Summary
- Horror can thrive in open-world settings with purposeful exploration instead of scripted scares.
- Days Gone, The Long Dark, and Subnautica offer unique horror experiences through world immersion.
- These games use atmosphere, tension, and unpredictable encounters to keep players on edge.
Horror and open-world game design don’t always go hand in hand, as many horror games rely on claustrophobic level design, scripted scares, or tightly controlled pacing. However, some titles prove that fear can thrive in more expansive settings, where the freedom to explore also means the freedom to walk straight into danger.
The 20 Best Open-World Horror Games
Open-world games are often thought of in terms of RPGs, but these horror games make excellent use of the open-world format.
These games let players roam haunted towns or apocalyptic wastelands at their own pace, yet never let them feel truly safe. Sometimes the dread creeps in slowly through the atmosphere, and other times, it pounces without warning. What unites these games isn’t just scares, but how they turn exploration into a central mechanic for horror, using their worlds to unnerve and challenge players in equal measure. These next open-world games find the perfect balance between horror and exploration.
Days Gone
Zombie Survival On A Haunting Open Road
Days Gone
- Released
- April 26, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action, Adventure
Days Gone offers a vast Pacific Northwest riddled with infected, hostile survivors, and the decaying remnants of a lost world. While the core of the game revolves around survival combat, its strength lies in the tension of traversing the wilderness alone. The unpredictability of enemy encounters and dynamic weather systems keep players in a constant state of uncertainty and fear in a world that never lets up.
Exploration is purposeful, with points of interest that yield both narrative insight and essential resources. The game excels at fostering dread through its setting rather than outright scares, and the long stretches of quiet motorcycle travel are punctuated by sudden chaos, immersing players in a world where the line between safety and danger is always razor-thin.
The Long Dark
Frozen In The Wilderness With No One To Save You
The Long Dark
- Released
- August 1, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The Long Dark places players in a harsh, post-disaster Canadian wilderness where nature is their greatest adversary. The slow pace of exploration and the absence of overt supernatural elements make for a more grounded kind of horror, one rooted in isolation and existential dread. Every movement across the snow-covered expanse feels deliberate, as mistakes can be fatal, and at any moment, the player could find themselves lost in the darkness.
8 Best Open-World Games With Dynamic Worlds
These open-world games impress with their dynamic worlds, providing players with immersive places that live and breathe without them.
Players must scavenge remote cabins and deep into mineshafts, while fending off wildlife and hypothermia in a perfect balance between the cruelty of nature and the harshness of reality. The Long Dark doesn’t use jump scares or monsters, but instead builds its fear around the unknown in the unforgiving, immersive world.
Subnautica
Alien Oceans Hiding Wonders And Nightmares Alike
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Subnautica presents an open-world experience set beneath the surface of an alien ocean, where exploration is both beautiful and terrifying. Early moments are tranquil, but as players descend into deeper biomes, the tone gradually shifts to claustrophobic fear, and the environmental storytelling keeps the pressure mounting as the unknown lurks just out of sight.
The game smartly ties horror to progression, whereby gathering new blueprints and reaching further zones, players must also face darker depths and increasingly aggressive wildlife. Base-building and crafting offer comfort, but true advancement requires venturing into eerie, uncharted territories. The real key is the seamless blend of discovery and dread that ensures that exploration never loses its edge, making it one of the most unique survival horror experiences in the genre.
Darkwood
Top-Down Terror In A Decaying Forest
Darkwood
- Released
- August 18, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Darkwood uses a top-down perspective to create a nightmarish, immersive survival horror experience unlike anything else. Its forested world is dark, hostile, and thick with menace, and the visual and audio design amplify the psychological horror, making players feel constantly watched.
Exploration is procedurally driven and never safe. Venturing into new areas means navigating bizarre NPCs and supernatural events, all while managing limited resources. Its nonlinear structure and emergent storytelling reward curiosity, but almost always at a cost. The refusal to rely on traditional horror tropes helps it achieve a slow-burn dread that makes every expedition tense and every discovery unsettling.
Pathologic 2
Existential Horror Through Desperate Exploration
Pathologic 2
- Released
- May 23, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Violence
Pathologic 2 is a rare breed of open-world horror that weaponizes time and morality against the player. Set in a plague-ravaged town with limited resources and a countdown to inevitable disaster, it forces players to explore not for power, but for survival and understanding.
8 Best Open-World Games To Just Explore, Ranked
Open-world games are known for their exploration, and these titles shine the brightest in this area.
The world is dreamlike and disturbing, full of cryptic characters and decaying logic, and the exploration is a moral and practical struggle. Every step taken wastes time, and every unlocked area holds potential answers or irreversible consequences. The horror isn't in jump scares but in the constant feeling of wrongness that pervades the town, and the sense that there is never enough time to save everyone.
The Forest
Something Always Movies Behind The Treeline
The Forest
- Released
- April 30, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
The Forest’s strength lies in how it balances survival sandbox mechanics with an escalating horror narrative. The island is open and ripe for crafting and base-building, but it’s also stalked by cannibalistic tribes and subterranean mutants whose sole mission is to take out the player.
Exploration is deeply tied to the narrative. Players uncover disturbing lore through environmental storytelling and lost artifacts, and the dynamic AI ensures encounters are never predictable, making even familiar paths feel dangerous. The contrast between serene natural landscapes and grotesque enemies ensures that every inch of progress feels hard-earned and meaningful, while never allowing the player to feel truly safe.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Radiation, Ruins, And Relentless Dread
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
- Released
- March 20, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Survival Horror
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl places players in a bleak, irradiated version of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, where the supernatural bleeds into the real. Its open-world structure rewards deep exploration with hidden stashes, anomalies, and disturbing environmental storytelling, and with minimal direction, it pushes players to learn the world on its unforgiving terms.
Fear comes from unpredictability, with mutated horrors and hostile factions striking without warning. The game’s decaying buildings and unnatural weather effects reinforce an atmosphere of dread, with the immersive sim elements blending perfectly with genuine psychological horror, making exploration a harrowing but essential experience.
Dying Light
Nightfall Is A Whole Other Beast
Dying Light
- Released
- January 27, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Survival Horror
Dying Light excels at transforming urban exploration into a horror gauntlet. Its city is open from the beginning, designed with verticality in mind, where players can use parkour mechanics to scale the rooftops and avoid the infected.
When darkness falls, the game becomes genuinely terrifying. Aggressive Volatiles roam the streets, forcing players to run or hide, and exploration becomes a test of nerves and timing, with the rewards often found in the riskiest locations. Sound design, lighting, and the sheer unpredictability of enemy behavior all heighten the fear, and the fusion of agile movement and persistent threats makes it the definitive horror-exploration hybrid.
8 Best Open-World Games Where Exploration Is Intense, Ranked
These open-world games may look sunny in their screenshots, but they are filled with dangers that make exploration a stressful affair.