Between 2016 and 2025, video game fans have been treated to more ways to play games than ever before. The PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Steam Deck, and even various VR devices have opened forrs to gaming that never existed before. Gaming has become all-encompassing, which is great for fans of horror films because they have a lot more avenues to jump into horror games for the first time.
If You're Trying To Get Into Horror, Don't Start With These Games
Horror can be an intimidating genre for beginners, but if you're looking to try out horror gaming for the first time, don't start with these games.
If anyone missed the past ten years of horror games, these are the most critical releases to check out. They include exclusively original titles; no ports, remakes, or remasters. While the horror remakes of Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill 2 are incredible, it seemed best to instead highlight original titles to showcase all the brilliant horrors that developers have come up with in the modern era.
10 Lethal Company
It’s A Living
Lethal Company
- Released
- October 23, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Zeekerss
- Genre(s)
- Horror
Lethal Company is a squad-based game in which a team of hazard workers is sent into randomly generated sites to search for salvage. Unfortunately, these areas often contain horrifying monsters. While they look a bit janky, because the game is still in Steam Early Access, that shouldn't scare players away.
It can absolutely still be terrifying to be chased by a creature, especially when trying to evacuate with a bunch of good loot. Lethal Company is a grind to get the best gear, but when playing with friends online, even the scary or frustrating moments can create a fun sense of camaraderie.
9 Phasmophobia
Ghostly Adventures
Phasmophobia
- Released
- October 29, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Kinetic Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Puzzle
Phasmophobia is the closest thing to a Ghost Adventures game that fans of the paranormal will ever get. Players will start off with simply a few gadgets to search and scan the houses they are assigned to, from EVP meters to flashlights. The more investigations they do, the better gear they can acquire.
Like a real paranormal hunt, investigations can often be dull, even in a multiplayer group, but when things hit the fan, they really go haywire. To avoid spoiling anything specifically, let’s just say that Phasmophobia can mentally prepare players for the paranormal. It’s still in Early Access, like Lethal Company, but what’s here is already extremely engaging.
8 Cronos: The New Dawn
Such Is Our Calling
Cronos: The New Dawn
- Released
- September 5, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Science Fiction, Action
Cronos: The New Dawn feels like Bloober Team directly making a game inspired by H.R. Giger. There is a strange, haunting nature to everything in the world. Players are an unnamed protagonist who simply goes by The Traveler.
She, like her predecessors, is sent into biohazard zones to try and mop up the secrets left behind from paranormal incidents. She has no emotions, and no goal other than to get the job done. The world-building is the best part of the game, and the only thing that held it back was how intensely challenging it is to conserve ammo, which does help ramp up the tension, but also makes it unfriendly to beginner survival horror players.
7 Little Nightmares
Don’t Become A Stew
Little Nightmares
- Released
- April 28, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Tarsier Studios
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Puzzle, Platformer
Even though the two sequels improved some things, the first Little Nightmares is still the best solo experience in the franchise. There are very few horror games that are also puzzle-platformers, and this series definitely carved out a niche all its own. The puzzles are not too challenging, and while it can be frustrating to sneak past enemies, that’s part of the game’s charm.
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The grotesque nature of these enemies is vile, adding to the horror of the experience. From long-armed creeps to chefs seeking to put players in a stew, there is enough horror in Little Nightmares to make players toss and turn at night. For those who want something different from their next horror game beyond shooting monsters, this is it.
6 The Evil Within 2
The Mumtrix Reloaded
The Evil Within 2
- Released
- October 13, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Tango Gameworks
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The Evil Within 2 is a much-improved sequel over the original, most notably in that it took away the widescreen black bars. It was also more akin to ane open-world game, with the first half of the experience giving players a large hub area to explore. It becomes more linear in the second half, but for a good reason that most players won't mind as things get wilder from a visual and narrative standpoint.
The Evil Within 2 is a much easier story to follow too, as Detective Castellanos is on the hunt for his daughter, who was taken by his wife into the paranormal mirror world, which ends on a bittersweet note. Between the innovative boss fights, the standout set pieces, and the brilliant horror moments, it's a cult classic for a reason.
5 Crow Country
Returning To The PS1 Era
Crow Country
- Released
- May 9, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- SFB Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Crow Country, despite being an indie title, is absolutely one of the best horror games of the past ten years, and maybe even longer. The graphics are a throwback to the squat polygonal models of the PS1 era, and the gameplay overall is a regression, but in an inspired way.
An investigator is driven to check out an old theme park when she discovers it is haunted by grotesque creatures. Supplies are a concern, and puzzles are sometimes obscure, but the throwback nature is charming and nostalgic. It's a short game too, perfect for a weekend haunt.
4 Alan Wake 2
Writer’s Block
Alan Wake 2
- Released
- October 27, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Remedy Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Alan Wake 2 took a long time to come out, and it ended on another big cliffhanger, but the journey to the lopsided, mind-bending end is something horror fans are still thinking about. Alan Wake is still in the game, but he serves as a dual protagonist alongside a newcomer, Saga Anderson, an FBI Agent sent to investigate a series of ritualistic murders and other supernatural happenings in Bright Falls.
Between the haunted corners and surrounding forests of Bright Falls and the other world Alan is trapped in, called the Dark Place, Alan Wake 2 is one of the most unsettling and graphically mesmerizing horror games in recent memory. The FMV elements just amplify that, blending reality and fiction to a degree that no other video game has ever accomplished.
3 The Last of Us Part 2
A Divisive Sequel
The Last of Us Part 2
- Released
- June 19, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Naughty Dog
The Last of Us Part 2 is a divisive game, mostly for narrative reasons, Pputting the story aside and looking at it simply as a game to play, it is superb. Players will go through the seasons, each with its own hazards to deal with, like the snowy opening. Once Spring arrives, the game gets a bit more open, like The Evil Within 2 but on a larger scale.
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It then returns to a more linear gameplay loop, all of the mechanics fit together so well that immersion is never broken. Between sneaking past infected and survivors alike, getting into cover fire situations, and hunting for supplies, The Last of Us Part 2 is a gripping experience that won’t let up until the very last scene.
2 Silent Hill f
Don’t Take The Red Pill
Silent Hill f
- Released
- September 25, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Neobards Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Action
Silent Hill f is the first game in the series to fully take place in Japan, not in Silent Hill, U.S.A., and it is also set in the 1960s. There’s something wrong in the small town of Ebisugaoka, and heroine Hinako tries to group up with her friends as an infectious flower and a choking fog starts to spread and separates them.
Alone, Hinako is desperate to find answers even if she has to bash enemies with pipes, crowbars, or bats to get them. It’s the type of game that is confusing the first time through, with little of the narrative being explained, but subsequent playthroughs will open things up in a deeply satisfying way, and it never fails to be just as creepy the second, third, or even fourth time through.
1 Resident Evil Village
Werewolves Of The Unknown
Resident Evil Village
- Released
- May 7, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
Resident Evil Village is the eighth mainline title in the series and a direct continuation from Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, as Ethan Winters returns as the protagonist. This time, his daughter was kidnapped by Chris Redfield of all people, so Ethan travels to a mysterious village, where he encounters werewolves, puppets, vampires, mutated beings, and more.
It’s a hodgepodge of characters and set pieces that take advantage of everything the Resident Evil series has stood for in its history, making Resident Evil Village one of the most unforgettable horror games in the franchise. Between the excellent combat, the affecting story, and a smattering of unforgettable character designs, this is a modern horror game that stands above the rest.
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