Security cameras are widely associated with protection and discouraging unsavory visitors away from the private interior of the home or workplace.While it can feel safer knowing where enemies are and being able to monitor their movements, things can get a lot more sinister when the enemies know someone is watching.

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As a mechanic, security cameras work particularly well in horror games because of the tense jumps between feeds and the hair-raising knowledge that someone, or something, is getting closer and closer. The following games allow players to take on roles such as security guards, artificial intelligences, ghost hunters, or spies in a range of scary scenarios in which they use security cameras to survive.

13 Observation

Steam User Rating: 78%

Set in space in 2026, Observation begins with Dr Emma Fisher attempting to contact Houston after a mysterious accident. The player takes on the role of the space station's AI software to safely guide Emma around the ship and uncover what really happened.

Combining cosmic horror, exploration, and puzzle elements, Observation has an unnerving claustrophobic atmosphere and is a great game for sci-fi lovers who enjoy both mystery and horror.

12 Paranormal Inc.

Itch.io Score: 4.4

• Release Date: 9 May, 2023
• Developer: Riv3r

In Paranormal Inc., the player's character is introduced as having just been hired by a family to watch for paranormal "abnormalities" in their home. They must then cycle through camera feeds to find and report anything unusual.

The real life camera footage makes the gameplay much more immersive, and the variation of unsettling anomaly types keeps Paranormal Inc. interesting from start to finish, without having to rely on jump scares.

11 Scrutinized

Steam User Rating: 89%

• Release Date: 5 August, 2020
• Developer: Reflect Studios

Playing as Luna, a criminal analyst and neighborhood watcher, players must investigate locally submitted reports of suspicious people in the neighborhood to distinguish between who is harmless and who is a real threat.

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Between working on cases, players must regularly check their security cameras for criminals who are after Luna for their own reasons. With sinister underlying plots, Scrutinized offers a tense, paranoia-inducing experience.

10 Beholder

Steam User Rating: 91%

Set in a totalitarian dystopia, Beholder requires players to act as a government landlord and spy on their tenants in order to uncover any activities that threaten the state. They can decide whether to side with the regime or those under its boots, as each decision influences how the story unfolds.

While a more laid back horror experience, Beholder's dark aesthetic and dystopian themes make it a particularly disturbing experience for players who fear government surveillance.

9 Fears To Fathom - Carson House

Steam User Rating: 91%

• Release Date: January 9, 2023
• Developer: Rayll

The third installment of the Fears to Fathom series, Carson House sees 18-year-old Noah Baker house-sit for the media personality Roy Carson. However, the side job becomes much more dangerous when the power goes out.

Using cameras to track the stalker trespassing in Roy's home, players must evade them and escape their wrath. With a tension-building plot, Carson House is great for those who enjoy stealth or strategy horror games.

8 Five Nights At Freddy's

Steam User Rating: 93%

One of the most well-known horror game franchises of all time, Five Nights At Freddy's throws the player into the role of a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzaria. Using security cameras, they must keep track of the animatronic mascots and fend them off from the office using lights and mechanical doors.

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With limited power and surprisingly complex lore, FNAF takes simple game mechanics and transforms them into a terrifying means of survival, making the franchise well worthy of its popular status.

7 Caught On Camera

Steam User Rating: 93%

• Release Date: 25 January, 2024
• Developer: nabetsonga

Caught On Camera is an anomaly spotting game. Players must use surveillance cameras to watch for and report anything out of the ordinary. If too many anomalies go unnoticed, players will fail, making surviving until 6am a challenge.

While some changes are difficult to spot, Caught on Camera differs from many other similar object finding games with its tasteful use of jump scares and different levels.

6 Alternate Watch

Itch.io Score: 4.7

• Release Date: 22 May, 2022
• Developer: Tesseron

Another spot-the-difference style game, Alternate Watch has the player use CCTV to monitor a house for "alternates", a hostile species that have begun to infiltrate the US by disguising themselves as household objects. Filing too many incorrect reports or missing too many anomalies will require the player to restart the night from the beginning.

This game is more overtly inspired by the "Mandela Catalogue" series with its creepy alternate designs. For players who want a more challenging experience, there is also a dark mode which makes spotting changes much harder.

5 I'm On Observation Duty

Steam User Rating: 95%

• Release Date: 14 December, 2018
• Developer: Notovia

Often heralded as the precursor to other anomaly-spotting games, I'm on Observation Duty requires players to use surveillance cameras in order to file reports for a mysterious organization in a point-and-click style horror game.

Despite being less scary due to the low-poly graphics, Observation Duty is easy to get invested in, requiring a high-level of perception and memory. Overall, this game is an ominous, and at times funny, homage to analogue horror.

4 Phasmophobia

Steam User Rating: 96%

Phasmophobia is an online co-op ghost hunting game. Players must work together using equipment such as EMF readers and EVP machines to find and record evidence of the paranormal at a range of different locations. Those who don't want to face the danger can stay in the van using surveillance features to help assist the rest of the crew.

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With a range of locations, ghost types, and game modes, alongside great sound design and graphics, Phasmophobia is a truly terrifying experience worth teaming up for.

3 Poltergeist Watcher

Steam User Rating: 97%

• Release Date: 2 May, 2024
• Developer: DuckGod

Working for the "Department for Protection Against Paranormal Activities", in Poltergeist Watcher, the player must monitor an old haunted house from 7pm to 7am for signs of paranormal activity such as flickering lights, moving items, or fully fledged apparitions.

This game has some interesting mechanics, such as a "curse alert" and an activity detector, which will either prove a useful asset or increase the pressure. The atmospheric setting and scary phenomena will keep players on edge throughout.

2 Lethal Company

Steam User Rating: 97%

Another co-op horror game, Lethal Company requires players to travel to abandoned moons to scavenge for and sell scrap metal for the "Company". Players who would rather stay in the (relative) safety of the ship can help their crewmates by using the terminal and monitor to track enemies and open locked doors.

Lethal Company combines sci-fi and horror to make a hilarious but frightening game with intriguing lore and world-building, while offering different challenges for both rookie and advanced gamers.

1 TOBOR

Steam User Rating: 98%

• Release Date: 15 November, 2023
• Developer: Cogoo

In TOBOR, players play as spy robot "TOBOR no.2b" tasked with monitoring 16 surveillance feeds to eavesdrop, scan objects, and report findings back to HQ. There are three rules: do not empathize, do not interfere, and do not betray the RA Corporation.

This game is slower-paced, but explores dark themes with dystopian elements in a narrative-driven experience that changes depending on the decisions players make. There are multiple endings, and across the seven days, players can uncover the truth about Undercroft and its unique inhabitants.

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