A lot of gamers love to get scared. There's nothing quite like being transported into the center of a horror movie where every decision a player makes can impact the outcome, including whether they make it through alive.
The horror genre has been around for decades, originating in the 80s with games like Nostromo and Haunted House. Since then, it has boomed, even leading to massive subgenres like survival horror, slasher, psychological horror, and more. And thanks to Xbox's large library of new and classic games, players can experience a wide range of horror titles.
Prey (2017)
2017's the Typhons, who can change shape and mimic their surroundings. After an alien escapes, it's up to gamers to hunt it down and stay alive.
Prey's mix of sci-fi and horror elements produces faster gameplay than most horror games, but it's still loaded with eery moments and some excellent jump scares.
Sagebrush (2019)
Inspired by real cult suicides like Heaven's Gate and Jonestown, Sagebrush transports gamers to New Mexico, where they take on the role of an investigator who seeks to learn why the Perfect Heaven cult recently died. Filled with an overbearing sense of sadness and despair, the game is terrifying in that it forces players to reckon with the terror of the human psyche and how, when in the right scenario, people can come together and encourage each other to do unbearably horrific things.
Sagebrush is a disturbing but powerful look at mass hysteria that leaves players with an unsettling feeling that will linger long after the game ends.
SOMA (2015)
In SOMA, gamers take control of a protagonist who wakes up in an underwater facility, surrounded by robotic lifeforms that have had the personalities of real humans inserted into them.
Many players say that the game felt like it was inspired by BioShock and Amnesia (which was made by the same studio). Upon release, SOMA was met with positive reviews, with many praising its unsettling plotline and its tense gameplay that required gamers to rely on steal techniques, leading to an endless feeling of suspense.
Five Nights at Freddy's (2014)
Originally released in 2014, Five Nights at Freddy's (Often abbreviated by fans as FNAF) was developed by a single developer - Scott Cawthon. The game was originally inspired by the poor reviews he received for his previous game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co., with critics calling his characters robotic and creepy.
Cawthron decided to amplify these creepy and robotic characters in Five Nights at Freddy's, putting gamers in control of a security guard for a Chuck E. Cheese-like pizzeria...where the robot entertainers come to life every night. FNAF is loaded with jump scares and somehow perfectly combines humor with horror. The game was so popular that it's since spawned eight sequels and counting.
Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019)
In 2019, Resident Evil 2 received a massive remake, with upgraded graphics, enhanced sound, new camera modes, and more. The result was a game that felt even scarier than the original.
The story follows Resident Evil favorites Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy as they embark on separate storylines to escape Racoon City after the T-Virus has infected much of the population. It was met with universal praise upon release, and it's recently been announced per IGN that the Resident Evil 2 remake will be receiving an X/S optimization later this year.
Dead Space (2008)
Heavily inspired by the movie Event Horizon, 2008's Dead Space centers around the mining vessel Ishimura, which has stumbled upon a dangerous material on an alien planet. The crew begins to suffer from extreme hallucinations, followed by the presence of an alien species known as the necromorphs, that kill off the crew one by one.
In the game, it's up to players to search the ship for survivors and fight off aliens without succumbing to their own hallucinations. Dead Space is horrifying, suspenseful, and was hailed by critics and gamers for its excellent combination of adventure and survival horror. Dead Space holds up as a phenomenal game to this day and a reboot is expected within the next few years.
Visage (2020)
In Visage, players wake up as Dwayne Anderson...a man who has just committed familicide, shooting every member of his family, including himself. However, despite his heinous actions and death, he suddenly reawakens. Now locked in the house and seeing strange visions, it's unclear if Dwayne is locked in purgatory or trapped in hell.
He's forced to experience the tormented lives of the home's previous residents and questions start to arise: Is Dwayne a monster, or just a victim of the house, like so many who lived there before him? At times, the game is disturbing, sadistic, and unsettlingly creepy. But for those who love a compelling story, it's a must-play.
The Evil Within 2 (2017)
2014's The Evil Within was met with somewhat mixed reviews, with many praising the game's survival horror aspect but criticizing its somewhat stale enemies and unpolished look. Its 2017 sequel, The Evil Within 2, fixed many of these complaints, creating a much better (and scarier) gaming experience. In the game, Sebastian Castellanos learns that his daughter is being held hostage and is being used as a host brain for a virtual utopia called Union.
However, Union has descended into madness and is now filled with murder and monsters. It's up to Sebastian to save his daughter and stay alive in the dystopian nightmare that Union has become.
Resident Evil VII: Biohazard (2017)
Set in a decrepit Lousiana plantation, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard is considered one of the franchise's scariest entries. Played in a first-person perspective, Ethan Winters searches for his missing wife, only to discover she's been kidnapped by a dangerous and mutated family that seems like something straight out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The feeling of being trapped in the middle of nowhere helps make every moment in Biohazard feel especially scary, and the game's southern gothic roots created one of the best settings of any Resident Evil game.
Alien: Isolation (2014)
Deemed by many as one of the scariest games they've ever played, Alien: Isolation is a masterpiece of suspense and horror. In the game, players take control of Ripley's daughter, Amanda, who becomes trapped on the Sevastopol space station. There, a terrifying xenomorph is on the loose, causing the station to fall into a spiral of fear, distrust, and warring factions.
The game brilliantly combines elements of a stealth game, survival horror, and first-person shooters to create a truly unique - and undeniably terrifying - gaming experience.
