5 Of The Scariest Games Ever

For a long time, watching horror movies was the thing to do when you craved a good scare. But now, when you want to really be frightened to your core, video games are the place to go.

Games today have an incredibly large level of immersion, making you feel that what’s occurring on the screen is actually happening to you. And while horror films (in our minds) have become somewhat stale, horror game designers seem to constantly be thinking up creative new ways to scare the bejeezus out of of gamers.

Below we have compiled five games that have have made us sleep with the light on.

Alan Wake

In this Xbox 360 and PC survival game, you control famed horror author Alan Wake while on vacation in the serene yet spooky mountain town of Bright Falls, Washington. When his wife disappears, Alan must follow clues to unravel the mystery, many of which seem vaguely reminiscent of events in his latest novel.

 

The game’s isolated setting, combined with the fact that you are often armed with nothing but a flashlight, does an incredible (and unsettling) job of making you feel like you are completely alone in the town and surrounding wilderness. When you’re not chatting up mysterious townsfolk or searching abandoned buildings for the next clue, you’ll battle possessed creatures by shining your light on them to weaken their defenses, then switching over to an array of other weapons to finish them off.

Outlast

What’s scarier than having to navigate an “abandoned” and dilapidated insane asylum occupied only by its demented and homicidal patients? Having to navigate it in first-person, with no on-screen menu, and with no weapons. Welcome to Outlast, where your only “defenses” are a camera that lets you see in the dark (as long as you have enough battery) and running like a bat out of hell.

 

And run you will. You’ll often be hurtling yourself around blind corners and through dark hallways with homicidal baddies hot on your heels or hiding under beds in pools of blood to avoid being discovered. Released for PC, Xbox One, PS4, Linux, and OS X from 2013-2015, this game eerily reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project will make you think twice about playing when you are home alone.

The Walking Dead

A slot machine? Surely we jest. Sure, while you might not be leaving the casino with goosebumps, as far as the medium goes, this one based on the American TV horror drama is about as close as it comes to a truly “scary” slot.

 

The normally happy-go-lucky symbols you’d find on a normal slot are now the characters, zombies, and the iconic crows from the actual show, on top of a spooky thematic true to the series. Activating certain bonuses can also unlock short clips showing some of the show’s scarier moments as well as giant, in-your-face zombies that cover the whole screen. Walking Dead is just one of literally 100s of themed slots that can be found online, for free or for ‘real money’ play.

P.T.

While the title’s abbreviation stands for the non-menacing “Playable Teaser”, it might as well stand for “Painfully Terrifying.” A demo for the now-cancelled Silent Hills game, Konami forces you to repeatedly navigate a “looping” hallway with only a few doors and objects to inspect. Going through the door at the other end of the hallway starts the whole cycle over again.

 

That probably doesn’t sound scary in itself, but with its repetitive movement (not in a bad way), first-person view, and extremely minimal clues that will make more and more disturbing events (such as the appearance of a ghost named Lisa) occur your next time through the hallway, the whole thing is a recipe for pure psychological terror. If you can figure out a way to play (it has since been pulled off the PlayStation Store), we warn you now–this game will stay with you.

Silent Hill 2

While the original release is pushing a decade and a half, don’t let yourself think for a second that the level of terror found in the king of horror games has decreased with age. Since updated and re-released on Xbox 360 and PS3, the game centers around protagonist James Sunderland exploring a calm yet spooky American town after receiving a letter from his deceased wife saying he should meet her there.

 

As things progress, the game takes off in a direction that begins to make the player question and doubt what they encounter is real and what is a figment of their imagination. With more of an emphasis on solving puzzles than defeating enemies (though there are plenty of those too), the game’s chilling settings, careful pacing, and gripping story that leave you emotionally exhausted often land it at the top of most Scariest Games of All-Time lists, including ours.