Horror games can be a little bit intimidating to get into if you don’t get a smooth intro. Which is why we’ve prepared a short list of games which might help.
The first three are titles recommended to people who are relatively new to both video games and the genre, presenting accessible gameplay and mild horror elements.
The last three are oriented more towards people who are already quite practiced at gaming and would love to try out a new kind of experience.
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Silent Hill 2 Remake | 2024-10-08 | Survival Horror | Bloober Team |
 | Resident Evil 4 Remake Deluxe Edition | 2023-03-24 | Action | Capcom |
 | Choo Choo Charles | 2022-12-09 | Survival-horror | Two Star Games |
 | Carrion | 2020-07-23 | Horror | Phobia Game Studio |
 | Bioshock The Collection | 2016-09-15 | Adventure | Irrational Games |
 | Resident Evil 8 Village | 2021-05-07 | Horror | Capcom Development Division 1 |
 | Limbo | 2011-08-02 | Adventure | Playdead |
 | Amnesia The Dark Descent | 2010-09-08 | Adventure | Frictional Games |
 | Corpse Party | 2016-04-25 | Adventure | Team GrisGris |
 | Layers Of Fear | 2023-06-15 | Adventure | Bloober Team |
 | Observer System Redux | 2020 | Adventure | Bloober Team |
 | Dead Space Remake | 2023-01-27 | Horror-shooter | Motive Studios |
 | Soma | 2015-09-21 | Adventure | Frictional Games |
 | Alan Wake | 2012-02-16 | Adventure | Remedy Entertainment |
 | Prey 2017 | 2017-05-04 | Adventure | Arkane Studios |
 | Darkwood | 2017-07-17 | Adventure | Acid Wizard Studio |
The Quarry
| Release date: | 2022-06-10 |
| Genre: | Interactive Story |
| Developer: | Supermassive Games |
The Quarry is a great point of contact for people who aren’t super into gaming or horror. Like other horrors from Supermassive Games, The Quarry is for the most part an interactive movie with many decision points which steer the story towards one of its many endings.
Some choices require decent reflexes, but The Quarry is very replayable, especially if you want to get the best ending. There are several focus characters and the game shifts between their perspectives every now and then, letting everybody’s choices shape the ending.
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Inside
| Release date: | 2016-07-07 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Playdead |
Inside looks like a platforming game, and to an extent it is one, but despite the presentation, it is also a horror game. As a young child you have to navigate a hostile world rife with mutants, mind-controlled people, and weird experiments.
It’s a great point of entry into horror, gaming, and horror gaming thanks to its relatively slow pace and focus on solving environmental challenges. It’s also really stressful, and really dark in tone and look, with a lot of mood-setting nightmares in both the foreground and the background.
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Oxenfree
| Release date: | 2016-01-14 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Night School Studio |
Staying in the high-atmosphere, low-pressure environment, let’s talk about Oxenfree. It’s a graphic adventure about a group of teens who decided to have a party on an island that used to be a military base and is rumored to have something supernatural going on.
The story involves mysterious disappearances, time being weird, possessions, and a solid cast of characters, not all of them likeable. The game is mostly based on talking to other characters and interacting with the world, with many possible endings based on your choices and discoveries.
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Resident Evil 4 Remake
| Release date: | 2023-03-24 |
| Genre: | Action-horror |
| Developer: | Capcom |
The original Resident Evil 4 was a much more action-oriented game than its predecessors, bringing a highly entertaining B-movie style to the series. The Remake improved the flow of action alongside expanding the story and translating the game into the mighty RE Engine.
RE4 Remake is a great entry into horror gaming for everyone who’s familiar with action games and wants to explore new horizons. It’s not the scariest game, but the eerie atmosphere is mixed with gruesome mutations and over-the-top bosses for a cool blend of fun and fright.
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Alan Wake
| Release date: | 2012-02-16 |
| Genre: | Action |
| Developer: | Remedy Entertainment |
Given the 2023 sequel, it’s a perfect time to hop into Alan Wake. It’s much less action-oriented than RE4, going for a moody, subdued atmosphere without going fully into the horror genre. There’s still some combat, but it isn’t as essential as the plot.
It’s a story of Alan Wake, in more ways than one. He is a mystery writer, whose writing retreat in a town of Bright Falls is interrupted when an ominous dark presence lingering in the nearby lake turns his stories into reality. Give it a shot, if you prefer supernatural horror over gore and monsters.
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Amnesia: the Dark Descent
| Release date: | 2010-09-08 |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Developer: | Frictional Games |
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a full-on horror game, and one of the titles which have defined the last decade of the genre. It’s a Gothic horror story putting you, amnesiac and confused, in a haunted castle with an ominous mystery to solve before the oppressive darkness erodes your sanity.
Amnesia is mostly based on exploration and stealth, as your avatar does not have any way to fight back against monsters in the dark. It’s a great way to get used to the feeling of helplessness and to soaking in the atmosphere and direct and environmental storytelling of the genre.
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Hopefully, this list gave you some idea how to hop into horror gaming and you’re ready to be scared.