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Camcorder horror games

In these games you look at the dark through a handheld camcorder, or the whole game is shown as old tape with a REC light, a date stamp and a running timecode. The camera is often your only light or night vision, and its battery runs down, so you hunt for spares while something moves just past the edge of the frame.

The top 25 of 25 camcorder horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 25 best, 2026

  1. CAPTURED 2 key art: a cracked white toy telephone with a grin of sharp, bloody teeth and tentacles, in a dark blue hallway of doors PsychologicalCAPTURED 2You capture each anomaly through a camcorder whose battery drains with every scan. 98% on Steam (640 reviews)PaidPC
  2. Outlast library art: a hulking scarred inmate with a stitched grin and glowing eyes stands in a dark asylum corridor, seen in green night vision SurvivalOutlastDark areas are seen through a handheld camera's night vision, its screen showing a REC mark and a battery meter. 93% on the PlayStation Store (179,484 ratings)about 5 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  3. Phasmophobia: a dark 1950s-style diner with a glowing orange jukebox and a pie-of-the-day board Co-opPhasmophobiaAn old camcorder is part of the starter equipment, and filmed ghost orbs count as evidence. 94% on Steam (841,559 reviews)about 20 minPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, VR
  4. CAPTURED key art: a black silhouette with small white eyes and a faint grin in a dark room, tentacles curling by a pale doorway, in grainy blue camcorder light PsychologicalCAPTUREDEverything is seen through a 90s camcorder that you zoom in with to capture and classify each anomaly. 95% on Steam (647 reviews)about 30 minPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  5. Cat in the Box key art: a long-haired girl at a lectern in a dark brick hall looks down a red carpet to a silhouetted figure in a bright doorway 2D horrorCat in the BoxThe girl came to film the mansion for her channel, and each save uses one of the camcorder tapes she brought or finds. 93% on Steam (1,436 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC
  6. TELEFORUM key art: a barefoot woman in a robe sits in an armchair in a dim lamp-lit room with damask wallpaper, a bookshelf and a small side table PsychologicalTELEFORUMYou play the cameraman: everything is seen through a VHS camera with REC and channel markings 91% on Steam (995 reviews)about 35 minFreePC, Mac
  7. Escape the Backrooms key art: four players in yellow hazmat suits and gas masks stand in an empty library-like room under a sign reading THE END Co-opEscape the BackroomsMany screenshots are framed by a camcorder overlay with a date stamp from March 1991. 90% on Steam (168,596 reviews)about 9 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  8. Stone House Orphanage cover: a smiling nun in a dark habit stands in a dim room under a crucifix and old photographs, beside the game's title Walking simulatorsStone House OrphanageThe whole game is framed as a camcorder recording, with a REC light, a timecode and static 92% on itch.io (585 ratings)about 5 minFreeBrowser
  9. The Building 71 Incident key art: a VHS PLAY screen with the title over a dark corridor lined with candles, in a red frame Walking simulatorsThe Building 71 IncidentEverything is seen through the missing employee's camcorder, with a VHS date stamp of August 1998. 92% on itch.io (474 ratings)about 30 minPay what you wantPC
  10. Two players in yellow hazmat suits face a tall, thin black entity in the yellow halls of Level 0, with a grinning face glowing in a dark doorway SurvivalBackrooms: Escape TogetherYou carry a camcorder, and one objective asks you to record during a blackout 89% on Steam (50,476 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  11. The Classrooms key art: a white wolf-like creature with glowing eyes and a toothy grin peers around a cinder block wall into the dark SurvivalThe ClassroomsThe game world is seen through Robert's VHS camcorder, with its date stamp, battery and play overlay. 89% on Steam (3,277 reviews)about 2 hPaidPC
  12. Paranormal Entities cover: the title over a dark corridor of barred cells, framed by a camera viewfinder Night shiftParanormal EntitiesThe whole game is seen through your camera's viewfinder with its red REC light, filming for a ghost-hunting TV show. 92% on itch.io (290 ratings)Pay what you wantPC
  13. Martha's Dolls 2 key art: a pale doll-faced girl with glowing red eyes and a blood-smeared mouth beside the jagged white and red title Puzzle horrorMartha's Dolls 2You film your way through the house with a handheld camcorder that lights the dark, zooms and switches to night vision 94% on Steam (155 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC
  14. V.H.S: Video.Horror.Story key art: pixel title over a dark green-lit office, a desk with a keyboard and an old CRT monitor glowing with static PS1V.H.S: Video.Horror.StoryYou see everything through a camcorder's viewfinder and retune its frequency to find the monsters. 91% on Game Jolt (277 ratings)about 10 minFreePC, Mac
  15. The Complex: Expedition key art: a blue-lit steel corridor of panels and pipes leading to a glowing yellow doorway with torn edges PsychologicalThe Complex: ExpeditionYou view the whole world through a VHS camera, as if filming the expedition. 88% on Steam (1,714 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC
  16. Father's Day key art: the title in dripping red letters above a run-down Horror Circus gate topped with a clown face, under string lights at night PsychologicalFather's DaySome scenes are seen through a green night-vision camera view with a REC mark in the corner. 86% on Steam (1,135 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC
  17. The Fear Business key art: a goat-headed figure in a bloody robe holds a dagger, flanked by four hooded skull-faced cultists, with two candles lit in the dark SurvivalThe Fear BusinessYou switch to a free first-person camcorder view, with a REC frame and VHS glitches, to record footage for the story. 93% on Steam (122 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux
  18. The Backrooms 1998 key art: a yellow, stitched-together creature with a gaping toothed mouth in a yellow-walled corridor, beside the title EscapeThe Backrooms 1998Everything is seen as 1998 camcorder footage, with PLAY, a running timer and the date 19 Sep 1998 on screen 83% on Steam (840 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  19. Outlast 2 key art: a cultist in the foreground holds a chained, spiked pickaxe while a man in a hat sits on the lit porch of a shack in green haze PsychologicalOutlast 2Your camcorder's night vision and microphone are your only tools, and both drain batteries you must find. 91% on Steamabout 4 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  20. Blair Witch key art: the silhouette of a man and his dog walking into a forest washed in red, a stick-figure shape formed by the branches above, a wrecked truck and a tent nearby PsychologicalBlair WitchA 1990s camcorder plays red tapes that rewind time to move objects, and blue tapes that tell the story 79% on Steam (8,315 reviews)about 5.5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  21. Tunnel Vision key art: a circle of light on a blood-streaked rock wall, under the title and the credit A Game by Alex Olinkiewicz Puzzle horrorTunnel VisionEverything is seen through a grainy, rounded camcorder frame, as if you are recording it. 94% on itch.io (30 ratings)about 30 minPay what you wantPC
  22. Inunaki Tunnel key art: a dark overgrown brick tunnel entrance blocked by graffiti-covered panels, with VHS distortion streaks Psychological[Chilla's Art] Inunaki Tunnel | 犬鳴トンネルEverything is seen on a camcorder screen with a REC timer, and its face detection picks out objects with spiritual energy 77% on Steam (636 reviews)about 45 minPaidPC
  23. Incident at Grove Lake key art: a small figure floats in a huge white light over pine trees on a grassy hill, with the title at lower left Walking simulatorsIncident at Grove LakePlayers describe playing the man who recorded the tape, and the screen carries PLAY, SP and date stamps of a 1997 camcorder 84% on itch.io (265 ratings)about 22 minPay what you wantPC
  24. Jisatsu key art: a camcorder resting on dark wooden stairs, a pair of bare legs standing in the shadows at the top Psychological[Chilla's Art] Jisatsu | 自撮A found-footage game: you record yourself exploring for a film company, and the key art shows a camcorder on the stairs 75% on Steam (625 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC
  25. DON'T SCREAM key art: a terrified man's wide-eyed face in blue light, mouth open, against a dark misty forest ShortDON'T SCREAMYou see everything through a 1993 camcorder and must find batteries to keep it powered. 65% on Steam (4,885 reviews)about 18 minPaidPC

Short enough for one evening

Done in an hour or so

Free to play

7 games

Every game of the kind

More picks

Scores are those players and critics give on the stores and sites named; each game's page says where.

More kinds of horror

  1. Short horror games621
  2. Psychological horror games530
  3. Horror games with multiple endings417
  4. Horror puzzle games341
  5. Survival horror games259
  6. 2D horror games254
  7. PS1 horror games233
  8. Stealth horror games180
  9. Horror escape games164
  10. Surreal horror games145
  11. Horror visual novels137
  12. Anime horror games132
  13. Haunted house games131
  14. Mystery and detective horror games127
Every genre

Where you play

  1. Steam horror games1009
  2. Epic horror games97
  3. GOG horror games270
  4. itch.io horror games592
  5. PC horror games1337
  6. Mac horror games391
  7. Linux horror games261
  8. PlayStation horror games404
  9. Xbox horror games367
  10. Switch horror games317
  11. Mobile horror games188
  12. VR horror games69
  13. Browser horror games236
  1. Scary games1456
  2. Free horror games561
Every game, A to Z