[Updated on 29th July, 2025 to include the best ones for the current year as well]
What makes a great horror game? Is it the asymmetrical nature of gameplay or a linear storyline with adequate jump scares? The answer to this takes the form of many experiences to be had across multiple sub-genres.
From first-person survival horrors to online player-versus-player experiences, we have compiled some of the best horror games on PC right now.
RE 7 Biohazard (2017)
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard brings core Resident Evil back to its roots, with a fresh take on the franchise. It delves far into the survival horror genre’s history. Compared to this, Resident Evil 5 and 6 had a much stronger sense of action than some of the earlier games, which were primarily focused on the survival horror elements.
However, the thrill of feeling powerless in the face of monstrosity was brought back in Biohazard. The game looks and feels best on modern systems, with twisted moments that also have an accent of beauty because of the meticulously designed game world.
Outlast (2013)
Outlast is one of those games with superb mechanics that work into its horrifying gameplay. While some could argue that the second game has a lot more horrifying aspects to it, it’s the first one that sets the original vibe. Outlast makes it clear with its environment, setting, and story that this game exists with the sole purpose of scaring players to death.
The many horrors you encounter in this game have bizarre mutations, thanks to being subjected to experiments in the asylum, which sets the backdrop of the game. The night vision and camera movement alone make Outlast stand out as one of the most terrifying gaming experiences you can have.
Also Read: Best Multiplayer Horror Games Of All Time, Ranked
Phasmophobia (2020)
Phasmophobia is a terrifying ghost hunting simulator and one of the best horror games on PC. It dives deep into the field of paranormal investigation by incorporating clever gameplay mechanics. You are tasked with visiting haunted areas and identifying the kind of ghost that has been lurking around. As you progress, you will earn more money and have access to better ghost-hunting equipment.
It’s a ghost-hunting mystery that horror aficionados will adore since it has a variety of ghost variants and unsettling environments. The fact that you play this game with fellow ghost-hunters makes it even more fun.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (2010)
Amnesia games revolve around a spooky idea – there’s monstrosity straying around, but you might not be ready to face it. Amnesia: The Dark Descent strongly builds on this concept.
The quantity of accessible participation in the game’s world may be limited, but it features a lot of jump scares, huge labyrinth sections, and a sanity mechanic that keeps evolving. You need to make sense of this world without completely losing yourself in it, and that’s the narrative that Amnesia games unfold around.
Alien Isolation (2014)
Alien Isolation works well as a horror experience because of many aspects, with Xenomorphs being a key highlight. The game makes sure that every time you are hiding, sneaking or running away from impending doom, it’s an experience that will be etched into your memory.
The animations and mechanics ensure that you never feel like you’ve seen something before. This keeps the gameplay from getting monotonous.
Silent Hill 2 Remake (2024)
Silent Hill 2 Remake delivers exactly what it is supposed to: take an original game that was a benchmark when it comes to unsettling, moody horror, and update it just enough to make the visuals, graphics, and atmosphere in line with modern game releases. Like in the original, but now in third-person, you play as James Sunderland out to search for his wife in the town of Silent Hill. As is easy to imagine, things don’t go well for him as he tries to do his best with a limited arsenal of weapons, against eerie monsters as well as some head-scratching but immensely satisfying puzzles.
The result was the opportunity to revisit a classic by veteran gamers and experience it for the first time by a new generation of gamers. The game was extremely well-received and a critical and commercial success.
Also Read: Best Games Of 2024
Dark Deception (2018)
Dark Deception feels like a balanced mix of Pac-Man and Five Nights at Freddy’s. The game is divided into five distinct chapters that may be seen as separate games but make up for a single experience. Every chapter requires you to sprint through maze-like passageways of a building.
Each segment gets progressively thrilling and heart-pounding, as you dodge and outrun anything from murderous monkeys to demonic kids while racing against the clock.
Left 4 Dead 2 (2009)
To many fans of the genre, the Left 4 Dead series has been the best blend of FPS shooting mechanics and jump scares. You, along with fellow survivors, journey through realistic environments fighting hordes of zombies and freakishly mutated ‘bosses’ that grow challenging as you progress.
The community, with its spark of creativity, had added a lot more maps (and other tweaks) to keep the game alive and running through the years. The fun gameplay of L4D2 makes it one of the best horror games on Steam that you can pick up and play for hundreds of hours.
Also Read: Best Anime RPGs Of All Time
Dead By Daylight (2016)
Dead by Daylight is a unique multiplayer experience about a group of survivors escaping a murderous psychopath. One player takes on the role of the vicious ‘Killer’ while the other four ‘Survivors’ need to complete tasks and outrun (or even outsmart) the Killer.
The intricate level design ensures that Survivors have a fair opportunity to hide, sneak, and make use of environmental objects to fight for their lives. However, if you choose to play as the Killer, you are equipped with special abilities that aid you in hunting, catching, and sacrificing your victims. Add to that the constant updates that keep the game from getting stale, and you have one of the best horror games on PC.
Dead Space Remake (2023)
Platforms: Windows, PS5, Xbox Series S|X
Another remake of an old classic done right finds itself on the list of best horror games available on Steam. The original in this case was released way back in 2008, and was followed by two quick sequels over the next 5 years. Fans then had to wait for a period of 10 years to get their hands on a game in this franchise, and going by the response, they did not mind at all that it was a remake of the first one rather than a completely new experience.
This one puts you in the shoes of Isaac Clarke as he makes his way across the USG Ishimura and battles his own inner demons and Necromorphs. The remake did bring tweaks to the original, the biggest one being voicing the protagonist as well as making the dismembering of enemies that much gorier.
