The survival horror genre is broad and popular, and not just because both survival games and horror are popular. Survival horror is about something more: the perseverance of a mortal spirit against the overwhelming tide of nightmares and danger. And gaming certainly does deliver on that promise, in many different forms.
In most survival horror games you’ll be like a child left unattended – fragile, exposed, defenseless. Your best resort is to hide, run, or risk spending the precious few resources on dealing with the enemy. Even in games with more action, of which there are a few on the list, the immersive environment, the mystery of what’s behind the corner, and the scarcity of ammo, or medkits, can make for a tense survival horror experience, in addition to explosive gameplay.
Below we’ve prepared a list of games which will not only scare you to bits, also create so much tension you might just lose your nerve.
Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
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Darkwood | 2017-07-17 | Adventure | Acid Wizard Studio | |
System Shock 2 | 1999-08-11 | RPG | Irrational Games | |
Chernobylite | 2019 | Adventure | The Farm 51 | |
Project Zomboid | 2013-11-08 | Indie | The Indie Stone | |
Phasmophobia | 2020-09-18 | Horror | Kinetic Games | |
Alien Isolation | 2014-10-06 | Action & Shooter | The Creative Assembly | |
The Forest | 2018-04-30 | Adventure | Endnight Games Ltd | |
Fear | 2005-10-17 | Horror | Monolith Productions | |
Dead Space | 2008-10-20 | Adventure | EA Redwood Shores | |
Amnesia The Dark Descent | 2010-09-08 | Adventure | Frictional Games | |
Dying Light Key | 2015-01-26 | Adventure | Techland | |
Alan Wake | 2012-02-16 | Adventure | Remedy Entertainment | |
The Long Dark | 2017-08-01 | Adventure | Hinterland Studio Inc. | |
Lone Survivor The Directors Cut | 2012-04-23 | Adventure | Jasper Byrne | |
Left 4 Dead | 2008-11-17 | Action | Certain Affinity | |
Outlast | 2013-09-04 | Adventure | Red Barrels | |
Outlast 2 | 2017-04-25 | Adventure | Red Barrels | |
Silent Hill Homecoming | 2009-03-02 | Adventure | Double Helix Games | |
Resident Evil 7 | 2017-01-23 | Horror | CAPCOM | |
Dead By Daylight | 2016-06-14 | Adventure | Behaviour Interactive | |
The Evil Within | 2014-10-14 | Adventure | Tango Gameworks | |
The Evil Within 2 | 2017-10-13 | Adventure | Tango Gameworks | |
The Medium | 2021-01-28 | Horror | Bloober Team | |
Little Nightmares 2 | 2021-02-11 | Puzzle platformer | Tarsier, Supermassive Games | |
The Dark Pictures Anthology House Of Ashes | 2021-10-22 | Adventure | Supermassive Games | |
The Dark Pictures Anthology Man Of Medan | 2019-08-30 | Adventure | Supermassive Games | |
Little Nightmares Complete Edition | 2017-04-27 | Adventure | Tarsier Studios | |
Resident Evil 3 | 2020-04-03 | Action | M-TWO | |
Slender The Arrival | 2013-10-28 | Adventure | Blue Isle Studios | |
Soma | 2015-09-21 | Adventure | Frictional Games |
Darkwood
Release date: | 2017-07-17 |
Developer: | Acid Wizard Studio |
Imagine not only living in Eastern European 1980s, but also finding yourself on the border of a mysterious forest which appeared out of nowhere. To make matter worse, the place is populated by mutants, apparitions, and other kinds of highly disturbing and probably extremely dangerous phenomena. And now you are there to solve this puzzle, because otherwise you’ll never escape.
Darkwood is unique among survival horror, because it uses a top-down perspective. Normally you’d think it spoils the scares, but a limited cone of vision and excellent sound design make the game just as tense as an FPP horror would be. Darkwood also features a day/night cycle, which forces you to prep well for the night, since this is where monster come out to hunt.
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System Shock 2
Release date: | 1999-08-11 |
Developer: | Irrational Games |
System Shock 2 might well be one of the most influential games out there, and it also happens to an excellent cyberpunk survival horror game. No wonder it gets a place on the list. Taking place decades after the events of original System Shock, SS2 puts you in the shoes of a freshly unfrozen soldier who has to deal with an infection and other crew either dead or driven mad. Good luck.
System Shock 2 is an immersive first-person game with tight level design, nerve-wracking moments, and an engaging cyberpunk plot set in year 2114. Sure, now it looks dated (it’s from 1999), but if you’d like to see the game which Deus Ex and 2018’s Prey hail as major inspiration, you should give it a shot. You should also give it a shot if you’re starving for a good science-fiction horror.
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Chernobylite
Release date: | 2019 |
Developer: | The Farm 51 |
Chernobylite isn’t just a great option to play if you can’t wait to play the next STALKER game. It’s a fantastic Chernobyl-themed science fiction survival horror in its own right, with a gripping complex narrative and a phenomenal world design. You’re playing as Igor, a former employee of the power plant, now coming back to reopen old wounds related to the disappearance of his fiancée.
In the 30 years since the disaster, the Zone started growing weird a weird substance, the Chernobylite, which is of interest to scientists, the military, and weird creatures from another reality. The game creates an amazing, wonderfully immersive setting, and the atmosphere resulting from clashing agendas and the supernatural phenomena makes for a great survival horror experience.
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Project Zomboid
Release date: | 2013-11-08 |
Developer: | The Indie Stone |
Project Zomboid isn’t going to captivate you with it’s tightly-paced plot, or emotionally devastating sequences. No, Project Zomboid’s horror is more mundane: it’s the growing awareness that you’re not well-prepared and your character might not survive the night. It’s hearing the zombies outside your weakly barricaded windows and deciding if you can afford to shoot them.
Project Zomboid is, in its essence, a survival game taking place in a town overrun by shambling zombies. It