Horror games have been a beloved genre for years and established themselves as real players in the industry, with franchises such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill showing what the best of the genre could look like.
The current generation of horror games on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One aren't too shabby themselves, with numerous titles taking risks and delivering great innovative games in the horror space. Let's now take a look at the 10 best horror games of the current generation and rank them from worst to first.
10 Prey
The 2017 reboot of Prey would most likely be considered a first-person shooter, despite it containing many elements of the horror genre. In it, players take on the role of Morgan Yu, a member of a space station studying a dangerous alien species known as the Typhon. These aliens can shapeshift into different objects and their elusive nature is a big element in the moment-to-moment gameplay of the game. You might go into Prey expected a fun shooter, but understand that you're entering a world full of space terror.
9 Blair Witch
When this game was revealed at E3 2019 and seemingly came out of nowhere fans of the Blair Witch franchise became super excited. The game is from Bloober Team, the developers of many hit horror games such as Layers of Fear which will be talked about near the top of the list.
Despite having a promising reveal trailer the game's full release was marred by performance issues and repetitive gameplay elements. Despite those issues, it still manages to have a few heart-stopping scares up its Blair Witch sleeve.
8 Little Nightmares
Very rarely do you see platformers or 2D games get brought up in any conversation surrounding horror games. The genre seems to work best in games via a first or third-person perspective so it's odd to see it work on a 2D plane. Little Nightmares manages to bring the horror via art style, ambiance, and environmental storytelling. The game focuses on a little kid trying to escape the clutches of cannibalistic giants. Their grotesque designs and routines will leave you feeling just as helpless and uncomfortable as the child you're controlling.
7 The Evil Within
Fans of Resident Evil knew well before release that The Evil Within would likely be a great horror game simply due to it being directed by the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami. As Sebastian players traverse creepy and nightmarish environments as they fight their way through grotesque and disfigured enemies at every turn. The game delivers action-packed and heart-racing action sequences while still providing psychological mind-melting elements that leave the player second-guessing themselves.
6 Alien: Isolation
Genre games, much like their movie counterparts, often don't review as well because the genre itself is bogged down by tropes and such. Alien: Isolation is a game that reviewed pretty averagely despite having an incredibly tense and high stakes gameplay loop.
Players had to do everything they could to hide and coerce themselves through environments in which a fully grown Xenomorph was patrolling. The option to have your controller mic pick up audio to alert the alien was also a neat addition that makes the experience way more difficult.
5 Until Dawn
Until Dawn isn't only an incredible horror game experience, but it's also arguably the best game this generation to play with a group of other people backseat gaming. It's all about making split-second choices that can drastically change the story and figuring out which one to go with. The game doesn't take itself too seriously but that doesn't mean there aren't some top tier scares set up throughout the story. Part of the challenge is seeing if you can get everyone to the end of the game in one piece.
4 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard not only makes the list for its full release but the game's "Kitchen Demo" was also terrifying despite not being known as a demo for a Resident Evil game until E3 2016. The game has players searching for their girlfriend in a disgusting and horrific location inhabited by the Baker family. As time goes on more of the background on the family is revealed and it only becomes more terrifying as you realize just how much vile stuff the family is capable of pulling off.
3 Layers Of Fear
Layers of Fear is the type of horror experience that isn't in your face but rather takes the slow and methodical psychological route with many of its scares. Players take on the role of a really troubled painter who's in the process of trying to create the best piece of art he could ever make, essentially his magnum opus.
The game takes place in a Victorian mansion where players explore and layer by layer the story of who your character reveals itself in the worst of ways.
2 Outlast/Outlast 2
Both the first and second games in the Outlast franchise manage to be terrifying in their way. In the first Outlast players take on the role of a journalist investigating an insane asylum and implemented the camcorder/battery mechanics strongly. The sequel, unfortunately, isn't as cohesive, but still offers a horror-filled experience as a different journalist who, after a plane crash, is searching for his wife who has seemingly been kidnapped by a religious cult deep in the Arizona desert.
1 P.T. Demo
You might be thinking to yourself that a demo shouldn't be at the top of the list for best horror games, but the truth of the matter is that the demo was incredible. It's a shame that the Silent Hill game the P.T. demo was promoting and teasing will never be considering the cultural impact that specific demo had on the gaming industry. That demo alone has inspired entire horror games due to its simple yet effective design of having players navigate the same L-shaped hallway over and over again.