Are you an anime fan who enjoys suspense, thrills, and horror? Looking to play a game with an edgy, mysterious storyline with plot twists and turns? Or are you just into murder and mayhem altogether? If you’re looking to get spooked but unsure where to look, you came to the right place. Here are some of the Top 10 Best Anime Horror Video Games to get you started.
10. Corpse Party
Corpse Party is a game about a group of students trapped in a haunted elementary school. Everyone’s life is on the line as the group has to get by ghosts lurking throughout the school. In order to make it out, the students have to go through a series of puzzles, with multiple end results of either good or bad endgames. You definitely don’t want the bad ending with all these enemies around.
9. The Letter
If you are into visual novel gaming and horror, then you should play “The Letter.” Seven people become trapped in a 17th century English mansion during the mansion’s open house. The group of people fall under the curse within the home, as the player, you have to make decisions upon the routes you take in the game leading to a combination of over 20 different possible endings. The visual novel game has over 700k worth of text, however, the art and suspense have players wanting more.
8. Fatal Frame/Project Zero
Known as Fatal Frame in Japan, and Project Zero in Europe and Australia, this game is a horror classic. Fatal Frame follows the story of twins who discover the truth about their upbringing and hometown and how their town practiced horrific rituals. The gameplay includes escaping the town and horrendous sounds of the dead following you in your tracks. This playthrough will absolutely give you the heebie jeebies, and even more so now that there is a new installment, Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water.
7. Catherine
Produced by the same team that created the Persona series, Catherine is a unique nightmare puzzle game that plays while the main character, Vincent, is asleep at night. Vincent is between his girlfriend, Katherine, and a woman he has an affair with, named Catherine. With the heightened promiscuity between Vincent and Catherine, his nightmares become worse. The player goes through the trials of the nightmares, which include deranged anthropomorphic sheep, Animal Crossing, eat your heart out.
6. Shin Hariyagami
Another horror visual novel on the list, it would be a “crime” to not include Shin Hariyagami. The game follows the use of decision making for a crime investigation. As the player, you use your detective skills to find clues to decipher a murder mystery following the urban tale of the “BlindMan”. The game is filled with thrilling and terrifying images and stories that will be sure to send a chill down your spine.
5. Mad Father
If you are into plot twists, Mad Father is a game you should get your hands on. The plot centers on a girl and her scientist father who is into some freaky taxidermy. It starts off with the young girl, Aya, reminiscing on her mother’s death anniversary, where she goes to meet up with her father but finds out her home and his laboratory end up being swarmed by the spirits of her dad’s experiments, cursed by Aya’s late mother. The game is known to be one of the best indie horror RPGS up to date with an ending that will explain more than meets the eye.
4. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sui
For horror anime fans, if you have not heard of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, you are missing out. The game, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Sui, includes the characters of Higurashi, and their mysterious, cursed village. The visual novel game is divided under four arcs each containing different stories and situations among the main cast of characters and the mysteries and murders between them in the village. The characters appear to be a cute group of innocent kids, that is, until the curse comes along. I personally loved the show when I was younger, which was based on the visual novels themselves. If you have seen or are newly interested in Higurashi, I would give the visual novels or the anime a try, just to dip your feet in the water...or blood, perhaps.
3. Danganropa
While not super hardcore on horror, the Daganropa series has some creepy stuff going on. The game focuses on a student named Makoto Naegi who gets imprisoned in school, along with his classmates, all hostage to a wild remote controlled bear. It sounds weird, I know, but that’s not even the creepy part. The bear, Monokuma, threatens death to the students if they do not abide by his school rules. The eccentric elements are what gives the game its quirks and notable thrills for players who enjoy such games without as much gore.
2. Doki Doki Literature Club
Now I know what you’re thinking. What the heck is this? Like Higurashi, Doki Doki Literature Club is a game that is not what it appears to be at first glance. Never judge a book by its cover! Although it appears to look like a dating simulation visual novel, the game is a psychological horror. What makes it scary is how interactive the game is, along with the depressing elements and yandere love style some of the characters give off. Not trying to spoil anything here, one of the characters in the dating sim just really wants to be with you, and I mean YOU, not the main character. These elements add some surprises that may lead you to believe your computer is possessed, talk about interactive....almost making me want to burn my laptop after it all.
1. Resident Evil Series
You may be living under a rock if you have not heard of the Resident Evil series. Scratch that, I would be living under a rock after playing Resident Evil cause it scares the crap out of me sometimes. While not completely an anime, it does have anime elements to it with the artstyle. Resident Evil is a survival horror game classic, reaping zombies back into pop culture, sorry The Walking Dead. The franchise is immensely popular and a mainstay within the horror genre. With sexy characters such as Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong, and their skill sets, the game makes zombie slaying always in fashion.
