The horror genre in gaming has been thriving. Across the AAA and indie spaces, as well as those that lie somewhere in between, players have seen some fantastic titles that offered a variety of thrills and chills. This trend has continued in 2025, and fans have received several excellent horror games from long-established franchises and new, innovative IP.
This year’s entries encompassed a range of styles, with some channeling earlier eras of horror and others embracing more modern designs. Regardless of their direction, though, each title in the following list represents the top tier of the genre through their unsettling atmospheres, terrifying stories, and intensely engaging experiences. Presented in alphabetical order, these are the 10 best horror games of 2025.
Dead Take
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From Surgent Studios, Dead Take is a cinematic horror thriller in all senses. The title itself is a reference to the film industry, and the story centers around an actor, Chase Lowry, seeking their friend, Vinny Monro, who has mysteriously vanished. Dead Take also boasts a star-studded cast including Neil Newbon, Laura Bailey, and Ben Starr. Pulling from escape room designs for its gameplay, Dead Take has players explore an opulent but eerily empty Hollywood mansion as they are tasked with delving further into its deceptively silent halls to unravel the tale. This is accomplished by collecting snippets of often intense and disturbing video clips along with other clues, and gradually piecing them all together to bring the bigger picture into focus. Dead Take is one of 2025’s most ambitious and experimental horror titles and is well-deserving of recognition.
Dying Light: The Beast
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Dying Light: The Beast brings back Dying Light‘s original protagonist, Kyle Crane, and picks up decades after his last appearance. As Kyle seeks revenge against the ruthless Baron who imprisoned and experimented on him, players are let loose in a world crawling with both recognizable and new forms of the infected, while being granted an array of enhanced abilities to even the odds against the hordes. Dying Light: The Beast iterates on core designs by taking place in the more rural locale of Castor Woods. But it still maintains a focus on the franchise’s pillars of first-person parkour, exploration, and combat in an organic open world, resulting in an incredibly engaging and reactive horror game that keeps the series going strong.
Dying Light: The Beast
8/10
- Released
-
September 19, 2025
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Use of Drugs
- Multiplayer
-
Online Co-Op
Hell is Us
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Hell is Us may not be strictly horror on the surface, as it has RPG and looter elements that differentiate it from standard conventions, but much of its setting, characters, and themes fit squarely into the genre. Developer Rogue Factor’s third-person open-world action game sends players to a land ravaged by civil war and saturated with supernatural aspects caused by the conflict. As main character Remi attempts to find his family in the chaos, he must contend with the “Hollow Walkers,” beings that are manifestations of negative human emotions. Along with an affecting story, Hell is Us presents a haunting world that explores the horrors inherent in real-world tragedies and otherworldly inclusions.
Hell Is Us
7/10
- Released
-
September 4, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ // Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
-
Rogue Factor
Karma: The Dark World
Check Out Karma: The Dark World on OpenCritic
Pollard Studio’s Karma: The Dark World is a surreal and off-putting first-person narrative filtered through the vision and ideas of George Orwell’s 1984. Set in an alternate timeline East Germany where an omnipresent corporation controls most aspects of citizens’ lives, Karma: The Dark World sends fans down a psychedelic psychological rabbit hole of identity, memory, and free will. Karma: The Dark World‘s depiction of an oppressive world makes both its protagonist, Daniel McGovern, and players themselves question reality.
KARMA: The Dark World
- Developer(s)
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Pollard Studio LLC
- Publisher(s)
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Wired Productions, Gamera Games
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
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1
- Steam Deck Compatibility
-
Unknown
Look Outside
Check Out Look Outside on OpenCritic
Beginning as a shorter game jam project by developer Francis Coulombe, Look Outside was later expanded into a full-length experience and published by Devolver Digital. Protagonist Sam wakes up one day to discover that an otherworldly menace is horribly mutating his neighbors and anyone else who looks at it. Finding himself trapped in his apartment, Sam sets out to uncover the truth of what’s happening and why. Players must scavenge for supplies, managing Sam’s sanity and other stats on the route to surviving and stopping the nightmare. Look Outside‘s detailed pixel art, combined with its mix of classic genre elements and RPG turn-based combat, captures the essence of cosmic horror in a way that feels simultaneously nostalgic and fresh. Featuring a variety of endings, Look Outside also offers great replay value for fans to brave its Lovecraftian terrors across multiple playthroughs.
The Midnight Walk
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Using shadow and fire as motifs in an anthology of six stories, The Midnight Walk‘s stop-motion animation style gives its horror trappings a distinct flair. Controlling The Burnt One, players partner with a living lantern named Potboy to navigate the pair through a beautiful but unnerving world, solving puzzles and making use of a clever audio-based mechanic. Though The Midnight Walk may be a little on the shorter side, its captivating visuals and charming characters, combined with its whimsically warped tales, easily earn it a spot among 2025’s best.
The Midnight Walk
- Released
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May 8, 2025
- ESRB
-
Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
-
MoonHood
- Publisher(s)
-
Fast Travel Games
Post Trauma
Check Out Post Trauma on OpenCritic
The indie gaming scene has always been prolific, particularly for horror, and developer Red Soul Games’ debut proves it continues to flourish. Taking the early Silent Hill games as its main inspiration, Post Trauma thrusts players into the role of train conductor Roman, who finds himself in a troubling state of affairs. As Roman is inexplicably drawn into a bizarre and dangerous world, players must solve increasingly devious puzzles in various settings while piecing together the events that led Roman to a twisted world of nightmares.
Post Trauma
- Released
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March 31, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Red Soul Games
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- PC Release Date
-
March 31, 2025
Silent Hill f
Read Game Rant’s Review of Silent Hill f
After a period of dormancy in the wake of a couple of lackluster entries, Silent Hill returned in a big way last year with the Silent Hill 2 Remake. Silent Hill f then took the series in a more experimental direction. Featuring a script penned by Ryukishi07, Silent Hill f shakes up traditions by shifting the setting to a sleepy Japanese town in the 1960s. It follows the intense journey of Hinako Shimizu as she struggles with her place in life and the societal pressures and expectations of the time. Exploring the idea of “the beauty within horror,” Silent Hill f‘s world, characters, and monsters are some of the most gorgeously unsettling that the franchise has produced. Silent Hill f‘s overall favorable reception also renewed many fans’ faith in the series, being yet another reason that it stands tall among 2025’s releases.
Silent Hill f
10/10
- Released
-
September 25, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
-
Neobards Entertainment
Tormented Souls 2
Check Out Tormented Souls 2 on OpenCritic
2021’s Tormented Souls is a throwback to the older era of survival horror, and the sequel continues in this vein. Players take on the role of original protagonist Caroline Walker as she follows up on the events of the first, which saw her investigating a strange case involving missing twins in an abandoned hospital. To say more would risk spoilers, but suffice to say that Caroline discovered some shocking truths. This time around, Caroline journeys to an isolated settlement in Chile where she uncovers more terrifyingly unnatural happenings. Tormented Souls 2 expands and refines the designs of the first while retaining the same creepy feel and satisfyingly claustrophobic gameplay.
Tormented Souls 2
- Released
-
October 23, 2025
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
-
Dual Effect Games
- Publisher(s)
-
PQube
Total Chaos
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Total Chaos was originally a 2018 Doom 2 conversion mod that has been expanded into its own standalone experience. Total Chaos drops fans onto the shores of Fort Oasis, a decaying mining colony, as a coastguard member responding to a strange distress call. Urged on by the mysterious broadcast, players must plumb the labyrinthine depths of the island and search for answers by gathering supplies and crafting weapons. Noted for its standout sound design and score by Akira Yamaoka, Total Chaos‘ finely-tuned balance of exploration, puzzle-solving, inventory management, and intense FPS combat earns it high marks among 2025’s horror releases.
Total Chaos
- Released
-
November 20, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ / Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
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Trigger Happy Interactive
- Publisher(s)
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Apogee Entertainment
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
-
Unknown
