Horror games have been a staple of the video gaming landscape for as long as resources have been scarce and loud noises have been scary. Countless games have tried to spook players, and many have established themselves as champions of the genre. Beloved franchises like Resident Evil, Fatal Frame, and exhilarating story games like Until Dawn are just a few examples of this.

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The popularity of these games and franchises often results in sequels being made, but some are given spin-off titles to allow players to explore the setting more, to see familiar faces in a new way, or even just to poke fun at the nightmares of the mainline games. For those looking to dive into a horror game that isn't part of a mainline series, there are several great options available.

6 Hooked On You: A Dead By Daylight Dating Sim

Puts A Romantic Twist On The Survivor Vs. Killer Concept

Survivors in the haunting multiplayer game Dead By Daylight aim to power up generators to escape from killers who range from familiar faces like Michael Myers to original characters who are given a surprising amount of personality. This game of cat and mouse can quickly become a high-pressure scramble to save incapacitated allies and outrun the murderer's attacks. Hooked on You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim, on the other hand, takes another look at those original killers in a way that might cause some fans to think twice.

Four of the killers take center stage as players must try to woo the monster of their choosing without being killed in the process. This dating sim has many mysteries hiding beneath its surface. Still, it never takes itself too seriously, acknowledging that the player is trying to impress murderous killers and offering a very enjoyable experience as a result. It's an unexpected spin-off, but it's one that a huge part of the community is enamored with.

5 Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood

Offers A Unique Look At The World Of Until Dawn Through VR

• Platform: PS4
• Released: October 13, 2016
• Developer: Supermassive Games

A spin-off game from the widely praised horror narrative game Until Dawn, Rush of Blood uses the PlayStation VR to deliver a terrifying experience. The mainline game features a cast of characters in a cabin in the woods; fans must make quick decisions to influence relationship dynamics, discover the truth of a serial killer, and save as many lives as they can while the group of friends falls deeper and deeper into danger.

In Rush Of Blood, the psychologist who served as a narrative throughline during the main games' story, appears as a carnival barker, enthusiastically sending the player into lairs full of deranged killers, ghosts, spiders, and other nightmares. To survive, players will need to use the Move Motion controllers to wield dual pistols that serve as the only defense on this rattling rollercoaster.

4 Resident Evil Revelations

A Tense Return To Form

A return to the original tone and content of the Resident Evil series, Revelations is distinct in that it is structured in a series of episodes. Players control Jill Valentine, with some of the game following Chris Redfield, as they explore a ghost ship. Despite its initial release on the 3DS, the game manages to create a perfectly eerie atmosphere, featuring traditional RE ammo scarcity, tough enemies, and puzzle-solving gameplay.

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The HD port to consoles and PCs made it much more accessible and allowed many more fans to uncover what happened after the events of Resident Evil 4. Revelations has quickly become a fan-favorite, perhaps due to the slowed-down gameplay that makes the game less action-packed and more spooky and suspenseful.

3 FNaF World

A Turn-Based RPG That Features The Fazbear Gang

• Platform: PC, Android
• Released: January 21, 2016
• Developer: Scott Cawthon

One of the strangest but most entertaining spin-off games in a horror franchise, FNaF World is very aware of the viral survival games that came before it. As the first spin-off in the Five Nights at Freddy's series, the game was pressured a lot at launch - the scope of the project meant that the game's initial release was plagued with bugs. The more polished second version, though, is a simple but fun turn-based RPG that puts players in control of a party of beloved animatronics in a colorful digital world.

Like every FNAF game, there are heaps of hidden pieces of lore throughout the title, but what appears on the surface to be a light, friendly RPG quickly turns sinister. With bosses and characters that any fan of the original games will be familiar with, FNaF World is well worth a try. The combat system is light, and players are rewarded for experimenting with different party compositions and move-sets.

2 What The Fog

A Dead By Daylight-Based Shooter With Roguelike Elements

• Platform: PC
• Released: May 14, 2024
• Developer: Behaviour Interactive

In the newest spin-off release in the Dead by Daylight series, fan-favorite survivors Dwight Fairfield, Claudette Morel, and Feng Min are sucked into a board game in true Jumanji fashion. Adopting adorable cartoony sprites, players can work together or alone against hordes of angry monsters in a frantically paced shooter with roguelike elements. Although the loop is simple, the selection of upgrades can change gameplay massively, giving characters additional airtime and jumps to make them fast and maneuverable or making them tanky, allowing them to deal huge damage while staying still.

The game shines in co-op mode, giving each character opportunities to come back after defeat to power up the generators just like in Dead by Daylight. Despite being a huge diversion from their normal style, What The Fog stands out as a solid title in its own right, and it's made even better by references to such an incredible game.

1 Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir

A Fatal Frame Spin-Off That Puts The Camera In The Player's Hands

• Platform: Nintendo 3DS
• Released: January 12, 2012
• Developers: Tecmo Koei & Nintendo

In the Fatal Frame series, protagonists use powerful Camera Obscura to fend off attacks from lethal spirits. Spirit Camera for the Nintendo 3DS sought to put that tool into the hands of the player to make the whole experience more immersive and terrifying. The game uses the 3DS' built-in camera and movement-detecting functions to reveal spirits in the real world that can only be seen through the device.

The Augmented Reality take on the Fatal Frame formula was quite successful, and though reviews were mixed on release, the game has grown in popularity since due to the inventiveness of the gameplay and the spooky story threaded throughout. Players would scan the titular 'Cursed Memoir' that came with the game and look for clues in their investigation only to be surrounded by ghosts that need to be captured on the screen. Ghosts would disappear and reappear behind the player to double down on the last second jumpscares, making for a truly immersive and frightening experience.

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