Best horror games to play as the nights get longer

Video games are a unique medium for horror. The fact that you are the driving force behind the action lends to a level of dread that even the most frightening movies can’t reach. When you just know that there’s something awful behind the door, if you’re watching a protagonist open it, there’s a degree of separation that isn’t there when you’re the person pressing the buttons that make the protagonist open it.

Longer, darker nights make for perfect horror environments, so here are just some of the best horror games that can really get you to the beating heart of fear.

Silent Hill 2 (2024)

The title card for Silent Hill 2 shows James walking into the fog. — Silent Hill 2 Remake is deeply atmospheric and terrifying. Image credit: Konami

You could always play the original if you have it, but for most, the brand-new remake will be the easiest way to experience this genre-defining classic. As you make your way through the fog and fear of the town Silent Hill, the tension never lets up. There is never a moment in this iconic experience where you feel safe. Whether it’s outright, clear danger or the thrill of unsettling dread, it is unrelenting.

And that’s before you even start to consider the horror of protagonist James’s grief and the mental anguish that permeates the experiences. For many, the psychological horror is the core of the experience.

For around 20 hours the game will have you jumping out of your skin at the slightest weird noise, spinning round to check you’re not being followed, and gazing through the fog and asking yourself, is that a postbox or is something bad about to happen?

Available on: PlayStation 5 & Windows
Developer: Bloober Team; Publisher: Konami

Dead Space (2023)

Isaac from Dead Space in zero-gravity shooting a tentacled monster — The Ishimura is a fantastic horror setting. Image credit: EA

Another remake that brings the 2008 classic kicking and screaming into the modern day. Less about the psychological horror and more about physical threat with a healthy dose of jump scares, Dead Space puts you in the role of an engineer on a space station which has been decimated by horrible aliens that turn friends into foes.

The design of the aliens in Dead Space is iconic. Instead of aiming for a sequence of headshots, the monsters on the Ishimura demand something different. Their long, spindly limbs are ripe for slicing off, and Issac’s emblematic weapon is the plasma cutter.

No matter how proficient you become at slicing and dicing alien arms and legs, the sense of danger is retained through the games’ entire runtime without escalating to absurdity. It’s delightfully gruesome, and the remake realises the body horror in exquisite, horrible detail.

Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows
Developer: Motive Studio; Publisher: Electronic Arts

Still Wakes the Deep (2024)

A huge oil rig is visible through the silhouette of a man — Caz is an instant classic horror protagonist. Image credit: Secret Mode

Set on a Scottish oil rig in 1975, Still Wakes the Deep is more of a linear experience than a lot of horror games, but it’s no less terrifying for it. When the crew drills into something…unexpected, things start to go wrong.

As well as the monsters rampaging around with unsettling approximations of your friends’ faces and distorted versions of their voices, the rig itself is in a state of collapse. The combination of environmental and monstrous threat makes it scary on multiple levels.

While the game is scary and the world of the Beira D is incredibly well realised, the true gem of Still Wakes the Deep is protagonist Caz. Glaswegian born and bred, Caz reacts in a very human way. Someone says he’s got to go down into a monster-infested, collapsing, and on-fire section of the rig? “I’m no goin’ doon there” he mutters, before being persuaded to go doon there.

It’s refreshing to play as a protagonist who realises he’s in a horrible situation and really doesn’t want to go off on his own to experience the horrors in store for him.

Available on: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows
Developer: The Chinese Room; Publisher: Secret Mode

SOMA (2015)

A robot looks at its reflection, which looks like a human face. — SOMA’s story goes as deep as the facility you’re exploring. Image credit: Frictional Games

A survival horror game set on an underwater research facility filled with machines that developed human thought, SOMA is an older game now but still manages to pack a punch of fear.

Simon, the protagonist in SOMA can’t fight back so there’s a heavy emphasis on stealth and evasion, which is a key factor in what makes the game so scary. Being helpless and unable to defend yourself from enemies is a great way to emphasise danger.

Players progress through puzzle solving and figuring out how to move forward without putting themselves in harm’s way. The game’s setting really adds to this experience – you can’t go round, because outside and all about is the deep ocean. You have to engage with the game on its own terms.

Available on: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Mac, Linux
Developer & Publisher: Frictional Games

Alien Isolation (2014)

Half of the screen is Ripley, the character from Alien Isolation, and half is the Alien. — The terror is unrelenting in Alien Isolation. Image credit: Sega

Another game that isolates the player from the world by putting them in an extremely constrained environment, Alien Isolation takes place on the defunct space station Sevastopol.

A science fiction dream of exploring a massive space environment quickly becomes a nightmare when you realise there is at least one Alien on board. The AI for the Xenomorph is a huge part of why it’s so scary. It knows to hunt for you, it can hear you. Very few gaming experiences come close to slamming yourself into a locker and holding your breath (in and out of the game) while the beast prowls about, hunting you.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, you can’t rely on the space station’s remaining residents for help; the self-preservation instincts have kicked in for the humans, and something seems to be wrong with the Androids.

The vibes of this game come so close to matching the vibes of the 1979 movie that any fans of the latter should check it out. It’s a transportational experience that remains terrifying even 10 years later and will be at the top of many lists for years to come.

Available on: PlayStation 3 &4, Xbox 360 & One, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS
Developer: Creative Assembly; Publisher: Sega

Bloodborne

A hunter sits in a wooden chair holding a large, sheathed sword — Lady Maria is widely considered to be one of FromSoftware’s best bosses.

Bloodborne is not a scary game, but it’s undeniably a horror game. It’s deeply connected to both gothic and cosmic horror, and the game’s enemies are beastly monsters.

It’s a fascinating study of how horror doesn’t have to be fearful. The souls-like game is set in an incredibly intricate, sprawling city with baroque gothic architecture and intricate details on every building. It goes too far up than feels real and way too far down, and that’s before you start to consider the nightmare version of the world.

The monsters are a variety of beast-men who have succumbed to the blood curse which eventually give way to aliens with blue domed heads and then down down into the depths of the world to face a Great Old God, the extremely Cthulhu-esque Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos.

As horrible as the game’s enemies and environments are, the story is where the true horror lies. It clearly takes influences from some horror greats like H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe and lives up to those influences in its own right.

If you want to play a horror game without the scary parts, Bloodborne is a great option.

Available on: PlayStation 4
Developer: FromSoftware; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Ali Rees