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VR has blown up in a big way these past several years and it’s exciting to see this platform continue to flourish with new hardware and video game software. If you have a VR headset or are thinking about picking one up and happen to like horror games, then this is the list for you. In this list, we’re highlighting some of the best horror games you can pick up for the VR platform, although you’ll want to make sure that the games offered in this list are compatible with whatever headset you may have or are currently looking to purchase.
#16 Into the Radius 2
Platform : PC
Release Date : July 24, 2024
Genre : FPS
VR titles want to give you a realistic experience from the first-person perspective so you can “feel the danger” that’s all around you. In Into the Radius 2, you’ll take part in missions given to you by the United Nations to explore the “radius,” which is an alternate world full of monsters! Your goal here is to explore and survive, bringing to the UN any information you can about what happens there.
The good news is that you can join a team to explore the world should you desire. Either way, you’ll use real-world weapons to take on threats and hope you can make it back alive.
#15 Kobold
Platform : PC
Release Date : 14 Nov, 2018
Genre : Single-player
Kobold is a cinematic VR horror experience. In this game, players are given a video to watch before actually putting on the headset. Within the narrative, players are stepping into the role of an investigator who is searching an abandoned villa within the deep forest of Germany. It’s here that you’re hoping to find some clues to the whereabouts of a missing child. This development studio of anotherworld GmbH, has gone to the actual home location located within Germany and scanned the environment along with the home in hopes to provide a more accurate visual representation within the game. Players can expect a very atmospheric video game experience full of horrors as you dig deeper into this mysterious case. So far there is only the first chapter available and it’s pretty short. Most players don’t need much more than an hour to complete, but at the same time, it’s a relatively cheap video game to pick up for around $6.
#14 Edge of Nowhere
Platform : PC
Release Date : June 6, 2016
Genre : Single-player
Development team Insomniac Games, who you may know of from the Ratchet & Clank series, Sunset Overdrive to even Marvel’s Spider-Man, had released an Oculus Rift exclusive horror title called Edge of Nowhere. In this particular game, players are taking the role of Victor, a man who is out on an expedition to find his missing fiance when she seemingly disappeared during her journey within Antarctica. However, as players begin their journey, they’ll get swooped up into a maddening world full of hostile monsters and frozen tundra. The developers were inspired by the H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness, which is an old science fiction horror novel that was released in 1936.
#13 Dreadhalls
Platform : PC
Release Date : March 28, 2016
Genre : Adventure
Dreadhalls is a giant puzzle game. Players are tossed into a deep and dark dungeon full of rooms along with corridors. Here, players are tasked with just finding a means to escape, however, it’s not as easy as it sounds since there are plenty of demonic creatures that will be roaming around as well. With no way to fight back, your job is to simply flee and find an escape from these monsters when they catch sight of you. With only a small light source to keep a visual of what’s ahead, the game’s development team created the title to put more focus around audio cues on where a noise is coming from. Likewise, don’t expect to just use your lamp to keep the light running the entire time as it requires oil which you’ll need to find. Fortunately, if you find yourself enjoying this game, the developers added procedural levels which means that each time you play there’s a new randomized map.
#12 Wilson’s Heart
Platform : PC
Release Date : April 25, 2017
Genre : Adventure game
Wilson’s Heart is an Oculus exclusive that puts players into the role of Robert Wilson, who’s trapped in a hospital. Waking up from surgery, players discover that Wilson’s heart was stolen and in its place is a mysterious device. Now, players must venture through this psychological thriller in search of not only Wilson’s heart but why someone stole it, to begin with. Played completely in black and white, players are still bound to have a terrifying time as all kinds of creepy and monstrous enemies will suddenly pop up. Meanwhile, to complete the game, players are forced into venturing around the hospital, meeting NPCs, and completing a series of cryptic puzzles.
#11 Phasmophobia
Platform : PC
Release Date : 18 September 2020
Genre : Survival-Horror
Phasmophobia is an early access title that blew up online. It’s a four-player co-op psychological horror game where players are teaming up as paranormal investigators. With different missions and ghosts to deal with, players will have to head into buildings and attempt to capture these ghosts or hauntings that take place. However, this game also comes with VR support which you can get a bit more immersed. With that said, you can play this game between players that are using VR headsets and non-VR-equipped players. The gameplay doesn’t change at all, it’s just another means to enjoy this game with all of the same mechanics.
#10 Until Dawn Rush of Blood
Platform : PS4
Release Date : 13 October 2016
Genre : Rail shooter
Supermassive Games made a huge hit with their Until Dawn release. This cinematic horror game was narrative-driven with players having several choices to make that alter the storyline for the various cast of characters. Not long after the launch of Until Dawn, the development team went back and delivered Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, this is a VR rail shooter set within the Until Dawn universe. Players are riding through a horror-themed roller coaster as they are forced into shooting a variety of demonic enemies and objects. Since this game is played as a rail shooter, there’s nothing more for players to do than to point and shoot, but with that said, you will be limited to what you can play this VR game on. Currently, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a PlayStation VR exclusive title.
#9 The Inpatient
Platform : PS4
Release Date : 23 January 2018
Genre : Survival-Horror
Another Supermassive Games title that was released for the PlayStation VR platform is The Inpatient. Again, this game takes place in the Until Dawn universe but is set sixty years before the storyline of Until Dawn. This is a survival horror video game that has players taking the role of a patient that is suffering from amnesia. Locked inside the Blackwood Sanatorium to get treated, our protagonist finds themselves stuck in a freakish world. Now with chaos and horrors taking place on the patients, players are forced into finding a way to break free and escape with their life.
#8 Narcosis
Platform : PC, PS4, Xbox One, Linux
Release Date : March 30, 2016
Genre : Adventure
Narcosis is a bit of a different kind of horror game. It’s similar to a walking simulator survival game as players find themselves stranded at the bottom of the ocean. Stuck in a high-tech diving suit, players have little time to spend wandering around as you’ll need to find a way to get back to the surface. With limited oxygen pumping into your suit, players will also need to scavenge for oxygen to resupply your suit. Likewise, there are some horrors to be had on the ocean floor that will play with your sanity, but overall, this is a relatively short game to progress through. Most will find it easy to complete in about under three hours.
#7 The Forest
Platform : PC, PS4
Release Date : PC 30 April 2018/PS4 6 November 2018
Genre : survival horror video game
The Forest was a huge hit when it first launched. It’s a game that doesn’t require VR so more players were enjoying this game early on with its release. In the title, players are traveling with their son when their plane is forced into a crash landing on a secluded island. Upon waking up, you find that the entire crew of the plane has died and your son is missing. Now players are forced into exploring the deep forests and caverns of this island in hopes of locating their child. However, you’ll discover that you’re not alone on this island as it’s home to mutated cannibals. Most fans have enjoyed the enemy AI in The Forest as you don’t know what to expect with these characters. At times they may be hostile or you might find some that are more curious about what you’re doing. With that said, this game does feature VR support which is free to all players that own a copy of the game.
#6 Affected The Manor
Affected: The Manor puts players into an abandoned home as you continue to explore the house and its many mysterious rooms. Each area is a bit of a puzzle and of course, being a horror game, there is a creepy atmosphere and jump scares throughout. While it’s a bit linear, players shouldn’t get lost on where to head next. Since this game has been out there have been additional game modes added in for players who may want to jump back into the VR world after completing it initially. The developers have added a speedrun mode along with a mode that gives players only a small candle as a light source.
#5 Alien Isolation
Platform : PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Linux, OS X, Nintendo Switch
Release Date : 7 October 2014
Genre : Action-adventure, stealth, survival horror
Alien Isolation is another popular horror game outside of just being a VR title. In Alien Isolation, players are put into the role of Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley. Set fifteen years after the original Alien film, Amanda jumps on a new quest when Ellen’s flight recorder for her ship, the Nostromo, was located. Hoping to find some answers to what has happened to her missing mother, players will have to venture into the station which proves to be full of horrors. Within the game, players are using the iconic motion tracker to find different Alien locations and keeping out of sight when one pops up. Surprisingly, there was a mode discovered to allow VR support, but the developers never felt that there was much of a demand for it so the mode was scrapped. Despite being scrapped, modders were able to bring it back into the full game allowing players to get a bit more immersed.
#4 Red Matter
Platform : PC, PS4
Release Date : November 10, 2018
Genre : Adventure, Puzzle
Red Matter is a story-driven adventure game with some creepy atmosphere thrown in for good measure. It’s not a title that has jump scares so if you’re looking for something a bit more unsettling but not anything that will just jump out at you then gives this game a try. It takes place in a dystopian Cold War setting where players take the role of an agent tasked with exploring an abandoned base located on a Saturn moon. While here, you’ll dive deeper into what was going on with the experiments held on this base. Meanwhile, the gameplay is more of exploration and puzzle-solving. Puzzles are free for players to take their time so again nothing too tense that will make you feel like a need to rush through them and so far fans have enjoyed this game. It’s still a lightweight horror game that you can easily get through if you’re not much of a fan of the horror genre.
#3 Arizona Sunshine
Platform : PC, PS4, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive, Valve Index
Release Date : December 6, 2016
Genre : First-person shooter
Arizona Sunshine for quite a few years was the go-to zombie survival game for the VR platform. In this game, players were going through an FPS where you needed to fight off a slew of undead enemies. There’s a campaign as players are looking to find another survivor who has been emitting messages through a radio tower. Meanwhile, the game will require players to gather resources and weapons as they tackle the swarms of undead zombies roaming out in the open. Fortunately, fans will find that this is a pretty open map as you can freely explore the area and line up your shots against the undead. Not to mention that there is a co-op so up to four players can connect online and work together through the campaign.
#2 The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners
Platform : Oculus Rift, Steam, PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest
Release Date : January 23, 2020 (Oculus, Steam) May 5, 2020 (PlayStation VR) October 13, 2020 (Oculus Quest)
Genre : First-person shooter, horror survival game
The one game that came along and kind of taken over the undead zombie shooter game for fans is The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners. In this game, players are stepping into the world of The Walking Dead where you play a survivor trapped in New Orleans. It’s a title that the developers made to be unique for each player. Here in this game you have the ultimate decision of what to do. From going through the story and gathering resources up, there will be different points where you’ll come across other survivors. Some may be hostile while others more friendly with a need of help. However, it’s up to you on how the situations are handled whether it’s helping those in need or brutally murder those to progress a bit further along.
#1 Resident Evil 7
Platform : PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Amazon Luna, Stadia
Release Date : PC, PS4, XONE January 24, 2017 / Stadia April 1, 2021
Genre : Survival horror
Resident Evil is an iconic survival horror video game franchise. The development team over at Capcom has released countless video game titles both mainline installments, spin-offs to remakes as well. Although it wasn’t that long ago when Capcom started to drift away from their traditional survival horror gameplay elements and instead delivered fans more action-oriented experiences. Resident Evil 6 was the worst case of this happening which ultimately lead Resident Evil fans disappointed and pleading for Capcom to go back to their roots. Fortunately, they did just that with the release of Resident Evil 7. Here players stepped into a brand new protagonist named Ethan who’s search for his missing wife leads him to the oddity Baker family. While this game brought back the overall survival horror and atmospheric gameplay that the series was originally known for, Capcom did make some slight changes. The biggest was the fact that players were given a first-person perspective which could be used in VR. This was only available on the PlayStation VR headset, but it allowed players to get immersed in this terrifying world.
