Jan Richter
It’s Halloween, and this list is not for the faint of heart. We’ve picked the ten scariest horror games of all time: games that didn’t just entertain us but genuinely terrified us. Our selection is based on rankings from GameStar and The Reading Order, a fan vote on Ranker and a heart-rate study with 200 players.
Contents
Warning: these games are made to scare you. Play them with the lights off only if you’re sure you can still sleep afterwards.
1. Visage
Visage by SadSquare Studio left its long early access phase in October 2020. As Dwayne Anderson, you explore a house where horrific things have happened over decades and relive the fates of its former residents across several chapters.
Why it’s ultra-scary: Visage is considered the legitimate heir to P.T. There are no weapons, just light and your sanity. Stay in the dark too long and your perception starts to slip as the house turns against you. GameStar called it “the scariest game I’ve ever played”, and a heart-rate study ranked it among the three most terrifying games.
2. MADiSON
MADiSON by Argentine studio Bloodious Games was released in July 2022. Teenager Luca finds an instant camera possessed by the spirit of a serial killer and has to uncover a dark ritual inside a cursed house.
Why it’s ultra-scary: The camera is your most important tool, because every photo can change your surroundings or reveal something that wasn’t there a moment ago. The game relies on brutal, well-timed jump scares. In a study that measured the heart rates of 200 players, MADiSON came first: an average of 97 beats per minute, peaking at 131.
3. Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolation by Creative Assembly was released by SEGA in October 2014. You play Amanda Ripley, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, and explore the run-down space station Sevastopol, where a single Alien hunts you.
Why it’s ultra-scary: The Alien can’t be defeated and doesn’t follow a fixed script; it learns from how you play. You hide in lockers while the beeping of the motion tracker gets faster and faster. In the heart-rate study, Alien: Isolation came second with 96 beats per minute, just behind MADiSON.
4. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent by Frictional Games was released in September 2010. Daniel wakes up with no memory in the Prussian castle of Brennenburg and only knows that something is hunting him.
Why it’s ultra-scary: You are completely defenseless. Simply looking at a monster makes Daniel’s mind crumble, so all you can do is look away, hide and hope. Amnesia shaped an entire generation of horror games, from Outlast to Visage, and still ranks high on lists of the scariest games, for example third at The Reading Order.
5. Outlast
Outlast by Canadian studio Red Barrels was released in September 2013. As journalist Miles Upshur, you break into Mount Massive Asylum to follow leads about illegal experiments.
Why it’s ultra-scary: You have no weapons, only a camcorder whose night vision constantly drains batteries. The inmates are brutal and unpredictable, and all you can do is run and hide. GameStar’s editors called Outlast “the ultimate horror”.
6. Outlast 2
Outlast 2 was released in April 2017, also by Red Barrels. Cameraman Blake Langermann crashes with his wife Lynn in the Arizona desert and falls into the hands of a fanatical cult awaiting the end of the world.
Why it’s ultra-scary: Instead of narrow corridors, cultists hunt you through cornfields and villages with barely any safe hiding spots. In between, disturbing flashbacks pull you back into a school that is no less terrifying. In the heart-rate study, Outlast 2 came fifth.
7. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard by Capcom was released in January 2017 and switched the series to a first-person view for the first time. Ethan Winters searches the swamps of Louisiana for his missing wife Mia and ends up in the Baker family home.
Why it’s ultra-scary: The Bakers aren’t ordinary enemies; they stalk you through their own house and can’t be stopped for good. The first-person view makes every encounter with Jack Baker uncomfortably close, even more so in VR. In the heart-rate study, RE7 came sixth.
8. Silent Hill 2 (Remake)
With the Silent Hill 2 remake, Bloober Team brought back one of the most important horror classics for Konami in October 2024. James Sunderland follows a letter from his late wife Mary into the fog-shrouded town of Silent Hill.
Why it’s ultra-scary: Silent Hill 2 relies less on jump scares than on a deep sense of unease. Thick fog, radio static and the infamous Pyramid Head keep the tension constantly high, and the story about guilt and grief lingers long afterwards. In Ranker’s fan vote, Silent Hill 2 is number one among the scariest games.
9. Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f by NeoBards Entertainment was released by Konami in September 2025 and moves the series to rural 1960s Japan. Schoolgirl Hinako Shimizu watches as her hometown of Ebisugaoka is swallowed by fog and sprawling red blossoms.
Why it’s ultra-scary: Instead of rusty industrial halls, Silent Hill f relies on a disturbingly beautiful aesthetic and intense body horror. The story was written by Ryukishi07, the author of Higurashi, and is suitably dark. In GameStar’s gamescom horror ranking, Silent Hill f came second.
10. Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem is the latest entry in the series and was released in February 2026. Capcom sends FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft back into the ruins of Raccoon City, where she wants to uncover the truth about her mother’s death.
Why it’s ultra-scary: Requiem combines the oppressive first-person view of RE7 with the roots of the series. Grace is no fighter, and you feel it in every encounter. In our review, we called Raccoon City “never so terrifying”, and The Reading Order also counts it among the scariest games of all time.
Gallery: More scenes from the scariest horror games
Verdict: The scariest horror games for your Halloween night
If you want to be truly frightened, start with Visage or MADiSON; both measurably push your pulse higher than almost any other game. Alien: Isolation and Amnesia show how terrifying helplessness can be, while Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill f linger long after the credits. Which horror game scared you the most?
