Top 14 Must-Play Horror Video Games Of 2023

The Fatal Frame franchise blends classic Japanese horror with unique gameplay mechanics, and Fatal Frame 4: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is no exception. The game takes place on Rogetsu Isle, and follows a group of teenage girls. They were kidnapped by a serial killer when they were children, and though they were rescued, they lost their memories due to the traumatic events. Intent on rediscovering their past, the girls return to Rogetsu Isle to get answers.

You play as one of the girls, Ruka Minazuki, equipped with the Camera Obscura, a magical camera that can fight off ghosts by taking pictures of them. It's a cool alternative to something like a first-person shooter, snapping photographs of ghosts instead of firing bullets at them to inflict damage.

Slay the Princess is a visual novel text adventure with a really interesting premise. It flips the trope of saving the princess — instead, players have to kill her because, apparently, letting her live leads to the end of the world. So you can either choose to save her, or kill her. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, there's also a time loop mechanic that sends you back to the beginning every time you die.

The many different iterations of how encounters with the princess could go are engaging throughout the game. Dialogue choices can decide a swift or gruesome, agonizing death. The princess isn't what she seems. Sometimes, she can become an ethereal motherly figure, and sometimes, she can grow blades out of her arms to slice you up.

Each time players return, the path to the princess becomes even more twisted. The monochrome pencil-like Eldritch art style really helps it stand out, sort of like a rough sketch branching storybook of some sort. Honestly, Slay the Princess is a hard game to describe, but it's really worth the time.

Little Goody Two Shoes is another unique simulation game following a young girl named Elise who wants to be rich. She runs into another young girl named Rozenmarine and has to hide her as the villagers of Kieferber think she's a witch.

It has a cozy Persona-like time management structure to it. During the day, players must do chores, earn money, or bond with villagers without raising suspicions. It's clear that something sinister is happening in town, and at night, Elise has to explore the woods for a mystery entity that could somehow make her dreams come true. Don't let the cute anime aesthetic fool you, as Little Goody Two Shoes really dials up the creep factor.

Paranormasight is an incredibly suspenseful visual novel game taking place in 1980s Japan, where a group of people stumble across Curse Stones. These objects allow the user to revive anyone they choose via the Rite of Resurrection. But of course, there's a catch — in order to do so, they must kill. Killing fellow Curse Stone owners, as opposed to normal people, drastically expedites the process.

Each Curse Stone owner has their own motivations and a special person they want to bring back. Some of their backgrounds intertwine, so those relationships add a layer of complexity when they eventually face off against each other. It's hard to describe Paranormasight without getting into spoiler territory but trust me, this Japanese horror story is one you don't want to miss.

World of Horror is a hybrid classic adventure and roguelike game. You pick a character and some stats, then you're dropped into Tokyo on the verge of the apocalypse. Lovecraftian-inspired monsters are everywhere, and it's your job to stop a god from destroying the world. You'll learn spells, find weapons, and forge alliances along the way.

The game is presented in this gorgeous Junji Ito-like pointillism style, making it stand out amongst its contemporaries. The first-person perspective also lends well to its old-school PC Macintosh aesthetic. World of Horror is genuinely one of the creepiest games I've ever played, and I found myself pressing the Home button on my Switch many times just to avoid soiling my pants.

Dredge is a really cool blend of fishing sim and horror, and the game handles both aspects very well. What starts as a rather normal fishing adventure to earn money to fix your boat takes a dark turn when you start catching disfigured fish, and the island inhabitants embrace them. It really adds to the game's unsettling atmosphere. Inevitably, you'll learn about the dark secrets that lie under the sea as you progress through the story.

The game's fishing mechanics are also well done through quick time events and inventory management. The boat upgrades give a sense of progression throughout the game, making me want to keep coming back for more.

With all the talk about AI, System Shock feels as relevant now as it did almost thirty years ago. Gamers play as a security hacker on a spaceship who must thwart a megalomaniac AI called SHODAN. Few immersive horror and sci-fi RPGs create such an oppressive atmosphere with a combination of difficult puzzles and bloodthirsty enemies.

This remake from Nightdive Studios faithfully recreates an experience close to the original System Shock and brings it to the modern age with its tweaks to combat and accessibility.

Visceral Games and EA's classic survival horror game got a remake this year, and it's just as scary as it ever was. Like the System Shock remake, the Dead Space remake is rather faithful to its original. The interior of the USG Ishimura spaceship got plenty of makeovers, yet it felt incredibly familiar. While the original still plays just fine, the remake feels very up-to-date with its controls and movement, and the gunplay feels even smoother than before.

The overhauled graphics really amplify the fear and dreadfulness as you navigate the ship, hoping that there isn't a Necromorph creature right around the corner waiting to rip your throat out. Plus, a new alternate ending gives fans yet another reason to play this remake.

This corny survival horror game received the most significant changes from its original compared to the other entries on this list, continuing the trend of horror game remakes. The stop-and-go shooting method from the original Resident Evil 4 has been replaced with modern full-range movement, resulting in smoother gameplay.

Ashley also plays a much more active role in the minute-to-minute combat, running around and avoiding enemies instead of just hiding in a dumpster the entire time. It also has some great side content, including the fun Mercenaries mode and the excellent story DLC, Separate Ways, starring Ada Wong. This remake perfectly balances modern gameplay design with adhering to the vision of the original.

It's been twelve years since we got the first Alan Wake game, and its sequel is nothing short of a creative masterpiece. Taking the top spot as 2023's best horror video game of the year, the game follows two protagonists, Alan Wake and Saga Anderson, as they try to escape a nightmare world. The way the game balances different gameplay mechanics, like Saga's detective corkboard to unlock new story paths and Alan's light-shifting puzzles to progress dungeons, helps keep the gameplay fresh.

Alan Wake 2 is a genuinely scary game compared to the first one's more action-based tone, and it goes full-on survival horror with the concept of inventory management and limited ammo. It's the perfect example of how a sequel can build on its predecessor without being derivative.

Honorable Mentions

Nominated for Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards, the latest entry in the Diablo series focuses on the story of Lilith, daughter of Mephistos, as she takes over Sanctuary and turns it into a dark and hopeless world. The game is jam-packed with content in its first two seasons: Season of the Malignant and Season of Blood. With a compelling action-based combat system and enticing loot, Diablo IV will consume hours of your time for the next several years.

Dead Island 2 has been in development hell for over a decade, but it finally came out this year. While it's not a scary game, Dead Island 2 is a lot of fun with its over-the-top zombie humor, and the sunny Los Angeles weather really compliments the entertaining tone. The Haus DLC adds more replay value to the game, and the next expansion, SOLA Festival, launches next year.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre attempts to shake up the typical multiplayer survival horror genre by having multiple attackers and multiple victims in each round. Similar games usually pit only one attacker against several victims, and the victims must escape. However, with multiple attackers, the dynamic suddenly shifts, and now both sides have to communicate effectively if they want to win. It's an interesting twist that makes The Texas Chain Saw Massacre really stand out amongst its peers.

Remnant 2 is everything Remnant: From the Ashes was but even better. The gameplay is an engrossing mix of Dark Souls-like combat and third-person shooter that feels crisp and responsive, even when playing online with friends. Add in an interesting multiverse story and some procedural generation, and Remnant 2 will keep you engaged for hours on end.