Top 10 Horror Games For the Halloween Season

October is easily one of my favorite months out of the year, with the changing of the seasons beginning to show light, the temperature dropping, the leaves changing, and of course Halloween.

Halloween is an amazing time of the year in my opinion, even though most people reading this might be too old to Trick or Treat you're never too old for a good scare, and that's why I took it upon myself to compile a list of the 10 scariest games for you to play this Halloween season.

Let's Begin!

(NOTE: I'll be leaving links to every game I listed at the very end!)

Number 10: Bendy and the Ink Machine

Now to start off this list I felt it'd be best to bring attention to this series which is coming out with its final chapter this month. Bendy and the Ink Machine is a Walt Disney inspired episodic survival horror game following the journey of a former traditional animator who receives a peculiar note from his old friend who invites him to their old workplace, but nothing is as it seems when he arrives to see his friend not there, but the fictional character Bendy instead following him as other creations hunt you down while you uncover the hidden secrets of his old studio.

Bendy has been praised by fans and critics alike for its original storytelling and unique art style. The very first episode was released in 2017 and their last chapter The Last Reel is set to release October 26 of this year.

It is planning to be released on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 and releasing for Nintendo Switch on November 20th.

Number 9: Vampyr

Creators Dontnod Entertainment were known globally for their major success Life Is Strange, but how would they be able to keep moving forward and innovating without falling into the shadows of their former glories?

One word. One Game. Vampyr.

This game was released on June 5th of this year and focuses on a man named Dr. Jonathan Reid who is returning to London from The Great War in the year 1918. However, he returns only to awaken in a mass grave as a vampire. As a doctor, he is tasked with helping the people who need his assistance as well as controlling his newfound insatiable bloodlust.

On top of a very unique premise, Vampyr also allows players to make their own decisions in dialogue as well as play as hostile or as stealthily as they please. If you're a fan of vampires and a great plot with solid gameplay, this is the perfect game for you as it mixes well-known folklore with modern-day storytelling and I couldn't recommend it enough. However, we still have many more to cover, many of which that will leave you with nightmares inevitably.

Number 8: Detention

The Indie horror game scene is anything, but dead in 2018. Unfortunately, the majority of these games are at best subpar and at worst disasters. However, Detention, in its dark corridors, shines above the rest.

Detention was created by Red Candle Games and released for PC in January of 2017, eventually releasing on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 later on. For an indie survival horror game, Red Candle Games blew any and all expectations straight out of the water, with this game receiving an 83 percent on Metacritic and a perfect score of 10/10 on Steam.

Detention, despite its cartoon-like art style and 2D gameplay, deals with many heavy topics such as Anti-Communism and the overall political status of Taiwan shrouded by the horrific ambient location of a school at night, riddled with creatures more than eager to find you.

The game is set in 1960s Taiwan, the White Terror Period. Students are trapped inside Greenwood High School located on a desolate mountainside. The school begins changing when evil creatures known as the "lingered" begin to appear and lurk through the hallways. On top of trying to hide from the monsters, the protagonists struggle to stay alive long enough to uncover the secrets and dark past of their cursed school.

For the small community of 2D horror lovers this game is for you, it has multiple endings so you'll be hooked on it if you're big on 100 percent completion.

Number 7: The Evil Within 2

For anyone who doesn't what The Evil Within is, it is a brand new horror series that was being directed by the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami.

Need I say more?

The Evil Within 1 was about Detective Sebastian Castellanos discovering the horrors behind the murders. In this sequel, he must return to the nightmare he survived to save his daughter and wife from the same fate countless others had in the original.

The Evil Within is the definition of a solid survival horror game and what many horror games should aspire to become, possessing more than simple jump scares and shock value to evoke players with a captivating story and surreal world to explore as you find out more about the secrets behind it all.

Real life logic and common sense won't help you in this unearthly world with no rhyme or reason, the monsters have created their own reality to play with, sucking in people brave or foolish enough to enter, and very few ever returning home.

The Evil Within 2 is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.

Number 6: Outlast 2

Fresh off of the success of Outlast 1, developer Red Barrels kicked it into high gear for their sequel, and many agreed. They delivered.

In the original, players took control of freelance investigative journalist Miles Upshur as he explored Mount Massive Asylum, a private psychiatric hospital owned by the notoriously unethical Murkoff Corporation. You are forced to enter the madhouse with nothing but your video camera and quick thinking to defend you, and the sequel is no different.

In this brand new story, separate from the first, you play as Blake Langermann, an investigative journalist and cameraman working alongside his wife, Lynn as they investigate the mysterious death of a young Jane Doe who was pregnant at the time of her murder before crash land into the Supai region of the Coconino County region of Arizona. With your pilot dead and your wife missing it is up to you to rescue Lynn and uncover the deep and dark mysteries of the religious cult living in nature.

This game will stick with you, if not for the intense and gruesome story, then the horrors you'll fight pass to see it through until the end.

Outlast 2 is available now on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

Number 5: Observer

From the creators of Layers Of Fear comes a brand new physiological horror that blends real life with virtual reality. Developer Bloober Team has succeeded in making a game that not only is a solid adventure from the ground up, but also one that'll have you thinking and questioning everything.

Observer is in 2084 Kraków, Poland after a disease known as the nanophage kills thousands resulting a war breaking out and drug use to skyrocket in the country. Players control Observer detective Daniel Lazarski who is searching to uncover the truth in the messy underground of the city, riddled with murder, mystery, and far more questions there answers.

Observer was released in 2017 for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, and macOS.

It is unknown when the Nintendo Switch port will be released as of now.

Number 4: Resident Evil 7

Ever since the Spring of 1996 Capcom has been creating and innovating horror with the Resident Evil series, becoming one of the most popular and iconic horror series in gaming, and their latest effort only proves to solidify their name and stay in the video game world.

Resident Evil 7 is the most daring game for Capcom yet, reinventing their world with heavy inspiration from the likes of Outlast and Amnesia: The Dark Descent to create a refreshing new title as well as crafting a return to form for the series after suffering from a minor identity crisis with prior releases.

In RE7 you play as Ethan Winters, an average man on the search for his missing wife Mia who left him with a rather chilling last message before going silent. He travels to a plantation in Louisiana only to slowly uncover the dormant nightmares lurking underneath the household.

This game blew expectations out of the water for critics and fans alike, as well as mine, I would highly recommend this to anyone into first-person horror titles looking for something with more lore to it than most.

Number 3: Until Dawn

Now, I'll be honest with you, when I heard the developer Supermassive Games was creating a horror title I didn't expect much, especially from the people who made Little Big Planet DLC before this.

But boy was I wrong!!!

Until Dawn is a perfected combination of horror tropes done right tied together with gripping gameplay that keeps you on your toes wrapped up nicely with a compelling story reminiscent of horror classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th with its diverse cast of teenage characters on a getaway to celebrate life with other, but also dips into the world of the supernatural. But I won't give away too much.

This game is a must buy for anyone who is a horror fanatic or avid horror gamer this Halloween season.

Number 2: Alien Isolation

In early 2013 there was a game that was released with the Alien name in it, the gameplay promised players an action-packed first-person shooter experience as you play as a colonial marine fighting to survive the nigh-endless onslaught of Xenomorphs rampaging your way.

That game was a commercial flop, and a disaster of a game, critics were disappointed and fans were outraged losing hope that their Alien video game experience would never come to light.

However, following the disaster, Sega knew they needed to make an amazing game as a sort of apology to all of the Alien fans who were disappointed in their last effort.

Luckily for everybody Alien: Isolation was that apology.

Being heavily inspired by first-person horror games like Amnesia as well as having decades more lore than the likes of Resident Evil, Sega delivered and blew everyone away with this 2014 release. That still holds up to this very day!

The story is set about 15 years after the event of the first movie, players take control of Amanda Ripley's daughter, Ellen Ripley as she explores the desolate and confined quarters of a ship crawling with Aliens intelligent enough to sniff you out and Androids who want you dead. The suffocating atmosphere of Alien: Isolation makes it feel like you're there in Ellen's shoes struggling to make it out of this nightmare alive.

Alien: Isolation is available on all consoles for anyone interested in picking it up for themselves

But alas, we still have one more game.

Number 1: The Last Of Us

Honestly, what else could it be?

The Last Of Us was released in 2013 and even in 2018 people are still praising it for its superb storytelling, amazing characters, and overall beautiful narrative.

I am a huge fan of Naughty Dog (who also created Crash Bandicoot and the Uncharted series) but I am also someone who will acknowledge a game for what it really is from a critical standpoint. And through my own critique, as well as hundreds of others, I can conclude that The Last Of Us simply IS a masterpiece for the modern time.

TLOU is a story about two people, Ellie and Joel. In the story Joel has lived and survived over 20 years of this Zombie-like apocalypse, becoming heartless with a kill or be killed mentality, seeing the world and its people for what they are and accepting that harsh reality for his own. And Ellie, a young girl who was bitten but shows no signs that the infection is taking over, making her the only known person to be immune to the virus that's destroying the world, she is young and brash, sometimes reckless and hormonal, being the complete opposite of every Joel is. In the game players will have to join the two as Joel smuggles Ellie across the United States, escaping from bandits, infected (commonly known as Runners or Clickers) and the established gang living outside city walls known as the Fireflies as they make their way to the West, bonding and working together to survive the long journey.

This is a game I couldn't recommend enough, it is an amazing piece of art that any gamer who appreciates a well thought out story should get their hands on.

It was released on PS3, but a remastered version was released for the modern PS4 as well as PC.

End Note (+ Link to where you can buy these games)

Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed my article! I'm a rather new author on this site who loves writing about anything tech and gamer related. I'd appreciate it immensely if you'd send me a tip to contribute to furthering my work as an author on here.

AND as promised, here is the list of where you can buy these great games:

• Bendy and the Ink Machine: On Steam! And Gamestop
• Vampyr: On Steam, Gamestop, and Amazon
• Detention: On Steam
• The Evil Within 2: At Gamestop, Amazon, and of course Steam
• Outlast 2: On Steam, and the Outlast Trinity is available now on Amazon and at Gamestop
• Observer: Available for digital download on Amazon, and available on Steam
• Resident Evil 7: Available On Steam, Amazon, and at Gamestop
• Until Dawn: Available at Gamestop, and on Steam
• Alien: Isolation: Available on the reliable Amazon and Steam, as well as Gamestop
• The Last Of Us: I recommend anybody to play the PS4 version which is available on Amazon and at your local Gamestop