Whether it be paranormal, psychological, or just outright gore, horror videogames have found a way to keep the genre fresh and exciting. With the recent releases of indie horror games like Phasmophobia and MADiSON, they are a breath of fresh air needed to revitalize the genre.
Gaming platforms like Steam are often inundated with games to play, from indie developers to triple-A games. It can often be overwhelming to find a decent horror game to play. Luckily, this list will come in handy in shedding light on some of the best Steam horror games that deserve a little more attention.
10 Corpse Party
Corpse Party is available to play on PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
Corpse Party is the original game that inspired many spin-off games, an anime series, and even a live-action-drama TV show. This game is a classic pixel-art anime RPG horror game, but don’t be fooled by its cutesy art style. Plenty of gore, jump scares and terrifying voice-acting make this one of the best horror games of all time.
Players take control of nine main characters and side characters trapped in an otherworldly elementary school full of vengeful spirits and, of course - corpses. The players' choices determine which characters make it to the grisly end.
9 Slender: The Arrival
Slender: The Arrival is available to play on PC, PS4, PS3, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Based on the legendary original Slender: The Eight Pages game, Slender: The Arrival provides further backstory to the famous Creepypasta legends about Slenderman, one of the most famous horror villains in gaming history. This game's story is focused around Lauren, who is looking for her missing friend Lauren after finding her house completely destroyed.
Utilizing the standard trope of “Collecting Objects and Exploring” from the original game, Slender: The Arrival masterfully has folklore elements and suspense to create the perfect atmosphere. Players will be looking over their shoulders to see the shadowy figure of Slenderman standing in the foggy distance.
8 The Cat Lady
.png?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
The Cat Lady is available to play on PC.
Away from supernatural horrors and gore, The Cat Lady is a psychological horror game discussing the idea of suicide. Players are introduced to Susan Ashworth, a lonely woman with no friends, family, and no will to live.
The Cat Lady explores the horrors of the human mind, and the depths of despair and loneliness as Susan contemplates suicide to escape her unhappiness. It has a touching storyline with 2D-styled artwork in black and white, making for a unique gameplay experience. It incorporates elements of surrealism without muddling its apt portrayal of mental health.
7 Welcome To The Game 2
Welcome To The Game 2 is available to play on PC.
Welcome To The Game 2 transports players to the dark web, playing as Clint Edwards, an investigative journalist searching for a distressed woman.
To find her location, players must search the Dark Web for hidden codes, attracting unwanted attention. A multitude of threats can break into the player’s apartment complex, ranging from kidnapers to serial killers. Players must be cautious exploring their apartment building to move around the Wi-Fi and set up motion detectors, always on the lookout.
6 Labyrinthine
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Labyrinthine is available to play on PC.
Labyrinthine brings the nightmare of being trapped in a hedge maze to life. What starts off with cutesy pop-out ghosts and party popper noises, later evolves into something even more sinister.
Labyrinthine is a co-op four-player horror game in which players must solve complex puzzles, collect items, and keep moving to avoid the horrors within the maze. As players progress through the labyrinth, it steadily becomes more claustrophobic and confusing, so be warned and try not to get lost!
5 Occult
Occult is available to play on PC.
Occult is a co-op survival horror game in a similar realm to Devour and Pacify. Players can visit different cursed buildings, ranging from asylums to awe-inspiring mansions. They must destroy possessed cultists and avoid the demonic creatures roaming around.
Each map has an entirely different monster to defeat, with detailed character designs that are fuel for nightmares. Occult is one of the best horror games to play in the middle of the night, pitch black with curtains drawn with a small squad on Discord.
4 Ghost Watchers
Ghost Watchers is available to play on PC.
Ghost Watchers has pretty similar gameplay mechanics to Phasmophobia, except players get to catch the ghosts and beat them into submission! Various tools and devices are used to ghost hunt and record evidence for paranormal activity.
There are currently eight different ghost types, each with its own description. All have incredibly detailed character designs, making for excellent replay value. Ghost Watchers is currently in Early Access, so players can expect regular content updates and new additions to the game.
3 Fears to Fathom
Fears to Fathom is available to play on PC.
Based on real-life horror stories, Fears to Fathom is an episodic series of short psychological-horror games. Each episode is narrated by the survivor of the incident and includes elements of decision-making as choices matter. The first episode, Home Alone, deals with a child left alone in a home invasion scenario.
The second episode, Norwood Hitchhike, is terrifyingly realistic in its approach. Hearing banging knocks on the door and peeking through the blinds to see a creepy stranger is horrific, particularly as the main character is a woman left on her own in the middle of nowhere. The Fears to Fathom stories are a nice breath of fresh air away from the typical horror supernatural tropes.
2 Pacify
Pacify is available to play on PC.
In Pacify, players are tasked with ridding an old mansion of the evil lurking in its depths. A young girl is seen wandering around. Seems innocent enough, right? Wrong. She can switch to evil in the blink of an eye. The only way to calm her down is to Pacify her with a doll.
Players will need to find keys to unlock all the doors, locate haunted dolls and burn them to exorcize the girl. As more dolls are burned, the difficulty increases as the possessed girl becomes inhumanly fast, floating through hallways. Players must keep their wits as they roam these dark, haunted halls.
1 MADiSON
MADiSON is available to play on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
MADiSON is a deeply intense first-person immersive psychological horror game incorporating puzzles and hefty jump scares. It takes clear inspiration from the canceled Silent Hills P.T, with its surreal locations and spooky hallways.
Players take on the mantle of main character Luca, who is tormented by a demon called MADiSON. The monster requires Luca’s help to complete a demonic ritual, or risk his family being cursed. Using the in-game old-school VHS camera to solve puzzles, Luca will have to explore his grandfather's house and, hopefully, piece together what happened to his family.