15 Spine-Chilling Games to Play This Halloween

Looking for a night of jump scares and creeping dread that actually puts you in control, not just watching from the couch. These games blend tense exploration with systems that keep you on edge, from unreliable light sources to enemies that track your every step, so you can build a proper Halloween lineup that fits solo runs or group sessions.

Each pick below includes what it is about at a glance, the key mechanics that make it work, and where you can play it. Mix a few short sessions with longer story campaigns, turn the lights low, and you will have enough eerie experiences to fill the whole spooky season.

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard

Capcom reboots its survival template with a first person perspective and a single location set in rural Louisiana. You play as Ethan Winters while exploring the Baker estate, managing limited ammo and healing items, unlocking shortcuts, and solving environmental puzzles that gate progress through the house and its outbuildings.

It supports PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, PC, and has a full VR mode on PlayStation VR that maps your head movement and hands to in game actions. The campaign runs about ten hours, with optional difficulty modes and DLC episodes that add extra scenarios and challenges.

Alien Isolation

Creative Assembly builds an AI driven xenomorph that learns from your behavior and hunts by sound and line of sight. You scavenge components to craft tools like noise makers and EMPs, hide in lockers, and watch your motion tracker that pings nearby movement while narrowing your field of view.

It is available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, and runs well on newer consoles through backward compatibility. The Crew Expendable and Last Survivor packs add movie inspired missions, and a survivor mode offers score based challenge maps for repeatable sessions.

Amnesia The Dark Descent

Frictional Games focuses on sanity as a resource that drains in darkness and during frightening events. You light tinderboxes and oil lamps to preserve your composure, solve physics based puzzles, and avoid enemies you cannot fight by breaking line of sight and listening for audio cues.

You can play on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. A custom story system on PC lets you install community made scenarios that extend the game, while the Justine add on provides a separate short campaign with timed decisions and unique death consequences.

Outlast

Set in an abandoned psychiatric facility, this first person stealth horror game replaces weapons with a camcorder that has night vision. Battery management becomes central, since you need power for vision in dark hallways while evading scripted patrols and set piece chases.

Outlast is on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A Whistleblower story expansion acts as a prequel, and speedrun friendly design makes it a good pick for a single evening playthrough with replay routes that reduce risk once you know the layout.

Soma

This narrative driven sci fi horror title from Frictional Games explores identity and consciousness while keeping resource pressure low. You navigate undersea facilities, solve access and routing puzzles, and deal with monsters that enforce stealth and careful movement rather than direct combat.

It is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The developers added a safe mode that removes fail states while preserving story and atmosphere, which makes it flexible for players who want the setting and themes without repeated chases.

Dead Space

The 2023 remake rebuilds the original USG Ishimura with seamless traversal and modernized systems. Strategic dismemberment remains the core mechanic, asking you to target limbs with plasma tools while managing oxygen and stasis during zero gravity segments.

You can play on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. New side missions expand character arcs, the intensity director varies encounters on replays, and a New Game Plus mode adds an alternate ending along with tougher enemy variants.

Phasmophobia

This cooperative investigation game assigns roles to a team of up to four players who identify a ghost type by collecting evidence. You deploy tools like EMF readers, spirit boxes, thermometers, and motion sensors, then decide when to provoke a hunt or retreat with your findings for cash rewards.

It is on PC with VR support and is planned for console releases. Frequent updates add maps, ghost behaviors, and equipment reworks, and the progression system unlocks higher difficulty contracts that change weather, sanity drain, and hunt frequency.

Visage

A first person psychological horror game set inside a shifting house, it uses a sanity meter tied to darkness and disturbing events. You move through chapter based storylines that unlock new wings of the house, using sparse guidance and environmental clues to advance.

Visage is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. The design rewards detailed observation, since key items can appear in multiple places, and an inventory system limits what you can carry, forcing choices about light sources and quest objects.

The Mortuary Assistant

You work night shifts in a funeral home and complete embalming procedures while random haunt events interrupt your tasks. The game tracks your identification of a specific demon through symbols and behavior, leading to multiple endings based on your deductions and ritual choices.

It is a PC title with controller support and short run times that fit a single sitting. A shift system means each playthrough remixes events and scares, and a clipboard checklist keeps the embalming steps readable while tension rises in the background.

Layers of Fear

This anthology style series focuses on exploration and environmental storytelling within looping spaces that reconfigure as you move. You collect notes, inspect art objects, and follow visual cues rather than fighting, with progression tied to locating key items that unlock new rooms.

You can play versions on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The 2023 release unifies the earlier games with a new frame narrative and visual upgrades, offering a single package for newcomers who want all chapters in one place.

Until Dawn

A branching narrative horror game where your choices determine who survives a night on a mountain. The butterfly effect system stores decision points, quick time events gate key moments, and a collectibles system reveals backstory that can change later outcomes.

It is on PS4 and playable on PS5 through backward compatibility. A movie mode lets you watch a curated version of the story, while standard play supports multiple runs to see different paths and character arcs based on dialogue and exploration choices.

Alan Wake 2

This survival horror sequel alternates between two playable protagonists in connected investigations. Combat emphasizes careful ammo use, light based staggers, and arena awareness, while a mind place interface lets you pin clues and build case boards that unlock new leads.

It is available on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Performance and quality modes offer different frame targets on consoles, and post launch support includes content updates and expansions that add new chapters to the ongoing story world.

Lethal Company

A co op extraction game where teams raid abandoned industrial sites to collect scrap for a quota. The loop combines proximity voice chat, limited mapping, and enemy types that react to noise and behavior, so communication and role assignment are essential.

It is a PC title that runs on modest hardware and supports private lobbies for friends. Frequent patches add items and balance tweaks, and a round based structure makes it easy to schedule short sessions during a Halloween gathering.

The Outlast Trials

Set in the same universe as Outlast, this entry shifts to cooperative scenarios across themed arenas. You complete objectives like power routing and item delivery while managing stamina, temporary tools, and hide spots, with trial modifiers that change enemy density and hazards.

It is available on PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC. Progression unlocks rigs and perks that support different playstyles, and seasonal updates rotate events, cosmetics, and new trial layouts that extend replay value for groups.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

This series uses stationary or limited movement setups where you monitor cameras, doors, vents, and power usage. Each night introduces new animatronic patterns and resource pressures that require timing, sound recognition, and quick switching between systems.

You can play entries across PS4, PS5, Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch, mobile, and PC, with collections that bundle multiple games. Short night lengths make it suitable for quick sessions, and difficulty escalates with later nights and custom modes for players who want higher challenge.

Share your favorite scary game picks in the comments so others can build their own Halloween playlist.