The Best Survival Horror Games

Horror games have been around for almost as long as video games have existed, but it would take years before the "Survival Horror" genre as we know it would come into focus. While it would still be a bit before the genre would actually get its name (thanks to a series well-represented on this list), the very first instances of the gameplay mechanics associated with Survival Horror would show up first in 1989, courtesy of Capcom's Sweet Home on the Famicom. An adaptation of a Japanese horror film, Sweet Home tasks players with surviving a demon and ghost-infested mansion while solving puzzles and managing a limited inventory with key items and clues. Just a few years later, Frédérick Raynal's Alone in the Dark would come along and build on Sweet Home's mechanics to define the qualities we now associate with some of the best survival horror games.

But Alone in the Dark is more of a historical curiosity and important turning point than an actual great game, as going back and playing the original today makes it hard to overlook some of the dated visuals and mechanics. The title responsible for building on Raynal's innovations and giving the Survival Horror genre its name would be none other than Capcom's spiritual successor to Sweet Home, 1996's groundbreaking Resident Evil. Resident Evil's success and mainstream breakthrough would make horror games more popular than ever, leading to a host of imitators and innovators that continue to build on the genre in exciting (and terrifying) ways. We've come a long way from the original Resident Evil, but its influence is still palpable within the Survival Horror genre.

• Release Date — October 7, 2014
• Publisher — Sega
• Developer — Creative Assembly
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 92% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One

We can arguably credit Amnesia: The Dark Descent with popularizing the first-person horror game, even though it's not the first. In the wake of its success, several other developers would try their hand at using the first-person perspective to truly immerse players in horrific scenarios, so it was only a matter of time before a studio would come along and get the chance to do so with the Alien license. Sure enough, Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation ends up being one of the best survival horror games thanks to how it so expertly captures the atmosphere and terror of the original Alien, all while putting players into a deadly cat-and-mouse chase with the series' iconic Xenomorph. Alien: Isolation might run a little bit longer than necessary, but the game's high points offer up thrills that can't be matched anywhere else, including some impressive enemy AI that keeps players on their toes.

• Release Date — May 9, 2024
• Publisher — SFB Games
• Developer — SFB Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 98% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

The last few years have seen a resurgence of PS1-style survival horror games, which makes sense given how the genre came into fruition during the 5th generation. One of the more recent titles in the indie "PS1 survival horror" subgenre, and one of the best, is SFB Games' Crow Country. Crow Country's visuals and gameplay are obviously in debt to the original Resident Evil, but its self-aware sense of humor and charm point to the game being a labor of love from developers who truly know the genre and its highlights. Above all else, Crow Country plays great. Combat is snappy and players have an interesting variety of weapons at their disposal, while the puzzles are head-scratching enough to be entertaining without ever feeling too obtuse or challenging. Like the original Resident Evil, Crow Country is a foundational experience that's a perfect jumping-on-point for the survival horror genre.

• Release Date — September 10, 1998
• Publisher — Square Electronic Arts
• Developer — Square
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — PlayStation

Similar to Sweet Home, Parasite Eve is a horror game adaptation of another piece of horror media, only in the case of Parasite Eve it's adapting a novel instead of a film. Conceived by Takashi Tokita, a Square veteran with some impressive credits on games like Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve is perhaps the first "Survival Horror RPG", blending elements of Square's legendary 5th generation output with the mechanics and elements of games like Resident Evil. To its credit, there's never really been a game like Parasite Eve before or since, with even the series' sequels switching up key elements in each entry. With a revolutionary combat system that still feels fresh, the ability to customize weapons, and an interesting horror plot rooted in science fiction, Parasite Eve is one of the better survival horror games and a commendable first entry in the genre from Square.

• Release Date — October 27, 2022
• Publisher — Humble Games, Playism
• Developer — rose-engine
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One

rose-engine's Signalis is a special game and arguably one of the best titles to release in 2022. Mechanically, it follows the tried-and-true design template of 5th-generation survival horror games. Players manage a limited inventory, collecting precious resources like ammo and healing items while juggling a variety of firearms with different applications. Puzzles are one of Signalis' highlights, putting the game's retrofuturist sci-fi setting to good use and really challenging players to scan the environment for clues. In an interesting twist, Signalis actually incorporates a bit of Metal Gear Solid DNA into its proceedings, complete with how it handles aiming weapons and some light stealth sequences. Beyond its gameplay, though, Signalis' plot is something remarkable, dipping toes into esoteric symbolism and psychological horror in a way few games in the genre do.

• Release Date — September 8, 2010
• Publisher — Frictional Games
• Developer — Frictional Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 85% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PC

After years of the Survival Horror genre being dominated by third-person perspectives (especially following Resident Evil 4's paradigm-shifting over-the-shoulder camera), Frictional Games would come along and make a strong case for first-person survival horror with Amnesia: The Dark Descent. A large part of Amnesia's success was driven by word of mouth, with players who had experienced the game and walked away changed encouraging as many people as they could to play what was quickly gaining a reputation for being the "scariest game ever".

Sure enough, Amnesia is a harrowing experience that, along with other indie titles like Outlast, helped to popularize first-person survival horror enough to where it's now its own subgenre. The Amnesia series is still going strong (just look at last year's phenomenal Amnesia: The Bunker) but it's probably going to be a long time before another game comes along that shakes players to their core like The Dark Descent.

• Release Date — February 24, 1999
• Publisher — Konami
• Developer — Team Silent
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — PlayStation

Konami's Silent Hill is often cited as the best of the games that came along in the wake of Resident Evil's success, with production on the game beginning in the wake of the English localization of BioHazard (Resident Evil's original name) as a title directed at a Western audience. Unlike Resident Evil, though, which focuses its horror on monstrous creatures and campy B-movie action, Silent Hill is a much more psychological affair. In particular, the game toys with players' sense of sight, sound, and direction to intentionally disorient and unnerve them, and to great effect. Its combat leaves a lot to be desired and some of its puzzles are maddeningly obtuse, but Silent Hill is a survival horror classic that only gets better as it goes along, leading to a shocking finale at the end that sticks with you long after the credits.

• Release Date — October 27, 2023
• Publisher — Epic Games Publishing
• Developer — Remedy Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Remedy Entertainment surprised fans of the original Alan Wake when it announced the sequel, something many never thought would see the light of day. As it turns out, the wait was well worth it, as Alan Wake II takes everything that made the original a classic and turns it up to 11. Interestingly, Alan Wake II is almost like two games in one, with players controlling two separate protagonists with intertwining stories. Combat is vastly improved in the sequel over the original, as are the scares, with Alan Wake II arguably being one of the more genuinely frightening games on this list.

In true Remedy fashion, Alan Wake II is also gloriously weird, wearing its obvious love for Twin Peaks and other David Lynch works proudly on its sleeve. Not many survival horror games have full-blown musical sequences, but Alan Wake II does, and we thank Remedy for its singular creative vision and almost flawless execution.

• Release Date — October 13, 2008 (Original); January 27, 2023 (Remake)
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Developer — EA Redwood Shores (Original); Motive Studio (Remake)
• Review Aggregate Score — Original: 89% (Generally Favorable) Remake: 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — Original: 92% (Very Positive) Remake: 91% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, Xbox 360 (Original); PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S (Remake)

Originally released at a time when games utilizing sci-fi horror were few and far between, Dead Space was a sorely needed shot in the arm for the Survival Horror genre. While it borrows heavily from Capcom's Resident Evil 4 in terms of its mechanics, Dead Space gets its narrative and atmosphere from films like Alien and Event Horizon, as well as from the literary works of H.P. Lovecraft. Dead Space is a cosmic survival horror game in every sense, and it completely flips player expectations by forcing you to target the limbs of enemies instead of the classic headshot for maximum damage. The original still holds up more than 15 years later, but 2023's remake of Dead Space is now the definitive way to experience the title, carefully reimagining the source material to present a faithful adaptation that brings the visuals and sound design into the modern era.

• Release Date — September 25, 2001 (Original); October 8, 2024 (Remake)
• Publisher — Konami
• Developer — Team Silent (Original); Bloober Team (Remake)
• Review Aggregate Score — Original: 89% (Generally Favorable) Remake: 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Steam User Score — 95% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PlayStation 2 (Original); PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S (Remake)

Like Dead Space, Silent Hill 2 is a classic in the Survival Horror genre whose remake only improves on an already strong foundation. As the follow-up to the best non-Resident Evil Survival Horror game on the PS1, Silent Hill 2 builds on the foundations of the original to deliver an experience that's better by every metric. Combat and puzzle solving are vastly improved, the story is a heartbreaking tale of grief, regret, and guilt, and the audiovisual trickery used to disorient and frighten players is only more pronounced. The remake from this year retains all those qualities while improving the weakest aspect of the original (the combat) and using modern voice acting and facial capture to add nuance to the story and contextual cues as to its heartbreaking ending. Without question, Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece of psychological horror.

• Release Date — August 11, 1999
• Publisher — Electronic Arts
• Developer — Irrational Games, Looking Glass Studios
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — 94% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC

As far as video game sequels go, few are as influential or as innovative compared to the original game as System Shock 2. Following Looking Glass Studios' work on the original, groundbreaking immersive sim System Shock, designer Doug Church would approach his former colleague Ken Levine to develop the sequel under his new studio, Irrational Games. With full reign over the direction of the sequel, Levine would incorporate more horror elements and a greater emphasis on immersive sim mechanics such as player choice and RPG-style progression, resulting in System Shock 2 being a revolutionary game years ahead of its time. Beyond its importance to the continued innovation of video games, though, System Shock 2 is chock-full of impressively frightening sequences, all of which are engineered by one of the more terrifying villains in Survival Horror history, the rogue AI SHODAN.

• Release Date — March 22, 1996 (Original); March 22, 2002 (Remake)
• Publisher — Capcom
• Developer — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — Original: 91% (Universal Acclaim) Remake: 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — 91% (Very Positive)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation, Sega Saturn (Original); GameCube, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One (Remake)

Capcom's Resident Evil is both the first "great" Survival Horror game and the title responsible for naming the genre. Originally conceived as a spiritual successor to 1989's Sweet Home, the first Resident Evil would lay the foundations for just about every Survival Horror game to come in its wake, including a slew of imitators hoping to cash in on its success. Unlike many of those games, though, Resident Evil has outlasted them all to become Capcom's best-selling franchise and one of the more important IPs in the medium, with later entries' innovations reaching well beyond the Survival Horror genre to change how third-person action games are made. That the original Resident Evil still holds up as well as it does nearly 30 years later is a testament to its brilliance, and the excellent GameCube-era remake establishes the horror-leaning tone of future series reimaginings.

• Release Date — June 24, 2002
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Developer — Silicon Knights
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — GameCube

2002 was a great year for GameCube owners who were fans of Survival Horror, with both the Resident Evil remake and the criminally underrated Eternal Darkness arriving within just a few months of each other. While the Resident Evil remake would eventually get ported to other platforms, Eternal Darkness remains trapped on the GameCube, with fans rightfully begging for a port, remaster, or sequel on modern hardware. Unlike many of its contemporaries, Eternal Darkness mixes both visceral horror and psychological horror to great effect, even going so far as to toy with players in innovative, 4th-wall-breaking ways through its "sanity effect" system. Eternal Darkness also happens to feature a best-in-genre narrative that takes players through a millennium-spanning quest to stop a Lovecraftian horror.

• Release Date — January 21, 1998 (Original); January 25, 2019 (Remake)
• Publisher — Capcom
• Developer — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — Original: 93% (Universal Acclaim) Remake: 91% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — 96% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — PlayStation (Original); PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Remake)

It's not often that a sequel can improve on an innovative original game, but Capcom's follow-up to the original Resident Evil definitively bucks that trend by being bigger and better in every conceivable way. Resident Evil 2 on the PS1 is one of the small handful of "perfect" games on the console, delivering not two characters in the same campaign but instead, two completely separate campaigns that players can experience in any order before they eventually cross over to reveal the game's true ending. Zombies are more plentiful, firearms are more powerful, and the action is more intense; it's everything you would have wanted from a Resident Evil sequel. The remake of Resident Evil 2 from 2019 was a long time coming for fans, but boy was it worth the wait. It's both better than the original and perhaps one of the best remakes of all time, horror or otherwise.

• Release Date — June 19, 2020
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Developer — Naughty Dog
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — N/A
• Platforms — PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Like Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill 2 before it, Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II had a nearly impossible task before it, surpassing and improving on what many consider to be one of the greatest Survival Horror games of all time. The larger hurdle to clear would be making the sequel's narrative make sense in the context of the original's bleak, heartbreaking ending. To its credit, Naughty Dog graciously cleared that hurdle by delivering a poignant story in The Last of Us Part II that examines the futility of revenge and the lengths humans go to in order to defend those they love. Narrative is far from The Last of Us Part II's only highlight, though, as nearly every facet of gameplay (from the gunplay to the stealth and crafting) is improved and streamlined to deliver an almost perfectly-paced experience.

• Release Date — January 11, 2005 (Original); March 24, 2023 (Remake)
• Publisher — Capcom
• Developer — Capcom
• Review Aggregate Score — Original: 96% (Universal Acclaim) Remake: 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Steam User Score — Original: 93% (Very Positive) Remake: 97% (Overwhelmingly Positive)
• Platforms — GameCube (Original); PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Remake)

While my personal favorite Resident Evil games are both the original and remake of Resident Evil 2, there's no denying that Resident Evil 4 and its stunning remake are objectively the best games in the franchise, and perhaps two of the greatest action/horror games of all time. The original was a groundbreaking and revolutionary title far ahead of its time that blended the atmosphere and vibe of the original trilogy with over-the-top arcade shooting action, complete with an over-the-shoulder camera angle that just about every subsequent third-person shooter would copy. And, like the other modern remakes in the series, Resident Evil 4's 2023 remake takes an already near-perfect game and only makes it better, adding in some interesting new mechanics and ratcheting up the difficulty to make it arguably scarier than the original.