Sometimes you want a relaxing game on your laptop to curl up in bed with, and other times you want something thrilling to scare the living daylights out of you. We have games for you in the latter instance. It’s time to indulge in a little emotional masochism and look for the scariest and best horror games to play alone, with friends and family, or even live broadcast.
Little Nightmares
This game is an underdog adventure developed by Tarsier Studios that surprised many who presumed it was just another dark side-scrolling game similar to Limbo or Inside. Little Nightmares surpasses them both in terms of crafting an immersive world and engaging gameplay connected to the game’s primary concept. It is playable in one session in just two to four hours.
You take on the role of a young girl stranded on a mysterious, deteriorating vessel. The majority of this nightmare is about evading terrifying creatures that are significantly larger and stronger than you. The slightest disturbance will alert them to your presence, so every action you take is crucial. When you turn out the lights and dash up the stairs to your bedroom, you continually feel as though something is chasing you.
Dead Space
Dead Space is more action-oriented than any other game on this list, but its immersion and atmosphere earn it a place. Since Ridley Scott’s Alien, space horror has not been so well-executed and simplistic. You command Isaac Clarke, who is contending for survival on a space station overrun by monsters.
The third-person, over-the-shoulder perspective and masterful no-pause user interface of Dead Space keep you on your toes. The space station is a labyrinth full of freakazoids. As proficient as the HUD is the combat emphasis on destroying the monster’s limbs as opposed to always targeting the cranium. Fewer-limbed foes continue to claw, jump, and drag themselves towards you. Dead Space is the definition of “survival horror” due to the isolation of space and the unrelenting predators.
Fatal Frame 3
Fatal Frame games are scarier than Resident Evil and Silent Hill games because their design focuses less on firearms combat and psychological horror and more on placing the player in a defenseless position and frightening them. Although all of the mainline titles are excellent, the third is the most terrifying.
You command three distinct inhabitants of a contemporary Japanese residence. They arise in the ghost-infested Manor of Sleep after falling asleep. The manor is filled with ghostly encounters and subtle, tension-building false alarms, such as a cup plummeting to the floor. Fatal Frame 3’s daytime segments, in which the residence degrades from a place of safety to one of terror, stand out.
Until Dawn
Until Dawn, a cinematic horror game similar to Quantic Dreams’ story-driven games, places a clichéd group of adolescents in a clichéd cabin in the woods. These clichés, combined with the game’s release following several Telltale Games and Quantic Dreams flops, left little room for optimism. To our astonishment, it was incredible.
Outstanding images, an ominous atmosphere, a script written by a well-known horror writer, and a cast of excellent performers all contribute to the story’s ability to keep your attention right up to the very end.
P.T.
P.T. is the undisputed king of eeriness. This is the most terrifying game ever created. This was a demo for the now-cancelled Silent Hills video game that Konami was planning to develop.
In P.T., you repeatedly traverse the same hallway as the atmosphere becomes increasingly unsettling. Despite its limited scope and brief duration, this demo remains the most horrifying experience available on any platform. Those who have not yet played it or watched it on YouTube or Twitch will inevitably need to stretch their legs and take pauses. It is no longer available for distribution, so you will need a PlayStation 4 with the game already installed. In the worst-case scenario, view a YouTube long play without commentary.
Granny
A sinister grandmother holds you captive throughout the entirety of the horror game Granny, which takes place in her home. You find yourself waking up in a dark room and will need to move stealthily through the home in order to get out of there. The gameplay is notoriously tense, and it features numerous startling moments.
Exploration and sneaking around while attempting not to make any noise are essential components of play. Because the primary door comes with a variety of locks, it will be necessary for you to locate the keys as well as any other items necessary to open the door and make your escape.
If the Granny overhears you dropping things or walking on floorboards that creak, she will immediately start sprinting to the location where she heard the sound. You need also be on the lookout for her bear traps and other objects that could be hiding in the shadows, such as her animals.