As Halloween creeps closer, it’s time to embrace the chills and thrills that only horror video games can deliver.
Whether you’re planning a spooky game night with friends or seeking solo scares, the market offers a treasure trove of spine-tingling titles, perfect for setting the mood. From psychological thrillers that mess with your mind to action-packed survival horrors that keep you on the edge of your seat, this list has something for every kind of horror aficionado.
Get ready to grab your controllers, dim the lights, and prepare for a heart-pounding journey into the darkness. Here are the best horror video games to dive into this Halloween — each one promising to deliver a frightfully good time! To help us with this list, we spoke with several avid gamers and scoured Amazon's reviews and top-rated games.
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1. Best Overall: Capcom Resident Evil Village Gold
Set in a remote, haunting European village, this first-person survival horror game lets you step back into the shoes of Ethan Winters, who’s searching for his kidnapped daughter. But with this new edition, Capcom has introduced layers of terror and new experiences for players looking to dive deeper into the world of Resident Evil Village. Set 16 years after the main story, this DLC (downloadable content) follows Ethan’s daughter, Rosemary 'Rose' Winters, as she deals with the effects of her own mysterious powers. The Shadows of Rose chapter shifts to a third-person perspective, giving it a classic Resident Evil feel. Amartya Sinha, a Dubai-based marketing professional and avid gamer breaks it down for us: Players have to navigate haunting and twisted locales while unlocking the secrets of Rose’s abilities. The game explores a more psychological horror tone, adding depth to the world introduced in the main game. The Gold Edition retains the tense, survival-focused gameplay that defines the Resident Evil series. Ethan must battle various twisted foes, each more dangerous than the last, using limited resources. The inclusion of different playable characters with unique abilities in The Mercenaries Additional Orders allows players to experiment with new combat approaches and strategies. With fresh locales, spooky castles, this game is perfect for Halloween season.
2. Best Classic: Silent Hill HD Collection
Another one of Sinha's recommendations, the Silent Hill HD Collection brings two of the most haunting and iconic titles in horror gaming — Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 — to the Xbox 360, combining eerie psychological horror with updated graphics for a new generation. This remastered collection not only serves as a throwback to the golden age of survival horror but also attempts to bring cult classics to life, with high-definition visuals, a new voice cast, and gameplay improvements. The HD Collection features upgraded textures, lighting, and high-definition visuals to modernise the look of the classic titles. Each game’s environment has been updated to deliver sharper details, especially in character models and textures, which breathe new life into the fog-drenched town of Silent Hill. Enhanced textures help bring out some of the finer details in the environments, such as graffiti-covered walls, blood-streaked hallways, and fog-laden streets. For fans of psychological horror, survival horror, or video game history, the Silent Hill HD Collection presents a valuable — albeit imperfect — opportunity to immerse yourself in two of the genre’s most popular titles.
3. Best Multiplayer: Dead by Daylight
Arshiya Faraghat, also known as xArshyy in the gaming community, where she hosts professional e-sports tournaments in the UAE, streams on Twitch and is a content and community manager at Four04 Esports in Dubai. She recommended Dead by Daylight as a fantastic multiplayer game for Halloween, explaining that it dials down the horror by adding more playable characters. The game’s main draw lies in its intense, multiplayer matches where one player takes on the role of a fearsome killer, while the other four players become survivors, trying to escape. Survivors must work together to repair generators that open the way to escape, all while hiding and evading the killer. The tension in each match keeps players on edge, as every choice can mean life or death. The Nintendo Switch version of Dead by Daylight may not be as visually polished as its PC or other console counterparts, but it captures the essence of the original game’s dread-filled environments. The graphics, though slightly toned down, still convey the dark, chilling atmosphere that's crucial to the experience. Visual elements such as fog, shadows, and lighting are still effectively eerie, with settings that transport players into nightmare scenarios. The Switch’s portable mode makes it easy to dive into horror on the go, whether in handheld or docked mode, letting players jump into the action, wherever they are.
4. Best Horror Game Bundle: Outlast Trinity
A chilling horror compilation that brings together three of the most intense survival horror experiences in recent gaming history - Outlast, Outlast: Whistleblower, and Outlast II - this gaming bundle is ready to keep you up at night. Outlast Trinity plunges players into a world of terror, where survival requires stealth, sharp instincts, and nerves of steel. Each game in the trilogy offers a unique storyline, but all of them share the overarching themes of fear, helplessness, and the struggle to survive. Sinha explains: "Players have no means of defense, relying solely on hiding and evasion to survive. This heightens the sense of vulnerability and fear, as players are left defenseless in the face of grotesque, violent enemies." As players navigate each game, they must be strategic, finding safe hiding spots or using their night vision camera to navigate the darkest corridors. It's truly a horror lover's dream!
5. Best Family Horror Game: Five Night's at Freddy's: Security Breach - Collector's Edition
Horror games can be fun for the whole family, too! Consider firing up the free-roam survival title Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach on the living room television. "You're basically a kid stuck in a mall that's closed for the night, and you have to avoid robot security. It has very creepy underground scenes," says Elias Dib, a 28-year-old avid PC gamer based in Sharjah. The story follows a young boy, Gregory, and his attempts to dodge hostile animatronics in the shopping mall, by solving missions. Your enemies get stronger as the night goes on, while your stamina gets weaker the more you run. The mall is a huge complex, so there's no end to your exploration, either.
6. Best Sci-Fi Horror Game: Alien: Isolation
This one's for sci-fi horror fans. Alien: Isolation bases its premise on the Alien film series (1979), marrying stealth and survivor horror gameplay in one. It is a first-person survival horror game that follows Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley, as she searches for answers to her mother’s disappearance. Set 15 years after the events of Alien, Amanda finds herself on the isolated Sevastopol Station, where something far more sinister lurks: a Xenomorph that’s nearly unstoppable. The Nostromo Edition offers the base game plus additional content that allows players to relive iconic scenes from the movie with crew members like Dallas, Lambert, and of course, Ellen Ripley herself. The game’s visuals capture the gritty, analogue sci-fi aesthetic of Ridley Scott’s original film. Moreover, the CRT monitors, 80s-style futuristic technology, and shadow-draped corridors immerse players into a world that feels both lived-in and isolated.
7. Best VR Horror: Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood takes the beloved Until Dawn series in a new, heart-pounding direction with a PS4 virtual reality-exclusive experience that mixes horror and action with a dash of terrifying carnival thrills. Set within the same horror universe as Until Dawn, Rush of Blood is a standalone game that keeps fans on their toes with a fresh experience designed specifically for PlayStation VR, immersing players in an eerie, unforgettable thrill ride. Set on a creepy rollercoaster, the game lures players through chilling environments, filled with disturbing creatures, haunted locations, and a relentless sense of dread. Although it is tied to Until Dawn by universe and atmosphere, Rush of Blood does not require knowledge of the original story. Instead, it serves as a separate, nightmarish adventure built to test even the most seasoned horror fans. As players venture deeper, the “ride” becomes progressively more intense, pulling them into different worlds that make the VR experience deeply immersive.
Our recommendations are independently chosen by Gulf News editors. If you decide to shop through links on our website, we may earn an affiliate commission, as we are part of Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
