Horror games have recently seen a resurgence in popularity, with indie titles like Phasmophobia and Devour. The best horror games have players on the edges of their seats, awaiting looming jumpscares and unseen threats lurking in the shadows. Despite their quaint art style and lack of dimension, 2D games cater to the horror genre quite well, delivering a nuanced sense of terror.

This more minimal style can leave much to the imagination and keep various things unseen (or vaguely seen). Yet it's often the unseen, imaginative elements that can make horror so unnerving. Many of the best 2D horror games available to play on PC use these techniques — along with a creepy atmosphere, jumpscares, and gore — to bring intense scares and psychological terrors.

Updated November 29, 2023 by Stephen LaGioia: Halloween may be long over, but many gamers still yearn for helpings of eerie, nail-biting games as the days get cold and the nights grow long. Luckilly, there's no shortage of great titles which can both entertain and frighten. The horror genre has been riding high of late with titles like Five Nights at Freddy's and the robust Resident Evil 4 remake.

Juxaposing this is a renaissance of charming 2D and retro-style games. While these areas of gaming wouldn't seem to mesh that well, a growing number of studios are proving that this blend not only works for horror, but can be the template of some truly spooky games!

12 Teleglitch

Metascore: 84

• Available to play on PC

Created by Test3 Projects, this top-down horror-shooter has players take the role of a scientist and sole survivor of a lab disaster on an alien planet. As one might imagine from such a scene, players will be spending much time shooting and staving off alien monsters and robots, in order to weather this experiment gone wrong.

With a slew of massive creatuers, expanses of dark, randomly-arranged locales, and pummeling action, Teleglitch brings tons of thrills (and chills). The game's punishing difficulty ensures that players will remain on their edge of their seats while blasting their way through this chaotic indie.

11 Oxenfree

Metascore: 80

While many horror games lean on over-the-top violence, action, and/or jumpscares for their thrills, Oxenfree brings a more subtly eerie experience with its gripping narrative and atmosphere. Gamers play as Alex, a teen exploring an island with friends.

A simple trip turns into an intense journey and mystery, as the group must uncover details surrounding a paranormal presence that's been let loose on the secluded island. Players go through this graphic adventure with dialogue choices to reach a certain ending, and strengthen relationships while venturing through the somber island.

They'll also solve puzzles via Alex's trusty handheld radio, which, as it happens, can also communicate with spirits.

10 Inside

Metascore: 93

Crafted by Playdead of Limbo fame, Inside is a similarly chilling, amospheric journey through an ominous, silhouetted scene. Rather than stressing nature this time, though, players are dropped into an unnerving dystopian land filled with mystery, crafty puzzles, as well as dark-inhumane scenes.

More details are uncovered organically through the visual-heavy narrative, which keeps the trip compelling despite a minimal approach. As players work through contraptions, evade detection, and run from the occasional mutant, things escalate towards a truly wild ending.

9 Lakeview Cabin Collection

Metascore: 70

• Available to play on PC.

Lakeview Cabin can best be described as a scrolling NES puzzler fused with a heart-pumping slasher.

Gamers will delve into a movie theather horror scene, playing out a Friday the 13th-esque scramble to avoid a mad killer lurking in different camping as well as indoor locales. Ambiguous puzzles must to be solved, often by shifting between multiple characters — all with the looming threat of their swift, quiet pursuer possibly ending them in seconds.

The Lakeview Cabin Collection offers five different "movies" which take the form of short, distinct horror scenes. While it may be crude and slim in terms of content, it's hard to find a more straightforward, over-the-top horror-fest in the 2D realm than this one.

8 House

Steam User Score: 97%

• Available to play on PC.

This hidden indie gem of a horror game has players take control of Tabby. She is trapped, living the same nightmare endlessly on repeat in a creepy haunted house where each inanimate object is trying to kill her.

House is a trial-and-error game, as players must find a way to survive the horrors in this race against time. The house reacts and changes to Tabby's actions in real-time, with multiple endings to discover.

7 Detention

Metascore: 83

Detention begins with Ray, the main protagonist, and her friend Wei as they are trapped at Greenwood high school during a horrible storm. The only bridge leading to salvation has collapsed, so they must find an alternative. Alone, yet not wholly, the girls must find their way out by exploring the school.

Players must navigate Detention's main characters around in a classic point-and-click fashion, adding to the ominous tension as evil lurks in unexpected places. This story-driven atmospheric narrative incorporates local Taiwanese cultural references and Chinese mythology to tell its unique and terrifying story.

6 Omori

Metascore: 87

Omori is a slow-burner psychological horror that touches upon the horrors of the human mind. It deals with the story of the bond between a friendship group, mainly focusing on two characters, Omori and Sunny. This fun and colorful cast of characters offset the narrative's darker and more serious nature.

While exploring deeper themes like mental health, Omori, at its core, is a traditional turn-based RPG with some fresh mechanics. The combat mechanic explores emotions with a triage-based system; Happy beats Angry, Angry beats Sad, etc. Omori is a touching story that will stay with players long after they have completed it.

5 Worse Than Death

Steam User Score: 79%

• Available to play on PC and Nintendo Switch.

The prospect of high-school reunions is terrifying enough. Still, Worse Than Death takes that to the next level as a high-school reunion goes horribly wrong. Playing as Holly, her return to her hometown dredges up some painful memories from her past. She resolves to uncover the truth behind a murder.

Holly must run for her life and use stealth to get past the creatures that lurk in the dark. The 2D pixel art style and the ambiance set the evocative atmosphere. Worse Than Death is a side-scroller thriller that shows that horror doesn't just come in the form of jumpscares and monsters but festering secrets that need to be told.

4 Lone Survivor

Metascore: 81

• Available to play on PC, PS3, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

Lone Survivor is a 2D psychological survival-horror indie game weaving inspiration from games like Silent Hill into its atmosphere. Players step into the shoes of an anonymous character stationed in a ruined city with limited supplies and dwindling feelings of hope. He journeys to discover meaning for his existence, encountering strange characters in the outside world.

This game has a unique sense of surrealism, as the player may realize that they may have an unreliable perception of the world surrounding them. Lone Survivor is one of the best 2D horror games examining the horrors of the human mind.

3 Limbo

Metascore: 90

In Limbo, players control as a small shadow child looking to reunite with his missing sister. The eerie soundtracks and monochromic environments are pitched in a space of perpetual gloom, perfect for fans of Tim Burton.

As the name Limbo suggests, the player will continuously be making progress, only to have to move backward again. The puzzles and platforming elements are fairly straightforward, to begin with, before progressively becoming complex as the game continues, contributing to that disturbing atmosphere.

2 Reveal The Deep

Steam User Score: 83%

• Available to play on PC.

Reveal The Deep is a short 2D exploration game set in the wreckage of a 19th-century steamship. Players take control of a deep-sea diver who looks unnervingly similar to a Big Daddy from BioShock. They must venture deepest into the bowels of the wreck, searching for the answers to the disaster that befell this ship.

Reveal The Deep is a minimalist game with atmospheric lighting, featuring many explorable environments and puzzles as the player searches for diary entries and other clues. There are many psychological horror elements with the games' ambient soundtrack and limited visibility, making players question what horrors lurk in the shadows.

1 Carrion

Metascore: 75

Carrion is a game that subverts typical horror tropes, as the player assumes the role of an amorphous creature of unknown origin, secured in a scientific laboratory and treated as a test subject. Because of its writhing and fluid-like nature, players can easily squeeze through tight vents and small spaces, creating unique ways to sneak up on enemies.

The goal is to retrieve all the DNA located around the laboratory, mutating into an eldritch monstrosity with powerful abilities to escape the confinement and punish anything that stands in its way. Carrion is a reserve-horror 2D Metroidvania-style game with sci-fi horror elements not to be missed.

MORE: The Best Free-to-Play Horror Games On Steam