Horror games scare you in ways that nothing else can. The tactility of their terror and the immersiveness of their worlds can make it hard for scaredy cats to even give one a chance, let alone get through it. Beating a horror game is one of the most triumphant feelings you can experience as a gamer, as it marks not only your prowess with a controller, but your impressive intestinal fortitude. Maybe you’re one of the brave souls comfortable with playing games that terrify you, or you’re trying to overcome your fear and delve into a horror title you’ve only heard of, but never dared to play. That’s what this list is for, to point you towards the best horror games of the last 20 years.
There are franchises here you’re probably already very familiar with, like Resident Evil and Dead Space, which entered the pantheon of iconic horror games long ago. At the same time, there are games you may not have heard of, either because of their relative newness or their much smaller development team and budget. But the games listed here are the spookiest, scariest, spine-tingliest games we’ve played, full of jump scares, gore, and freaky little guys. Click through for our picks, in no particular order, of the top 20 horror games of the last 20 years.
