Top 20 Best Horror Games of All Time

We’re starting our list off with a newer indie entry, you might not think this deserves to end up in the top 20 best of all time, but play for a solid 30 minutes, and tell me you aren’t more on edge than you’ve ever been in your life. In today's gaming world, a simple creepy ghost isn't always enough to terrify players. What sets The Mortuary Assistant apart is its chilling setting. As the title suggests, you play as a mortuary assistant working the night shift (which is apparently a thing). Anyone with a fear of death should tread lightly when jumping into this game.

There may be no more infamous video game demo in all of gaming history than P.T. And part of the reason why it is so infamous, is because it was SO. DAMN. GOOD. P.T.'s brilliance lies in its ability to disorient players, no matter how many times they navigate its labyrinthine environment. It's this sense of creeping madness that defines the game's scares, even though its haunting visuals and disturbing events are petrifying on their own. The only thing that makes this game suck, is that you LITERALLY can’t play it anymore, unless you get on eBay, and get your hands on a console that still has it downloaded from 2013.

Condemned tells the story of a federal investigator tasked with tracking down serial killers, exploring themes that are surprisingly rare in gaming. It leans more toward the psychological thriller territory like Silent Hill, rather than ghouls, ghosts and zombies. This premise works perfectly, as the killers’ mindsets and motives are reflected in the environment, much like Silent Hill. While none are as chilling as the department store where mannequins disguise themselves as killers, each area’s design forces you to delve into the twisted minds of these criminals to stop them .. Much like Silent Hill. It’s truly a gem on its own, but it’s also very inspired by a certain game series. Think Quiet Mountain.

In Darkwood, you wake up with no memory of who you are, where you are, or what’s happening. All you know is that a sinister force relentlessly attacks your cabin at night. To survive these increasingly violent assaults, you must scavenge for supplies, defensive tools, and anything to keep the lights on for just one more night. While the nighttime sequences deliver Darkwood’s most intense moments, it’s the time spent wandering through the endlessly dark forest in search of supplies that instill a profound sense of hopelessness. Darkwood balances the survival genre and the horror genre PERFECTLY, and deserves FAR more praise than it gets.

You might think the scariest part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. would be the mutants roaming the Chernobyl wastelands. Few experiences are more terrifying than turning a corner and coming face-to-face with something so horrifying you can't even describe it. But what truly sets this game apart are its survival elements. You feel utterly out of your depth when you’re looking at the resources you have, as well as the resources that are available. In S.T.A.L.K.E.R., simply staying alive feels like a challenge, often leaving you questioning why you even bother to keep going .. But you do.

A lot of these entries are wonderful because they were revolutionary, they either started a new type of game or genre, or perfected it. Until Dawn is one of these games. In Until Dawn, your choices directly determine whether a character lives or dies. You know how horror fans yell at the screen, telling characters to run, turn around, or not go in there? Now, you get to see how far that advice will actually take them. While the novelty of this mechanic can sometimes overshadow just how frightening the game is, Until Dawn masterfully uses jump scares to keep players on edge.

I’ll be totally honest with you guys from the get-go, this entry was going on this list no matter what .. It’s somewhat of a personal pick .. And by that I mean I picked it personally .. And by that I mean I ignored I kicked a classic out of the top 20 to get this entry in here. But, play this game, and tell me I’m wrong. While Steam is filled with these types of titles, only a few truly stand out. Visage is the scariest of them. Visage is divided into chapters, each set in a different time period and introducing new central figures, though the protagonist remains the same. By tackling heavy themes and constantly shifting its approach to keep players on edge, Visage creates a deeply unsettling atmosphere, and is in my personal top 5 horror games of all time.

Now although The Last of Us doesn’t make horror its focus, it’s undeniably scary, and if we’re talking best horror games of all time, we gotta acknowledge arguably one of the plain best games of all time in this list. The Last of Us draws from established zombie fiction, building tension through subtle environmental sounds and clever lighting, before hitting you with 28 Days Later-style terror if you make a mistake. The game teaches you to be deliberate with your movements. But what truly makes The Last of Us terrifying is not just the Clickers or tricky ladder puzzles, it’s the remnants of humanity that are far more unsettling and relatable than we’d like to admit.

Both Alan Wake games are frightening in their own way, but the original 2010 release suffers from repetitive gameplay that eventually undermines its fear factor despite its strong narrative, WHICH I WOULDN’T TRADITIONALLY CALL OUT, but I gotta pick one, so I gotta be tough. The long-awaited sequel improves on every aspect, including its approach to horror. Unlike many games in the genre, Alan Wake 2 doesn’t rely on constant jump scares. Instead, it delivers carefully timed moments of terror that are so well-executed they leave players on edge long after they’ve passed.

Another entry that defined a genre, let’s talk Outlast. Outlast takes a unique approach to survival horror. While it does limit your resources, your battery-draining camera being both frustrating and your only real tool, survival in Outlast is more about mentally enduring its relentless scares. Some might wonder what’s enjoyable about a game that largely involves hiding and running through darkness, but for genre veterans, Outlast is a test of resolve and strategy. Imagine trying to thread a piece of thread through a small needle, while all your ex girlfriends scream insults into your ear .. That’s how tense puzzle solving in Outlast feels.

Here’s another game on our entry that lives in the same realm as The Last of Us. Sure, it’s not blood curdling scary, but it’s such a good game with solid horror elements, that it definitely earns its place on the best of all time. Bloodborne is filled with human-made beasts, celestial monstrosities, and other horrors straight out of a nightmare. At one point, you face a creature that resembles the biblically accurate specter of death. Most of the time, though, you find yourself wandering through a plague-ridden town, haunted by the consequences of human failure, vividly depicted as the abominations that prowl the blood-soaked streets YOU KNOW WHAT? I changed my mind, it’s actually scary.

F.E.A.R. was released during the peak of the "scary little girl" trend, which gained traction after “The Ring” became a hit in the U.S. Without a doubt, the haunting figure of Alma remains one of the best examples of the "creepy child" trope in gaming. However, it’s easy to overlook that F.E.A.R. was also an innovative action game that raised the bar for enemy A.I. in first-person shooters. F.E.A.R. has some really cool innovative game mechanics that make it stand out as a phenomenal game, regardless of the horror elements.

SOMA certainly delivers scares in all the "traditional" ways, being created by the same team behind Amnesia. You can expect plenty of frightening visuals and expertly timed jump scares. However, SOMA is the kind of horror game that gets under your skin in deeper ways PUN INTENDED. By the time you reach SOMA’s incredible ending, you’ll be left staring at the screen, wondering if you can ever reclaim the part of yourself that this game takes away.

Fatal Frame II adopts a unique and brilliant approach to confrontation and video game combat. Instead of traditional weapons, the game equips you with a special camera capable of repelling spirits, and I know what you’re thinking, how many times is this gonna be done? I’m worried this joke won’t land, nobody has ever done that. This intimate style of combat, combined with the grotesque design of the spirits, leaves you feeling uncertain about your ability to defend yourself, even though you’re armed with the most effective weapon for the situation.

There's something particularly unsettling about navigating a sinister world as a small child like Six in Little Nightmares. Set in The Maw, players will face various foes intent on capturing her. Armed only with her yellow raincoat, Six must rely on her ability to escape these dangers. With an intriguing story and a host of imaginative monster designs, Little Nightmares gets under your skin, maintaining a constant sense of tension without relying on jump scares. The second game improves upon the original in each and every way, but we had to praise the OG game and all of its beautifully terrifying DLC.

To be completely honest, The Evil Within falls short in several aspects. However, when it comes to scares, The Evil Within certainly delivers. This relentless horror game features a range of funhouse-style scares that are both effective and darkly amusing. The second game lands harder than the first by improving upon everything it brings to the table. Shinji Mikami is a master of the genre, and his genius earns his game the fifth spot on this list.

It’s surprising that it took so long for a proper Alien horror game to be made, and by ‘proper’, I mean ‘not sh*t’. Alien: Isolation utilizes a single Xenomorph more effectively than any other piece of Alien media since the original film. Imagine that feeling when you spot a big spider in your room, but it scurries away and you have no idea where it went. Now, swap that spider for a Xenomorph lying in wait, ready to pounce as soon as it reappears, that’s the essence of the Alien: Isolation experience. This game, from start to finish, is so perfectly crafted, it should end up as a yearly replay for every gamer.

Resident Evil 7 is arguably the best entry in the franchise. While there are several strong contenders for that title, Resident Evil 7 successfully revitalized pure horror in the series in the most impactful way possible, it reminded us that everything was gonna be just fine in this beloved series. The game’s opening moments are among the scariest ever created. A great survival horror game should instill a sense of helplessness, and Resident Evil 7 does just that. The series wasn’t scared to go in a new direction, they took a risk, and it paid off! They won “Best VR Game” at the Game Awards, and ended up number 3 on this list .. Which do you think they’re more proud of?

Dead Space is another entry on our list that defined a genre, it introduces so many new concepts to gaming that are still used today. It's honestly shocking just how many games from this year have been influenced by mechanics that were introduced in Dead Space, and that is what makes Dead Space truly brilliant. While the game’s atmosphere and exceptional sound design have rightfully received acclaim over the years, Dead Space really stands out due to how its enemy design impacts both combat and storytelling. You’ll never forget the first time you were caught off guard by a Necromorph “playing dead”. Everyone remembers their first sleepy Necro .. Terrifying.

With the remake dropping less than a month ago, we feel even more confident that it’s appropriate to give this game the number one spot. Silent Hill 2 has established itself as arguably the most intimidating horror game ever made. The game’s intricate psychological narrative distorts your grip on reality, while the visceral terror of entities like Pyramid Head ensures you won’t find solace in any answers you might discover. Few games can scar you quite like Silent Hill 2. The original and the remake both leave players with the exact same feeling towards its conclusion, and it's a feeling that has stuck with most players for over 20 years.