What are the best Xbox horror games? Well they’re the ones that keep you on the edge of your seat at all times. They’ll make your heart race and your skin sweat, all as you second guess yourself from taking that one little peek around the next corner.
But if you’re bored of flicking through the list of upcoming Xbox Series games or playing the best Xbox Series games or you’re looking to get a different kind of jump scare, don’t worry – we’ve got the best Xbox horror games for you.
The best Xbox horror games are:
- The Callisto Protocol
- Scorn
- Resident Evil Village
- Resident Evil 4
- Alien Isolation
- Dead Space Remake
- Dead by Daylight
- The Evil Within 2
- Alan Wake Remastered
- The Quarry
1. The Callisto Protocol
If you love a bit of gore, then The Callisto Protocol is a game for you. Set on the dark moon of Jupiter in the future, you’ll need to break out of Black Iron Prison in the midst of a necro morph outbreak and discover what’s really going on.
With a horror engineering system that is designed to keep you second guessing yourself, incredible audio design, and gorgeous visuals, The Callisto Protocol is one of the best horror games out there right now.
Don’t believe us? Read our The Callisto Protocol review.
2. Scorn
Do you love the work of H. R. Giger? Well, you’ll love Scorn. This fairly recent Xbox exclusive divided critics when it first hit Xbox Game Pass and when you boot it up for the first time you’ll see why.
That’s because Scorn is Xbox Game Pass’ most gruesome game. Filled with parasitic creatures, blood and guts, and phallic-looking objects, everything about this game is set to repulse you. However, if you can endure it long enough, you’ll find its obtuse puzzles rewarding to solve.
3. Resident Evil Village
Everyone loves a good Gothic setting and Resident Evil Village has all that and more. Following on from Resident Evil 7, you’ll once again follow Ethan Winters as his world is turned upside down – this time in a remote village.
You’ll face all sorts of enemies along the way, including some pretty big vampires. If you’ve not seen Lady Dimitrescu before, say hello now – you’ll be getting to know each other very well indeed, especially in the recent Halloween content drop.
4. Resident Evil 4
Capcom has been on a run of fantastic Resident Evil games recently, and Resident Evil 4 is the best of the bunch. In our Resident Evil 4 review we call it “a masterfully crafted action game”. Enhancing everything about the original and modernizing it in key ways, Capcom’s latest is the peak of the franchise in its current form.
Resident Evil 7 and Village are both worth your time, but for the perfect mix of action, horror, and combat, you can’t do better than the Resident Evil 4 remake, which balances every aspect of the series perfectly. In addition, the game also has fantastic pacing and a constant thrill ride feeling as you take on new enemies and jump from setpiece to setpiece.
Spread across a number of different locations, and full of boss fights, extra modes, and replay value, Resident Evil 4 is packed. You will not feel like you wasted money if you pick it up, so any horror fan should have it in their collection.
5. Alien Isolation
Despite the 2014 release date, Alien Isolation feels every bit the modern horror, as a Xenomorph hunts you relentlessly through a doomed space station.
Alien Isolation works on two fronts: outside of a couple of issues with pacing, it’s basically the perfect Xbox horror game. Whether you’re brawling with scrappy androids or hiding from the game’s titular Alien, you never feel safe.
It’s also a perfect Alien game: the beeps and whirrs of the ’80s01 envisioned future tech are all present and correct, and it really feels like you’re exploring that world. Then, suddenly, before you remember that you’re being hunted by something smarter and stronger than you, the Xenomorph’s drooling mouth fills the screen.
6. Dead Space Remake
Dead Space, meanwhile, takes its horror cues from a different space-based scare ’em-up. This horror owes a debt to Event Horizon. If the Xenomorph moved on Isaac Clarke, the tough-as-nails protagonist of Dead Space, he’d tear the Xenomorph apart with a laser cutter.
Clarke’s default weapon is a yep, you guessed it, a white-hot laser that can dismember enemies with ease, while the armored suit Clarke wears can protect him from most mundane hazards. As a result, the enemies have to be even nastier: the Necromorphs are dead bodies with flesh twisted into blades and other weapons, and they are terrifying.
You can play Dead Space as an action game, and you should, because it’s the only way to put the grotesque horrors out of your mind and rescue your wife.
While the original is still great to play, the remake is the best way to enjoy everything the series offers. You can read our Dead Space remake review here.
7. Dead by Daylight
The only multiplayer game on the list, and also the only one that will let you hunt down Leon Kennedy while playing as Ghostface from the Scream series, Dead By Daylight might sound like a horror-themed Fortnite, but it’s one of the best ways to get your jump scares.
It’s also the only game on the list that lets you be the terror. Whether you’re one of the four survivors desperately trying to escape or the Dead by Daylight killers running around trying to take them out, it’s compelling stuff.
Plus, anyone worth their salt in the horror world is wedged into the game, with the only notable omission being Jason from Friday the 13th, who vanished off to play his own game. Freddie, Ghostface, Mike Myers, Ash Williams, Leon Kennedy, Pyramid Head, Jigsaw… they’re all in here, and they all feel brilliant.
This is a must for horror fans.
8. The Evil Within 2
Courtesy of horror master Shinji Mikami, who was a key part of Resident Evil’s success and the director of Resident Evil 4, we have The Evil Within 2, a classic creature feature30 of a horror that has you adventuring into someone’s mind to try and rescue his daughter.
As a result, we have a game that blends its horror with a good dollop of Christopher Nolan’s Inception. The Evil Within 2 feels like the Resident Evil games of old, with a good mix of scares, blasting, and twisted architecture.
As the game rolls on and the fictional town of Union – a US town located inside someone’s mind – starts to unravel along with the mind holding it, things get really wild, and it quickly becomes one of the more bizarre gaming experiences you can have on your Xbox.
9. Alan Wake Remastered
Do you like shining a light on the truth? Then Alan Wake Remastered is for you. All good horror games have received a fresh lick of paint in recent years, and the original Alan Wake game is no exception.
This action-adventure game is one of Remedy’s best and the remaster allows fans – old and new – to enjoy this timeless classic set in Bright Falls. It’s also the perfect time to catch up with the story, considering the Alan Wake 2 release date is around the corner.
10. The Quarry
Supermassive Games and narrative-based horror games go hand in hand and The Quarry is arguably its best yet.
The Quarry follows nine teenagers on a summer trip to Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp for two months, but, like with all good horror games, nothing is as it seems. Here, you’ll need to do your best to keep all nine teens alive as they fight for their lives. Narrative-driven choices and quick-time actions will get in the way, but that’s all part of the fun, right?
The consequential choices mean there’s plenty of room for replayability, something we go into detail more about in our The Quarry review. Still, this is a cracking game that you absolutely must play – especially if you’ve got a friend that doesn’t mind getting spooked.
So there you have it, the best Xbox horror games you can play right now. If you’re looking for more suggestions though, make sure to read our guide to the best Xbox Game Pass games – there are some titles on those lists that frankly shouldn’t be overlooked.
