The Best Horror Games on PC

Every once in a while we crave a game that scares the living innocence out of us. There are so many horrible little survival horror games, and searching for the perfect scare ends up to be a bore.

I’ve played my fair share of horror games on PC. Some of them kept me awake for countless nights, while others just made me laugh in their face – their computer-generated face!

Be warned. I’m not responsible for any wet beds, lives scarred or paranoia settling in. You may continue at your own risk.

Without further ado, I present you…

Best Horror Games on PC

1. The Forest

Ever since I found out that The Forest was created as a virtual reality game, I started fidgeting in my room. Should I? Should I invest in an Oculus Rift and never sleep again? Or do I prefer my sanity?

You bet your sweet tush that I did.

The Forest tells the tale of a man who survived a plane crash only to find himself stranded on an island. Unfortunately, this is no ordinary place but filled with creatures that have acquired a taste for human flesh.

You quickly realize that in order to survive and leave the island, you need to build a, sort-of, fortress. Once you erect your stronghold, you can slowly make these ferocious creatures back away.

By day you’re a MacGyver who builds weapons, makes a shelter, constructs effigies, and explores the land. By night though, you cower in a fetal position praying that this is all a dream and that you’re really on a beach somewhere in Jamaica.

Your first encounter with these Lovecraftian creatures is a no-brainer – you run until you don’t feel your feet anymore. Welp, the second encounter makes you a little bit bold. Being too bold, and curios is what killed the cat.

You’ll have your chances of proving your worth pretty soon in the game. However, it’s better to play safe or else you’ll end up buttered on a platter, near a fruit salad.

2. Amnesia: The Dark Descent

One of the best horror games on PC that scarred me for life is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I remember buying it off of Steam without knowing what it is. I was in high-school, and like every other geeky high-schooler who finds out that he’s all alone in an empty house I got myself a beer, and I reveled in my new-found liberty.

My liberty consisted of drinking a beer, getting drunk, and gaming until roosters announced the coming of a new day.

Headphones on, little tipsy from the beer I quickly ingested. With the emotional state of a 14-year old girl who just got broken up by the love of her life, I suddenly realized that I couldn’t leave the room to relieve myself of the beer surplus. The reason is that I was too afraid of the dark.

Exploring the eerie-feeling castle and searching for a place to hide, scarred me for life. There are sections that injected terrible fear and anxiety in my body which proved to be mistaken to believe that it was pretty brave.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent tells the story of Daniel. In 1839, he awoke in a Prussian Brennenburg Castle with no recollection of why he was there. He is soon put face to face with a mysterious presence that wishes to end his life which in this case is your life. This story is enough to make this production one of the best horror games on PC.

3. Lone Survivor

Initially, I thought that I was playing a 16-bit copy-cat version of Resident Evil 2. But my God, how terribly wrong I was. It’s no copy-cat at all. Lone Survivor is an exceptional indie game that should be known as one of the best horror games on PC.

It encompasses elements of Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill 2, and it blends them in a 2D scary-as-hell medium. This is no game for those faint-hearted.

If you think that Bastion or Hotline Miami have award-winning OSTs, just wait until you play this synth riddle horror game. It makes me think of what Lynch might dream – don’t be silly, I’m talking about just an ordinary dream; nobody can withstand a Lynchian nightmare.

4. Dying Light

Have you ever played this first-person zombie bonanza, Dying Light? Don’t look at trailers. Just get it from Steam and play it until night comes. More than that, and it’s like signing your own death wish.

At first, it will seem like Far Cry 4 set in a post-apocalyptic city. Here people infected with the zombie disease try to survive by injecting themselves with a sort-of cure named Antizin. This won’t cure you in the long run, but it will keep you from turning into a human-flesh eating douchebag.

All zombies are douchebags.

When night comes, and it catches you outside, miles away from a safe-house, then the fun starts to happen. Your first encounter with volatiles will make or break you.

I was running and screaming in-game, and I was sweating my butt off in real life. This huge amount of angst feelings was enough for me to label Dying Light as one of the best horror games on PC.

5. Outlast

This time, I did my research before buying Outlast. You can’t counter-attack in this game. You just cower in fear while you see through an old camera with night-vision on.

You’re Miles Upshur, a journalist that is dead set to investigate the mysterious Mount Massive Asylum. You get there right in the nick of time, when all Hell seems to set loose in the asylum.

By the way, you can look back while you run for your life, but I don’t recommend doing so. That’s because the sight of a mental patient turned demon trying to catch and eat your eyeballs can remain imprinted on your brain forever. My imprint is telling me that Outlast made it on the list with the best horror games on PC.

Final Word

Have any other scary-ass horror games on PC that you played, and I might have missed? Tells in the comments section below! Together, we can uncover all the best horror games on PC out there.

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