in the decaying underwater city of Rapture, a failed utopia full of mutated inhabitants and moral questions. The remastered version from the BioShock Collection brings this genre classic to current systems with improved visuals.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitch - 11
DOOM
The 1993 shooter that started it all laid the foundation for the entire genre and has been available remastered since the 2019 Bethesda rerelease on PC, consoles and Switch. Its fast paced gunplay and maze like level structures remain hugely influential.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitchMobile - 12
Helldivers 2
A chaotic co-op shooter against alien hordes, where friendly fire and satirical propaganda humor are part of the fun. Coordinated strategy against Bugs and Bots demands real teamwork.
PCPlayStationXbox - 13
Slay the Princess
A narrative horror adventure that repeatedly forces the same choice, whether to slay an imprisoned princess. Every choice leads to entirely new, often shocking narrative paths with fully voiced dialogue between two inner voices.
PCSwitch - 14
Buckshot Roulette
A tense duel against an eerie dealer in which a shotgun loaded with live and blank shells is fired back and forth. A handful of clever item mechanics create constant bluffing and risk calculation across short, nerve wracking rounds.
PCMobileXboxPlayStationSwitch - 15
Quake
The 1996 shooter introduced fully three dimensional environments and free look camera control and has been available in remastered form since the 2021 rerelease on PC, consoles and Switch. Its dark atmosphere and legendary multiplayer shaped an entire generation of shooters.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitch - 16
Resident Evil Village
Ethan Winters searches a cursed village for his kidnapped daughter and runs into vampires, werewolves and Lady Dimitrescu along the way. It blends first-person horror with noticeably more action than its predecessors.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitchMobile - 17
Alien: Isolation
Amanda Ripley searches the space station Sevastopol for answers about her missing mother, while a single deadly Alien hunts her relentlessly. Pure sneak and hide gameplay with no power fantasy in sight.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitch - 18
Dredge
An eerie fishing adventure where players sail mysterious waters at night hunting strange fish while keeping an eye on their own sanity. Between inventory management and Lovecraftian horror it builds an unsettling atmosphere.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitchMobile - 19
- 20
Silent Hill f
In 1960s Japan, a schoolgirl's hometown transforms into a nightmare world overgrown with flowers and fog, filled with symbolic monsters. The series leaves its American small town roots for the first time with a new, self contained chapter.
PCPlayStationXbox - 21
The Forest
After a plane crash, players must build a base and search for a missing son on an island inhabited by mutants. Calm daytime gathering alternates with brutal cave excursions against cannibalistic creatures.
PCPlayStation - 22
Amnesia: The Bunker
Trapped in a World War One bunker, a soldier shares the space with a creature that hears every sound, while generator fuel and ammunition run scarce. The compact, immersive sim inspired design allows many ways to handle the same threat.
PCPlayStationXbox - 23
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Daniel wakes with no memory in a grim castle and must solve puzzles while an unseen horror stalks the halls and his sanity fades. With no weapons at all, this game was a defining force in shaping the modern hiding based horror genre.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitch - 24
Barotrauma
Aboard a submarine on the Jovian moon Europa, crews must jointly operate reactors, seal leaks and fend off deep sea monsters while betrayal and chaos loom at every turn. The 2D visuals mask the enormous complexity of its systems simulation.
- 25
Lethal Company
As underpaid company employees, players scavenge for scrap on alien moons while monstrous creatures lurk in the dark. The mix of slapstick humor and sudden horror makes it perfect for playing with friends.
- 26
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Ethan Winters searches for his missing wife on a derelict Louisiana plantation and falls into the clutches of the Baker family. The shift to first person and claustrophobic interiors brings the series back to true survival horror.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitchMobile - 27
Signalis
An android technician searches an icy, abandoned colony for a missing partner, while scarce resources and puzzles create classic survival horror tension. The grim retro visuals and unsettling sci-fi plot strongly recall classic genre touchstones.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitch - 28
Limbo
A nameless boy crosses an oppressive black and white world full of deadly traps in search of his sister. The minimalist visuals and unsettling sound design create a dense, eerie atmosphere.
PCPlayStationXboxSwitchMobile - 29
Mouthwashing
An oppressive psychological horror experience aboard a crashed cargo spaceship whose crew gradually falls apart under the fallout of a disaster. Non linear storytelling and disturbing imagery make it an intense, short horror experience.
PCXboxPlayStationSwitch - 30
Pacific Drive
An atmospheric survival game where a lovingly repaired station wagon is the key tool for surviving a supernatural exclusion zone in the Pacific Northwest. Between drives through anomaly infested wilderness and tinkering in the garage, players build a close bond with their car.
PCPlayStationXbox
Worth reading on this
Common questions
- How many games of this kind are in the database?
- There are currently 85. This page shows the 30 with the highest critic rating, so nothing below that cut is missing by accident, it simply scored lower.
- What is the single best pick right now?
- Resident Evil 4 (Remake 2023), with 95 out of 100. That said, the top of this list sits within a few points, so the second or third entry may fit your evening better.
- How much time do these games ask for?
- The median across this list is about 13 hours. 19 of the 30 entries are finished in fifteen hours or less if you are short on time.
- Can I play these with friends?
- 5 of the 30 entries support co-op. The rest are built as single player experiences.
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