Horror games are more than just jump scares and gore—they create immersive nightmares that stay with us long after we’ve put the controller down. The best horror games are the ones that make you hesitate before opening a door, keep you checking over your shoulder, and make your heart pound in your chest as you try to escape something unspeakable. Whether it’s psychological terror, survival horror, or pure nightmare fuel, these 15 games are the best of the best. From classic console hits to terrifying games for PC, these spine-chilling experiences will test your courage and haunt your dreams.
1. Silent Hill 2 (2001)
Few games have ever captured the suffocating dread of Silent Hill 2. This psychological horror masterpiece tells the tragic story of James Sunderland, a man drawn to the fog-covered town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his deceased wife.
The game is filled with haunting imagery, disturbing symbolism, and an overwhelming sense of melancholy. The town itself feels like a living entity, warping and twisting as James’ own psyche unravels.
The creatures, particularly the infamous Pyramid Head, aren’t just monsters—they’re manifestations of James’ guilt and trauma.
The fog-covered streets and decaying interiors create an atmosphere of isolation and unease, with an eerie soundtrack that amplifies the sense of despair.
The game never relies on cheap jump scares; instead, it slowly burrows into your mind, leaving you unsettled even in its quietest moments.
With the release of Silent Hill 2 Remake, a new generation of players can now experience its psychological horror with modern visuals and refined gameplay while longtime fans get the chance to revisit this classic in a fresh yet faithful way.
The story unfolds through cryptic notes, twisted encounters, and multiple endings that reveal different shades of James’ fate.
Every element—from its psychological themes to its masterful use of sound design—cements Silent Hill 2 as one of the most chilling and emotionally complex horror games ever made.
2. Resident Evil (2002)
Resident Evil took the survival horror classic and transformed it into an absolute masterpiece. Set in the eerie Spencer Mansion, the game pits you against horrifying creatures, limited resources, and puzzles that force you to think on your feet.
Every corner of the mansion is dripping with tension, with fixed camera angles that add to the claustrophobia. The game introduced Crimson Heads, zombies that reanimate faster and deadlier if you don’t burn their corpses, forcing you to think carefully about every encounter.
The remastered visuals and sound design make the game even more terrifying, with flickering candlelight, distant groans, and the ever-present fear of what’s lurking in the next room.
Unlike later Resident Evil titles, this one keeps combat minimal and tension high, making every bullet count. The story unfolds through scattered notes, eerie dialogue, and environmental storytelling, making you feel like a detective uncovering the mansion’s sinister secrets.
Exploring the labyrinthine corridors, unlocking doors with strange keys, and avoiding deadly traps create an experience that’s both nerve-wracking and deeply rewarding. It’s survival horror at its finest—challenging, atmospheric, and utterly terrifying.
3. Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)
Amnesia: The Dark Descent revolutionized horror gaming by stripping away weapons and forcing players to rely on their wits to survive. You play as Daniel, a man who wakes up in a dark castle with no memory of how he got there, only to uncover a horrifying past as he explores.
The game’s sanity meter adds an extra layer of dread—stay in the dark too long, and the world begins to warp around you. Your only defense against the creatures that stalk you is to run and hide, which makes every encounter feel like a desperate struggle to stay alive.
The game’s sound design is masterful, using whispers, distant screams, and unsettling ambience to keep you on edge. Unlike traditional horror games, Amnesia relies on psychological horror rather than jump scares, making the experience even more unsettling.
The darkness itself becomes an enemy, forcing you to ration your lantern’s oil and venture into pitch-black corridors with nothing but the fear of the unknown.
The storytelling is haunting, delivered through diary entries and fragmented memories that reveal the game’s grim truth. Amnesia isn’t just about running from monsters—it’s about confronting the horrors within. Few games leave players as genuinely shaken as this one.
4. Alien: Isolation (2014)
If you’ve ever wanted to feel completely powerless against an unstoppable force, Alien: Isolation delivers in spades. You play as Amanda Ripley, trapped aboard a massive space station with a single, relentless Xenomorph.
Unlike most horror games where enemies follow scripted paths, the Alien in Isolation learns, adapts, and hunts you down with terrifying unpredictability. You can hide under desks, inside lockers, or crouch behind furniture, but if the creature hears or sees you, it’s over.
The game’s retro-futuristic design captures the look and feel of the original Alien movie perfectly, immersing you in a world of flickering monitors, dim corridors, and eerie silence.
Sound plays a crucial role—footsteps echo through vents, motion detectors beep ominously, and the hiss of the station’s machinery can mask the approach of something far worse.
There are moments of pure panic when the Xenomorph drops from a vent right in front of you, forcing you to think fast or die. The game also features other threats, including rogue androids and desperate survivors, but nothing compares to the Alien itself.
It’s a game that demands patience, nerve, and quick thinking, rewarding those who can keep their cool under pressure.
5. P.T. (2014, Playable Teaser)
Even though it was just a teaser for a game that was never released, P.T. is still one of the most terrifying gaming experiences ever made. You’re trapped in a looping hallway of an ordinary house, but each cycle becomes progressively more nightmarish.
At first, things seem off—lights flicker, doors creak, and distant voices whisper. Then the true horror sets in. A ghostly woman named Lisa stalks the halls, sometimes appearing in glimpses, sometimes right behind you.
The game messes with your mind, changing details subtly and forcing you to question what’s real. One moment, you’ll hear a radio broadcast about a gruesome murder, and the next, the hallway is bathed in red light with distorted sounds filling the air.
The cryptic puzzles add to the surreal horror, making you feel like you’re unraveling a cursed nightmare. Kojima and Del Toro’s attention to detail made every second an exercise in pure dread.
The worst part? You never know when Lisa might attack, leading to one of the most hair-raising jump scares in gaming history. P.T. may have been short-lived, but its influence on horror games is undeniable.
6. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (2002)
Eternal Darkness doesn’t just scare you—it messes with your mind in ways no other game does. It tells a sprawling, Lovecraftian horror story that spans different eras and characters, all connected by a cursed book.
But what truly sets this game apart is its infamous sanity effects. As your character’s mental state deteriorates, the game itself begins to glitch. Sometimes your screen will go black, tricking you into thinking your console shut off.
Other times, the game will pretend to delete your save file. Even in-game elements change—your character might hallucinate blood dripping from walls or see enemies that aren’t there.
These moments make Eternal Darkness a uniquely disturbing experience, constantly keeping players on edge. The game’s story is deep, spanning ancient Roman battles, medieval monks, and modern-day investigators, all linked by unspeakable horrors.
Every chapter adds new layers of dread, culminating in a cosmic horror experience unlike any other. It’s a crime that we never got a sequel, but the original remains a one-of-a-kind horror gem.
7. Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (2003)
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is one of the most unsettling horror games ever made. Unlike other survival horror games that give you weapons to fight back, this game forces you to face your fears head-on—with only a camera.
You play as Mio, searching for her lost twin sister, Mayu, in an abandoned village filled with vengeful spirits. The Camera Obscura is your only defense, requiring you to get uncomfortably close to the ghosts to capture their images and weaken them.
The closer they are, the more powerful your shot, which means staring into their hollow eyes as they attack. The game’s sound design is phenomenal—soft whispers, distant wails, and the static-like hum of supernatural presence keep you on edge.
The village itself is steeped in Japanese folklore, with ghostly apparitions appearing in the corner of your vision, only to disappear when you turn. The story is deeply tragic, making you feel for the lost souls rather than just fear them.
The more you uncover about the village’s gruesome past, the more the horror intensifies, leading to multiple endings, some of which are absolutely devastating. Fatal Frame 2 doesn’t just scare you—it haunts you.
8. Outlast (2013)
If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be completely powerless in a horror game, Outlast is a nightmare come true.
You play as a journalist investigating a seemingly abandoned psychiatric hospital, only to realize that the inmates have taken over—and something even worse is lurking in the shadows.
The game strips away any form of combat, forcing you to run, hide, and pray that whatever is chasing you doesn’t find you.
Your only tool is a camcorder with night vision, which adds another layer of horror—looking through it allows you to see in the dark, but you’ll wish you hadn’t.
The found-footage aesthetic makes it feel like a first-person horror film, with shaky movements, grainy visuals, and eerie breathing sounds. Some of the inmates ignore you, others whisper disturbing things as you pass, and some will hunt you down mercilessly.
The game’s most infamous enemy, Chris Walker, is an unstoppable brute who will rip you apart the second he catches you. The chase sequences are some of the most intense moments in gaming, forcing you to squeeze through tight spaces and dive under beds in pure panic.
The deeper you go into the asylum, the worse things get, culminating in a horrific finale that sticks with you long after the credits roll.
9. SOMA (2015)
Amnesia may have put Frictional Games on the horror map, but SOMA is their true masterpiece. It trades traditional jump scares for existential dread, telling a mind-bending story about consciousness, identity, and what it means to be human.
You wake up in an underwater research facility with no memory of how you got there, only to discover that the world as you knew it is gone. The game’s horror doesn’t come from grotesque monsters—though they exist—but from the crushing realization that you might not even be real.
The atmosphere is heavy with isolation, reinforced by the deep-sea setting that makes escape impossible. There are terrifying encounters, but what makes SOMA special is how it forces you to confront philosophical nightmares.
The game presents disturbing moral choices, making you question the nature of self-awareness. The voice acting is phenomenal, pulling you deeper into the story’s emotional weight.
Unlike most horror games, SOMA doesn’t rely on combat or even stealth; instead, it creates fear through its themes and storytelling. The ending is one of the most gut-punching conclusions in gaming, leaving players reeling with its implications.
10. Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005)
Condemned: Criminal Origins is one of the most intense and brutal horror games ever made. Instead of supernatural ghosts or aliens, this game focuses on something far more terrifying—deranged, violent criminals lurking in the shadows.
You play as an FBI investigator tracking a serial killer, but things quickly spiral into a waking nightmare.
The combat is visceral and raw, forcing you to rely on whatever weapons you can scavenge—pipes, axes, and even mannequin arms—to fight off the homicidal maniacs that attack you.
The game’s melee combat system makes every encounter feel desperate and brutal, with enemies charging at you unpredictably.
The environments—abandoned buildings, decrepit subways, and pitch-black corridors—make you feel like you’re trapped in a never-ending nightmare.
The atmosphere is thick with paranoia, amplified by the game’s eerie sound design, where every creak and whisper feels like something creeping up behind you.
The enemy AI is aggressive and terrifying; they don’t just run at you—they hide, stalk you, and strike when you least expect it.
There are supernatural elements too, but the scariest moments come from the realistic horror of fighting for your life in a world that feels sickeningly real. Condemned is pure, gritty horror at its best.
11. Until Dawn (2015)
Until Dawn is a love letter to classic slasher horror films, but with a unique twist—you control the fate of every character. You play as a group of friends trapped in a snowy mountain lodge, stalked by an unknown terror.
Every decision you make affects the story, with branching paths leading to different outcomes. One wrong choice can mean life or death for a character, making every moment incredibly tense.
The game’s cinematic presentation, with lifelike performances from actors like Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere, makes it feel like an interactive horror movie. The story blends supernatural horror with psychological terror, constantly keeping players guessing.
The game uses the “butterfly effect” system, where even small choices have major consequences later on. It’s packed with jump scares, but it also builds suspense masterfully, making you dread what’s coming next.
Until Dawn is a perfect horror experience for both gamers and movie fans, proving that choice-based horror can be just as terrifying as traditional survival horror.
12. Dead Space (2008)
Dead Space is one of the most terrifying sci-fi horror games ever created, seamlessly blending survival horror with brutal, strategic combat.
You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer responding to a distress signal from the USG Ishimura, only to find the ship overrun by horrifying creatures called Necromorphs.
Unlike traditional zombies, these monsters don’t go down with a headshot—you have to carefully dismember their limbs to stop them. This “strategic dismemberment” system makes combat more intense, forcing you to aim precisely while under extreme pressure.
The game’s atmosphere is suffocating, with the Ishimura’s dark, claustrophobic corridors creating a constant feeling of isolation. There’s no traditional HUD, meaning your health and ammo appear on Isaac’s suit, keeping you immersed in the horror.
The sound design is masterful—silence is just as terrifying as the distant echoes of something crawling through the vents. The game also introduces zero-gravity sections, making for some truly disorienting encounters where monsters attack from all directions.
As you progress, the mystery of what happened aboard the ship unravels through disturbing audio logs and environmental storytelling. The mix of cosmic horror, psychological tension, and relentless survival elements make Dead Space one of the greatest horror games of all time.
13. Resident Evil 2 (2019, Remake)
The original Resident Evil 2 was a survival horror classic, but the Resident Evil 2 Remake transformed it into something truly terrifying.
This modern reimagining retains everything great about the original while enhancing it with stunning graphics, revamped gameplay, and a stronger sense of atmosphere.
The Raccoon City Police Department feels more claustrophobic and terrifying than ever, with dynamic lighting and sound effects that keep you on edge.
Zombies in this game are incredibly resilient, often requiring multiple headshots to stay down, which makes every encounter stressful.
Then there’s Mr. X—an unstoppable tyrant who relentlessly stalks you throughout the game, forcing you to constantly listen for his heavy footsteps. The game features two campaigns, following Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they attempt to escape the outbreak.
The environmental storytelling is fantastic, revealing the tragic fate of the city’s inhabitants through scattered notes, bloodstained corridors, and chilling audio logs.
Inventory management plays a crucial role, making you think carefully about every item you carry, as resources are always scarce.
The game balances tension, action, and puzzle-solving perfectly, making it one of the best survival horror experiences ever. Whether you’re a longtime Resident Evil fan or new to the series, this remake is a must-play.
14. Alan Wake 2 (2023)
After years of anticipation, Alan Wake 2 finally arrived, delivering a surreal and nightmarish psychological horror experience that surpasses its predecessor.
This time, the game fully embraces the survival horror genre, moving away from action-heavy gameplay in favor of deeper psychological terror.
You play as both Alan Wake, the tormented writer trapped in a twisted nightmare, and FBI agent Saga Anderson, investigating the mysterious events surrounding him.
The game’s world is a blend of reality and fiction, where shifting environments and eerie dreamlike sequences keep players on edge.
The combat is slower and more methodical, emphasizing resource management and careful aiming as you fight shadowy entities known as the Taken.
The storytelling is more complex than ever, weaving in elements of metafiction and psychological horror that blur the line between game and reality.
The environments are incredibly detailed, ranging from misty forests to decaying urban landscapes filled with unsettling imagery. Every encounter feels meaningful, with an emphasis on exploration, puzzle-solving, and piecing together a fragmented narrative.
The sound design is another highlight, with whispers, static, and eerie background noises making every moment feel uneasy.
Alan Wake 2 proves that horror doesn’t always need cheap scares—sometimes, it’s the creeping sense of dread that lingers in your mind long after you’ve stopped playing.
15. The Evil Within 2 (2017)
The Evil Within 2 takes everything great about the first game and refines it into a more polished, terrifying, and emotionally driven horror experience.
You step into the role of Sebastian Castellanos once again, but this time, the stakes are even more personal—he must enter the nightmarish world of STEM to save his missing daughter.
Unlike the first game’s linear progression, The Evil Within 2 introduces semi-open world environments, allowing players to explore at their own pace while still experiencing intense horror.
The monsters in this game are grotesque and unpredictable, with twisted creatures like the multi-limbed Guardian and the nightmarish Stefano Valentini adding to the terror.
The psychological horror elements are stronger than ever, with Sebastian constantly questioning what’s real and what’s an illusion. Resource management remains a core part of the experience, with limited ammo and supplies forcing you to carefully choose your battles.
The game features stealth mechanics, giving players the option to sneak past enemies or engage in full combat. The atmosphere is thick with dread, with eerie sound design and unsettling visual effects that keep you on edge.
The narrative is surprisingly emotional, focusing on themes of guilt, loss, and redemption, making it more than just a standard horror story. With a perfect balance of action, tension, and psychological horror, The Evil Within 2 stands as one of the best modern horror games.
Final Thoughts
Horror games come in many forms—some focus on psychological dread, others on relentless survival, and some on pure, heart-pounding terror. Each of the games on this list has left a lasting impact on the genre, redefining what horror can be in unique ways.
Whether you’re a fan of classic survival horror, immersive storytelling, or relentless terror, there’s something here for everyone. The best horror games don’t just scare us—they stay with us, lingering in our minds long after we’ve turned off the console. So, which of these horror masterpieces have haunted your dreams the most?
