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Desert horror games

These horror games put you in sand and open heat: Arizona canyons and roadside towns, the Sahara, ruined desert cities and temples buried under the dunes. In daylight you can see a long way and there is still nowhere to hide. At night the same empty ground fills with things you cannot make out until they are close, and the nearest help is miles of dust away.

The top 15 of 15 desert horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 15 best, 2026

  1. Sagebrush key art: a lone wooden chapel with a cross on a red hillside above dark trees, under a teal sky PsychologicalSagebrushBlack Sage Ranch lies in the remote New Mexico desert, and the soundscape is built to put you there 94% on itch.io (415 ratings)about 2 hPaidPC, Mac, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
  2. FOREWARNED key art: two archaeologists in hard hats with head lamps run with a golden vase and a cat statue as mummies loom behind them in a red-lit tomb hall Co-opFOREWARNEDThe twelve maps are set across the Sahara, including outdoor ruins on the surface. 90% on Steam (6,677 reviews)PaidPC, VR
  3. House of Ashes key art: a woman's face inside a half-skull, set into a sandstone wall carved with ancient reliefs Co-opThe Dark Pictures Anthology: House of AshesThe temple lies buried beneath the Arabian desert, and the team falls into it from above 89% on Steam (11,114 reviews)about 6 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  4. Necrophosis key art: a white skull emblem above the orange title, between a tentacled creature and a skeletal ribbed figure in the dark Body horrorNecrophosisYou wake in a sandy wasteland of orange dust, and most of the world is desert scattered with giant bodies 89% on Steam (953 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  5. Luto store header: the title LUTO in glowing white capitals, one letter per line, on a black background PsychologicalLutoLater the hallways become caverns in a desert, and one screenshot shows a lone figure crossing hazy orange sand 89% on the PlayStation Store (2,779 ratings)about 5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  6. 7 Days to Die key art: four armed survivors stand in the light of a wooden house behind barbed wire while zombies close in through a misty forest Co-op7 Days to DieNavezgane, Arizona has dry desert biomes; a screenshot shows a cowboy-hat zombie among cacti at night. 87% on Steam (402,352 reviews)30 h or morePaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox
  7. Subterror key art: three blocky crew members in red, green and purple diving suits with blue-visor helmets hold tools in a dark submarine corridor, under the game title Co-opSubterrorOne of the domes is an arid desert with sandy floors lit by street lamps. 89% on Steam (399 reviews)about 1 hPaidPC
  8. Arizona Sunshine Remake key art: a snarling zombie with red eyes in front of desert rock formations Co-opArizona Sunshine VR RemakeThe search crosses the blistering heat of Arizona's canyons, mesas and dusty roadside towns. 83% on the PlayStation Store (6,675 ratings)about 4 hPaidPC, VR, PlayStation
  9. Dark Fear key art: a grey two-storey pixel-art house with a red door among bare black trees at night, with the title in dripping red letters Puzzle horrorDark FearThe store lists deserts among the places you explore, and one screenshot shows dunes under a night sky. 92% on Steam (139 reviews)about 4 hPaidPC
  10. 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 2It is set in the northern Arizona desert, shown in a screenshot of a moonlit canyon with a shack and windmill. 91% on Steamabout 4 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  11. Amnesia: Rebirth key art: Tasi holds up a lit match, a pale clawed creature lurking in the dark beside her PsychologicalAmnesia: RebirthTasi wakes after a plane crash in the Algerian desert in 1937 and crosses sand, rocks and half-buried buildings. 77% on Steam (9,396 reviews)about 8.5 hPaidPC, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  12. 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 LakeA desert road leads to a guard hut and a Restricted Area sign that warns photography is prohibited 84% on itch.io (265 ratings)about 22 minPay what you wantPC
  13. Alan Wake's American Nightmare key art: Alan Wake in a plaid shirt rests a red nail gun on his shoulder under a dark, smoky sky glowing orange Action horrorAlan Wake's American NightmareThe story is set around Night Springs in the Arizona desert, on foggy roads lined with cacti, power poles and railway crossings. 75% on Steam (10,973 reviews)about 3.5 hPaidPC, Xbox
  14. Nevermind key art: a gold butterfly and the title on a dark background, with the line "The Greatest Enemy is the One Inside Your Head" PsychologicalNevermindOne of the patients' minds is a sunlit desert of giant wooden metronomes and ruined arches 75% on Steam (347 reviews)about 4 hPaidPC, Mac, Xbox, VR
  15. Little Nightmares III key art: Alone in goggles and Low in a bird mask with a bow hold hands on a heap of junk beneath a giant hand in an orange haze PsychologicalLittle Nightmares IIIThe opening plays out in the sandy ruins of the Necropolis, a desert city. 47% on Steam (21,377 reviews)about 5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch

To play with friends

6 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