Oh, Halloween, what a wondrous holiday you are for those of us who adore all things horror! While there’s nothing better than popping in a classic spooky movie on All Hallows’ Eve, it’s equally fun to fire up the console or PC for gaming madness. In fact, it’s recommended that everyone take a sick day from work – or school – and spend it playing a horror video game or two in celebration of the day. But which are the scariest (and best) games to play? Don’t worry – we got you here!
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Survival horrors are fun – and gamers have seen the possibilities of how it can do fan service right and be a challenging experience, as Friday the 13th (R.I.P.) demonstrated. A similar formula is applied to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. A player gets drafted into a multiplayer mission, either becoming a member of the dreaded, cannibalistic Sawyer family or a hapless victim trying to survive. From there, the experience varies. Victims need to sneak around the map and use the environment to their advantage as they try to escape with all their limbs intact, while the Sawyer family – including everyone’s favorite chainsaw-wielding weirdo Leatherface – try to kill the victims and feed their blood to Grandpa, who’s a thirsty and insatiable old man. Surprisingly, the gameplay never gets old, as different gamers have different tactics and skill points allow for upgrades. It’s certainly a lot better than that crappy 2022 Netflix movie.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Truth be told, any of the Resident Evil games could have made the cut here, but Resident Evil 7: Biohazard holds a special place in our hearts at Fortress of Solitude. It’s a lot more claustrophobic than other RE games as the protagonist, Ethan Winters, searches a creepy rural estate for his wife. When inside the house, it’s dark, unpredictable, and more terrifying than reading political views on social media. In fact, there’s a moment – which anyone who has ever played the game will know exactly when this is – when Ethan opens a door, then closes it and something pops out of nowhere. Holy mother of Thor! That pair of underwear has never been the same thereafter.
Until Dawn
In our review of Until Dawn, it’s mentioned how the 2024 remake keeps the same game mechanism intact but enhances everything else around it. So, if you haven’t played it yet, what are you waiting for? Because in terms of interactive horror, it doesn’t get better than this. Until Dawn is the one title that immerses its players into this spooky story from the get-go – and, like Pazuzu, refuses to ever let go until it’s finished with you and your sanity. Sure, it’s a game that’s technically nearly a decade old, but it still feels as fresh as ever. Think of it as a video game version of a Blumhouse movie.
Alien: Isolation
Look, the Alien film franchise experienced a topsy turvy output after Aliens – except for Alien vs. Predator, because Paul W.S. Anderson is the best Paul Anderson working in the film industry. So, no one can blame fans for rolling their eyes at anything Xenomorph-related anymore. However, Alien: Isolation creates a new tangent to the already convoluted timeline following Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda, who finds herself on a dangerous space station much like her mother did. So. Many. Times. The survival horror captures the ambience and nail-biting tension of the original film, though, as every step in the game feels dangerous and uncertain. Players need to be on their toes at all times, because no one knows what could be ahead, behind, or even above you. A sequel is in development and we can’t wait to play it!
Saw
What’s Halloween without the Jigsaw Killer and Saw? Released in 2009, the Saw video game didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but it’s aged like a fine wine as it provides the closest experience to what it must feel like to be trapped in John Kramer’s hell traps – and yeah, no one wants that. In this game, the player controls Detective David Tapp (played by Danny Glover in the movies) as he tries to escape from an asylum and all of Jigsaw’s sinister puzzles and death traps. What’s impressive about this title is how choices make all the difference here and makes it a highly replayable game – a lot like how John Kramer wanted it to be.
RELATED: The Top 13 Best Co-Op Horror Games to Play with Friends
Tell us, which scary horror video games are you playing this Halloween?
