The Best 15 Horror Games I’ve Played So Far

I didn’t have time to make a list of indie horror games for this year, so I decided to make a list of my favorite horror games that I’ve played so far. This will include indie and retro horror games. I’ll try to keep it to 15 games if I can.

This year has been going by very fast, and I’ve had to deal with some other things that kept me from playing as many indie games as I’ve wanted. The only thing I can do is try to stay on top of things for next year and hope that life doesn’t get in the way again. There have been a lot of wonderful games released this year, and I’ll eventually get to them.

This isn’t a ranking list, so these won’t be in any particular order. These are all games that I’ve played and enjoyed, and I did my best to select the games that I think are better than the others.

Bottom Line up Front: A list of my favorite horror games that I’ve played so far.

Camp Sunshine

This is everything that I would’ve wanted from a Friday the 13^th game on the SNES or Sega Genesis. Heck, it would’ve been a great game on the PS1 if it had been released on that console. I love the graphics, the story, and the gameplay. It is an excellent game.

I absolutely loved the story and set up in this game. It feels like a lost horror movie from the 1980s, and there are a number of call-backs and easter eggs from classic slasher movies. You get sent to a summer camp, and then most of the people die during the night. Then you have to try to figure out what is going on.

It is a simple and short adventure game. You’ll spend much of your time avoiding a slasher villain, solving puzzles, and collecting clues as to what is going on. The plot does go off the rails a bit, but it works within the context of the world that the developers made for this game.

Haunting

Haunting is a unique game on the Sega Genesis. It is a horror comedy adventure game where you’re trying to scare a family out of a series of houses. This isn’t an easy game, but it is a lot of fun. I like that it is funnier than it is scary, which often happens with these console horror games.

You play as a ghost who died in a skateboarding accident. His skateboard was defective, and he decided to haunt the family of the person who owns the skateboarding manufacturer. There is some other stuff going on with the family’s dog, which ties into the game’s ending. It is a fun little game that is easy to learn but hard to master.

This game is quite a bit of fun. It has some problems, but the idea behind it is so much fun. All you have to do is manage your ectoplasm and scare the family members out of the houses. It takes some time because they don’t really do what you want them to do, but that just lets you scare them more.

Grizzly Man

This is an excellent visual novel that looks amazing! The story and graphics are what carry this game, as it has minimal gameplay. There are a few simple puzzles, but they aren’t too complicated.

The game is only about two hours long, and it sticks to the story of a killer, a tour group, and a tour guide who has amnesia. Several characters can be killed during the course of the game, and you have the opportunity to save them if you want. It ties into a few of the other games in this series, as it exists in the world the developers created, but isn’t part of an overall story.

The pixel art in this game is beautiful. I loved the story, especially since it ties into some CIA and Men in Black conspiracy theories. It is so much fun, and I love how the graphics elevate the story.

Silent Hill

Silent Hill is my favorite survival horror game from the 1990s, and I like the series a little more than Resident Evil. This game was more fun and a little more scary than the first Resident Evil. I like the story more, the graphics are better, and I find the gameplay to be more enjoyable than the Resident Evil games.

The story sees the main character being trapped in the town of Silent Hill. He’s looking for his daughter and has to deal with a cult and a bunch of monsters. This is a psychological horror game where nothing feels right. The puzzles and gameplay are more my speed than those in other survival horror games from this period.

This game feels more grounded than the Resident Evil games. I like that there is more of a focus on melee weapons and that the main character is an everyman who doesn’t have anything special about him. It is a wonderful idea for a horror game like this, and that is why it stands out for me.

Scarlet Hollow

This is a wonderful episodic visual novel that has a few chapters to go in the story. The graphics are wonderful, the characters are great, and I love the story so far. I’ve only played the first four chapters of this game so far, and I’ve really liked what I’ve played.

You play as an outsider who comes to a coal mining town. It is a company town, and your family owns everything in it. You’re there for a funeral, and as you explore the town and meet the townsfolk, you’ll start running into cryptids and learn about the town’s history. It is a very cool way to learn about this place.

I’m looking forward to finishing this game. With it being episodic, I have a good reason to come back to it each time a new episode is released. This is one of the best visual novels that I’ve played. The graphics, gameplay, and story are superb.  

Blue Stinger

Blue Stinger is either a clever parody of a Resident Evil game or a misguided survival horror game. It has some creepy moments, but those are covered up by horrendous voice acting and bizarre visuals. I enjoyed this game, but probably not for the reasons the developer intended.

A lot of weird stuff happens in this game. Blue Stinger takes place on an island where an alien crashed. A research facility and town were built on top of it. A second alien lands and tries to defeat the first alien. In the middle of all this are three characters. You wander around solving puzzles, dealing with countdowns, and eventually fighting a clone of the first alien.

It really does feel like a parody of the Resident Evil clones that were flooding the market at this time. It has all the tropes of the games that were trying to be the next Resident Evil, but it goes a step beyond this by having some hilarious moments and having voice acting that feels intentionally bad. I love this game because of its faults. It is like a horror comedy where everyone is in on the joke of this being bad on purpose.  

A Night on the Farm

This game took a turn that I wasn’t expecting it to take. It is a very cool idea, and it went in a direction that I wasn’t expecting at all. The story is very good, the graphics remind me of a PS1 game in a good way, and the gameplay is pretty good.

The game starts with your character walking to a farmhouse after crashing their car. You find it abandoned, and you need to find your way inside. While doing this, you catch images of a moth creature wandering around the house. You’ll also find notes that explain what happened on the farm, and that it is a front for a research facility.

The game took a few twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. The ending was also quite wild, as I didn’t see it going in the direction that it went. I kept expecting to come across spots where I was expecting to be attacked. It got very creepy when I got into the secret lab.

Kagero: Deception II

Kagero: Deception II is one of my favorite games on the PS1. It is a weird game that I rented back in the 1990s, before ultimately buying a copy of it. I still have that copy to this day.

The story is almost unimportant to this game. Like a few of the Deception games, the main character is a part of the story and drives it forward, but they aren’t a central player in what is happening, especially in this game. Millenia was abducted and trained to use Traps by Yokel, a member of the Time Noids (TMD). They’re an immortal race that rules the game’s world. Most of the game is about the political machinations of the people and the TMD as various factions try to gain immortality or overthrow the TMD.

Millenia is simply there, and defends mansions and castles from anyone who enters. Your goal is to use traps to kill anyone who enters. Making these strange chains of traps for people to wander into is so much fun. There is a lot of creativity in this game, the story is ridiculous, and the graphics are decent.

Killer Frequency

This is a wonderful adventure game that feels like it was based on a script from a slasher movie from the 1980s or early 1990s. The graphics and story are awesome, and I love how you need to explore the radio station to find the answers to the quests you’re given. It has a cool story, and I like how they work everything into the story.

You play as a DR who has moved to a small town. The entire game takes place in the radio station, and you learn about the town through the callers. You’ll play music, answer questions, and try to save people from the killer. Oh right! There is a killer in this town that is based on a local legend. It is really well done!

It really felt like the plot of an old horror movie. This was the classic town with a secret story that is the plot to several movies. In this case, it was a revenge story about a murder being covered up by the “important” people in the town. The gameplay isn’t all that involved, but the story more than makes up for it.  

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest

This is probably a strange entry for some people to see on this list. When I went back to play this game, I found it to be much more fun than I was expecting. I remember playing it as a kid and having no idea what I was doing. Playing it now, I thought it was a lot of fun!

This is by no means a perfect game, but it has good graphics and gameplay. What it really needs is a map and a better translation. The clues are all in the game, but some of them are garbled and poorly translated. Thankfully, there are guides to help you along the way.

Simon’s Quest is an ambitious game, and it is a fun adventure game. I’m glad that I went back to play this game when I did. Like a lot of people, my opinion of this game had been shaped by the internet in the 2000s, and for a while, I thought it was a terrible game. Then I played it and had fun with it. It is a fun adventure that could use more boss fights, a map, and more signs to tell you where you’re at in the game.

Oxenfree II

This is one of the games I was looking forward to playing a few years ago. I really enjoyed the first game, and I was interested in knowing what happened to the characters, or if this was going to be a story set in the same world as the first. This game delivered on both of those.

At first, this game doesn’t feel like it is connected with the first game at all. As the story unfolds, you learn about a group of kids who are trying to come into contact with the spirits from the first game, or at least it appears that way. It takes place five years after the first, and sees Riley and Jacob trying to save the kids from the first game and prevent the other spirits from crossing over.

I really like the graphics, gameplay, and story. The music is also very good. It is great that the game is a standalone story, but it is connected to a version of the first game. I would love to play more games set in the world of Oxenfree. I love these games.    

Castlevania Bloodlines

Castlevania: Bloodlines is my favorite game in the series. It is the only Castlevania game on the Sega Genesis. I grew up with the Genesis and not the SNES, so I didn’t play Super Castlevania.

I like that there are two playable characters, and the game changes a bit depending on which character you choose to play. It doesn’t control as well as the SNES version, but I think the graphics are some of the best on the Genesis. Konami did a great job with this game.

My memories of this game are what elevate it over the other Castlevania games. I didn’t play it with my friends as most of them had moved on to the other systems by the time I started collecting retro games. This is one of the games that I came across in the late 1990s, and fell in love with it.  

Urban Myth Dissolution Center

This is a visual novel where you investigate urban myths. There are some things in the game that are cool ideas, but aren’t as well-developed as they could be. The story and graphics are great, and I would love it if this game turned into a series of games.

When I first played this game, I thought I had the story all figured out. It seemed very straightforward, where you would find clues and eventually figure out that the people you’re helping are the bad guys. The puzzles and investigations weren’t all that challenging, and sometimes they weren’t as much fun as they could’ve been. The story and graphics do make up for this, but the gameplay is a weak point.

I loved the ending of this game. It is always fun when I thought I had the game all figured out, and then something else was thrown at me that made it much better than I was expecting. It makes up for the less-than-challenging gameplay.

Infernax

Infernax is everything I would want from a modern Castlevania game. It is a side-scrolling action-RPG where you can play as one of two characters. It plays like a more refined and thought-out version of Simon’s Quest.

I really liked the story, gameplay, and graphics. This is the direction that I wished the Castlevania games had gone in. It feels like you’re exploring a country; you visit towns, and I like how everything is set up. It is also more graphic than the Castlevania games that I like, which is a plus.

The story was very good, and the graphics were excellent. I like how there is a lot to do in this game, and I think the RPG elements are great. I wish I were better at this game because it is an excellent game, and a lot of fun to play.

Mothmen 1966

This game has grown on me over the last year or so. It is the first game in a series, and I think it is the second-best of the four of them. This is a visual novel with beautiful pixel art, decent gameplay, and a very fun story.

This is a short visual novel that is about two to three hours long. Some of the puzzles make you think a little, while others are very easy. The story is what carries you through the game, and it is bizarre and a lot of fun. There is some character development that will be important in the other games in the series. I enjoy this game more each time I play it.

The graphics and the story are my favorite parts of this game. I didn’t like the characters as much when I first played it, but as I went through the series, I liked them a little more. This game leans into some conspiracy theories, which always make me smile. When people take conspiracy theories to the extreme, it usually results in something that I enjoy.

The Letter

The Letter is a long visual novel. It tells a story across multiple points of view where the reasons for what is happening keep changing. I like the twists in this story, and I enjoy most of the characters. The mini games can distract from the story in some ways, and I wish that there weren’t as many as there are.

I like the episodic nature of the story where the player switches between a few characters. It takes place over a few days, and you get to know about the people in the game. The only criticism of the game that I have is that it is too long. The graphics and the mini games are good enough, and I really like how things keep changing until the game comes to an end.

When I first started playing this game, I thought I knew where things were going. I was wrong, and it was a pleasant surprise. It isn’t as good as the other visual novels on this list, but it is a fun one that tells a good ghost story.

Conclusion

I love going through lists of games that I played like this. I tend to get ideas for other things to write about or videos to make. There are quite a few games on this list that I would like to revisit, or that I would want to compare to each other.

There are so many other retro horror games that I would like to get to. I should also go over the SNES games again to see what I missed. This list is was a lot of fun to go back and see what I played and how I thought of them.

There is a long list of horror games that I would like to play. Most of them are retro games, and many of them are classics, or the start of a series that I really want to play. Hopefully, I will have the time to get to them.

If you liked this post, please check out my other reviews of horror games, such as Resident Evil or Silent Hill.