Spooky season is almost upon us, but if you’re anything like this author, you started celebrating on the first day of September. And for many people, right up there with watching ahorrormovie or going to a haunted house, the fall isn’t complete without playing a scary game or two. And while, yes, there are plenty of great horror games out there to play, this list is specifically for games that take their inspiration from some big-name horror movie titles.
10 Best Horror Games Of All Time
This is our list of the best horror video games ever made!
From 2009’s long-forgotten Saw: The Video Game to 2023’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre, games based on movie titles have unfortunately been far and few over the years. Here, we’ve cobbled together some of the best to help you get into the Halloween spirit.
While we acknowledge that there are plenty of games that have had movie adaptations made after them, this list is specifically for games based on movies that already existed.
1Saw: The Video Game
Do You Want to Play a Game?
When the first Saw movie hit theaters in 2003, it was a roaring success, and Saw II soon followed in 2005. A few years later - on July 18, 2025 - Zombie Studios got into the action by creating an immersive video game set between the first and second films, aptly called Saw: The Video Game.
You control David Tapp, a former detective trapped in an asylum filled with Jigsaw traps (he’s also a major character in the first Saw movie). Your goal is to escape the asylum, and survive the many traps along the way. Gameplay here includes searching in each room for items that will help you further the story, including weapons, health items and clues. There are a total of 18 different weapons you can fight with, but you can also avoid combat altogether by rearming Jigsaw’s traps to use against him.
2Alien: Isolation
Being Hunted in Space
Alien: Isolation
Alien: Isolationis now a decade old - it was first released in 2014 - but it still stands to show what a solid representation of a horror movie in game form looks like. Alien: Isolation is set 15 years after the events of the original 1979 film, and follows engineer Amanda Ripley in her quest to find out about the fate of her mother, Ellen Ripley, who disappeared aboard the space station Sevastopol.
Review: Alien: Isolation
With a game that’s largely based on survival, it captures the feeling of dread that only being hunted by an alien can give you. In fact, the main Alien antagonist cannot be defeated by traditional means, and you must sneak around it if you want to survive. The Alien has the ability to hunt the player down by sight or sound, so much like in the Alien film franchise, you have to be careful of how long you use your flashlight or other devices. Other than its faithfulness to the Alien franchise, Alien: Isolation is just plain fun. Once you’ve beaten the story campaign, you’re able to play in Survivor Mode, which provides new challenges - and a time limit in which you must complete them - all while being hunted down.
3Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
Includes Optional VR Mode
The first Paranormal Activity film came out in 2009 and sparked a franchise that included seven films and a little-known video game - Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul. It was originally engineered for virtual reality through PlayStation VR as well as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but the game can also be played in non-VR mode with a keyboard and mouse or a controller.
Based on the premise of the Paranormal Activity franchise, you find yourself exploring a regular-looking home that you soon realize is anything but normal. Armed with a flashlight, you must evade the terror that haunts the house - and you - while collecting clues to uncover the mystery of what unfolded there. Inside the house, the game is more or less open to exploration, with no timer or set objectives to follow, so you can take as little or as much time as you want.
While this game can be played in non-VR mode, it is suggested that you play in VR if you want a fully immersive experience.
4Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Protect The Family… or Die Trying to Escape
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
In this seven-player asymmetrical horror game based on the 1974 film, you may take on the role of a member of the Slaughter family, or one of their victims. Each match, there is a total of three family members and four victims. Playable family members include Leatherface, The Cook, The Hitchhiker, Johnny, Sissy, and through DLCs, Nancy and Hands. Playable victims include Ana Flores, Connie Taylor, Julie Crawford, Leland McKinney, Sonny Williams, and through DLCs, Danny Gaines, Virginia and Maria Flores.
Maps are randomized from a pool of five different settings and two of those settings, the Slaughter family house and gas station, are locations from the film. The other locations - a slaughterhouse, a mill and Nancy’s house - are new. Victims begin the game in Leatherface’s basement, where they must escape their restraints and find a way to escape. As a member of the Slaughter family, of course, your job is to prevent them from escaping… and to feed Grandpa a steady supply of blood. The game ends when all the victims escape or are killed.
Horror Icons Come to Life
Dead by Daylight
WhileDead by Daylightis not directly based on any one horror movie, it brings to life characters from different movies, including The Nightmare on Elm Street, Chucky, Halloween and Saw, among others. You can play from a number of licensed killers, using powers that are inspired from their respective roles in films, or attempt to survive as a number of licensed survivors from those same movies.
Dead by Daylight: Killer Guide
Playing as the Killer in Dead by Daylight is a unique challenge that involves strategy, anticipation, and control of the game environment.
Altogether, there are 12 licensed movie killers (The Shape aka Michael Myers, The Cannibal aka Leatherface, The Nightmare aka Freddy Krueger, The Pig aka Amanda Young, The Ghost Face, The Demogorgon, The Executioner aka Pyramid Head, The Cenobite aka Pinhead, The Onryu aka Sadako, The Xenomorph, The Good Guy aka Chucky and Dracula) and 10 licensed movie survivors (Laurie Strode, Quentin Smith, Detective David Tapp, Ashley J. Williams, Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, Yoichi Asakawa, Nicolas Cage, Ellen Ripley, Alan Wake). There are also several other licensed killers and survivors of video game fame.
6Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game
The Cult Classic is Back
Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game
Nothing says “cult classic” quite like Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the 1988 film that involves - as the title implies - aliens from outer space, dressed as clowns, terrorizing a small town. Well… maybe Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game, which puts a multiplayer twist on the classic film, does also say “cult classic.” It’s a return to Crescent Cove, and the aliens are back. Again.
Here, you can take on the role of the iconic Killer Klowns in a team of three players - or fight back as a team of seven citizens of Crescent Cove while trying to fend off the Klownpocalypse. There are five playable Klown classes in the game (Ranger, Tracker, Hnter, Tank and Brawler) and five playable human classes (Athletic, Rebellious, Heroic, Resourceful and Tough). This author was among those that first tried ademo of Killer Klowns from Outer Space at 2024’s PAX East, and the full game’s release in June of this year has only lived up to its original hype.
7Blair Witch
Back to The Woods
Blair Witch
The Blair Witch Projectpractically defined the found footage genre of horror when it was released in 1999 and, two decades later, Bloober Team paid tribute to the film with its 2019 survival horror game Blair Witch. The game takes place in 1996, two years after the events of The Blair Witch Project.In this game, you play former police officer Ellis Lynch,whose search for a missing boy brings him to the Black Hills Forest.
The game is played from a first-person perspective in a semi-open world, and as you traverse the woods, you’ll have to stop to explore abandoned structures and campsites for clues. You’ll be joined by Ellis' dog, Bullet, who can search tight spaces that you may’t fit into or track scents. It is crucial to keep Bullet close at all times, as being separated from him for long will make Ellis' sanity go down and put him in danger. As you and Bullet explore the forest and pick up clues - ranging from wooden dolls to polaroid photos and cassette tapes - keep in mind that your actions along the way will influence the game’s ending. There’s a possibility of four endings, with an additional secret ending.
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