These are the top 10 of the scariest games you can play for yourself … if you dare.
10. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
“Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Scary Gameplay”
Castle Brennenburg is cut straight from a lovecraft novel and it is teeming with just as many eldritch secrets and gruesome rituals. You play as Daniel, and you’ve got to avoid the looming Shadow and the grotesque monsters that roam the empty and dark hallways of this crumbling castle, while also trying to remember what you’re doing here.
This older game became an instant cult classic upon its release in 2010, and for good reason. The setting is sprawling, the puzzles are rewarding, and the stealth alongside the horrifying soundtrack make it an experience that’ll keep you tense from the beginning all the way up to the end. The monsters are all unique and gruesome, the storytelling is on point, and the (now dated) graphics were the best we’d seen up to that point.
Featuring a sanity meter that will decline when you stay in darkness or stare at the monsters, limited light sources, and a stealth mode that is still being copied by various games now, Amnesia: The Dark Descent paved a highway for future games to remind us why we love horror so much, and that’s why it’s essential to talk about first.
Derelict Castle Brennenburg is full of monsters and also this grotesque, fleshy, pulsating ooze known only as The Shadow.
Thanks for the ominous hint! But I think it’s a bit too late to do any hiding now.
9. Cry of Fear
“Cry of Fear - Launch Trailer”
A cold night in Sweden turns into something a little more harrowing. Simon Henriksson wakes in a dirty alleyway while the city he lives in is overrun with humanoid, bloody monsters. Your only goal is to survive, while being careful of who you trust.
Cry of Fear rocked the gaming world in 2012 upon its release, and for good reason. The grotesque and bizarre monsters, the dark and intense setting, and the graphics were all at the peak of production back in its heyday. This game features up to eight different chapters that reveal the story as you go along, giving it a high replayability value as well. There’s also a deeper story behind it, but I won’t give too much away since you really do have to experience it for yourself.
Cry of Fear is scary even now, but it’s also just a little silly at times, making it higher up on this list. It’s still a terrifying experience to play alone with headphones on, don’t get me wrong. It’s when you add the option of playing with friends over the internet that the real humor aspect of it comes in. Cry of Fear is one of the scariest games because of the overwhelming sense of loneliness in this otherwise empty, run down city. I recommend playing it at least once, since it’s free.
Simon’s mom sends him a message while he is trying to make a decision about what to do with the mutated, bloody creature in front of him.
The co-op version has you play as four policemen, armed to the teeth but still so, so vulnerable.
8. Alien: Isolation
“Alien: Isolation Survive Gameplay Trailer - E3, 2014”
Alien: Isolation takes place in the year 2137, and features the daughter of Ellen Ripley, Amanda. Her job is to board the long lost Nostromo spacecraft that her own mother went missing in seven years prior, and retrieve it for the valuable information it has inside.
Alien: Isolation pays homage to the original movie released in 1979, and does it in a truly bone-chilling way. The very fact that you’re now playing as Amanda Ripley, who was never fortunate enough to escape her mother’s gruesome fate, is the kind of story building and world building that long time fans of the franchise love to see.
This stealth centered, creepy game makes you really feel as though you were abandoned in space with little to no contact from the outside world. That’s why it’s one of the scariest, because the dark atmosphere alongside the cut off feeling of being trapped in space really get into your head, especially if you play alone in a dark room with headphones on.
An alien abducts this poor doctor while you hide and watch from afar.
Yikes! This alien’s smile is radiant, but I’m not so sure I’d want to get so close to one.
7. Resident Evil HD Remake
“Resident Evil HD - Gameplay Trailer”
After a bizarre series of murders take place in the otherwise quiet Racoon City, the police send their Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS) to scope out the crime scene and solve why these murders are taking place in such a lavish, sprawling mansion.
This HD remake of the original Resident Evil not only makes it look great, but play even scarier. The 1996 version is carefully crafted into a newer, fresher, scarier game in 2015, and even now the graphics, gameplay, and setting still hold up. Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield are brought into the 21st century and us alongside them, making for a game that’s great for the nostalgia but also easy for first time Resident Evil players to get into.
The puzzles, atmosphere, and terrifically gruesome monster design translate well into the modern day. If you’ve never played Resident Evil and have been looking for a chance to, you’re in luck! It’s going for about 20$ on steam, and I highly recommend playing it at least once.
Since you have limited ammo, a good decision is turning away from your shambling enemies. Jill Valentine is making an escape, knowing full well of the danger behind her.
Ouch! Chris Redfield is cornered by these two zombie-like enemies, let’s hope he can get out of their grasp.
6. Dead Space 2
“Dead Space 2 Trailer - E3 2010”
Isaac Clarke returns in this chilling sequel to the first critically acclaimed Dead Space. After waking up in a destroyed mental health facility, Isaac soon finds out that the Sprawl is infected with Necromorphs - And now he must survive with little to no idea of what happened to him, or why he’s even here.
Dead Space as a series is … fantastically grotesque. Corpses that reanimate to become aliens, horrifically long and twisted, fleshy limbs, the thought of parasites in space - What’s not to love about any of those descriptors? Dead Space 2’s writing is right on par with the original, and the addition of a mental illness in Isaac makes for a disability we rarely see portrayed well in the protagonist of a triple A game like this.
Featuring intense and quick combat, an array of power-ups and even telekinesis, you feel a little more protected against the army of bloodthirsty necromorphs … but not much. You can also solve puzzles and keep track of your oxygen levels as you unravel the story, making for strategic, challenging combat. Dead Space 2 improves on the combat from the first game, and makes it even scarier, to boot. If you have a fear of parasites or being alone in space, maybe consider watching a playthrough instead.
Isaac tears through a necromorph. Good riddance!
Oops. Just kidding. Now the tables are turned, and he’s the necromorph’s meal.
5. Condemned: Criminal Origins
“Condemned: Criminal Origins Trailer”
Ethan Thomas, a detective for the Metro city police department, has managed to track a prolific serial killer known as the Match Maker to a run-down mansion. However, detaining and stopping this killer proves to be no easy feat.
Condemned: Criminal Origins is intense. Not too often do we get to play as a cop tracking down a serial killer, but this game makes sure that we know the stakes and we adhere to the Match Maker’s evil whims. This psychological look into the mind of a killer is dark, twisted, and downright evil. That’s why it makes for such an interesting, terrifying game.
Ethan and the Match Maker are an unstoppable force and an unmoving object. The tension, clues, crime scene investigation, and added combat only make the experience gripping, and gut-wrenching when you have to look around corpses inside of a crime scene to see how they died, and later, why. There are many reasons why this is a horrific game, but the main reason has to be for the gruesomely detailed cadavers and the writing itself.
Ethan investigates the murder of this poor young woman. The second body is a mannequin.
On top of there being a serial killer roaming the streets, there are also psychotic and violent hospital patients for you to fight.
4. The Evil Within 2
“THE EVIL WITHIN 2 Gameplay Trailer (E3 2017)”
Retired cop Sebastian Castellanos returns to detective duty in this sequel to the first Evil Within, and this time he is hellbent on finding his long lost daughter, Lily. It’s your job to navigate the nightmarish realms of her imagination and bring justice for your little girl.
This game’s release was awaited with bated breath and for good reason. The gameplay’s fluid, the setting is interesting and intense, and the tension remains all up to the last chapter. This horror survival has upped the combat system by adding a crafting ability, allowing you to make your own ammunition should you run short. The different areas you explore are dense yet close-knit, and the storyline is presented expertly.
There are also additional side objectives which aren’t required to complete, but often fun to. Stealth is optional, but if I were you? I think I’d want to avoid my enemies rather than confront them. Especially since they look so gruesome in this edition of the Evil Within. You’ll see what I mean in just a minute.
Ethan takes aim at what once was a human. Twisted into a zombie-like abomination, she can do little but shamble towards him.
Lily’s presence is everywhere in Utopia, for the better or worse.
3. Until Dawn
“Until Dawn - Teaser Trailer | PS4”
A group of friends re-unites upon the snowy Blackwood Mountain one year after Josh Washington’s little sisters, Beth and Hannah’s deaths. Little do these teens know, they’re in for the worst nights of their lives, surrounded by a mad killer and ghastly, ghoulish beasts lurking in the dark.
Playing out much like a campy slasher movie for the first half of the game, Until Dawn’s strength lies in the storytelling. With game mechanics like staying still amid the jumpscares and the tension of being chased by a killer or a Wendigo, there’s plenty to be terrified of. Especially if you’ve got little means of protection, and the death scenes are downright gory. This game is terrifying. I mean that very sincerely, and in a good way. The setting is vast, the story is solid, and the plot twists genuinely had me gasping out loud. The detailed character models and believable graphics also add to the fun of running for your life.
One of the game mechanics is holding your controller very still, and another is the addition of the butterfly effect, which will control the lives of the group of teens you play as. It reminds me a whole lot of Friday the 13th, but also stands out for itself with its realistic graphics and easy to utilize interface. Until Dawn’s also got celebrities voicing and being character models in its universe, only adding to the feeling of a slasher film gone wrong. If you get a chance to check it out, make sure you play it with a friend in the room, or else every little bump and move around your own house will have you flinching.
Samantha comes face to face with a masked killer, wearing only her towel! Poor girl. She must be freezing.
Mike finds a bizarre contraption inside of an old and abandoned hospital. It’s definitely human flesh ...
2. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
“Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - Gameplay Trailer Part 1”
After Ethan Winters receives a mysterious video message from his wife Mia who has been missing for three years, he decides to head into the rundown and rotting plantation in Dulvey, Louisiana to see if he can’t find her himself. And from then on … Ethan more or less descends directly into Hell.
This game is a gorefest! That’s part of what makes it so horrific, it’s the feeling of being so vulnerable among a cast of characters who wants only one thing: For you to die in the most twisted, gut-wrenching ways possible. This game breathes a breath of fresh air into the Resident Evil series, and rejuvenates it by making the setting, graphics, and storyline graphic, gory, and great. Mia’s model looks tremendous, as do the models of Jack, Marguerite, Zoe, and Lucas Baker, the antagonists of the story.
The feeling of rot permeating is only added onto the setting by the vicious, fungus-like mold that grows in every inch of the house. Mia doesn’t seem to be herself anymore, and the question now is: What happened here? It’s a complex answer that’s given away through stealth and combat elements reflective of the first Resident Evil game which fans adored and critics applauded. Do be warned: This is a dark, twisted game. There were parts I had to watch with my eyes covered. It’s right up at the top of scary games, and for good reason. If you decide to play it yourself, I hope you have a strong stomach.
It almost looks real, doesn’t it? This is the van you find that belongs to the last people who decided to step foot into the Baker residence.
The lovely Ms. Baker slams a door in Ethan’s face after spewing profanities at him. If I were you, buddy, I would have just left.
1. Outlast 2
“Farm Horror - Outlast II Official Gameplay”
Blake Langermann’s plane has crashed over the Supai region in Arizona, leaving you stranded among the psychotic, murderous masses. Your wife, Lyn Langermann, is also missing among residents who believe she is the mother of none other than the Antichrist. Everything in this game wants to kill you, so you’d better be quick on your feet.
Dark, gore filled, twisted, and heavily biblical, Outlast 2 is a masterpiece of horror. You are more than just helpless, you are prey walking straight into the den of the monsters. With the great transition between memory and reality, the question of the Antichrist really being inside of your wife, the terrifying, unkillable NPCS who only want you to die at the hands of their violent tools, and the found footage aspect that people loved about the first Outlast, Outlast 2 is the kind of game to give you nightmares within the first five minutes of playing it.
I’m not kidding when I say this game is a gorefest, more so than Resident Evil 7. It’s filled with bloody corpses, strung up people on crosses, an entire section of disease ridden, manic enemies, a whole pit of dead infants … And the list goes on and on. If your stomach churned over Resident Evil 7, maybe a lets play is more your speed, I know I had to keep my lunch down a few times while just watching this cinematic, pulse-shaking game. Oh, and be warned also that there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of referenced sexual violence against men and women. It’s like a nightmare come to life, and that’s why it’s the scariest game on this list.
A crazed villager with a machete in hand looks for Blake as he hides underneath a bed. This is one of the many stealth elements that are essential to survival.
Uhhh, nope. Blake’s memories are scary. I don’t want to go near that thing.
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