This feature is heavily inspired by Chris’s Survival Horror Quest. Unfortunately, he has changed his website over the years, and it seems his required playing list is gone. I can find some old versions of the website on archives, but I really do miss it. Because of this, and my desire to explore the Horror genre in games as deeply as possible, I decided to create my own.
Here, I will list every horror game up until the PS2* (roughly the end of 2006, with a few exceptions for games I feel are important to the genre, or related to classic series) era. Chronological videos about them will be released on my YouTube channel in a series called “Retro Horror Games Quest” (RHGQ). I intend to at least try every game here and give it a score, a small summary, and whether it is required playing for the horror game enthusiast or not (heavily subjective to my taste of course). Enjoy!
NOTE: Scores are based on a few hours of gameplay unless marked as “Finished”, in which case the score reflects my overall enjoyment of the whole game. Also, the platform is the one I played the game on, if there are additional platforms, the text will be underlined and you can hover it for a list of all platforms and respective release dates. Dates marked with “00” mean the exact release date is unknown / I could not find it. The displayed date is the earliest release date of the game.
Horror Enthusiast Play Guide
You can hover over any text, if underlined, to check other observations.
This list focuses on Horror Games which rely more on atmosphere and ambiance than action, with some exceptions.
| Name | Release Date | Platforms | Finished | Required Playing | Review | Longplay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haunted House | 1982-02-01 | Atari 2600 | Yes | bMaybe | Video | N/A | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Return to Haunted House | 1983-00-00 | Atari 2600 | No | cNo | Video | N/A | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| Ghost Manor | 1983-00-00 | Atari 2600 | No | cNo | Video | N/A | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Halloween | 1983-10-00 | Atari 2600 | No ending | bMaybe | Video | N/A | ★★☆☆☆ |
| The Evil Dead | 1984-00-00 | Commodore 64 | No | cNo | Video | N/A | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| Dr. Chaos | 1988-11-00 | NESFamicom Disk System (1987) | Yes | cNo | Video | N/A | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Project Firestart | 1989-00-00 | Commodore 64 | Yes | aYes | Video | 1 / 2 | ★★★☆☆ |
| Friday the 13th | 1989-00-00 | NES | Yes | bMaybe | Video | 1 / 2 | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Uninvited | 1989-00-00 | NESMac, Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Apple IIGS, Famicom, Windows 3.x | Yes | cNo | Video | N/A | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| Personal Nightmare | 1989-01-02 | PC | |||||
| Sweet Home | 1989-12-15 | NES | Yes | aYes | Video | N/A | ★★★★☆ |
| Alone in the Dark | 1992-00-00 | MS-DOSPC-98 (1993), FM Towns (1993), 3DO (1994), Mac (1994), iOS (2014) | Yes | aYes | Video | N/A | ★★★☆☆ |
| Dark Seed | 1992-00-00 | MS-DOSAmiga (1992), Amiga CD32 (1994), Macintosh (1995), Sega Saturn (1995), PlayStation (1995) | Yes | bMaybe | Video | N/A | ★★☆☆☆ |
| The Legacy: Realm of Terror | 1992-00-00 | MS-DOS | |||||
| Alone in the Dark 2 | 1993-00-00 | MS-DOSPC-98 (1994), FM Towns (1994), 3DO (1995), Sega Saturn (1996), PlayStation (1996), Macintosh (1996) | |||||
| Cosmology of Kyoto | 1993-00-00 | MS-DOSMacintosh (1994) | |||||
| Iron Helix | 1993-00-00 | PCMacintosh (1993), Sega CD (1993) | |||||
| Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet | 1993-03-25 | MS-DOSPC-98 (1993), Linux (1993) | |||||
| The 7th Guest | 1993-04-01 | MS-DOSCD-i (1993), Mac OS (1994), Windows (1997), iOS (2010), Linux (2013), Android (2015) | |||||
| Alone in the Dark 3 | 1994-00-00 | MS-DOSPC-98 (1995), Windows 95 (1996), Macintosh (1996) | |||||
| Ecstatica | 1994-00-00 | MS-DOS | |||||
| Doctor Hauzer | 1994-04-29 | 3DO | |||||
| System Shock | 1994-09-23 | MS-DOSMac OS (1994), Windows (2015) | |||||
| Team Innocent: The Point of No Return | 1994-12-23 | PC-FX | |||||
| The Dark Eye | 1995-00-00 | PCMac (1995) | |||||
| BioForge | 1995-03-29 | PCMS-DOS (1995) | |||||
| Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice | 1995-05-24 | MS-DOSPC (1995), Mac OS (1995), Saturn (1997), PlayStation (1997) | |||||
| Clock Tower | 1995-07-14 | SNESWindows (1997), PlayStation (1997), WonderSwan (1999) | |||||
| Laplace's DemonOriginal Japanese: ラプラスの魔 (Laplace no Ma) | 1995-07-14 | SNESNEC PC-8801 (1987), NEC PC-9801 (1987), MSX (1989), Sharp X68000 (1990), TurboGrafx-CD (1993) | |||||
| Phantasmagoria | 1995-08-24 | PCMS-DOS (1995), Sega Saturn (1997) | |||||
| Innsmouth no Yakata | 1995-10-13 | Virtual Boy | |||||
| I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream | 1995-10-31 | PCMS-DOS (1995), Macintosh (1995), OS X (2013), Linux (2013), iOS (2016), Android (2016) | |||||
| Dark Seed II | 1995-11-30 | PCSega Saturn (1997), PlayStation (1997) | |||||
| D | 1995-12-00 | PlayStation3DO (1995), Sega Saturn (1995), MS-DOS (1996) | |||||
| The 11th Hour | 1995-12-00 | PCMS-DOS (1995), Macintosh (1996) | |||||
| Bad Mojo | 1996-02-29 | PCMacintosh (1996) | |||||
| Resident Evil | 1996-03-22 | PlayStationPC (1996), Sega Saturn (1997), Nintendo DS (2006) | |||||
| OverBlood | 1996-08-02 | PlayStation | |||||
| Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh | 1996-11-26 | PCMS-DOS (1996) | |||||
| Realms of the Haunting | 1996-12-00 | PC | |||||
| Enemy Zero | 1996-12-13 | PCSega Saturn (1996) | |||||
| The Note | 1997-01-17 | PlayStation | |||||
| Nightmare Creatures | 1997-07-30 | PlayStationPC (1997), Nintendo 64 (1998), Mobile (2003) | |||||
| ParanoiaScape | 1998-00-00 | PlayStation | |||||
| Resident Evil 2 | 1998-01-21 | PlayStationPC (1999), Nintendo 64 (1999), Dreamcast (1999), GameCube (2003) | |||||
| Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within | 1998-03-12 | PlayStation | |||||
| ...Iru! | 1998-03-26 | PlayStation | |||||
| Parasite Eve | 1998-03-29 | PlayStation | |||||
| Sanitarium | 1998-04-28 | PCiOS (2015) | |||||
| Baroque | 1998-05-21 | PlayStationSega Saturn (1998), REMAKE: PlayStation 2 (2007), Wii (2008) | |||||
| Hellnight | 1998-06-11 | PlayStation | |||||
| The X-Files | 1998-06-11 | PCMac OS (1998), PlayStation (1999) | |||||
| OverBlood 2 | 1998-06-23 | PlayStation | |||||
| Deep Fear | 1998-06-30 | Sega Saturn | |||||
| Echo Night | 1998-08-13 | PlayStation | |||||
| LSD: Dream Emulator | 1998-10-22 | PlayStation | |||||
| Juggernaut | 1998-11-19 | PlayStation | |||||
| Mizzurna Falls | 1998-12-23 | PlayStation | |||||
| Silent Hill | 1999-02-23 | PlayStation | |||||
| Blue Stinger | 1999-03-25 | Dreamcast | |||||
| The Guardian of Darkness | 1999-06-20 | PlayStationPC (1999) | |||||
| Dino Crisis | 1999-07-01 | PlayStationDreamcast (1999), PC (1999) | |||||
| Germs: Nerawareta Machi | 1999-07-22 | PlayStation | |||||
| Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares | 1999-08-05 | PlayStation | |||||
| System Shock 2 | 1999-08-11 | PCMacintosh (2013), Linux (2014) | |||||
| Galerians | 1999-08-26 | PlayStation | |||||
| Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | 1999-09-22 | PlayStationPC (2000), Dreamcast (2000), GameCube (2003) | |||||
| Dracula: Resurrection | 1999-10-00 | PCMacintosh (1999), PlayStation (2000), iOS (2011) | |||||
| Nocturne | 1999-10-25 | PC | |||||
| Parasite Eve II | 1999-12-16 | PlayStation | |||||
| Koudelka | 1999-12-16 | PlayStation | |||||
| Countdown Vampires | 1999-12-22 | PlayStation | |||||
| D2 | 1999-12-23 | Dreamcast | |||||
| Seven Mansions (Nanatsu no Hikan) | 2000-01-20 | Dreamcast | |||||
| Chaos Break | 2000-01-27 | PlayStation | |||||
| Resident Evil Survivor | 2000-01-27 | PlayStationPC (2002) | |||||
| Carrier | 2000-01-31 | Dreamcast | |||||
| Resident Evil: Code Veronica | 2000-02-03 | DreamcastPlayStation 2 (2001), GameCube (2003), PlayStation 3 (2011), XBOX 360 (2011) | |||||
| The Ring: Terror's Realm | 2000-02-24 | Dreamcast | |||||
| Martian Gothic: Unification | 2000-05-03 | PlayStationPC (2000) | |||||
| Nightmare Creatures II | 2000-05-23 | PlayStationDreamcast (2000) | |||||
| Dino Crisis 2 | 2000-09-13 | PlayStation | |||||
| Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary | 2000-09-25 | PCMacintosh (2001), PlayStation (2002), iOS (2012), Android (2013) | |||||
| Blair Witch Volume 1 | 2000-10-04 | PC | |||||
| Necronomicon: The Dawning of Darkness | 2000-10-23 | PCPlayStation (2001) | |||||
| Blair Witch Volume 2 | 2000-10-25 | PC | |||||
| Blair Witch Volume 3 | 2000-11-21 | PC | |||||
| Evil Dead: Hail to the King | 2000-12-05 | DreamcastPlayStation (2000), PC (2001) | |||||
| Onimusha: Warlords | 2001-01-25 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2002), PC (2003), Switch (2018), PlayStation 4 (2018), XBOX One (2018) | |||||
| Clive Barker's Undying | 2001-02-21 | PCMacintosh (2002) | |||||
| Extermination | 2001-03-08 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Play Novel: Silent Hill | 2001-03-21 | Game Boy Advance | |||||
| Illbleed | 2001-03-29 | Dreamcast | |||||
| Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare | 2001-05-18 | PlayStationGame Boy Color (2001), PC (2001), Dreamcast (2001), PlayStation 2 (2001) | |||||
| White Day: A Labyrinth Named School | 2001-07-05 | PC | |||||
| Silent Hill 2 | 2001-09-24 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2001), PC (2002) | |||||
| Fatal Frame / Project Zero | 2001-12-13 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2002) | |||||
| Resident Evil Gaiden | 2001-12-14 | Game Boy Color | |||||
| Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny | 2002-03-07 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Resident Evil (Remake) | 2002-03-22 | GameCubeWii (2008), PC (2014), PlayStation 3 (2014), PlayStation 4 (2014), XBOX 360 (2014), XBOX One (2014), Switch (2019) | |||||
| Galerians: Ash | 2002-04-25 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Dark Fall | 2002-06-19 | PC | |||||
| Eternal Darkness | 2002-06-23 | GameCube | |||||
| Kowai Shashin: Shinrei Shashin Kitan | 2002-07-25 | PlayStation | |||||
| The Thing | 2002-08-20 | PlayStation 2PC (2002), XBOX (2002) | |||||
| Resident Evil Zero | 2002-11-12 | GameCubeWii (2008), PC (2016), PlayStation 3 (2016), PlayStation 4 (2016), XBOX 360 (2016), XBOX One (2016), Switch (2019) | |||||
| Clock Tower 3 | 2002-12-12 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| The Black Mirror | 2003-02-00 | PC | |||||
| Resident Evil: Dead Aim | 2003-02-13 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick | 2003-05-20 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2003) | |||||
| Silent Hill 3 | 2003-05-23 | PlayStation 2PC (2003) | |||||
| Glass Rose | 2003-10-06 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Forbidden Siren | 2003-10-06 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Curse: The Eye of Isis | 2003-10-21 | PCPlayStation 2 (2004), XBOX (2003) | |||||
| Manhunt | 2003-11-18 | PCPlayStation 2 (2003), XBOX (2004) | |||||
| Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi | 2003-11-21 | PC | |||||
| Fatal Frame II / Project Zero II | 2003-11-27 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2004) | |||||
| Resident Evil Outbreak | 2003-12-11 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Saya's Song | 2003-12-26 | PC | |||||
| Echo Night: Beyond | 2004-01-22 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Onimusha 3: Demon Siege | 2004-02-26 | PlayStation 2PC (2005) | |||||
| The Suffering | 2004-03-08 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2004), PC (2004) | |||||
| The X-Files: Resist or Serve | 2004-03-16 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Kuon | 2004-04-01 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Silent Hill 4: The Room | 2004-06-17 | PlayStation 2XBOX (2004), PC (2004) | |||||
| Doom 3 | 2004-08-03 | PCLinux (2004), Macintosh (2005), XBOX (2005) | |||||
| Michigan: Report from Hell | 2004-08-05 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Dark Fall II: Lights Out | 2004-08-24 | PC | |||||
| Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2 | 2004-09-09 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| ObsCure | 2004-10-01 | PCPlayStation 2 (2004), XBOX (2004) | |||||
| Resident Evil 4 | 2005-01-11 | PCGameCube (2005), PlayStation 2 (2005), Wii (2007), iOS (2009), Zeebo (2009), PlayStation 3 (2011), XBOX 360 (2011), Android (2013), PlayStation 4 (2016), XBOX One (2016), Switch (2019) | |||||
| Cold Fear | 2005-03-15 | PCPlayStation 2 (2005), XBOX (2005) | |||||
| Haunting Ground | 2005-04-21 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Pathologic | 2005-06-09 | PC | |||||
| Fatal Frame III: The Tormented | 2005-07-28 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Evil Dead: Regeneration | 2005-09-13 | PlayStation 2PC (2005), XBOX (2005) | |||||
| The Suffering: Ties That Bind | 2005-09-26 | PCPlayStation 2 (2005), XBOX (2005) | |||||
| F.E.A.R. | 2005-10-17 | PCXBOX (2006), PlayStation 3 (2007) | |||||
| Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth | 2005-10-24 | PCXBOX (2005) | |||||
| Condemned: Criminal Origins | 2005-11-22 | PCXBOX 360 (2005) | |||||
| Rule of Rose | 2006-01-19 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Forbidden Siren 2 | 2006-02-09 | PlayStation 2 | |||||
| Scratches | 2006-03-08 | PC | |||||
| Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle | 2006-04-16 | PC | |||||
| Dead Rising | 2006-08-08 | PCXBOX 360 (2006), Wii, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, XBOX One, Shield Android TV, Shield Portable, Shield Tablet, Steam Machine, iOS | |||||
| Barrow Hill: The Dark Path | 2006-09-22 | PC | |||||
| F.E.A.R. - Extraction Point | 2006-10-24 | PCXBOX 360 (2007) | |||||
| Escape From Bug Island | 2006-12-02 | Wii | |||||
| Penumbra: Overture | 2007-03-30 | PCLinux (2007), Macintosh (2008) | |||||
| ObsCure II | 2007-09-07 | PCPlayStation 2 (2007), Wii (2008), PSP (2009) | |||||
| Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder | 2007-11-06 | PC | |||||
| Silent Hill: Origins | 2007-11-06 | PSPPlayStation 2 (2008) | |||||
| F.E.A.R. - Perseus Mandate | 2007-11-06 | PCXBOX 360 | |||||
| Penumbra: Black Plague | 2008-02-12 | PCLinux (2008), Macintosh (2008) | |||||
| Nanashi no Game | 2008-07-03 | Nintendo DS | |||||
| Siren: Blood Curse | 2008-07-24 | PlayStation 3 | |||||
| Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse | 2008-07-31 | Wii | |||||
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky | 2008-08-25 | PC | |||||
| Silent Hill: Homecoming | 2008-09-30 | PCPlayStation 3 (2008), XBOX 360 (2008) | |||||
| Dead Space | 2008-10-13 | PCPlayStation 3 (2008), XBOX 360 (2008) | |||||
| F.E.A.R. 2 | 2009-02-10 | PCPlayStation 3, XBOX 360 | |||||
| Ju-On: The Grudge | 2009-07-30 | Wii | |||||
| Cursed Mountain | 2009-08-25 | WiiPC (2010) | |||||
| Nanashi no Game: Me | 2009-08-27 | Nintendo DS | |||||
| Black Mirror II: Reigning Evil | 2009-09-25 | PC | |||||
| Silent Hill: Shattered Memories | 2009-11-08 | WiiPlayStation 2 (2010), PSP (2010) | |||||
| Dark Fall: Lost Souls | 2009-11-13 | PC | |||||
| Calling | 2009-11-19 | Wii | |||||
| Amnesia: The Dark Descent | 2010-09-08 | PCPlayStation 4 (2016), Xbox One (2018), Switch (2019), Android (2021) | |||||
| Dead Space 2 | 2011-01-25 | PCPlayStation 3 (2011), XBOX 360 (2011) | |||||
| Ikenie no Yoru | 2011-03-24 | Wii | |||||
| Black Mirror III: Final Fear | 2011-04-09 | PC | |||||
| F.E.A.R. 3 | 2011-06-21 | PCPlayStation 3, XBOX 360 | |||||
| Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir | 2012-01-12 | Nintendo DS | |||||
| Silent Hill: Downpour | 2012-03-13 | PlayStation 3XBOX 360 (2012) | |||||
| Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs | 2013-09-10 | PCPlayStation 4 (2016), Xbox One (2018), Switch (2019) | |||||
| Fatal Frame / Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water | 2014-09-27 | Wii U | |||||
| Black Mirror | 2017-11-28 | PCMac OS (2017), PlayStation 4 (2017), Xbox One (2017) | |||||
| Dark Fall: Ghost Vigil | 2020-01-10 | PC | |||||
| Amnesia: Rebirth | 2020-10-20 | PCLinux (2020), PlayStation 4 (2020), Xbox One (2022), Xbox Series X/S (2022) | |||||
| Amnesia: The Bunker | 2023 | PC | |||||
| Silent Hill 2 | 2024 | PC |
Think I am missing a game that should be here? Recommend it here, or leave a comment!
*Why PS2? I feel like, after this era, indie games started to get into the market more and more, and the number of horror games multiplied like bunnies, which would make this list pretty much impossible to complete. If you want to read/hear my opinion about more modern games, you can check my Horror tag and find videos, reviews or articles I have written about Horror games of any era! If there are enough requests, I will create a separate list which also includes more modern games, which will be updated as I play them. After this series is complete, I will begin a new series where I tackle big horror releases past the PlayStation 2 era. Until then, enjoy the nostalgia!
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