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Sleep is overrated anyway... Join us as we count down our picks for the greatest horror video games ever made! From psychological terrors to jump scare extravaganzas, these games have defined the genre and kept players awake for decades. Which spine-chilling adventure has traumatized you the most? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 30 greatest horror
00:09video games ever made. Bioshock. We can understand why some may not classify Bioshock as a true
00:21horror game, it's more of a thriller than anything else, although there are many aspects of it that
00:26kind of let it teeter closer to the sight of being a horror game. No matter how many times you play it,
00:31the lighting and atmosphere of Bioshock is deeply disturbing and gut-wrenching regardless of how
00:35beautiful the underwater environment may seem. Everything is in disarray, splices and big daddies
00:40lurk around every corner and the audio tapes force you to imagine the terrifying events that occurred
00:45when this supposed utopia was alive. Really, you don't need to rely on jump scares to be considered
00:50one of the greatest horror games of all time.
00:56Alone in the Dark
00:59Though the IP has largely and frequently fallen by the wayside for the majority of its history,
01:05there's no denying the greatness Alone in the Dark once had. The 1992 original MS-DOS game was
01:11revolutionary both for PC gaming and the horror genre as a whole. From the 3D graphics to the
01:16haunting environments, Alone in the Dark was laying the foundations of survival horror before our very
01:21eyes way back then. Sure, age hasn't been exactly kind to it when it comes to controls and visuals,
01:26but because of that, this legendary title has become a pretty important time capsule for now and,
01:31I guess, always.
01:36Clock Tower
01:36The convention for video games as a whole is to throw different types of enemies at you to keep
01:45you on your toes, always having to adapt to new situations. The thing about Clock Tower was that
01:49you didn't have several enemies to deal with. Instead, you had one enemy, one that was constantly in
01:54pursuit of you and hiding in random places. This is what made Clock Tower such a memorable
01:59experience for so many players. Not only did you have to manage resources, you had to be smart about
02:03your means of escaping the dreaded Scissorman. It's just a shame that more horror games haven't bothered
02:08to try to replicate this style of survival horror gaming. Except Alien Isolation. And Amnesia. And
02:13Resident Evil 2 Remake. And Resident Evil 3 Remake. Alright, this game is pretty revolutionary.
02:23Tormented Souls
02:24It's been two weeks since I received that letter from the Wild Burger Hospital.
02:30Since then, I haven't been fine.
02:33It's hard to imagine anyone topping the likes of modern survival horror giants like Resident Evil or
02:37Silent Hill, let alone matching their level of quality. But Tormented Souls bucked that trend and did so with
02:42flying colours. While it utilises old aspects of classic horror gaming such as fixed camera angles,
02:47Tormented Souls does it in a way that feels modern with supreme controls and clever puzzle designs that
02:53go beyond a simple scavenger hunt. It's honestly no wonder why fans have been so hyped for the sequel.
03:08Amnesia The Bunker
03:09If you grew up with the original Amnesia game, The Dark Descent, you might say that it is the best game in the
03:20franchise, and understandably so. However, we believe The Bunker to be the best entry in the series, and this
03:25isn't because we prefer horror games with single stalker type enemies. Alright, I guess it is.
03:28The Bunker manages to maintain the terror by imposing a timer on you, forcing you to constantly play
03:33dangerously rather than hide in places for extended periods of time. Your actual safety is on the clock,
03:39and the further you are from safe rooms, and the more time you spend being overly safe, the more
03:43risky it'll be to venture further out. You have to play smart, and set aside fear if you're going to
03:47make it out alive, and few games ever manage to instill that level of fear.
03:57Mouthwashing
03:58It might be the most bizarre horror game on this list, but it is definitely a modern classic that'll
04:07haunt you for years to come. Mouthwashing is best experienced with as little information as possible,
04:13so allow us to provide a brief synopsis. Developed by Wrong Organ, Mouthwashing tells the story of a
04:18crew of space freighters who have crashed into an asteroid and have found all of their resources to be
04:23inaccessible and, or destroyed in the process. All that they have left to survive is the cargo that
04:27were meant to transport a large supply of mouthwash. What follows are a series of surreal and disturbing
04:33events that make mouthwashing a grotesque experience that you might not recover from.
04:37I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
04:53What hell hole did that godless machine put me in this time?
04:59Funny how I Have No Mouth the game has become about as famous as, if not more, than the short story
05:04it's based on. In a world where humanity has completely collapsed under the weight of artificial
05:08intelligence, six of the last humans alive must suffer through horrible fantasies created by an
05:13electronic tormentor. Despite its age, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is still traumatizing today
05:19with its themes of isolation, war, automation, and the ultimate meaningless of life itself. It is a
05:24very grim story and one that is not recommended for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach it,
05:29it is one of the most brilliantly written and well-designed horror games ever made, even with its age.
05:34I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
05:37Too bad, Ted!
05:40Haha
05:42Signalis
05:44While we're on the subject of artificial intelligence, Signalis is one of those horror games that gets real as
06:04you progress. You play as Elster, an android that sets out to find her pilot, only to find
06:09that most of the crew is either missing or dead. The only remnant still alive are other
06:13androids. Signalus paints a rather bleak story that explores loss and grief and how those
06:18feelings can wind up amplifying pain more under certain conditions. Whether you're
06:22fond of retro-style horror games or are looking for a game that's thought-provoking, Signalus
06:26will not disappoint you. Just don't be surprised if you wind up going a bit existential during
06:31your time with it.
06:41Five Nights at Freddy's
06:42When Five Nights at Freddy's suddenly dropped on Steam, no one knew how massive this game
06:54was about to get. Rather than fight or run away from enemies, the game forced players to sit
06:58in a room with limited resources. Simply put, survive the night and do what you can to prevent
07:02animatronics from reaching you. It was unlike any other horror game we'd ever seen before,
07:07and the sequels that followed it showed that there were a ton of different ways to mix up
07:10the formula several times over. Since then, the franchise has only gotten bigger with spin-off
07:14games, books, and even movies.
07:20Left 4 Dead 2
07:26It is really hard to make horror work in a multiplayer format because things get less scary when playing
07:34with friends. Well, Valve figured out a way to make it work and make every session feel different.
07:38Left 4 Dead 2 and its predecessor will throw waves and waves of enemies at you while changing out set pieces
07:44and layouts that'll make you go, wait, that's not how it was last time I played. It manages to keep
07:48you on edge, regardless of if you're playing solo or with the whole team. It's no wonder fans have
07:53been begging for a third game.
07:54Jockey!
07:56Jockey!
07:58Jockey!
08:00The Mortuary Assistant.
08:01Rebecca, great, perfect timing.
08:04You might not think this deserves to end up in the top 20 best of all time, but play for a solid 30
08:08minutes and tell me you aren't more on edge than you've ever been in your life.
08:12In today's gaming world, a simple creepy ghost isn't always enough to terrify players.
08:16What sets the Mortuary Assistant apart is its chilling setting. As the title suggests,
08:21you play as a Mortuary Assistant working the night shift, which is apparently a thing.
08:26Anyone with a fear of death should tread lightly when jumping into this game.
08:29P.T.
08:44There may be no more infamous video game demo in all of gaming history than P.T., and part of the reason
08:50why it's so infamous is because it was so damn good. P.T.'s brilliance lies in its ability to disorient
08:56players, no matter how many times they navigate its labyrinth environment.
09:00It's this sense of creeping madness that defines the game's scares, even though its haunting visuals
09:04and disturbing events are petrifying on their own. The only thing that makes this game suck
09:09is that you literally can't play it anymore unless you get it on eBay and get your hands on a console
09:14that still has it downloaded from 2013.
09:31Condemned tells the story of a federal investigator tasked with tracking down serial killers,
09:35exploring themes that are surprisingly rare in gaming. It leans more towards the psychological
09:40thriller territory like Silent Hill rather than ghouls, ghosts and zombies. This premise works
09:45perfectly as the killer's mindsets and motives are reflected in the environment, much like Silent
09:49Hill. While none are as chilling as the department store where killers disguise themselves as mannequins,
09:54each area's design forces you to delve into the twisted minds of these criminals to stop them,
09:59much like Silent Hill. It's truly a gem on its own, but it's also very inspired by a certain game
10:04series. Think Quiet Mountain. Darkwood
10:23In Darkwood, you wake up with no memory of who you are, where you are or what's happening. All you know
10:28is that a sinister force relentlessly attacks your cabin at night. To survive these increasingly violent
10:33assaults, you must scavenge for supplies, defensive tools and anything to keep the lights on for just
10:38one more night. While the nighttime sequences deliver Darkwood's most intense moments, it's the
10:43time spent wandering through the endlessly dark forest in search of supplies that instills a profound
10:48sense of hopelessness. Darkwood balances the survival genre and the horror genre perfectly,
10:53and deserves far more praise than it gets. Shadow of Chernobyl
10:58You might think the scariest part of Stalker would be the mutants roaming the Chernobyl wastelands.
11:17Few experiences are more terrifying than turning a corner and coming face to face with something so
11:22horrifying you can't even describe it. But what truly sets this game apart are its survival elements. You feel
11:28utterly out of your depth when you're looking at the resources you have, as well as the resources
11:32that are available. In Stalker, simply staying alive feels like a challenge, often leaving you
11:36questioning why you even bother to keep going. Yet you do.
11:40A lot of these entries are wonderful because they were revolutionary. They either started a new
12:03type of game or genre or perfected it. Until Dawn is one of these games. In Until Dawn, your choice
12:10has directly determined whether a character lives or dies. You know how horror fans yell at the screen,
12:14telling characters to run, turn around or not go in there? Now you get to see how far that advice
12:19will actually take them. While the novelty of this mechanic can sometimes overshadow just how
12:23frightening the game is, until Dawn masterfully uses jump scares to keep players on edge.
12:28Visage. I'll be totally honest with you guys from the get go, this entry was going on this list no
12:55matter what. It's somewhat of a personal pick. And by that I mean I picked it personally.
13:00And by that I mean I ignored and kicked a classic off the top 20 to get this entry in here.
13:03But play this game and tell me I'm wrong. While Steam is filled with these types of titles,
13:08only a few truly stand out. Visage is the scariest of them. Visage is divided into chapters,
13:14each set in a different time period and introducing new central figures, though the protagonist remains the
13:19same. By tackling heavy themes and constantly shifting its approach to keep players on edge,
13:24Visage creates a deeply unsettling atmosphere and is in my personal top 5 horror games of all time.
13:38The Last of Us
13:46Some ain't right with them, I think they're sick.
13:49What kind of sick?
13:50Jimmy!
13:52Dad!
13:54Come here, come here.
13:56Jimmy!
13:58Jimmy!
14:00Jimmy!
14:01Jimmy!
14:02Jimmy!
14:02Now although The Last of Us doesn't make horror its focus, it's undeniably scary. And if we're talking
14:07best horror games of all time, we've got to acknowledge arguably one of the plain best games
14:11of all time in this list. The Last of Us draws from established zombie fiction, building tension
14:16through subtle environmental sounds and clever lighting, before hitting you with the 28 days
14:20later style terror if you make a mistake. The game teaches you to be deliberate with your movements,
14:25but what truly makes The Last of Us terrifying is not just the clickers or tricky ladder puzzles,
14:30it's the remnants of humanity that are far more unsettling and relatable than we'd like to admit.
14:37There's too many of them! This way! Through the alley!
14:43Alan Wake 2
14:44I felt a strange pull toward the T.V.
14:46I felt a strange pull toward the T.V.
14:48I felt a strange pull toward the T.V.
15:02I felt a strange pull toward the T.V.
15:04It was a real welcome to Mr. Alan Wake.
15:05Both Alan Wake games are frightening in their own way, but the original 2010 release
15:20suffers from repetitive gameplay that eventually undermines its fear factor, despite its strong
15:24narrative. Which I wouldn't traditionally call out, but I gotta pick one, so I gotta be tough.
15:28The long-awaited sequel improves on every aspect, including its approach to horror. Unlike many games
15:34in the genre, Alan Wake 2 doesn't rely on constant jump scares. Instead, it delivers carefully-timed
15:40moments of terror that are so well executed they leave players on edge long after they've passed.
15:52Outlast
15:53Another entry that defined a genre, let's talk Outlast. Outlast takes a unique approach to survival horror.
16:11While it does limit your resources, your battery draining camera being both frustrating and your
16:15only real tool, survival in Outlast is more about mentally enduring its relentless scares. Some might
16:20wonder, what's enjoyable about a game that largely involves hiding and running through darkness?
16:25But for genre veterans, Outlast is a test of resolve and strategy. Imagine trying to thread a piece
16:31of thread through a small needle, while all your ex-girlfriends scream insults into your ear. That's how
16:36tense puzzle solving is in Outlast.
16:40Outlast
16:48Bloodborne
16:58Here's another game on our entry that lives in the same realm as The Last of Us. Sure,
17:02it's not blood-curdlingly scary, but it's such a good game with solid horror elements that it definitely
17:07earns its place on the best of all time. Bloodborne is filled with human-made beasts,
17:12celestial monstrosities, and other horrors straight out of a nightmare. At one point,
17:16you face a creature that resembles the biblical accurate spectre of death. Most of the time though,
17:21you find yourself wandering through a plague-ridden town, haunted by the consequences of human failure,
17:26vividly depicted as abominations that prowl the blood-soaked streets. You know what?
17:30I changed my mind, this game is actually really f***ing scary. Fear.
17:41Fear was released during the peak of the scary little girl trend, which gained traction after
17:46the ring became a hit in the US. Without a doubt, the haunting figure of Alma remains one of the best
17:51examples of the creepy child trope in gaming. However, it's easy to overlook that Fear was also
17:57an innovative action game that raised the bar for enemy AI in first-person shooters. Fear has some
18:02really cool innovative game mechanics that make it stand out as a phenomenal game, regardless of the
18:06horror elements.
18:13SOMA
18:27SOMA certainly delivers scares in all the traditional ways being created by the same team behind Amnesia.
18:33You can expect plenty of frightening visuals and expertly timed jump scares. However,
18:38SOMA is the kind of horror game that gets under your skin in deeper ways, pun intended. By the time
18:43you reach SOMA's incredible ending, you'll be left staring at the screen wondering if you will ever
18:47reclaim the part of yourself that this game took away.
18:56Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly
19:09Fatal Frame 2 adopts a unique and brilliant approach to confrontation in video game combat.
19:14Instead of traditional weapons, the game equips you with a special camera capable of repelling spirits.
19:19And I know what you're thinking, how many times is this going to be done? I'm worried this joke
19:23won't land, nobody's ever done that. This intimate style of combat, combined with the grotesque design
19:28of the spirits, leaves you feeling uncertain about your ability to defend yourself, even though you're
19:32armed with the most effective weapon for the situation.
19:52Little Nightmares
19:52There's something particularly unsettling about navigating a sinister world as a small child like Six in Little Nightmares.
20:04Set in the moor, players will face various foes intent on capturing her. Armed only with her yellow raincoat,
20:11Six must rely on her ability to escape these dangers. With an intriguing story and a host of imaginative monster designs,
20:18Little Nightmares gets under your skin, maintaining a constant sense of tension without relying on jump scares.
20:24The second game improves upon the original in each and every way, but we had to praise the OG game
20:28and all of its beautifully terrifying DLC.
20:44The Evil Within
20:59To be completely honest, The Evil Within falls short in several aspects. However, when it comes to scares,
21:05The Evil Within certainly delivers. This relentless horror game features a range of funhouse-style
21:11scares that are both effective and darkly amusing. The second game lands harder than the first by
21:16improving upon everything it brings to the table. Shinji Mikami is a master of the genre,
21:20and his genius earns his game the fifth spot on this list.
21:34Alien Isolation
21:37It's surprising that it took so long for a proper alien horror game to be made, and by proper,
21:50I mean not s***. Alien Isolation utilizes a single Xenomorph more effectively than any other piece of
21:56alien media since the original film. Imagine that feeling when you spot a big spider in your room,
22:01but it scurries away and you have no idea where it went. Now, swap that spider for a Xenomorph lying
22:06in wait, ready to pounce as soon as it reappears. That's the essence of the Alien Isolation experience.
22:11This game, from start to finish, is so perfectly crafted,
22:15it should end up as a yearly replay for every gamer.
22:27Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
22:38Resident Evil 7 is arguably the best entry in the franchise. While there are several strong
22:42contenders for that title, Resident Evil 7 successfully revitalized pure horror in the
22:47series in the most impactful way possible. It reminded us that everything was going to be just
22:52fine in this beloved series. The game's opening moments are among the scariest ever created. A
22:57great survival horror game should instill a sense of helplessness, and Resident Evil 7 does just that.
23:02The series wasn't scared to go in a new direction. They took a risk, and boy did it pay off.
23:07They won Best VR Game at the Game Awards, and ended up number three on this list. Which do you think
23:13they're more proud of? Dead Space.
23:21Dead Space is another entry on our list that defined a genre. It introduces so many new concepts to
23:40gaming that are still used today. It's honestly shocking just how many games from this year have
23:45been influenced by mechanics that were introduced in Dead Space, and that is what makes Dead Space
23:50truly brilliant. While the game's atmosphere and exceptional sound design have rightfully received
23:54acclaim over the years, Dead Space really stands out due to how its enemy design impacts both the
23:59combat and the storytelling. You'll never forget the first time you were caught off guard by a
24:04necromorph plain dead. Everyone remembers their first sleepy necro. Terrifying.
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24:34Silent Hill 2
24:44Silent Hill 2 has established itself as arguably the most intimidating horror game ever made. The game's
24:50intricate psychological narrative distorts your grip on reality, while the visceral terror of entities
24:55like Pyramid Head ensures you won't find solace in any answers you might discover. Few games can scar
25:01you quite like Silent Hill 2. The original and the remake both leave players with the exact same
25:06feeling towards its conclusion, and it's a feeling that has stuck with most players for over 20 years.
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