6 Scary Games to Play this Spooky Season!

It’s a terrifying time of the year! That’s right; it is the spooky season! If you’re spooky all year long, this gives you an excuse to go all out. During this time, we like to get our haunts from films, ghost tours, haunted houses, and movie nights in a cemetery. That last one is a real thing. Video games can provide an equally scary experience but from the comfort or discomfort of your home! Horror games are some of my favorites to play because they create an immersive and suspenseful adventure, no matter how many lights you have turned on.  Here are my six recommendations for scary games to play this spooky season! There is a little bit of horror for the whole family to enjoy.

Luigi’s Haunted Mansion 3 

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Don’t let this game trick you into thinking it’s all cute and easy to play. The haunts in Luigi’s Haunted Mansion 3 are legit, and the puzzles will have you sweating in fear! Luigi finds himself in a haunted hotel this time around, and now he must save everyone from hundreds of ghosts.  This game is fun to play alone or with a partner in co-op mode. It is also an excellent game to introduce younger gamers to the horror genre.  The game makes excellent use of confined spaces and the element of surprise. You never know where a ghost may be lurking. Luigi’s Haunted Mansion 3 is wildly enjoyable, and it will make you 100% want the game.

Until Dawn 

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Take a bunch of horror movie troupes, add a choose your adventure aspects, and quick-time events, and you get Until Dawn. This choice-based horror game is fear custom-tailored to you! You control a group of friends as they spend a weekend in a scenic ski lodge. Like any good horror film/game, the funs ends rather quickly. Now it’s up to you to get everyone out alive, and there is nothing scarier than making a choice and regretting it.  They should make a game about deciding what’s for dinner.  Until Dawn keeps you on your toes as each move you make turns up the intensity.  I recommend playing some relaxing Kenny G in the background to balance things out.

Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water 

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Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water originally came out on the Wii U. It is making its return on October 28, 2021,  and arrives with brand new character costumes.  In Fatal Frame, you have to exorcise angry spirits using only a camera.  That’s right! You don’t have a gun, a knife, smoke bombs, or even a vacuum; you have to use a camera. The lack of weapons makes for a horrifying experience, as you’ll find yourself taking pictures of anything but the ghosts. You got a lovely shot of a bush, but now you’re also dead. The story is very compelling, and the graphics are incredible. If you’re looking for a game that may make you pause several times, Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is for you.

Phasmophobia

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If someone asks you, “do you want to play Phasmophobia,” you should ponder what you did to hurt this friendship. Phasmophobia is horror on another level. This is truly for the horror expert or someone with insomnia.  Phasmophobia is a four-player online co-op psychological horror, where you and your friends are paranormal investigators. You’ll go to different haunted locations and investigate. Luckily or unluckily, all the sites are haunted! The game provides you with the bare minimum to survive/do your job, which adds to the suspenseful gameplay. Even the lack of sound and lighting only enhances the fear factor. Let me be honest for a moment: You’re going to scream. And, if you find yourself too scared to play after a few rounds, no one is judging you.

Alien: Isolation 

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Alien: Isolation is not for those with heart issues. That’s not a joke. Alien: Isolation will have your pulse racing, your heart thumping, and your hands sweaty. What makes this game terrifying is that the Xenomorph isn’t some mindless AI; no, it studies your every move. It learns your strategy for offensive and defense and adapts to it. The AI has a brain, and it is more intelligent than our human brains. The best course of action is to get through the missions quickly, but you also have to worry about robots, evil humans,  and lack of oxygen. Alien: Isolation throws everything at you, and you have hardly any weapons to handle it all. The game requires a lot of stealth, and that’s hard to do when a Xenomorph is walking around. If you have a strong heart, give Alien: Isolation a shot.

Resident Evil Village 

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Can I be honest with you readers? I didn’t finish this game. Once I got to the “Doll” section of the game, I quit.  It was so scary that I could not finish it. Resident Evil Village is nightmare fuel.  The village is a return to form for a franchise that started to feel like an action game. Ethan again has to save Mia and their newborn daughter in a medieval-style village filled with monsters, zombies, more monsters, and a giant lady.

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Don’t let the curves of the big woman distract you! She can be just as scary as the other bosses in this game. Still, nothing could prepare me for the dolls. Resident Evil fans old and new will enjoy this game. And you will too if you want a game that’s like playing a movie…if you can make it past the dolls.

These are just 6 of my personal recommendations for horror games to play this spooky season, what are yours? Let’s chat in the comments below and online. Remember, when it comes to horror games follow the ABS. Always be saving!


About Yali Perez

When she's not writing about pop culture for Fandom Spotlite, curating social media for the*gameHERS, or helping to produce the DB4L podcast, she is a single mom to the coolest kid in the world. In Yali's free time she likes to bake, exercise, watch horror films, and play Mario Kart. Yali's goal as a writer is to share her nontraditional and colorful view of the world with readers everywhere.

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