Best FPS Horror Games, Ranked

Horror games and combat always have gone hand in hand, giving players the means to defend themselves as they explore the world and stumble across the unfriendly inhabitants. Whether it is a steel pipe or a gun, these weapons offer little reprieve from the onslaught of terror.

Most people will think of F.E.A.R. Or even Doom when it comes to FPS horror titles, but there are many more that are just as deserving of attention. Even armed with a gun, walking around every corner and entering every new room is a great test of courage.

Updated February 13, 2024, by Mara Cowley: Horror remains a prominent gaming genre, with players always seeking the adrenaline thrill that only experiencing true horror can bring. While there was a brief renaissance of walking simulators that made it seem like this was the direction all horror games were going, there is no shortage of horror shooter games that let the player fight back against the horrors terrorizing them, but do little to alleviate the terror. This article has been updated to terrorize more players with fearful games, for those brave enough to try.

15 Cry of Fear

Metacritic User Score: 8.2

With humble beginnings as a mod for Half-Life, Cry of Fear eventually became a standalone game, bringing a new horrifying first-person game, earning itself acclaim among indie horror game enthusiasts. It follows the story of a man called Simon, who awakens in an alleyway after being hit by a car. He tries to find his way home but finds himself trapped in a nightmare world where monsters stalk the darkened halls and attack any way they see.

Though it primarily seems like a psychological horror game along the lines of Silent Hill, Simon can arm himself with weapons to defend himself from the monsters he comes up against, though they also have the choice to simply kite the monsters to skirt their way past them.

14 Atomic Heart

Metacritic Score: 70

Atomic Hearts is a truly unique FPS game set in a dystopian fictional past, taking place in a Soviet Union research facility, in which technology has advanced to allow the creation of robots. After a virus wipes out millions, robots make up most of the population, who may just be intent on eradicating the rest of humanity.

As far as the plot goes, it falls into the tried and true trope of AI going rogue and betraying humans, but Atomic Hearts sets itself apart by allowing humans to interface with robots and encouraging players to adapt their gameplay style to face the mechanical threats.

13 Get Even

Metacritic Score: 71

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Wandering through memories, players take control of a man called Cole Black as he explores a desolate asylum that is still inhabited by some inmates with varying levels of hostility, guided by a mysterious person known as Red. Under Red's orders, Black will infiltrate and reconstruct memories, piecing together a story that will uncover the mystery shrouding the game and Red's identity.

Armed with the equipment needed to retrace the memory steps and piece it together, players are also handed a gun, though warned that using these weapons during memory sequences can possibly disrupt its stability. But still, the option is there if players want to shoot their way through the game, even if just to see what the end result may be.

11 Metro 2033

Metacritic Score: 77

Metro 2033

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Released

March 16, 2010

Developer(s)

4A Games

Publisher(s)

THQ, Deep Silver

Platform(s)

PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4

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The Metro game series dives into the idea of the world becoming uninhabitable, and the remaining dredges of humanity flocking into underground metro tunnels to survive. It is a scarily realistic premise, but this is not the only frightening aspect of the game, as the radiation has twisted some people into mutants that are now a danger to every surviving human.

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Metro 2033 follows one such survivor called Artyom, the adopted son of the station commander, who is approached by an elite ranger called Hunter for help securing their home station from the Dark Ones, mysterious creatures capable of dealing psychic damage to their victims. Players will need nerves of steel to brave the dangers lurking in the tunnels, and even stronger nerves for when they reach the surface.

10 Prey

Metacritic Score: 79

Arkane Studios brought players a unique horror experience with their 2018 FPS game Prey, set in a future where humanity has achieved space exploration and created space stations where people can live and work aboard. Humanity has discovered an alien creature that has the ability to clone objects.

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By  Mark Sammut

Players take on the role of Morgan Yu, who must take up weapons to fend off the aliens known as Typhon, and hopefully make their escape before they end up as another statistic.

9 Doom (2016)

Metacritic Score: 79

Doom is one of the longest-running FPS game series that is definitely a strong contender for the greatest FPS series of all time. It features the fondly called Doom Guy as he blasts his way through hordes of demons with over-the-top splatter gore and a crazy range of very creative weapons while a heavy metal soundtrack thumps loudly in the background to make the player feel powerful.

Whether any of the content in Doom will scare players is debatable, but the aesthetic, enemies, and plotline of putting an end to the tide of demons that threaten humanity definitely hit elements of horror, but its fun and action-packed gameplay is certainly the main draw to this blood and gore fest.

8 My Friendly Neighborhood

Metacritic Score: 81

• Platform: PC
• Released: 18 July, 2023
• Developers: John Szymanski, Evan Szymanski
• Genres: FPS, Survival Horror

The odd yet satisfying marriage between Bioshock and Sesame Street, My Friendly Neighborhood features a cast of cutesy yet surprisingly terrifying puppets that inhabit an old closed-down TV station that has mysteriously begun broadcasting after years off the air. Handyman Gordon is sent to the station to investigate why it has started broadcasting and also to put a stop to it.

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What is supposed to be a simple job turns out to be so much more when some of the puppets attack, and Gordon is forced to defend himself by arming himself with a gun that shoots letters and using tape to prevent them from becoming a nuisance. This fun and cutesy game has no right to be as scary as it is.

7 Condemned: Criminal Origins

Metacritic Score: 81

The fictional city of Metro is gripped by terror as the vagrants of the city are assaulting and killing the citizens, prompting the FBI to launch a full-scale investigation, with player-character Ethan Thomas at the helm. He is framed for the murders, and forced to go on the run to evade arrest while searching for the true perpetrator.

His investigation takes him to some unsettling and derelict buildings that aren't as abandoned as players might think, forcing them to take up weapons to fend off attackers. The first-person perspective only serves to heighten tension and suspension which Condemned masters with its smothering atmosphere and terrifying level design.

6 Resident Evil Village

Metacritic Score: 84

The conclusion of Ethan Winter's story arrived in Resident Evil Village, which saw Ethan enjoying a new life with his wife and infant daughter in Romania until his wife is killed before him, and his kidnapped daughter falls in the hands of Mother Miranda, the appointed leader of the rustic and dangerous village Ethan finds himself in.

Village introduced players to the Four Lords, each embodying a different horror subgenre and throwing a variety of horrifying creatures that the player must remain brave enough to shoot down. Though Village introduced a third-person mode, the FPS version of the game remains supreme, as the perspective makes the game that much more scary.