PC is an evil laboratory where many new are developed and tested. Some of the best recent horror games are word-of-mouth sensations that started out as experimental PC exclusives. To that aim, we’ve compiled a list of the greatest 12 horror games available on PC right now.
While some of them aren’t limited to PC, they all got their start or developed a following on the platform. Some are horror classics that have inspired numerous imitators, while others are still undiscovered treasures hiding in the shadows of internet marketplaces. These are our recommendations for the top 12 PC horror games.
When you’re through, be sure to check out our more comprehensive list of the 25 greatest PC games to play to continue your gaming adventure.
IMSCARED: A Pixelated Nightmare is the only game on our list that extends its shocks into the real world. White Face watches your every move as you creep across IMSCARED’s low-res landscapes, gathering keys and trying to escape the nightmare you’re in.
When White Face is detected, it causes a crash to your desktop and displays a text document mocking your failure. It also plays with your head in other ways: your browser can open unexpectedly, landing on a creepy YouTube video; HTML web pages emerge in another folder, giving a map and the stated exit to the region you’re in, but can you trust it? It requires you to erase in-game papers during crucial times. IMSCARED, like Eternal Darkness, takes its distinct horror aesthetic outside of itself – a cursed game.
11. The Cat Lady
The main character, a lonely 40-year-old lady called Susan Ashworth, commits herself less than a minute into The Cat Lady. Soon later, she reawakens in a strange realm, only to be welcomed by The Queen of Maggots, who orders her to remove five ‘parasites’ from the earth so that she may finally find peace.
Despite its complicated topics about mental health and somber tone, The Cat Lady is surprisingly easy to play. You’ll traverse odd and twisted landscapes, gather different things to solve puzzles, and influence Susan’s actions via conversation options with other people. Beyond its usual point-and-click adventure trappings, though, is a moving narrative based in the genuine struggle of a woman who no longer wants to live.
10. Dead By Daylight
Dead By Daylight debuted in 2016 as a modest but well-intentioned asymmetrical slasher horror game. In which, several dumb kids dodged gruesome eviscerations from classic slasher movie monsters. By 2021, it will have evolved into the Smash Bros. of horror games, bringing in renowned killers like Freddy Kreuger and Michael Myers. As well as classic horror game antagonists like Resident Evil’s Nemesis and Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head. Dead By Daylight’s idea continues to expand, with new characters, features, and more being added to its great basis. But one element stays constant: playing as a bunch of apparently defenseless survivors in one round. This is just as much fun as playing as a large, strong horror movie monster in the next.
9. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
One of our older games, Amnesia: The Dark Descent features survival horror gameplay. With Amnesia 2, action games were revived.
The game begins with Daniel waking up alone in Brennenburg, a dark castle. Unsure how he got there (thus the name). A shadow follows him as he investigates. Not so horrible if you could fight back. Only running and hiding can rescue you. Unlike Resident Evil 5, the year prior.
Amnesia’s sequels have been noted by others. All expand on The Dark Descent’s ideas. Despite terrible console controls and UI, The Dark Descent works. Travel to Brennenburg for 10 hours of darkness. Stay out too late.
8. World of Horror
Fans of Junji Ito and/or H.P. Lovecraft might consider adding World of Horror to their list of frightening games to play this Halloween. This “1-Bit” horror game seems like you have discovered a collection of scary and intricate artworks on MS Paint.
Players must halt the apocalypse in Shiokawa, Japan, by exploring numerous locales and battling creatures . It’s inspired by Japanese horror comics and urban legends. World of Horror is, of course, a horror game, but it also incorporates aspects from the roguelike and RPG genres.
World of Horror’s mastery of suspense, perfectly suited music, and overall difficulty make it a PC must-play.
7. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Few games have succeeded in capturing an overpowering feeling of bleakness and gloom like the STALKER series. Whether you’re rushing to the scene of the world’s biggest nuclear disaster, deep beneath Chernobyl. Or exploring the mysteries buried within the decaying city of Pripyat. This real, breathing environment is poised to steal life from your body. So, if you want to fight toe-to-toe with ghosts deep beneath, zombified opponents. Who were once your buddies, and bloodsucking monsters. It’s time to pay a visit to the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
6. Five Nights at Freddy’s
As a kid at Chuck E. Cheese with bad pizza and a broken arcade. Unsettling was a large animatronic animal band that looked into kids’ souls between songs. 5 Nights at Freddy’s is about ephemeral delight. Robot pizza workers. You’re the restaurant’s nightguard. Surviving the night instead of a birthday kid.
You’ll switch between security cameras and other gadgets as unnerving mechanical faces crop up intermittently or go bump in the night, but Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of the few horror games most kids can play without incurring a lifetime of trauma. Rarely can a gaming series appeal to both young and adult horror fans. Mechanical creatures are bad, so we can all agree on that.
5. Pathologic
Pathologic was ahead of its time when it was released in 2006. This game, set in a secluded community ravaged by a mysterious sickness, merges horror and mystery for a unique experience. Choose one of three player personas who must survive the sand illness for 12 days while revealing its mysteries.
Every day, additional missions will become available, bringing characters closer to the truth. But be warned: these chores are only available for a short time, and once they’re gone, they’re gone forever.
Pathologic and its sequel Pathologic 2 excels in mood. While jump scares are infrequent, the overwhelming feeling of dread will stay throughout your playing. Pathologic will remain with you for a long time.
4. Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia emerged like a bat from hell. Four players may join up to become amateur ghost hunters with night-vision cameras, holy water, and radios. As an early-access game, it has certain technical issues. The fundamental premise works surprisingly well. Perhaps this is why so many Phasmophobia-like games have appeared on Steam in recent months.
You’ll wander haunted mansions and abandoned prisons, calling spirits from the afterlife. Gather enough facts to determine what kind of ghost haunts that area. Correctly deduce for a large payout.
As time passes, the possibility of seeing a ghost increases, as does the danger. Nothing beats the joy of watching a friend twist. And contort from getting caught by one of Phasmophobia’s many awful ghosts as you all flee.
3. Chilla’s Art Games
Chilla’s Art is the name of two Japanese indie developer brothers. Since 2018, the duo has published around 15 micro horror games on Steam for a few bucks. These games, although just a few hours long, have a big impact.
Each Chilla’s Art game is unique, yet they always take place in first person and are about something boring. That rapidly devolves into something terrible. The Convenience Store is one of the most well-known, in which players take on the role of night-shift convenience store clerks. Strange things happen when gamers are refilling supplies and checking stocks. Strange customers, inexplicable sounds, and other frightful happenings become more common.
Choosing only one of Chilla’s Art Games is difficult. With such a low entrance hurdle, choose a few and have fun.
2. Puppet Combo Games
Night Ripper, Babysitter Bloodbath, Power Drill Massacre These aren’t 1980s grindhouse movies, but extremely cruel and scary games from Puppet Combo. This is a lone indie horror developer.
Over 20 games have been launched on Patreon and itch-io in the past decade. With dramatic and severe times. Whether you’re avoiding a serial murderer while babysitting or playing a dangerous game of cat. And mouse with a deranged nun at boarding school (in the appropriately titled Nun Massacre). Or commanding a park ranger on a chilly and stormy night as something follows them. Puppet Combo celebrates its PS1-style, VHS horror origins in every game.
Dire locations, sleazy pals, and persistent murders make each Puppet Combo game a memorable nightmare.
1. Visage
When Konami ended Silent Hills in 2015, spiritual successors emerged. And teaser-inspired games. Visage by Sad Square Studios is praised.
In the 1980s, you play as renter Dwayne Anderson. As he flees. Find out why he’s acting strangely.
As you explore the dark, silent mansion, unearthly beings will break doors and light bulbs. Visage is a scary modern game. Due of trauma and keeping Dwayne sane. It’s a trial-and-error game, but your persistence will be rewarded with a scary plot.
Visage isn’t Silent Hills, but it’s related. Keep its originality.
So long! That’s our list of the top PC horror games. Disagree with the list? Think another entry should have been added? Leave a comment and vote in the poll below. For more scares, see our list of the best horror films.
