The biggest horror games of the last 10 years,

Between 2016 and 2025video game fans have been offered more ways to play games than ever before. The PS4, Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Steam Deck, and even various VR devices have opened up games that never existed before. Gaming has become ubiquitous, which is good for fans of horror movies as they have many more avenues to jump into horror game for the first time.

In case anyone missed it the last 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 developers have come up with in modern times.

10

Deadly business

It's A Living

Deadly business is a team-based game where a team of risk workers are sent to randomly generated sites to search for salvage. Unfortunately, these areas often contain terrifying monsters. Although they look a bit clunky, since the game is still in Steam Early Access, it shouldn't scare players away.

It can certainly still be scary to be chased by a creature, especially when trying to evacuate with a lot of good loot. Deadly business It's hard to get the best gear, but when you play with friends online, even the scary or frustrating moments can create a fun sense of camaraderie.

9

Phasmophobia

Spooky Adventures

Phasmophobia is the closest thing to one Ghost adventure game that fans of the paranormal will ever get. Players will start with just a few gadgets to search and scan the houses they're assigned to, from EVP meters to flashlights. The more research they do, the better equipment they can acquire.

Like a true paranormal hunt, investigations can often be boring, even in a multiplayer group, but when things hit the fan, they really get crazy. To avoid spoiling anything specific, let's just say it Phasmophobia can mentally prepare players for the paranormal. It's still in Early Access, sort of Deadly businessbut what's here is already extremely engaging.

8

Cronos: The New Dawn

Such is our calling

Cronos: The New Dawn feels like Bloober Team is directly making a game inspired by HR Giger. There is a strange, haunting nature to everything in the world. Player is an unnamed protagonist who simply walks past The Traveler.

She, like her predecessors, is sent to biohazard zones to try to mop up the secrets left behind from paranormal incidents. She has no feelings and no goal other than getting the job done. The world-building is the best part of the game, and the only thing holding it back was how intensely challenging it is to save ammo, which helps add tension, but also makes it unfriendly to first-time survival horror players.

7

Little nightmares

Don't be a pot

Although the two sequels improved some things, the first one 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 of its own. The puzzles aren't overly challenging, and while sneaking past enemies can be frustrating, it's part of the game's charm.

The grotesque nature of these enemies is disgusting, adding to the horror of the experience. From long-armed creeps to chefs trying to put players in a pot, there's enough horror in there 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 is a much improved sequel compared to the original, most notably by removing the black bars in widescreen. It was also more like an 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 don't mind as things get wilder from a visual and narrative point of view.

The evil within 2 is a much easier story to follow too, as Detective Castellanos is in search of his daughter, who was taken by his wife into the paranormal mirror world, ending on a bittersweet note. Between the innovative boss battles, the outstanding deathmatches, and the brilliant moments of horror, it's a cult classic for a reason.

5

Crowland

Returning to the PS1 era

Crowlanddespite being an indie title, it is absolutely one of the best horror games of the last ten years, and maybe even longer. The graphics are a throwback to the knee-jerk polygonal models of the PS1 era, and the overall gameplay is a regression, but in an inspired way.

An investigator is forced to check out an old amusement park when she discovers it is haunted by grotesque creatures. Accessories are a problem, and puzzles are sometimes unclear, but the throwback nature is charming and nostalgic. It's also a short game, perfect for weekend haunts.

4

Alan Wake 2

Writer's Block

Alan Wake 2 took a long time to come out, and it ended on another big cliffhanger, but the journey to that twisted, mind-bending ending is something horror fans still think 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 ritual murders and other supernatural occurrences in Bright Falls.

Between the haunted corners and surrounding forests of Bright Falls and the Otherworld, Alan is trapped in, called the Dark Place, Alan Wake 2 is one of the most disturbing and graphically fascinating horror games of recent times. The FMV elements only enhance 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 is a divisive game, mostly for narrative reasons. If you put the story aside and see it simply as a game to play, it's amazing. Players will go through the seasons, each with their own dangers to deal with, like the snowy opening. Once spring comes, the game becomes a little more open, sort of The evil within 2 but on a larger scale.

It then returns to a more linear gameplay loop, all the mechanics fitting together so well that immersion is never broken. Between sneaking past infected and survivors, getting into fire situations and scavenging for supplies, The last of us part 2 is a gripping experience that doesn't let up until the very last scene.

2

Silent Hill b

Don't take the red pill

Silent Hill b is the first game in the series to be set entirely in Japan, not in Silent Hill, USA, and it is also set in the 1960s. Something is wrong in the small town of Ebisugaoka, and the heroine Hinako tries to gather with her friends when a contagious flower and a suffocating fog begin to spread and separate them.

Alone, Hinako is desperate to find answers even if she has to hit enemies with pipes, crowbars or bats to get them. It's the kind of game that's confusing the first time, with little of the story explained, but subsequent playthroughs will open things up in a deeply satisfying way, and it never fails to be just as scary the second, third, or even fourth time around.

1

Resident Evil Village

Werewolves of the unknown

Resident Evil Village is the eighth main title in the series and a direct sequel from Resident Evil 7: Biohazardas Ethan Winters returns as the main character. This time, his daughter was kidnapped by Chris Redfield of all people, so Ethan travels to a mysterious village, where he encounters werewolves, dolls, vampires, mutants and more.

It's a bevy of characters and settings that benefit from everything Resident Evil series has stood for in its history, to do Resident Evil Village one of the most unforgettable horror games in the series. Between the excellent combat, the impactful story, and a host of unforgettable character designs, this is a modern horror game that stands above the rest.