Horror games come in all shapes and sizes. Some will send your adrenaline sky high when monsters and otherworldly creatures are chasing you; others will slowly build up dread and tension until you’re too scared to make a single move, lest you see the consequences.
We Could Do Without These Common Tropes In Horror Games
Perhaps it's time to retire these tropes in horror video games for good.
Now we’re fully in October, it’s the perfect time to dive right in and play some horror games. But there are some in the genre that are so terrifying, you’ll be left wishing you just went back to playing Stardew Valley (or whatever your favourite cosy game is) instead.
Alien: Isolation
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Creative Assembly
- Publisher(s)
- Sega
- Engine
- Cathode
- Franchise
- Alien
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 19 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 34 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Metascore
- 83
At this point, Alien: Isolation is infamous for the terrifying experience it foists upon anyone who dares play it. It’s set in the Alien universe, with you playing as Amanda Ripley, searching for her missing mother Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies.
You explore the Sevastopol space station, where the all-intelligent Xenomorph is lurking. The game uses artificial intelligence to programme the Xenomorph’s actions and movements, meaning it learns from everything you do. It always feels like the Xenomorph is hunting you and knows what you’re planning to do, which makes the entire game feel all the more horrifying. You’ll definitely need a cosy game break in between sessions of this one.
Yomawari Series
-
Yomawari: Night Alone
Systems
- Released
- August 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALPHYSICAL -
Yomawari: Lost in the Dark
Systems
- Released
- April 21, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITAL- ESRB
- T // Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Nippon Ichi Software
- Publisher(s)
- NIS America
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows
-
Yomawari: Midnight Shadows
Systems
- Released
- August 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALPHYSICAL- ESRB
- M // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Nippon Ichi Software
- Publisher(s)
- NIS America
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PS Vita, PlayStation 4, iOS, Android, Windows
The Yomawari series of horror games falls neatly into the category of looking cute, but is actually terrifying. All three games (Night Alone, Midnight Shadows, and Lost in the Dark) are fairly short, so you could easily get through them during the Halloween season, but you will want to take breaks from them. Trust me.
All three games follow young girl protagonists, who are exploring their town at nighttime. The town is filled with Japanese yokai, and if they catch you, they’ll definitely give you a jump scare or two. Don’t let the pixel art style fool you, though. The story in each of these games, and what the girls go through, will chill you to the bone.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Engine
- RE Engine
- Franchise
- Resident Evil
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- February 27, 2026
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, First-Person
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 10 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
Most of the Resident Evil games are slightly more action-oriented than horror. At least, you can use a gun in them, which makes you feel a lot safer when you’re exploring places infested with zombies. Resident Evil 7, however, flipped the script and took the series down a much more horror-centred path.
Horror Games That Start Off Terrifying And Become Utterly Boring The First Time You Die
Horror always struggles to hold up at length, but it should maybe last longer than your first death.
Playing as Ethan, you arrive at the bizarre Baker’s house, where your missing wife is supposed to be. What follows is one horrifying event after the other as you fight for survival. If you’re like me and don’t do particularly well with sneaky around, you’ll find yourself wishing you were playing literally anything else.
Outlast
- ESRB
- Mature // Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Red Barrels
- Publisher(s)
- Red Barrels
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Linux, macOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 5 hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 11.5 hours
- X|S Optimized
- No
- PS Plus Availability
- No
Outlast is easily one of the scariest first-person horror games to date. As a journalist exploring Mount Massive Asylum, you are completely defenseless against all the horrors that lurk there.
You spend your time desperately trying to find batteries for your camera so you can see in the dark, and hiding in lockers from the monsters waiting for you around every corner. So, you can see it’s not exactly a walk in the park. The stress of running out of batteries is enough to send your nerves sky rocketing, and combine that with a monster relentlessly chasing you? It’s enough to make anyone run crying back to Animal Crossing.
Detention
Detention
- Released
- January 12, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Real life is often more scary than anything we could make up in our heads. Detention’s narrative draws inspiration from Taiwan during the White Terror, when it was under martial law. Student Ray finds herself in a twisted version of her high school, which she must navigate through to unravel mysteries associated with the school.
The game has a very dark and oppressive atmosphere, as monsters known as the ‘lingered’ haunt the hallways. When you start to uncover what really happened, you’ll be left wishing you weren’t so privy to the truth.
Silent Hill
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Publisher(s)
- Konami
- Engine
- Unreal Engine
- Franchise
- Silent Hill
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PS1
- How Long To Beat
- 7 Hours
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 14 Hours
- Metascore
- 86
There’s something that’s still so creepy about the original Silent Hill. Maybe it’s the PS1-era graphics, the extremely effective sound design, or the horrifying monster designs, but walking through the fog-filled town as Harry Mason, looking for your daughter, is a chilling experience from start to finish.
These Classic PS2 Horror Games Are Still Severely Underrated
These excellent PlayStation 2 horror games may have been long forgotten, but they're still terrifyingly good!
Yes, as a much older game, it’s janky and the tank controls are difficult to master, but that just adds to the feeling of helplessness as you fight the monsters of Silent Hill. When you’re exploring the creepy, rusted Otherworld, you’ll likely find yourself wishing for the simplicity of a farming game…
Soma
Soma is a terrifying interpretation of our future. Set in the underwater facility PATHOS-II, the game has you exploring your environment to discover clues such as audio tapes and notes, all while using stealth to avoid the dangers that lurk all around you.
The game’s story will have you questioning everything - what’s real, and who can you trust? If you find avoiding the monsters too tough, though, you can turn on Safe Mode, where the monsters won’t kill you but you can still experience the narrative.
Darkwood
Unlike most other horror games, Darkwood interestingly uses a top-down perspective. You’ll spend the daytime exploring, crafting, and building up your defenses. Once nighttime rolls around, you’ll be doing all you can to defend yourself and survive until morning.
Darkwood doesn’t have jumpscares or high-end graphics, but it expertly builds a horrifying and eerie atmosphere. It’s a completely different horror experience, but one that will leave you needing a palette cleanser all the same.
Horror Games Where the Monsters Are in Your Own Mind
These monsters only exist in the minds of the protagonists.