The 13 best horror video games of 2025 to play this Halloween

If you’re in need of something scary to play for Halloween, we’ve got you covered with a selection of horror games that all came out this year.

This generation of gaming has been very kind to horror fans, to the point where it feels like we’re finally experiencing the long hoped for survival horror renaissance. Last year, there were no less than eight new horror games released in October alone.

Aside from a surplus of indie projects, publishers are a lot more eager to greenlight big budget horror games nowadays, thanks to the success of Capcom’s modern Resident Evil remakes and Silent Hill 2. Even if there are still some unfortunate sales disappointments, like the Dead Space remake.

2025 has had even more new horror games, almost too many to count – and certainly too many to include in this article. But we’ve narrowed down what we think are the year’s best examples for you to consider, so you can make spooky season as scary as possible.

R.E.P.O.

PC

There’s a good chance you’ve at least heard of early access game R.E.P.O. as it’s been one of this year’s biggest surprise hits. Described as a physics-based horror game, you and a group of friends must explore randomised maps to gather valuable items without being caught by the many monsters that lurk in the shadows.

Equal parts horror and buddy comedy, the use of proximity chat means it can be especially nerve-wracking when you can’t hear your friends. But your chatter can draw the attention of the monsters, which results in screams of terror and/or laughter. It’s not a fantastic game in its own right but as a prominent example of ‘friendslop’ it’s hard not to have fun with, if you’re playing with the right group.

Sorry, We’re Closed

Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

It may not look like one but Sorry, We’re Closed is a survival horror game through and through, influenced by the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill but dressed in a gorgeous Suda51 inspired aesthetic.

Not to mention it has a sharp script and an insightful tale about love and friendship, as you help both angels and demons with their romantic troubles. This originally launched on PC in late 2024, but its console ports came out this year and we’ll gladly use that technicality to encourage you to check it out on whatever format you can.

Look Outside

PC

A rare instance of a horror role-playing game, Look Outside is like a scarier version of EarthBound, pitting you against all manner of gruesome Lovecraftian monsters in turn-based battles, as you explore a warped apartment building.

It’s not just horror themed either, as Look Outside incorporates survival elements, such as breakable weapons, and you need to manage your own well-being, like your hunger and hygiene. We missed the game on its original release in March but have become enamoured with it since, and will do a full review as part of our end of year round-up. Although it’s a shame there’s no console version.

Five Nights At Freddy’s: Secret Of The Mimic

PlayStation 5 and PC

Despite the continued popularity of the Five Nights At Freddy’s franchise, new games seem to come and go with little fanfare. We didn’t even realise a new one had launched this year until we began researching for this list. But then as massive the audience for the games is, it’s also very much contained within its own bubble.

Nevertheless, Secret Of The Mimic has been received quite positively by fans, as you freely explore an abandoned workshop and solve puzzles while avoiding the titular Mimic, which can disguise itself with any of the costumes found within the workshop.

Dying Light: The Beast

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

Pure horror games can be a big risk for publishers but there are plenty of titles, like Dying Light, which are not only very scary but feature horror tropes such as zombies and post-apocalyptic societies.

The newest entry in the series, Dying Light: The Beast, essentially casts you as a werewolf, which makes it easier to both escape the undead (and engage in some fun first person parkour) and to fight them hand-to-hand. The series still feels unrefined but the co-op option works well, even if it doesn’t lessen the scares.

Silent Hill f

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

The easiest pick for this list, Silent Hill f is the first wholly new entry in years to truly get what the series is about, bringing back a number of essential traits while having almost no direct connection to the original games.

It could be a bit scarier, but Silent Hill f remains disturbing throughout and uses its 1960s Japanese setting to meaningfully explore mature themes and subject matter. Combined with the high production values, this is easily one of the best games of the year – survival horror or not.

Alien: Rogue Incursion Evolved Edition

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

Last year’s Alien: Rogue Incursion was a solid horror game held back by typically clumsy VR controls. If you lack the appropriate hardware, or prefer a more traditional control scheme, a non-VR version is now available.

Even without the VR, Rogue Incursion is effectively scary and tense thanks to the use of a motion tracker, with some genuine jump scares and a near constant sense of dread. It certainly helps ease the wait for that Alien Isolation sequel.

Cronos: The New Dawn

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC

Polish developer Bloober Team is obsessed with horror games, which is a bit strange because none of them have really been that good, especially things like the awful The Medium. But then they defied expectations with last year’s excellent Silent Hill 2 remake.

They’re currently working on a remake of the first Silent Hill but in-between they’ve had time for this original project which, sad to say, is closer to their earlier titles. Highly influenced by Dead Space, it’s not awful, and the gimmick about defeated monsters merging into each other is neat, but it does suggest they’re more effective when working within an established framework.

Little Nightmares 3

Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC

Even with a new developer in charge, Little Nightmares 3 is as impressively creepy as the last two games, offering a puzzle platformer that is always haunting and sometimes terrifying once the grotesque monsters notice you.

While we’re glad to see it retain the lessons learned from Little Nightmares 2, this sequel is admittedly lacking in new ideas. The inclusion of co-op is a wise and welcome choice, although we wish it had a local option like Split Fiction. Original developer Tarsier Studios are working on a very similar title called Reanimal, but that won’t be out until next spring.

Escape The Backrooms

PC

The consistently popular Escape The Backrooms has technically been available since 2022 as an early access game, but its full launch has arrived just in time for Halloween, so it gets to be on this list.

Like R.E.P.O., this is primarily a co-op game with proximity voice chat and monsters (12 of them with unique mechanics) that are attracted by sound. Instead of randomised maps, however, you’re exploring over 20 curated, liminal space themed levels, from empty offices to a deluxe hotel, which your entire party must escape from to succeed.

Tormented Souls 2

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

The original Tormented Souls was very much made for fans of old school Resident Evil, with its use of fixed camera angles, tank controls, and emphasis on puzzle solving, and clearly it did well enough to warrant this sequel.

Tormented Souls 2 mostly offers more of the same but there is a neat reality shifting power, that lets you make changes to the past to affect the present, and a new assist mode for those who want a less rigid experience. We should have a full review closer to launch.

A.I.L.A

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

It’s odd that A.I.L.A has you play as a VR game tester and yet lacks any actual VR support. Not that it matters, though, since the premise is really just an excuse to keep putting you in multiple different settings, leaving you to guess which, if any, might be real.

A.I.L.A covers several different types of horror scenarios, like fleeing from a cult or fending off medieval zombies, so you never fully know what to expect. Its puzzles are often gruesome and gory, so this isn’t something for the easily squeamish – but then what good horror game is?

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2

Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC

Bloodlines 2 has had such a troubled development we would’ve bet good money on it never being released. A sequel to the much loved 2004 action role-player, it takes its vampire simulation very seriously, as you play as an elder nosferatu in modern day Seattle.

As in the original, you can choose to be part of one of several different clans, all of which have very different attitudes towards how they treat humans and the idea of keeping themselves secret. Each clan also has different magical abilities, from blood sorcery to seduction, but it’s entirely up to you how you comport yourself, with complex dialogue options and character relationships.

Email [email protected], leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: Survival horror 2025: hands-on with Hellraiser, Crisol, Project Spectrum and more

MORE: Every Silent Hill game ranked from worst to best – from 1999 to 2025

MORE: Two 90s survival horror games can now be played on PS5 without PS Plus