What are the best horror games to play right now? Play them with your mates, watch them being streamed or go it alone with your lightswitch at the ready: horror games are a staple of any console generation, from atmospheric PS1 classics to the latest and greatest big hitters. A fantastically broad genre covering everything from panic-shooters to mind melting puzzle stories, horror allows developers to figure out what makes gamers tick. And cry!

From the iconic Silent Hill series to streamer-favourite Phasmophobia, we take a look at some of the best horror games to play right now.

The Best Horror Games To Play

1. Alan Wake Remastered – best horror games

An essential play for fans of small-town American horror, Alan Wake offers an experience that stays with you: similar to Stephen King’s best novels (hello, Cell) or the legendary Twin Peaks TV show, both in themselves heavy influences on Remedy’s 2010 not-quite psychological thriller. The remaster brings Alan’s quest against writer’s block to current gen consoles and to 60fps, updating character models to match the game’s live action actors and removing the somewhat controversial product placement featured in the original release. Bright Falls itself now looks incredible; just make sure you pack spare batteries before you visit.

Alan Wake Remastered is available on the GameByte Shop from £22.95.

2. Resident Evil 4 – best horror games

Is it even possible to talk about horror without mentioning Resident Evil? While many entries in this juggernaut of gaming could be considered amongst the best horror games, Resident Evil 4 takes the lead both for what it brought to gaming – a unique inventory, a sensible camera angle, player involvement in cutscenes – and for its ability to make a game where crows drop grenades as loot feel frightening. A remake is slated for release in 2023, but you really should try the original first to see what all the fuss is about.

Resident Evil 4 is available to purchase along with other entries in the Resident Evil series on the GameByte Shop.

3. Subnautica – best horror games

Subnautica might not appear scary on the surface, but spend enough time alone below the waves and even the bravest thalassophile will start to feel unnerved. Aside from the obvious horror trope of unknown (and angry) creatures lurking in the deep, Subnautica works as a survival horror thanks to its pervading sense of loneliness on a distant planet. The seascape of 4546B is terribly hostile, terribly unfamiliar and trying terribly hard to kill the protagonist; all while you’re balancing being slowly starved to death with repairing your starship.

Subnautica, as well as its sequel Subnautica: Below Zero, is available on the GameByte Shop from £22.95.

DEAD SPACE best horror games — Credit: EA

4. Dead Space

2008’s Dead Space, with its diegetic displays, rampant paranoia and shape-shifting mutants embodies everything beloved about good old sci-fi horror, a genre popularised by films like Event Horizon and Alien(s). What makes Dead Space one of the best horror games is how it elevates this setting through its gameplay, giving players environmental clues to learn, a fantastic stomping action to overuse, and a story that’s played as much as told. The game stands out best with its incredible audio mixing, where ambient sounds and a chorus of dismemberments create tension in every room of the USG Ishimura. A remake is also coming in 2023!

5. Dino Crisis

Dinosaurs might rank lower on the horror totem than cosmic entities or mutated humans, but Capcom proves that raptors are just as frightening as they were in Jurassic Park in PS1 classic Dino Crisis. Bearing many similarities to early Resident Evil titles (right down to the director), Dino Crisis made its mark as one of the best horror games of the PlayStation era thanks to its panicky controls and blind corners. Mix in a mad scientist, space-time shenanigans and a classic abandoned island setting for a true horror feast.

Stick around for more of our recommendations on the best horror games to play, from streamer favourites to classics you might have missed the first time round.