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Best Horror Games of 2023: Remakes, Indies and Co-op

2023 brought the Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space remakes, Alan Wake 2 and a run of small games that spread by word of mouth, from Lethal Company to The Exit 8. These are the year's horror games that players and critics rated well, on PC, consoles and phones.

The games

  1. Resident Evil 4 key art: a close-up of Leon Kennedy's face beside a dark foggy forest with a figure standing by wooden crosses SurvivalResident Evil 4Capcom's remake of its 2005 classic: Leon in a village twisted by a parasite, fighting and scavenging with scarce ammunition.
  2. Alan Wake 2 key art: Alan Wake's face looms over a red-lit forest where a small figure stands with a flashlight PsychologicalAlan Wake 2Remedy's survival horror split between an FBI agent investigating ritual murders and a writer trapped in the Dark Place, with light and few bullets.
  3. Dead Space key art: Isaac Clarke in his engineering suit, the helmet's slits glowing blue, in a gloomy ship corridor SurvivalDead SpaceThe remake of the 2008 classic: an engineer on a mining ship whose crew became Necromorphs, stopped only by cutting off their limbs.
  4. Lethal Company art: four crew members in bulky suits and helmets, silhouetted against a red haze, one crouching with a flashlight Co-opLethal CompanyUp to four contractors scavenge dark moon facilities for scrap to meet a quota, talking each other past monsters and traps; it came out in early access in October 2023.
  5. Slay the Princess key art: a pencil-drawn princess kneels in chains on the floor of a dim stone basement under a barred window PsychologicalSlay the Princess: The Pristine CutA hand-drawn, fully voiced horror visual novel: you are sent to kill the princess in a cabin's basement, and every choice reshapes her and the story.
  6. Amnesia: The Bunker art: a soldier's hands, one holding a revolver, as a pale clawed creature reaches out of a dark tunnel SurvivalAmnesia: The BunkerFrictional Games' WWI bunker, one revolver, a generator to keep running and a creature in the walls that hunts by sound.
  7. DREDGE key art: a small fishing boat with two glowing lamps on a rough green sea beside a red and white lighthouse under a brown stormy sky, with tentacles and a spiny fish under the water PsychologicalDREDGEA fishing game on a small trawler that turns sinister at night, when panic sets in and something in the deep shows itself.
  8. The Exit 8 key art: a yellow 'Exit 8' sign hanging from the ceiling of a white-tiled subway passage PsychologicalThe Exit 8A looping underground passage: spot the anomaly and turn back, eight times in a row, as the changes grow frightening.
  9. The Coffin of Andy and Leyley key art: a grinning, blood-splattered Andrew with a cleaver and Ashley leaning on him before a coffin with red eyes, surrounded by red flowers and a small crying ghost PsychologicalThe Coffin of Andy and LeyleyTwo siblings trapped in their apartment in a quarantine, a ritual gone wrong and choices that only get darker, told with grim humour.
  10. PARANORMASIGHT key art: the cast of cursed characters crowded under a pale-faced ghost with long dark hair PsychologicalPARANORMASIGHT: The Seven Mysteries of HonjoSquare Enix's horror mystery visual novel: cursed people in Showa-era Tokyo drawn into a rite that can bring back the dead.
  11. Amanda the Adventurer key art: Wooly the Sheep, wide-eyed and frightened, his hands raised, behind purple VHS scanlines Multiple endingsAmanda the AdventurerOld VHS tapes of a children's cartoon whose host seems to talk to you, and escape-room puzzles hidden in what she says.
  12. WORLD OF HORROR key art: a lighthouse shining under a spiral sky above a Japanese seaside town, in 1-bit pixel art Multiple endingsWORLD OF HORRORA 1-bit roguelite horror RPG inspired by Junji Ito and Lovecraft: solve mysteries in 1980s Japan as doom creeps closer.
  13. STASIS: BONE TOTEM key art: a frightened woman in a diving helmet underwater, a toothed orange-lit tentacle coiled around her in the green dark EscapeSTASIS: BONE TOTEMAn isometric point-and-click descent from an abandoned oil rig into an underwater base full of corpses and a corporation's secret.
  14. Mask of the Lunar Eclipse key art: a girl in moonlight looks back beside pale masks hanging on a cracked wall SurvivalFATAL FRAME / PROJECT ZERO: Mask of the Lunar EclipseThe 2023 remaster of the fourth Fatal Frame: dark mansions and a hospital on Rogetsu Isle, with ghosts sealed by camera.
  15. Bramble: The Mountain King key art: Olle and his sister seen from behind in a dark green forest, with two gnomes on a red toadstool and a hedgehog StealthBramble: The Mountain KingA boy goes after his sister through a world of dark Nordic fables, sneaking past monstrous folklore beings.
  16. Killer Frequency key art: a gloved hand holding a bloody knife outside the neon-lit KFAM radio station at night, with a missing person poster on the wall Multiple endingsKiller FrequencyA horror comedy: a late-night 1987 DJ talks callers out of a masked killer's way, live on air.
  17. Fears to Fathom - Ironbark Lookout art: a lit fire lookout tower with a lone figure on its deck above a pine forest at night, a red-lit radio mast to the left PsychologicalFears to Fathom - Ironbark LookoutA short Fears to Fathom episode: alone in a fire lookout tower in the woods as something in the park starts to feel wrong.
  18. Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 key art: a cluster of animatronic heads with Funtime Freddy at the centre, Circus Baby and Ballora beside him and the Sun daycare attendant above FNAFFive Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2Steel Wool's VR minigame collection in the Mega Pizzaplex, with Sister Location's frightening moments up close.
  19. Parasocial key art: a streamer in headphones and a hoodie sits at her glowing monitor by a window over a night city Psychological[Chilla's Art] ParasocialA streamer's real face leaks to her chat, and then the messages, notes and a man who keeps turning up begin.
  20. Layers of Fear key art: a torn blood-red canvas, with an eye and part of a painted face showing through the rip and an empty picture frame behind PsychologicalLayers of FearBloober Team's remake of its painter's shifting mansion and actor's haunted ocean liner, with new chapters.
  21. Ad Infinitum key art: a black-and-white screaming skeleton in a German steel helmet, barbed wire around its spine, against a pale grey background PsychologicalAd InfinitumA WWI soldier shifts without warning between his family manor and the trenches, escaping creatures rooted in his mind.
  22. Dead Island 2 key art: a survivor lounges on a pool inflatable with a cocktail while zombies attack around a Los Angeles mansion pool Co-opDead Island 2Gory, darkly funny zombie action in a quarantined Los Angeles, alone or with up to three friends online.

2023 was a year of remakes done well and small games that spread by word of mouth. Capcom's Resident Evil 4 rebuilt the 2005 classic around Leon's trip to a village twisted by a parasite and drew Overwhelmingly Positive reviews from more than 280,000 players on Steam, and Motive's Dead Space remake brought back the USG Ishimura and its Necromorphs with the same fear of running out of ammunition. Remedy's Alan Wake 2 was the year's biggest new horror game: survival horror split between an FBI agent investigating ritual murders in the Pacific Northwest and a writer trapped in a nightmare.

The indie side was just as strong. Lethal Company, a co-op game about scavenging scrap from monster-filled moon facilities for a quota, came out in early access in October and has since passed half a million Steam reviews, nearly all of them positive. Slay the Princess, a hand-drawn, fully voiced visual novel about a princess in a cabin's basement, and The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, a grim story of two siblings in quarantine, both drew Overwhelmingly Positive reviews. The Exit 8 started the anomaly-spotting craze, and DREDGE hid its horror under a fishing game.

Frictional Games returned with Amnesia: The Bunker, more open than its earlier games, with one creature hunting you by sound through a WWI bunker. For mysteries, PARANORMASIGHT and WORLD OF HORROR both draw on Japanese ghost stories, one as a visual novel and one as a 1-bit roguelite RPG. Amanda the Adventurer and Fears to Fathom: Ironbark Lookout are short and good for one evening. Killer Frequency is the lightest pick, a horror comedy about a late-night DJ and a masked killer.

If you only play one big game, play Resident Evil 4. If you want something short, start with The Exit 8; with friends, Lethal Company.

Questions

What was the best horror game of 2023?

Resident Evil 4, Alan Wake 2 and the Dead Space remake were the year's biggest horror releases, and Lethal Company, Slay the Princess and The Exit 8 were its best-loved smaller games.

Which 2023 horror games can I play with friends?

Lethal Company for up to four players online, and Dead Island 2 for up to three.

Which 2023 horror games are short?

The Exit 8, Amanda the Adventurer and Fears to Fathom: Ironbark Lookout can each be finished in an evening.

Which 2023 horror games are on Switch?

The Exit 8, DREDGE, Slay the Princess, PARANORMASIGHT, WORLD OF HORROR, Amanda the Adventurer, STASIS: BONE TOTEM, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, Bramble: The Mountain King and Killer Frequency are on Nintendo Switch.

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