With Halloween right around the corner, there are no doubt many gamers looking for something spooky to play to celebrate the holiday. But with thousands of titles to choose from, it may be hard to know where to start. To steer horror fans in the right direction, GameRant is counting down the top 100 horror games of all time, with all of these games proving to be perfect picks for those needing something to play this spooky season.
Previous Entries
These 100 games were chosen by polling the GameRant editorial staff, but you can let your voice be heard by voting in the Reader’s Choice Top 100 Horror Games Poll.
80. Iron Lung
Iron Lung is a freaky sci-fi horror game where players navigate a massive ocean of human blood aboard a cramped submarine. Praised for its claustrophobic atmosphere and unnerving sound design, Iron Lung is one of the most memorable indie horror games out there. It was later adapted into a hugely profitable film by Markiplier.
79. Slay the Princess
Slay the Princess is a twisted visual novel game where player choice shapes the narrative. Whereas most video games would have “save the princess” being the main goal, Slay the Princess gives players the option to kill the titular damsel-in-distress. The award-winning game is actually one of the highest-rated horror games of all time, earning an impressive 90 overall rating on review aggregate site OpenCritic.
78. Parasite Eve 2
Square was best known for its Final Fantasy games on the PS1, but it also got in on the survival-horror craze of that era with its Parasite Eve games. Parasite Eve 2 builds on the survival-horror/RPG framework of the first game, but leans more into the survival-horror side of things. The sequel has tank controls like Capcom’s PS1 Resident Evil games, and the combat is now real-time as opposed to the ATB-style used in the original.
77. The Sinking City 2
Releasing seven years after the original game, The Sinking City 2 is a vast improvement over its predecessor. The cosmic Lovecraftian horror vibes are still on full display, but Sinking City 2 is significantly more polished, with stronger gameplay to boot. The Sinking City 2 challenges players to survive in a flooded city full of Lovecraftian monsters with third-person shooter gameplay highly inspired by the Resident Evil remakes.
76. Silent Hill: Townfall
Silent Hill: Townfall took a big risk by shifting the franchise’s tried-and-true third-person camera to a strictly first-person experience, but that risk paid off. Silent Hill: Townfall is the story of Simon Ordell, who washes up in the foggy Scottish town of St. Amelia, which happens to be overrun with horrific monstrosities. The first-person view brings Silent Hill fans closer to the terror than ever before, and greatly elevates the scares and tension, solidifying it as one of the scariest games in the series.
75. The Evil Within
Legendary game developer Shinji Mikami is best known as being the creator of the Resident Evil franchise, but RE is far from the only horror game he’s worked on. Shinji Mikami’s debut project with Tango Gameworks was 2014’s The Evil Within, which plays almost like a pure-horror version of Mikami’s Resident Evil 4.
74. The Suffering
The Suffering protagonist Torque is put on death row after being convicted of murdering his ex-wife and children. Disturbing monsters modeled after various methods of execution invade the prison, and players have to fight their way out. One of the best action-horror games of its time, The Suffering was eventuallyi re-released on GOG, but sadly both it and its sequel have since been delisted.
73. The Thing
John Carpenter’s The Thing is one of the most beloved horror movies of all time, and as it so happens, it has a fantastic game to go along with it. Instead of adapting the movie, The Thing video game is actually a sequel. Players take on the role of a soldier sent to investigate the events of the movie, and as one might imagine, they come into direct conflict with the titular “thing.” The game’s squad-based mechanics give it a little more flavor than if it were simply a straight-forward shooter, and it’s definitely a must-play for fans of the movie.
The Thing was remastered for modern platforms in 2024.
72. Dead Island
Originally meant to release in 2008, Dead Island was delayed multiple times before it finally hit the scene in 2011. Zombies were all the rage at the time of its release, and the prospect of an open world zombie action-RPG was definitely appealing. While the final game didn’t exactly match the heartbreaking vibes of some of its trailers, Dead Island nevertheless delivered a memorable zombie experience with fun combat and co-op as the icing on the cake.
Dead Island was later remastered and bundled with its standalone expansion, Riptide, and other content.
71. Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5 downplays the franchise’s horror elements, but it makes up for that with its pure fun factor. Resident Evil 5 is one of the best co-op horror games ever made, with a highly replayable campaign full of memorable moments, exciting set-pieces, and satisfying action. It’s not nearly as fun solo, but those looking for co-op horror can’t go wrong with RE5.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
