20 Scary As Sh*t Games

When it comes to thinking about the best genres of video games out there, not a lot of love is given to the survival-horror. Sure, fighting games are fun, and platformers are entertaining and RPG’s require skill, but getting scared shitless doing a game? Now that’s fun.

If you’re looking for something spooky this October to really make you question your gaming choices, might we suggest some of these scary-ass titles?

Brown pants not included.

P.T. (Silent Hills)
This hour long demo for the cancelled Silent Hills, was developed by legendary game designer Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro.

This playable teaser has you stuck in an infinitely looping hallway, forced to solve puzzles and escape from a ghost named Lisa. It’s really chilling.

Condemned: Criminal Origins
Between being stalked by deranged criminals in near-darkness, and scary mannequins, this game delivers the chills. Players compare the mood of this game to The Silence of the Lambs & Seven, so that tells you a lot about the atmosphere you’ll encounter when you play.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent
In this game, you find yourself as an amnesiac in the bowels of the Prussian castle. All you have in your possession is a rusty lantern and your wits.

What you don’t have, are weapons and a firm grasp on your sanity.

Outlast
Playing as an investigative journalist in a remote psychiatric hospital, the amazing part of this game is that you have no weapons, no visible health bar and can’t see in the dark. You’re only options in the game are to hide, sneak and use an old camera with night vision, to see in the dark.

Spooky stuff.

Dead Space
This survival horror game has you trying to escape a spaceship overrun with necromorphs, a.k.a the reanimated dead.

Silent Hill 2
Rather than just picking a specific game in this series, it’s really just about the town of Silent Hill. It’s a fucking creepy town.

BioShock
This game is unsettling to say the least. The atmosphere is chilling, the setting is surreal and the mentally unstable splicers, Little Sisters and Big Daddy’s all combine to make Rapture a chilling place I never want to visit.

I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream
This older game has a super dark premise. There are only 5 humans left on earth after an A.I. wipes us out, and you have to play out an adventure with each survivor to redeem the human race.

There are a lot of adult themes, paranoia and emotionally draining moments in this game, to leave you feeling empty inside.

Alan Wake
This game mixes an homage to Twin Peaks, with Stephen King and leaves you with a surreal visit to the town of Bright Falls, where an author’s forgotten novel comes to life.

This game is short, dark and left me feeling a little bit of despair. It was perfect.

Penumbra: Black Plague
This survival horror sequel takes place in an underground research station, where you’re fighting off the infected, loneliness and pretty much shitting bricks the entire time.

Alien: Isolation
In this game, you play as Amanda Ripley; Ellen Ripley’s daughter. You’re pretty much spending the entire time avoiding one alien, and get some nasty tools at your disposal.

Emphasizing stealth and exploration over melee shooting, the atmosphere in this game is amazing and it’s like being in the first film.

Scratches
This game is proof of quality over quantity, and is creepy as hell. You play as an author exploring an old home, hearing nothing but scratches. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft, this game delivers the spooky.

System Shock 2
This game falls under the techno-horror genre and is really effective and visceral. This is what happens when you make an A.I. too smart.

I’m scared now.

Alone in the Dark
It looks incredibly dated and basic now, but this was the influencer that led to the whole survival horror video game concept. Even today, the gameplay is still tense and atmospheric.

Resident Evil
This is another grandaddy of the genre, and the gameplay within this title is well done. You play as an elite agent, trapped with zombies inside a mansion and you need to find a way to stay alive.

F.E.A.R
While being stalked by a creepy and murderous entity isn’t a new idea for a horror game, having that entity take the form of a little girl, is.

That’s far too creepy for me.