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13 Scary Video Games to Play This Fall

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

It’s prime spooky season and one of the best ways to get into the Halloween mood is by playing horror games. Personally, I believe playing a horror game is way scarier than watching a horror film — mostly because you control the main character.

If you’re looking for some spooky games to play for Halloween, here is a list I compiled of all the best horror games:

“Little Nightmares”

The cartoonish appearance of this game is deceiving.

“Little Nightmares” is a terrifying, immersive game about a small girl with a yellow coat in a world of gigantic people and objects. Throughout the game, you will navigate this gigantic world and try to escape the horrors in each chapter.

This game is easy to play and has some genuine jumpscares throughout.

“Little Nightmares II”

The best thing about “Little Nightmares II” is that you do not need prior knowledge of “Little Nightmares.” If this one piques your interest more, you can jump right into it.

This game follows a young boy with a paper bag over his head. Throughout the game, you solve puzzles and try to avoid the gigantic people trying to capture you.

Like “Little Nightmares,” this game is easy to play but still just as scary.

“LIMBO”

This two-dimensional puzzle game might seem simple, but it depicts an immersive, dystopian world about a little boy fighting to find his sister in the woods. In the meantime, you have to avoid killer monsters in the woods and avoid getting electrocuted by stray wires.

“LIMBO” is extremely intense, and at some points downright shocking.

“Inside”

While this game was made by the same creators as “LIMBO,” “INSIDE” is completely different yet just as compelling.

This game follows another boy in a technological world where people are being brainwashed. You have to pretend to fit in with the “brainwashed” in order to survive.

The end of the game is highly disturbing and it makes “INSIDE” one of my favorite horror games ever made.

“Resident Evil 2”

A horror game list wouldn’t be complete without zombies. “Resident Evil 2” has a plethora of terrifying enemies and even more terrifying boss battles.

This game follows Leon Kennedy, a rookie police officer, thrown into the middle of a zombie outbreak. He has to solve puzzles and avoid monsters to get out of the city before it’s too late.

This game is certainly not for the faint of heart, considering you spend the entire game running from enemies and trying to survive.

“Resident Evil 4”

Although they share the same name and the same main character, “Resident Evil 4” is a completely unique and frightening experience.

This game takes Leon Kennedy to a small village in Spain where he is fighting against brainwashed people who kidnapped the president’s daughter.

With a plethora of enemies and puzzles, this game is extremely entertaining while offering a captivating horror experience.

“Resident Evil: Village”

“Resident Evil: Village” is a first-person horror-driven action game where you get to fight various supernatural beings— including lycanthropes, vampires and even living dolls.

This game centers around Ethan Winters, who finds himself in a haunting village while trying to save his daughter.

This is by far the scariest “Resident Evil” game I have recommended — it is truly haunting.

“Until Dawn”

This choice-based game will have you questioning everything, and it has one of the best plot twists in horror game history.

When eight friends gather in a cabin to commemorate the death of two of their friends, they are met with a terrifying beast and a possible serial killer.

The whole objective is to survive until dawn, but it’s a lot more difficult (and terrifying) than it may seem.

“The Last of Us”

“The Last of Us” has gained a large following, especially because of the show that premiered last year.

The game begins with Joel Miller, who is tasked with taking a young girl, Ellie, to an encampment in exchange for what he wants.

The game — like the show — is a heart-stopping horror game that will have you gasping for breath.

“Inscryption”

“Inscryption” centers around a card/board game, but it also has an underlying mystery about missing people and a corrupt corporation.

This game is extremely unsettling, although on the surface level it seems simple.

“The Walking Dead”

This game centers around “The Walking Dead” comics, but it has nothing to do with the TV show.

This game’s main character is Lee, who is living in Georgia at the time of the outbreak. When Lee comes across a little girl who has been abandoned, he takes her in and tries to get her to Savannah to see her parents.

“Telltale’s The Walking Dead” is choice-based, but that does not mean it’s easy.

Time and time again, this horror game will make you choose who survives and who doesn’t.

“Outlast”

“Outlast” is the epitome of horror games. There are moments in this game where I trully screamed out loud. It is full of tension, jumpscares and genuinely chilling moments.

This game is about an investigative journalist named Miles who is investigating a closed asylum that has been accused of doing experiments on its patients.

I would be sure to check the trigger warnings before you play this game because it is incredibly disturbing.

“Five nights at Freddy’s”

The final game on our list is simple, with only a few controls for the whole game. This game is about a nighttime security guard who must watch out for the animatronics because they come alive at night.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” is incredibly tense and creepy, and with the movie adaptation in theaters, it’s definitely worth experiencing first-hand.

There are so many other games, but these are by far the best games to get you spooked this fall.

Happy gaming!

Cayla is a fourth-year student at Penn State University studying Advertising and English. In the future, she hopes to be a fiction novel editor at a publishing company. This is Cayla's second year with Her Campus, and she loves writing about movies, books, and tv shows! When she isn't writing, Cayla is an avid reader, TV watcher, and movie-goer. She also loves hanging out with her friends and playing board games together.