Playing scare games is terrifying but awesome. The chills and thrills are like nothing else. Here is a list of 31 of our favorite Horror tiles on Xbox.
While not every game in our list is on Game Pass, if it is, then you and your buddies all have access and can get stuck right in.
If you disagree with our list, then feel free to check out our awesome Xbox Game Pass app, DayOne. You can track, rate and search for all the best co-op games on the service, and pick your preferred title. Jump in!
Best Horror Games (In No Particular Order)
The Outlast Series
Outlast 1 and 2, their DLC, and The Outlast Trials are a series of horror titles from developer Red Barrels. The first two games are survival horror played from a first person perspective. The Outlast Trials is the newest game, featuring three-player co-op gameplay, and serves as a prequel story.
From the terrors of solo jump scares to the co-op madness, Outlast has it all.
The Amnesia Series
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: Machine for Pigs, Amnesia: Rebirth, and Amnesia: The Bunker are a series of games from Frictional Games. The Chinese Room developed Machine for Pigs. All four titles are first-person survival horrors set between the early 1800s and early 1900s.
The first three titles were linear and focused more on puzzles and managing a fear/sanity meter. The Bunker changed it up by adding in more shooting mechanics.
Dead Space (Remake)
2023’s Dead Space Remake earned the rare (shut up, Nick) 10 on our site from yours truly. It is a pitch-perfect remake of one of the 360 generations’ best games. Aboard a derelict ship full of body-horror monsters, you are an engineer named Isaac. Desperate to find your girlfriend, one of the ship’s doctors, you’ll progressively go insane as alien artifacts affect all they touch.
Available on Game Pass Ultimate across Cloud, Console, and PC this might not only one of the best games on the list but one of my favorites of all time.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and 8: Village
Resident Evil is one of the biggest franchises in all of gaming. In the 7th and 8th mainline entires the series shifted focus from third to first-person, introducing Ethan Winters, a nerd. Biohazard takes place in a desolate swamp house as a family of fungus-infected maniacs terrorizes you. Village moves the series and its titular super-nerd to Europe, as Werewolves, Vampires, and more attempt to bludgeon Ethan into a fine paste as often as possible.
The Gold Edition of Village offers up a third-person version of the game for those less inclined to first-person gameplay.
Still Wakes the Deep
Still Wakes the Deep is a beautiful, somber tale of a doomed Oil Rig off the coast of Northern Scotland, set in the 1970s. This is the most Scottish game I have ever played. Top-tier voice acting compliments an engrossing story in this Horror-Platformer from The Chinese Room & Sumo Digital.
It’s still available in Xbox Game Pass and is an easy recommendation for any horror fan.
Slitterhead
Slitterhead is cool, at times, and it is the most infuriating game I’ve played through, maybe ever. A time-traveling spirit uses human bodies to fight brain-sucking monsters. Some humans are special and get cool A.F. powers. Over roughly 13 hours, you’ll fight the same few enemy types thousands of times. Rip your hair out as you see the same levels from mostly the same perspective 3, 4, no let’s do 5 times!
Slitterhead has some cool-as-hell sections, though, and some have found the game to be everything they want in a horror title.
Crow Country
Crow Country describes itself as:
The year is 1990. It’s been two years since the mysterious disappearance of Edward Crow and the abrupt closure of his theme park, Crow Country. But your arrival has broken the silence, Mara Forest. If you want answers, you’ll have to venture deep into the darkness of Crow Country to find them…
A survival horror game, where you’ll test yourself against puzzles and riddles as you investigate the eerie tranquility of the abandoned theme park. Don’t be deceived by the whimsical surroundings, something is awfully wrong in Crow Country.
The Evil Within 1 and 2
The Evil Within series from the formerly late Tango Gameworks were horror games from legendary game director Shinji Mikami. The first title is a throwback to his Resident Evil days, with the 2nd title bringing us to the open-world version of horror. Both titles hold up well enough, and both are still available in Xbox Game Pass
Krafton may have bought the studio after Xbox closed it, but the games remain in the service.
Alien: Isolation
A game whose appreciation has grown significantly over time, Alien: Isolation is the sequel to Aliens that we never really got. Featuring Amanda Ripley, Ellen’s daughter, as she finds herself stuck avoiding a truly terrifying Xenomorph, this SEGA title has a sequel in the works over a decade after it launched.
Full of intrigue, good looks, and big scares, this is one of the best games on the list.
Little Nightmares 1 & 2
There’s something to be relished in the retelling of a nightmare. The moment that unsettling dream has passed, the elements and details begin to fade in to the obscure, leaving us with lots of gaps as we try to enthusiastically describe just how harrowing or upsetting it really was to our loved ones – or even ourselves.
Little Nightmares II, much like the first game, does not skimp on the detail. The world is cruel, dark and unimaginably unsettling. Reality is twisted and distorted, but recognisable.
And that, my friends, is what gets under your skin.
The Dark Pictures Anthology Series
Across four titles, The Dark Pictures Anthology has seen developer Supermassive build a new series of thrilling tales. A fifth entry to the series is hitting later in the year and we reviewed multiple entries in the series. Here is a section from The Devil In Me:
Having enjoyed all of the previous titles in the Dark Pictures Anthology I have been waiting with bated breath for this newest instalment which marks the climax of season one. The rumours regarding this title being set within the modern-day British political establishment have turned out to be false but let’s face it, no one would want to play a game that horrific.
Phasmophobia
Phasemaphobia is a co-op game on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC with full crossplay and VR support where it can. You’ll be tasked with finding ghosts and determining what type they are to earn cash. The game has been in a preview/early-access state for years as its solo developer has seen 20 million+ players.
It’s a lot of fun with a solid group of friends.
The Walking Dead: Telltale Games
Telltale put out five different The Walking Dead titles. The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series, The Walking Dead: Season Two, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, The Walking Dead: The Final Season, The Walking Dead: Michonne. They’ve fluttered in and out of Game Pass over the years, with dozens of hours of content on hand for all your zombie horde drama needs.
Chernobylite
Chernobylite is actually a wonky eurojank survival horror game that really grows on you. Despite its steep learning curve—especially for someone without much experience in the genre—once you accept that Chernobylite is confusing as hell, you can get down to the basics and really let the tone, atmosphere, and eeriness guide you on a journey through the destruction and forests of Chernobyl.
Scorn
In Scorn you are a weird, freakish character who is tossed into an unforgiving, gray world filled with H.R. Giger-inspired locations and creature designs. Over 6 to 8 hours, you’ll stick phallic objects into bunghole-shaped bio-machinery, shoot biologically powered guns at weird flesh puppets. It wasn’t my jam but lots of others loved this visually interesting surreal horror title.
The Medium
The Medium is a game with a lot of interesting ideas hell bent on fulfilling the promise to take advantage of the power of next generation Xbox hardware. A lot of the ideas land, but some issues linger that make for an inconsistent journey through its world. Both of them, in fact. The Medium is an interactive storytelling/action horror game where you play as Marianne, a Medium who can see both our world, in all of it’s grim and depressing reality, and the spirit world, which unfortunately seems a little worse for wear.
It is a horror game first and foremost and focuses on an unsettling and mysterious tale that spans anywhere from 6 to 8 hours.
There you have it, 31 of what we think are the best Horror games on Xbox. What are you going to play alone or with your friends next? Let us know by commenting in our forums, or get involved in our very active community by joining the XboxEra Discord.
