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Scary Games to Play With Friends

Horror is often scarier, and funnier, with friends: someone screams on voice chat, someone wanders off, someone has to go back for the loot. These are the co-op and multiplayer horror games worth a night in, from ghost hunts to escaping a killer.

The games

  1. Lethal Company art: silhouettes of crew members in bulky suits against a red background, a long-armed creature among them Co-opLethal CompanyUp to four contractors haul scrap out of dark moon facilities full of monsters; scary and funny in equal measure.
  2. Phasmophobia: a dark 1950s-style diner with a glowing orange jukebox and a pie-of-the-day board Co-opPhasmophobiaFour ghost hunters gather evidence in a haunted building, and the ghost can hear your voice.
  3. R.E.P.O. key art: three round googly-eyed robots in green, red and blue standing in the dark, the red one holding a lit flashlight Co-opR.E.P.O.Up to six robots carry fragile loot past roaming monsters to an extraction point.
  4. Dead by Daylight art: a smiling dark-haired woman drawn in an anime style raises blood-smeared hands against a red background Co-opDead by DaylightFour survivors against one killer played by a friend, with famous horror villains.
  5. Content Warning art: four crew members in dark suits with round emoji faces, one holding a clapperboard, posing in a grey ruin Co-opContent WarningFilm monsters in an underground ruin with up to four friends and try to go viral.
  6. The Outlast Trials art: test subjects with night-vision goggles strapped to their faces, one reaching upward and screaming, in a sickly green tint SurvivalThe Outlast TrialsUp to four test subjects survive Murkoff's twisted trials while hiding from its killers.
  7. Pacify art: a pale girl with long black hair, half her face painted white with a dark eye, and a black shape over her mouth, against red Co-opPacifyBurn possessed dolls in haunted places while a girl hunts your team through the dark.
  8. DEVOUR art: a possessed woman with matted dark hair, black eyes and a wide grin, with other demonic faces in red behind her Co-opDEVOURUp to four cultists race to banish a demon from their possessed leader.
  9. Halloween: The Game key art: Michael Myers' pale mask lit in blue against black, small figures of survivors at his chest Co-opHalloween: The GameOne player is Michael Myers on Halloween night; up to four others try to save Haddonfield.
  10. The Forest art: the legs of a cannibal in a ragged blue skirt walking through dark undergrowth SurvivalThe ForestBuild a camp with friends after a plane crash and survive cannibal mutants at night.
  11. Buckshot Roulette key art: The Dealer, a face with a huge toothy grin, holds out a pump shotgun in pale hands Co-opBuckshot RouletteRussian roulette with a shotgun against up to three friends at one table.

If your group has never played horror together, start with Lethal Company or R.E.P.O. Both send a crew into dark, monster-filled places to haul out valuables for a quota, and both are as much about laughing at each other as about the creatures. Lethal Company is for up to four players and leans harder on dread; R.E.P.O. takes up to six and makes carrying fragile loot past monsters its own kind of panic. Content Warning swaps loot for footage: you film monsters in an underground ruin and try to go viral.

For a slower, more frightening night, Phasmophobia is the classic. Up to four ghost hunters set up equipment in a haunted building, work out which ghost they are dealing with, and run when it turns hostile, and the ghost can hear what you say. Pacify and DEVOUR take the same team of four into haunted houses and cult rituals, where one possessed enemy hunts the group while you complete a task.

If your friends want to play against each other, Dead by Daylight is the long-running choice: four survivors repair generators and try to escape while a fifth player, the killer, hunts them. Halloween: The Game does the same with Michael Myers on Halloween night 1978, and Buckshot Roulette shrinks it to a table, a shotgun and up to four players taking turns.

For a long survival game, The Forest lets a group build a camp after a plane crash and hold out against cannibal mutants, and The Outlast Trials puts up to four friends through Murkoff's brutal experiments.

Questions

What is the scariest game to play with friends?

Phasmophobia is the usual pick: up to four players hunt a ghost that can hear their voices and turns on them.

What co-op horror game is good for beginners?

Lethal Company or R.E.P.O.: the rules are simple, the rounds are short, and the fear comes with a lot of laughter.

Are there horror games where friends play against each other?

Yes. Dead by Daylight and Halloween: The Game put one player in the role of the killer against four others, and Buckshot Roulette has up to four players face each other at the table.

Can I play these on console?

Many of them, yes: Phasmophobia, Dead by Daylight, Content Warning, Pacify and The Outlast Trials are on PlayStation and Xbox. Lethal Company and R.E.P.O. are PC only.

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