10 Best Horror Games of 2025

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Scaring people effectively is a skill, and it’s more than just jump scares or frustrating delays like those surrounding Grand Theft Auto 6. It’s about genuinely frightening someone by tapping into their deepest fears and creating a truly unsettling experience—one that might even make them feel repulsed. While people are afraid of almost anything, it’s challenging to create something broadly frightening, even if it isn’t a traditional horror game.

It’s remarkable how consistently the video game industry – from large developers to small independent creators – manages to produce so many scary and engaging games. While there’s always a lot of low-quality games released, a few truly stand out as exceptional.

Here are our nominees for the best horror game of 2025, starting with…

Routine

Despite a rocky development process, including periods where work stopped completely before resuming in 2020, Lunar Software managed to release their debut game to surprisingly positive reviews. The game delivers exactly what fans hoped for: a deliberate, atmospheric journey into a retro-futuristic world overrun by deadly robots. While the story isn’t perfect, the immersive environment and unique, slightly clumsy gameplay make it a worthwhile experience.

Tormented Souls 2

Dual Effect delivers classic survival horror – think safe rooms, fixed camera perspectives, and clunky movement – and it’s everything you’d want, particularly following the success of Tormented Souls. But the sequel is genuinely better, with more complex puzzles, deeper exploration, and significantly improved lighting that really enhances the atmosphere. Caroline Walker continues to face relentless challenges, and while she doesn’t get an easy ride, her story provides some genuinely nerve-wracking gameplay.

The Midnight Walk

Claymation is perfect for creating both cute and scary creatures, and The Midnight Walk uses this art form brilliantly. The story has a similar feel to Tim Burton’s work, following The Burnt One as they try to keep Potboy – who holds a captivating flame – safe from the strange dangers of their world. It’s a beautifully unsettling story that keeps you hooked from beginning to end.

Silent Hill f

The newest Silent Hill game masterfully blends beauty and horror, and sometimes finds them within each other. For the first time, the story moves outside the US to a fictional Japanese town called Ebisugaoka in the 1960s, creating a unique and unsettling rural horror experience. While deeply disturbing and filled with gore, it avoids being gratuitously violent, offering a compelling psychological journey that’s well worth experiencing.

Total Chaos

Created by Sam Prebble, known for Turbo Overkill, this game started as a modification of Doom 2 but has become a full, terrifying experience. It delivers on the mind-bending horror that Turbo Overkill aimed for. You’ll battle disturbing creatures in Fort Oasis while uncovering a personal mystery, building your own weapons to survive, and getting lost in a surprisingly deep and frightening world.

Hell is Us

The game focuses heavily on challenging exploration and doesn’t offer much guidance, but Remi’s travels through the ruined land of Hadea reveal some truly unsettling scenes. The world is filled with evidence of terrible war crimes, and discovering piles of bodies and horrific acts committed in the name of old traditions – all tied to the country’s violent past – can be emotionally draining. Don’t expect cheap thrills or sudden scares, but be prepared for a consistently stressful and somber experience.

Little Nightmares 3

It’s too bad Supermassive didn’t try anything new with how the game plays, because the atmosphere and visuals in Low and Alone through Nowhere are wonderfully creepy. You’ll encounter terrifying sights like the Carnevale, filled with aggressive puppets you have to destroy, and the frightening Supervisor and her unsettling Candy Factory. While the scares aren’t always jump scares, the imagery is consistently disturbing.

Sleep Awake

What if falling asleep meant something sinister – like being taken by a mysterious force called The Hush? That’s the unsettling idea behind this game, which puts you among the last sane people on Earth. It’s a strange concept, and the game leans into that feeling by combining live-action video with interactive gameplay. While the sneaking and slower-paced exploration aren’t perfect, the story itself is compelling.

Dying Light: The Beast

I shouldn’t be worried, right? My son, Kyle Crane, is back after years away, and he can tear zombies apart with his bare hands! But it turns out, nighttime is when you really need to fear things. The new Volatiles are more dangerous, smarter, and more violent than ever, and that’s actually a good thing. Now, just surviving the night feels like a real accomplishment, and the dark, scary atmosphere of Castor Woods definitely adds to the experience.

Cronos: The New Dawn

Okay, so everyone was already expecting big things from Bloober Team after the Silent Hill 2 remake news. But honestly, their new game, Cronos, takes it to another level. It’s a really gripping survival horror – definitely different from what I expected with its whole post-apocalyptic, body horror vibe and sci-fi elements, but man, it’s just relentlessly scary. It seriously kept me on edge the whole time.

And the winner of the Best Horror Game of 2025 goes to…

Silent Hill f

When Bloober Team was announced to remake Silent Hill 2, a lot of people doubted NeoBards Entertainment could create a brand new Silent Hill game. Remaking a classic is one thing, but building a fresh experience, particularly from a studio known for unsuccessful games like RE:Verse and Resident Evil: Resistance, felt like a risky move by Konami.

The game also revealed that Ryukishi07, the writer of Higurashi When They Cry, was crafting the story, with character and creature design by kera. Despite initial doubts about the gameplay, Silent Hill f gradually became a promising title. However, nothing could have fully prepared players – or even longtime fans – for the experience of playing as Shimizu Hinako. In fact, Konatsu Kato, the Japanese voice actress, has continued to be genuinely disturbed while playing the game herself, which has become a popular source of entertainment for many viewers.

This is a truly masterful horror experience, expertly building tension with stunningly unsettling creatures you can’t look away from. The story is compelling, the characters are incredibly well-developed, and the multiple endings add surprising depth. It also boasts fantastic sound design and music. Every element, no matter how disturbing, feels intentional and meaningful, much like the symbolism found in the series’ strongest titles, but exploring fresh and deeply unsettling ideas.

While there are a few minor flaws in the fighting, the game delivers such a strong and terrifying horror experience that you’ll likely overlook them. That’s why we’re naming Silent Hill f the best horror game of 2025. Go in knowing as little as possible – you probably won’t be disappointed.

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2026-01-01 15:16