15 Spine-Chilling Games to Play This Halloween

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Want a truly spooky Halloween gaming experience where *you* control the frights? These games combine nerve-wracking exploration with features that keep you constantly on edge – think flickering lights and enemies that hunt you down. They’re perfect for playing alone or with friends, helping you create the ultimate Halloween game night.

Each game suggestion includes a quick overview, explains how it works, and tells you where to find it. Whether you prefer short bursts of gameplay or long, immersive stories, these games will provide plenty of spooky fun throughout the Halloween season. Just dim the lights and prepare to be scared!

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard

As a fan, I was really excited to see Capcom shake things up with the latest game! They completely reimagined the classic survival horror formula, switching to a first-person view which is super immersive. You play as Ethan Winters, and the whole game takes place on this creepy, isolated estate in rural Louisiana. It’s all about scavenging for limited ammo and health, figuring out how to unlock new areas, and solving puzzles to get through the house and the surrounding buildings. It’s genuinely tense and makes you feel trapped!

This game is compatible with PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It also features a complete virtual reality mode for PlayStation VR, using your head and hand movements for in-game control. The main story takes around ten hours to complete, and you can adjust the difficulty or add more content with optional downloadable episodes that include new situations and challenges.

Alien Isolation

In Creative Assembly’s new game, a smart alien creature learns how you play and actively hunts you using sound and sight. You’ll need to gather parts to build useful items like distractions and electronic pulses, find places to hide, and carefully monitor your motion tracker – which shows nearby movement but with a limited view.

So, you can play this on pretty much anything – PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. And if you’re on a newer console, it plays great thanks to backward compatibility. They’ve also added a couple of cool packs – ‘The Crew Expendable’ and ‘Last Survivor’ – which give you missions based on action movies. Plus, there’s a Survivor mode where you can replay challenge maps and try to beat your high score, which is awesome for keeping things fresh.

Amnesia The Dark Descent

In Frictional Games’ titles, your character’s mental state is a key resource that diminishes when you’re in the dark or experience scary situations. You need to stay calm by using light sources like matches and lamps, solve realistic puzzles, and evade enemies – you can’t fight them directly, so you have to hide and listen carefully to their movements.

The game is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. On PC, you can expand the gameplay with custom stories created by the community. Plus, the Justine add-on offers a standalone, shorter campaign where your choices matter and have serious consequences, including unique ways to fail.

Outlast

This stealth horror game puts you in the shoes of someone exploring an abandoned mental hospital. Instead of fighting, you rely on a camcorder with night vision to see in the darkness. Managing the camcorder’s battery is key, as you’ll need power to navigate the shadowy halls while avoiding guards and escaping dangerous situations.

Outlast is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The ‘Whistleblower’ expansion tells a story that happens before the main game. It’s designed to be easily replayed, making it perfect for a single evening – especially once you learn the levels and can take safer routes.

Soma

This sci-fi horror game by Frictional Games focuses on story and atmosphere, delving into themes of identity and what it means to be conscious. Gameplay emphasizes exploration of underwater installations, solving puzzles to open new areas, and avoiding terrifying creatures that require you to be stealthy and cautious – direct fighting isn’t the answer.

The game is playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. A new ‘safe mode’ lets players enjoy the story and immersive world without the frustration of failing, making it accessible to those who prioritize the experience and themes over challenging gameplay.

Dead Space

The 2023 version of the USG Ishimura has been completely rebuilt, offering smooth movement and updated technology. The game still focuses on strategically cutting off enemy limbs using plasma weapons, and you’ll need to carefully manage oxygen and use stasis abilities while navigating zero-gravity areas.

The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It now features new side quests that deepen the stories of the characters, a dynamic intensity director that changes gameplay with each replay, and a New Game Plus mode offering a different ending and more challenging enemies.

Phasmophobia

In this team-based mystery game, up to four players work together to figure out what kind of ghost is haunting a location. You’ll gather clues using tools like EMF readers, spirit boxes, and thermometers, and then decide whether to risk confronting the ghost for a reward, or play it safe and retreat.

The game is currently available on PC with virtual reality compatibility, and versions for gaming consoles are in development. Regular updates introduce new maps, more realistic ghost activity, and improvements to the equipment. As players progress, they’ll unlock challenging contracts with increased difficulty, featuring dynamic weather, a depleting sanity meter, and more frequent ghost appearances.

Visage

This psychological horror game puts you inside a house that’s constantly changing. As you explore chapter-by-chapter, unlocking new sections, your sanity will be tested by darkness and frightening events. The game offers minimal instructions, relying on the environment and subtle clues to guide you forward.

Visage is playable on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and PC. The game encourages players to carefully examine their surroundings, as important items can be hidden in various locations. A limited inventory also means you’ll need to make strategic decisions about what to carry, like light sources and essential quest items.

The Mortuary Assistant

You’re a night shift embalmer at a funeral home, but your work is constantly interrupted by ghostly happenings. As you investigate, you’ll piece together clues – symbols and behaviors – to identify a particular demon. Your success in figuring out who – or what – it is, and the rituals you perform, will determine which of several different endings you get.

This PC game is designed to be played with a controller, and each session is relatively short. A unique system shuffles events and scares with every playthrough, keeping things fresh. To help you stay focused during tense moments, the game provides a clear checklist of embalming steps.

Layers of Fear

This series is a collection of interconnected stories centered around exploring mysterious, looping environments. Instead of combat, you’ll progress by observing your surroundings, finding clues, examining objects, and collecting notes to unlock new areas.

The game is available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The 2023 edition combines all previous installments with a new story framing the events and improved graphics, making it a complete collection for new players.

Until Dawn

This horror game tells a story that changes based on your decisions. As you try to survive a night on a mountain, the choices you make have consequences, and even small actions can dramatically alter the outcome. The game features moments requiring quick reactions, and collecting hidden items unlocks pieces of the story that can influence events later on.

This game is available on PlayStation 4 and can also be played on PlayStation 5. It features a story mode for watching the narrative, and a standard gameplay mode where your choices and how you explore affect the story and character development, encouraging multiple playthroughs to see everything.

Alan Wake 2

This horror sequel lets you play as two characters who are both investigating related cases. Fighting enemies requires you to be smart with your limited ammo, use light to your advantage, and be aware of your surroundings. You can also use a special interface to organize clues, connect evidence, and uncover new information to help solve the mystery.

The game is playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. On consoles, players can choose between performance and quality settings to adjust how smoothly the game runs. After release, the game will be updated with new content and expansions that continue the story.

Lethal Company

This is a cooperative game where players work in teams to explore abandoned factories and collect scrap to meet a target. Success depends heavily on teamwork and clear communication, as players must coordinate roles and use voice chat while navigating limited maps and avoiding enemies that react to sound and actions.

This PC game doesn’t require a powerful computer and lets you create private game sessions with friends. The developers regularly update it with new content and adjustments, and its round-based format is perfect for quick matches during events like a Halloween party.

The Outlast Trials

This game takes place in the Outlast universe, but focuses on teamwork. Players work together in different arenas to complete goals like restoring power and delivering items. You’ll need to watch your stamina, use limited-time tools, and find good hiding places, all while facing challenges that change how many enemies there are and what dangers you encounter.

The game is playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. As you play, you’ll unlock new gear and abilities to customize your experience, and regular updates will keep things fresh with rotating events, cosmetic items, and redesigned challenges for you and your friends.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

In this game, you watch security cameras, doors, vents, and power levels from a fixed location. Each night gets harder with new robot behaviors and limited resources, demanding precise timing, good hearing, and fast reactions as you switch between different control systems.

The game is available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, mobile devices, and PC, and you can often buy collections of multiple games together. Each playthrough is relatively short, making it perfect for quick gaming sessions. The game gets harder as you progress, and there are also custom modes for players looking for a real challenge.

Tell us your top scary game recommendations in the comments below – help everyone create the perfect Halloween gaming list!

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2025-10-09 00:46