The Top 8 Best Horror VR Games
Halloween may still be a few months away, but you don’t need to wait that long if you’re looking for a good scare. This is especially true if you own a good VR headset. VR technology can put you right at the center of a horror movie or game and allow you to experience its terrors at a level of immersion like no other.
Horror lovers are in for a treat because there’s now a huge selection of horror titles for different VR headsets. If you’re looking for the unique heart racing response that only a good horror experience can provide, then here are some of the best titles for VR.
1. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Compatibility: PSVR
In terms of richness in content and story quality, there is probably no horror VR title that can rival the seventh entry in the legendary Resident Evil series. While RE7 can be played on a TV with the standard DualShock controllers, playing it on VR ramps up the terror factor to 11 and makes it one of the best entries in this genre.
There are a lot of things about RE7 that make it work. From the moment you enter the home of the Baker family, you will not be able to shake off the feeling of something terrifying lurking around the corner and of being isolated in a place surrounded with terrifying secrets and foreboding danger.
Although RE7 in playable in other platforms, the VR content is only accessible through the PlayStation 4 with the accompanying PSVR headset. This is pretty much the definitive VR horror title.
2. The Forest
Compatibility: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index
The Forest is a survival horror game where you find yourself stranded in a mysterious forest following a plane crash. Survival here means more than just finding food and building shelter.
During the day, you’re free to scavenge for supplies and fortify your base. When the sun sets and darkness envelopes the forest, humanoid cannibals will come out to attack you. As the game progresses, the appearance of these cannibals becomes even more disturbing.
Playing The Forest in VR is a great experience both because of how luscious the landscape looks and how much more terrifying the nights become. The non-linear nature of the game means you can spend however long you want with it before you can finish its story. Can you discover the secret of the forest and find your way to safety?
3. Alien: Isolation
Compatibility: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
If you asked ten random gamers which game they thought was the most terrifying in the whole history of video games, Alien: Isolation will probably warrant at least one response. Although Alien: Isolation was not originally made for VR, a mod (available via GitHub) has made it playable via SteamVR. Take note that you will still need to own a copy of the game to play its VR version.
Alien: Isolation is a stealth horror game that puts you in the shoes of Amanda Ripley, daughter of franchise hero Ellen Ripley. In a mission to find her mother, Amanda finds herself stuck in the Sevastopol space station which has been attacked by a deadly Alien creature. As the player, you will find yourself facing both human and android enemies in a bid to escape the station and collect any important data.
However, the main source of terror in the game is the unbeatable Alien. Even with a host of weapons at your disposal, the best way to survive this game is to hide and avoid the Alien altogether. As you can tell, this is easier said than done.
4. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted
Compatibility: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PSVR, Valve Index
Despite its simplistic graphics, Five Nights at Freddy’s has gone on to become one of the most popular horror video game franchises of the previous years. Help Wanted is a collection of four different experiences. Although a VR headset is not required to play Help Wanted, the game is entirely VR-compatible.
In the Five Nights universe, the player is a nighttime employee tasked with standing guard in a Freddy’s Pizza restaurant. The restaurant has an array of animatronics that provides entertainment to kids during the day. At night, however, the animatronics come to life with much more malicious intentions. The task of the player is to survive five nights under these conditions, making use of tools and solving puzzles to protect themselves.
The brand of horror of Five Nights at Freddy’s relies a lot on jump scares. An idle mascot can suddenly spring to life, or you might turn your head to find a terrifying bear mascot peeking through your window. It’s not hard to imagine how much scarier this game can be in VR.
5. Transference
Compatibility: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, PSVR
Developed by Ubisoft, Transference is a purely VR psychological thriller that places you inside an experimental simulation designed by a mysterious and obviously troubled scientist called Raymond. The simulation is a construct made from the brain data of Raymond and is a disturbing look at how deep and dark secrets can tear a family and home apart.
Within the simulation, the player takes the role of three different family members. As the player explores and solves puzzles, their discoveries alter and distort the way they view the world. The home is no longer what it seems, and even the other members of the family seem much more sinister.
Transference is a short horror experience that you can finish in a single sitting. While its atmosphere is unsettling, it does not have a lot of outright scares. For those who just want to dip their toes into the VR horror genre, this is a good game to start with.
6. A Chair in A Room: Greenwater
Compatibility: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, PSVR
Another entry into the psychological horror genre, A Chair in A Room has you play the role of Patient 6709 as you piece together fragments of a disturbing past. This is a pretty old game so its graphics may feel outdated, but it does not take away from the game’s chilling atmosphere.
Heavy on narrative and puzzle-solving, A Chair in A Room is divided into six chapters that represent significant parts of the main character’s history and psyche. This isn’t a game that relies on jump scares or grotesque imagery. Instead, the horror slowly reveals itself as you peel away Patient 6709’s history layer by layer.
What happened and how did you end up in the Greenwater Institute?
7. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
Compatibility: PSVR
Rush of Blood is a direct spinoff from the massively successful Until Dawn, an exclusive for the PlayStation 4. In a massive departure from its story-driven predecessor, Rush of Blood is an on-the-rails action horror game where the player rides on a rollercoaster on a horror-themed amusement park.
In contrast to other horror titles, the main character of Rush of Blood is far from helpless. Armed to the teeth with several dual-wielded weapons, you will need to survive seven fright-filled levels of humanoid creatures, zombies, giant spiders, and killer clowns.
The fast-paced action of Rush of Blood doesn’t mean that it offers nothing but horrific imagery to shoot at. Underneath all those powerful guns is a disturbing glimpse at how the human brain works, which ties Rush of Blood back to the original Until Dawn.
8. Dreadhalls
Compatibility: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, PSVR
In survival horror Dreadhalls, you will never know what could be lurking around the corner. This is made more terrifying by the fact that you all have is a lamp and a dwindling supply of oil, and no means to fight any of those lurking horrors.
Dreadhalls is a rouge-like survival horror game, which means that its dungeon is procedurally generated. This means that you can have a new experience every time you boot up the game. There are no corridors to memorize, no permanent hiding spots, and no clear route to the exit Instead, you’ll have to rely on your eyes and ears to stay alive.
This element of uncertainty is a huge part of what makes Dreadhalls work. Its graphics may seem terribly outdated by today’s standards, but the immersion of VR can easily make up for that. If you’re looking for a game with near-infinite replayability, then this would be a good VR title.
Final thoughts
Immersion is a critical element of what makes horror work, and there’s nothing quite as immersive as experiencing a game through a VR headset. These VR titles are a mere handful of high-quality horror games that have been created through the years, each one tapping into different primal fears.
If you’re a horror fan, then we highly recommend giving any of these titles a shot. Whether you’re looking for jump scares, creepy atmospheres, a fast-paced horror experience, or the dread of uncertainty, these VR titles will get your heart racing in a way that no other in-screen horror title can.