It’s spooky season! To celebrate the month of October, we’ve compiled a list of 5 horror games you should play this month. Keep in mind, all of these games are rated M so they’re gory, disturbing, and scary as hell.
5. Outlast – Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Outlast helped usher in a new era for horror games. It’s a first-person survival horror game where you can not fight back, only run and hide. It’s not the first game to do this but it is one of the most effective examples.
You play as a journalist who goes to the mountains of Colorado to investigate an asylum accused of inhumane treatment on its patients. Once you get there, you realize there’s much more going on than some violations of HIPPA or a doctor doing dental procedures on a hoverboard. Soldiers have already arrived and been violently killed, monsters lurk in the shadows, and dangerous patients are roaming freely.
You have nothing but the night-vision on your camera, some batteries, and your stamina to survive and expose the truth.
4. The Evil Within – Xbox One, PS4, and PC
The Evil Within is another game set in an asylum, though it’s vastly different. You play as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective sent with his partners to investigate a mass murder at said asylum. Things quickly go awry and it gets very, very scary.
A big guy with a safe on his head chases you, a long, dark-haired girl with sharp claws attempts to rip you apart, and a shadowy figure stalks you pretty much the whole game. It’s weird, it’s unnerving, and most importantly, it’s incredibly tense. The Evil Within is heavily inspired by horror games like Resident Evil so naturally, the gameplay is very similar.
Your resources are scarce, meaning you’ll have to be crafty and careful. You have to make every shot count, plan accordingly by crafting crossbow bolts, and much more. It’s a pretty horrific supernatural trip that I firmly believe to be one of the most underrated horror games out there.
As a bonus, I highly recommend the sequel as well which blends its unsettling horror with a heart-wrenching tale about grief.
3. Paratropic – Nintendo Switch, PC
Paratropic is the closest thing we have to a David Lynch game. It’s very surreal thanks to everything being just slightly off-kilter. A PS1-era art style, a grimy world filled with browns and darkened colors, and shady individuals all create a tone that creates uneasiness.
It’s like wading through a fever dream with all kinds of weird shit going on. It’s also incredibly short with most playthroughs taking less than an hour. While there’s no zombies or anything like that, Paratropic takes on a much different kind of horror. A kind of horror you should definitely experience yourself.
2. Alien: Isolation – Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Alien: Isolation places you in the shoes of Amanda Ripley, daughter of Alien protagonist Ellen Ripley. Amanda learns that the flight recorder of the Nostromo has been discovered and she seeks it out in hopes that she can have closure of her mother’s fate. Of course, things aren’t quite that simple and she is stalked and attacked by an alien.
If not for its length, Alien: Isolation would be in the top 3 horror games. It stays faithful to the film series its inspired by with a rich, creepy atmosphere and unbearable tension. Everything from trying to outsmart the alien to fighting androids or other humans is thrilling, the game is a true example of survival horror.
As noted, the game’s length does ultimately bring it down. It’s a bit longer than it needs to be but it’s still a fun and terrifying ride from start to finish.
1. Resident Evil 7 – Xbox One, PS4 (with PSVR), and PC
Resident Evil 7 may sound daunting if you’re not familiar with the series. Fear not, it’s totally standalone and I think it’s one of the best horror games out there. Whenever I want to show someone VR, I boot up Resident Evil 7 on PSVR to show them how scary is.
It’s immersive, it’s grotesque, and it blends all these different kinds of horror. You have a character that creates these Saw-esque traps, some stomach-churning body horror, and even some stuff that’s reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
For those unfamiliar with the plot, it’s a soft reboot of the survival-horror series. You play as Ethan Winters who travels to a remote estate down south in search of his wife. Once he arrives, he realizes his wife is no longer really his wife and she’s being held captive by a crazed family. Ethan must fight his way out and ideally, bring his wife with him. A sequel is also set to release in 2021.
We hope you enjoy playing plenty of horror games throughout the month of October!
