Summary
- Licensed horror games may often be cash grabs, but there are exceptions like Saw that offer puzzles and atmosphere.
- A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a stealthy survival horror game that incorporates the player's microphone, creating tension and drama.
- Dead By Daylight allows players to immerse themselves in horror by embodying iconic monsters in a thrilling asymmetric multiplayer experience.
Horror is one of the most profitable genres in the multimedia landscape. Companies often seek to capitalize on this popularity by licensing out some of the most popular horror franchises for video game adaptation. However, the quality of these licensed games can be suspect.
8 Best Horror Games That Are Immediately Immersive
These great horror games pull you in with their incredible atmospheres, immediately immersing you in detailed worlds and dynamic threats.
Licensed or tie-in games are often used as cheap cash grabs with little effort put into them, and one need look no further than The Walking Dead: Destinies to realize this. Fortunately, for every lackluster licensed horror game, there are just as many good games that are respectful of the franchise and the characters they are based on. Here are the best examples of licensed horror games.
10 Saw
Survive The Traps
Saw (2009)
- Released
- October 6, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Zombie Studios
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
From the traps to gory deaths, Saw is a franchise that lends itself well to video game adaptations. It is a shame that there has only been one good game adaptation of the series.
2009's Saw is a third-person survival horror game set between the first and second movies. It follows the first film's David Trapp as he navigates an asylum modified and fitted with numerous traps by Jigsaw. The game has some very good puzzle solving, an unsettling atmosphere, and reveals more of Jigsaw's backstory, making it a worthy addition to the franchise.
9 A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
Don't Make A Sound
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
- Released
- October 17, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Stormind Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The Road Ahead tells an original story in the A Quiet Place world. The game serves as a prequel to the original films and puts players in charge of Alex as she attempts to survive and seek safety for herself and her unborn child.
Horror Games That Use Players' Microphones
Using the player's microphone in gameplay is an excellent way to increase immersion and tension in horror games. Here's which titles did it the best.
It is a first-person survival horror game primarily focused on stealth. The signature aliens of the franchise stalk various levels as players attempt to sneak past them and complete objectives while incorporating microphone options to include player audio. The Road Ahead tells a compelling narrative filled with tension and drama.
8 Killer Klowns From Outer Space
Murderous Klowns And Helpless Humans
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game
- Released
- June 4, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Illfonic, Teravision Games
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Killer Klowns From Outer Space is an asymmetric multiplayer game from 2024 in the vein of Friday the 13th: The Game. It was released just in time for fans of multiplayer games based on 80s horror franchises, as the latter shut down its servers at the end of 2024.
A Killer Klowns From Outer Space match consists of three Klowns hunting seven humans and triggering the Klownpocalypse as the humans try to escape before the 15-minute timer runs out. The game is incredibly fun to play with friends and has a lot of potential for laughter-inducing moments.
7 Blair Witch
Explore The Forest
Blair Witch
- Released
- August 30, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, Amazon Luna
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The original Blair Witch was instrumental in popularizing the found footage genre of horror. While what came after may not have lived up to the quality of the original film, the Blair Witch game by Bloober Team comes pretty close.
This first-person survival horror game follows a former police officer, along with his dog Bullet, as they venture into a forest in search of a missing boy. With a terrifying atmosphere, a good story, an excellent dog companion, and multiple endings that are different levels of messed up, Blair Witch is a worthy sequel to the original film.
6 Dead By Daylight
All The Fan-Favorite Horror Franchises In One Place
Dead by Daylight
- Released
- June 14, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Behaviour Interactive
- Genre(s)
- Horror, Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia, Switch, Mobile
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Dead by Daylight stands as a shining beacon of the popularity of horror as a genre. This asymmetric multiplayer juggernaut has been consistently partnering with various publishers to bring content based around popular horror franchises to the game.
A match of Dead by Daylight consists of a Killer hunting down four Survivors as they run around to find ways to escape. What makes this loop incredibly fun is the host of who's who of horror monsters players can take control of, like the Xenomorph, Michael Myers, Leatherface, and the list goes on.
5 The Thing
Just As Tense As The Film
The Thing
- Released
- August 21, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Computer Artworks
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS2, Xbox (Original)
John Carpenter's seminal horror cult classic was adapted into a third-person horror shooter in 2002. The Thing is a single-player squad-based shooter where players take control of a new character, Captain Blake, as he finds survivors and seeks to uncover what happened at the Antarctic outpost and research team, and comes face to face with the shape-shifting alien in the process.
The squad-based gameplay of The Thing is a genius move as it taps into the film's feeling of paranoia as squadmates turn out to have been assimilated by the alien, and it makes the game very tense to play.
4 The Walking Dead: The Final Season
The End Of The Journey
The Walking Dead: The Final Season
- Released
- August 14, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Telltale Games, Skybound Games
- Genre(s)
- Graphic Adventure, Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The Walking Dead is one of the most popular zombie horror franchises in recent memory. The TV show was popular for its entire run, and the graphic novels are widely read. With a franchise that focuses so intensely on story, there was no better choice for a developer to adapt it into a video game than Telltale.
The Walking Dead tells an emotional story separate from the main storyline, but no less compelling. The Final Season is a brilliant culmination of the long-running story and the perfect final entry into the series.
3 Parasite Eve
Stop The Parasite
Parasite Eve
- Released
- September 9, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
Parasite Eve is a sequel to the novel by Hideaki Sena of the same name. There is also a Parasite Eve movie from 1997. The game sticks more closely to the novel, though, which is an incredibly creepy and terrifying work of sci-fi horror literature.
8 Best Horror Games That Focus on Survival Over Combat, Ranked
Players often have to rely on their fight-or-flight instincts to survive in these games where ammo is sparse or non-existent.
The game manages to capture the atmosphere that made the novel so great in a semi-open-world RPG with unique combat mechanics that mix real-time and turn-based combat. The game's real strength lies in its story and the pervasive sense of horror that permeates the entire experience.
2 Metro 2033 Redux
Terrors In The Metro
Metro 2033 Redux
- Released
- August 28, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
The Metro series is set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow following a nuclear war. The game is based on the novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky and tells the story of Artyom as he seeks to protect his underground settlement from the terrifying Dark Ones.
Metro 2033 is a first-person survival horror shooter, and its 2014 Redux is the definitive version of the game. It perfectly captures the claustrophobic nature of the underground societies from the novels. The creature designs are suitably grotesque and terrifying, and the Dark Ones especially are rendered in gloriously scary detail.
1 Alien: Isolation
The Xenomorph Has Never Been Scarier
Alien: Isolation
- Released
- October 7, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
Alien is one of the most beloved sci-fi horror franchises in history. While there have been multiple attempts to adapt it to video games, none have been as good or as terrifying as 2014's Alien: Isolation.
This first-person survival horror shooter puts a larger focus on survival horror than the shooting, since the Xenomorph is unkillable for most of the game. Being chased by the Xenomorph with little respite is a nerve-racking experience. The game also manages to perfectly adapt the retro-future aesthetic of the films.
7 Best Action-Adventure Games That Blend Horror and Exploration, Ranked
Action-adventure enthusiasts who like a drop of horror with a side of exploration can find that perfect combination in the following games.