It’s that time of the year again. The time to dress up in spooky costumes, watch scary movies, and binge on tiny candy bars. It’s also the perfect time to play some video games that help get you in the proper mood. With that in mind, here are 13 classic releases you should play with the lights off ahead of Halloween:
13) The Wolf Among Us Remastered
While The Walking Dead is what Telltale Games is most known for, The Wolf Among Us might be its best work. The grim fairy tale about a series of murders in Fabletown can be played now, but there’s also a new remastered version coming on Oct. 29.
12) The Callisto Protocol
I may be in the minority, but I enjoyed The Callisto Protocol from Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield. Even though it came out four years ago, it’s still one of the best-looking games you can play on the current generation of consoles.
11) Little Nightmares
Before there was REANIMAL or End of Abyss, there was Little Nightmares. The art direction and sound design build tension, and it’s a game you can finish in an evening or two. If you enjoy it, there are a pair of sequels as well.
10) Alan Wake 2
The story has you jumping back and forth between the titular author trapped in the Dark Place and FBI agent Saga Anderson investigating events in the real world. It’s another gorgeous game that was one of my favorites from 2023.
9) Heavy Rain
Yes, it has some hokey elements—including the infamous “Press ‘X’ to Jason” sequence—and the twist is kind of lame, but the isolated scenarios can be legitimately creepy. The Taxidermist, the only DLC released for the game, stands out on that front.
8) Resident Evil (2002)
Honestly, I could populate this list with most installments of Capcom’s seminal survival-horror series, but I’m going to limit it to three. Despite being over 20 years old, the GameCube remake of the first Resident Evil remains one of the best games in the series. It added so many great ideas while keeping the spirit of the original alive. If you haven’t played it, there’s no time like the present.
7) Bloodborne
It’s been more than a decade since Bloodborne came out. There’s a reason people continue to ask for a sequel (or at least a remaster) to this day. It’s one of the best Soulslikes ever, and it delves into horror-game territory.
6) INSIDE
As good as LIMBO was, Playdead’s sequel, INSIDE, is better. It’s a 2.5D puzzler where you control a young boy that’s hunted through a bleak dystopia. It’s a masterclass in “show, don’t tell.”
5) Until Dawn
There have been numerous games that have tapped into Until Dawn’s interactive approach, but none of them ever executed the formula as effectively. With a sequel, Until Dawn 2, coming this January, now’s the perfect time to experience the original.
4) Resident Evil 4 (2023)
One of the best games of all-time, RE4 finds itself a little lower on the list simply because it’s more of an action game than true horror. So, while you’ll still be dealing with creepy locations and grotesque enemies, Leon is able to tackle things head-on. RE4 just came out for Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this month, giving a new audience a chance to experience its greatness.
3) Silent Hill 2 (2024)
There are gamers that consider Silent Hill 2 to be the highpoint of survival horror thanks to its willingness to drill down into heavier psychological themes than the RE series. The 2024 remake retained that but also overhauled combat and brought the visuals up to modern standards.
2) Dead Space (2023)
Conceptually, Dead Space is largely Resident Evil in space. It far exceeds that oversimplification, though, with some nifty gameplay tricks, such as the need to sever limbs, and dark themes torn straight from Event Horizon. The 2023 remake is excellent, and it’s a shame EA never moved forward with doing the same for the sequels.
1) Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Resident Evil 2 built on everything Capcom accomplished in the original, gave us an interesting new location, and had dual protagonists, each with their own story. In 2019, RE2 kicked off the string of stellar remakes with what I consider to be the best survival-horror game ever. Like RE4, Resident Evil 2 just dropped on Nintendo Switch 2.
Related: 13 Recent Video Games You Should Play to Get in the Halloween Spirit
