Whatever doesn’t kill you is about to get killed.
There’s a thrill to being defenseless. We go to roller coasters and haunted houses because we enjoy having the hibbie jibbies and not being able to do much about it.
Games like Outlast and Amnesia increase the tension by only giving us the option to run or to hide. When we’re helpless, we can truly surrender ourselves to the feelings of terror.
That’s all well and good, but as fun as being “helpless” might be, coming back to a previously undefeatable enemy with the arsenal of a small country and blowing them to pieces is like crack cocaine.
So, if shooting that which lurks behind the darkness is your type of thing, here are the 15 best FPS Horror games that you need to play today.
Disclaimer: Only first-person games where you can actually shoot or engage in combat for this list.
15. Resident Evil Village (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBOX One)
Resident Evil Village - 4th Trailer
Village is the newest entry in the Resident Evil Canon. We return to the last game’s protagonist Ethan Winters as he continues his saga of family diners ending really poorly.
In the game, you will trek across haunted houses, vampire-infested mansions, and deadly swamps armed only with your wits and your courage.
And a shotgun.
And a grenade launcher.
And a sniper rifle.
You have plenty of weapons at your disposal at Village, now that I think about it. Especially when you compare it to the relatively scant firepower of Biohazard.
Does it make the game less scary? Well, yes, but it’s also incredibly fun. Village offers a huge roster of folk-legend-inspired enemies for you to shoot at.
The game can be terrifying and tense or an action-filled extravaganza, and it’s always fun.
Creatively written and designed enemies, long and tense sections between heart-pounding action, and a tongue-in-cheek approach to the series’ tropes; Resident Evil 8 is everything RE fans love and more.
14. Hunt: Showdown (PC / PS4 / XBOX One)
Hunt: Showdown Steam Trailer.
Multiplayer horror has been experimented with a lot for the last few years. Some of these experiments have been successful, some haven’t. Multiplayer horror PvP has been especially hard to pull off.
The issue is deceptively simple: without the benefit of a properly written story or a clear outcome, games in this genre are forced to rely on moment-to-moment tension for all their scares. And moment-to-moment tension is hard to pull off.
Hunt: Showdown is one of the few games that has managed to navigate through this problem. In Hunt, you’re a bounty hunter in a world infested by monsters.
One of the things that increase the horror aspect of Hunt is that you are not hunting other players directly. Multiple players are set on the same bounty and only one team can win.
The world is also populated by fearsome enemies that will stalk around every corner. Which means that you’ll have to watch your every step.
There’s only one real point against Hunt, and that is that the servers are a little dead, so trying to start a match might be a little frustrating. If you do have the patience, however, then Hunt is a game you must experience.
13. Doom Eternal (PC / PS4 / PS5 / XBOX One / XBOX Series X / Nintendo Switch)
DOOM Eternal – Official Launch Trailer.
A little light on the horror elements, Doom Eternal over-delivers on the FPS aspect by being, arguably, one of the best shooters of all time.
Eternal gives you a collection of fun and interesting guns, points you in the direction of a collection of less fun and equally interesting demons, and lets you knock yourself out.
The game is fast-paced, heart-pounding, and difficult. The enemies you’ll be facing would be terrifying in any game that didn’t also let you crush their skulls with your bare hands.
If you’re tired of running and hiding from the forces of evil, and you wish to bring the fight to them instead, then Doom Eternal is the game you should be playing.
12. BioShock: The Collection (PC / Mac / PS4 / XBOX One / Nintendo Switch)
BioShock: The Collection Announcement Trailer.
Okay, if I can be honest for a moment, the first Bioshock is the only game that really fits the “horror” part of Horror FPS. The game is a classic in every regard, it is filled with high concepts that fill your heart with dread as well as plenty of little moments of genuine fright.
Set in the underwater city of Rapture. You’ll make your way through the remains of a world once filled with riches and glory, now filled with something much more sinister (and by “make” I mean shoot, you’ll shoot your way through).
Filled with danger around every corner, there’s also something beautiful about the oppressive nature of Rapture. Pretty soon, you’ll find yourself marveling at what this world might have been.
Not only is it a magnificent horror FPS, but it’s also just a classic, Bioshock is as much part of the gaming canon as Dickens is in English literature.
The sequel is a little unremarkable, and Infinite is an amazing game in its own right, upping the philosophical ante even if it’s at the cost of some horror elements.
The three games have been released as part of Bioshock: The Collection, with improved graphics for the modern age, so now is a better time to play the complete trilogy than it’s even been.
11. Vampire: The masquerade bloodlines (PC)
Vampire: The Masquerade -- Bloodlines Trailer.
What is Vampire: The Masquerade?
That’s not a pretentious rhetorical. I genuinely can’t tell you.
Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines is a vampire-themed RPG. That´s the simple way to put it.
The unsimple way to put it, however, is that Vampire the long name two subtitles is pretty much a little bit of everything.
The game can be played from a first-person perspective or a third-person one. It has genuinely frightening missions as well as beat-em-up sections and the classic fetch quest.
Is it a perfect game? No. But Vampire has more than earned its cult status by being a unique and vast offering with a little something for everyone.
For fans of horror TTRPGs, this is as close as you can get to replicating the experience of a good session with a masterful DM.
With the second entry just around the corner, now is the time to re-play this absolute classic of a game.
10. GTFO (PC)
GTFO - Gameplay Trailer.
GTFO is another multiplayer Horror FPS. This time without the PvP aspect of Hunt.
Although a big part of what makes Hunt interesting is the threat of other players, GTFO more than makes up for it with its incredible ambiance and storyline. One that is actually interesting to follow.
The other huge plus of GTFO is that it’s still in early access. I might not usually be a big fan of early access games myself, but this game’s not-completeness means that the servers will in fact have some players in them when it’s finally officially published.
9. Left 4 Dead 2 (PC / Mac / XBOX 360)
L4D2 Teaser.
Ignoring Left 4 Dead 2’s impact on horror FPSs and zombie games as a whole would be an actual crime. One that I could go to jail for. That and all the tax evasion.
Left 4 Dead 2 is a local co-op multiplayer game. Picking up where one left off, in LFD2 you ragtag group of misfits to escape the city of Savannah, which has been overrun by zombies.
While it might not be a new thing now, RFD2’s fast-paced and horde approach to horror was groundbreaking at the time, and the game has been, for about twelve years now, the ultimate horror FPS to play whenever your buddies are around.
The cherry on top is its unique visual style, which has aged much better than anything from that year that gunned for “realism”. It doesn’t look perfect, but it’s very much still playable.
8. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl (PC)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - Final Launch Trailer.
Getting into the realm of games that are more scary than “shooty” (and apparently regressing in time). S.T.A.L.K.E.R is an RPG set in “the zone”, the dilapidated remains of Chernobyl where mutants and monsters roam free.
The game is yet another cult classic. Known for its oppressive atmosphere that does not give you a moment to breathe.
Although the game has many acclaimed sequels, the original is still the peak of the series and probably one of the greatest games of all time.
7. Prey (PC / PS4 / XBOX One)
Prey - Reveal Trailer.
The release window for Prey was an interesting time. For the first time in what seemed like ages, gamers were being treated to new games with new and interesting ideas.
Prey was one of the most hyped-up games for a while, its cryptic trailers, the original gunplay, the mimic mechanic, and the beautiful visuals. Everything about the game seemed to delight critics before it was even released.
And then it just sorts of… Disappeared from the public consciousness.
This wouldn’t be the first, nor the last time a game was banished from the spotlight almost immediately after release (I’m thinking of a game that rhymes with Cider Monk Properly Shaven), but Prey was a unique case for a reason. It was good.
This isn’t some contrarian pop-culty take either. The game has overwhelmingly good reviews, and players seemed to enjoy the high-concept sci-fy and the genuine thrill that the Typhon provided.
In Prey, you face off against an enemy force that can mimic any inanimate object. This means that you’ll never feel fully safe whenever a room feels too quiet.
Not content with only having a good concept. Prey executes its story flawlessly, raising questions about the nature of humanity and reality like good science fiction should.
6. The Forest (PC / PS4)
The Forest Trailer.
Okay, I said combat elements! Besides, I’m sure that there’s a bow you can shoot somewhere in The Forest.
The story of this game might not seem like much at first glance. The Forest is set on a desert island, where after a disastrous crash, you’ll be set on a quest for survival. For you, and your son.
But The Forest is far from a typical game. Combining the very best of survival & crafting games like Ark, and some terrifyingly smart and grotesque enemies, the forest is a test of skill and perseverance, and an unnerving experience all the way through.
5. Dying Light (PC / Mac / PS4 / XBOX One)
Dying Light - Be The Zombie Trailer.
Dying Light is a Survival Horror open World Parkour game. Or, as I like to call it: Good luck not finding it under pretty much any tag on Steam.
A breath of fresh air for the Zombie genre, what makes dying light one of the best Horror FPS games is how it can switch from zombie-shooting fun to horrifying tension and back in an instant.
This is all because of Dying Light’s Night/Day cycle. In the daylight, regular zombies are pretty much harmless obstacles for you to WWE your way through.
At night, however, you will be in a completely different world. As you get stalked by powerful creatures that will tear you to shreds if you aren’t careful.
Also, did I mention that the game has an isometric multiplayer element? Because of course it does. This game has everything.
4. The Evil Within 2 (PC / PS4 / XBOX One)
The Evil Within 2 Announcement Trailer.
First and foremost: it technically has a first-person mode if you’ve installed all the updates. So it still counts.
Also, there's no way I’d let myself not recommend The Evil Within 2 if given the chance.
After the first, very much not-good game, a lot of people understandably chose to avoid the sequel. This was a huge mistake.
The Evil Within 2 is one of the best games of the generation. It's creative, unique, and emotionally poignant.
Set in a semi-open world. The Evil Within 2 gives you plenty of chances to fight against the forces of evil and still never lets you get too comfortable.
3. Metro Exodus (PC / PS4 / XBOX One)
Metro Exodus Launch Trailer.
Metro Exodus is the newest installment in the METRO franchise. Our hero, Artyom, will once again be forced to go into the outside world to fight for the survival of the small society built underneath the Moscow underground.
The game does an amazing job of putting you in the mindset of a survivor in a place where surviving has lost its value. The wasteland is dangerous and hauntingly beautiful. Traveling around the map is both an ordeal and a fantastic experience.
Not only that, Exodus gives you something to fight for, as the parts of the game where you get to interact with other characters feel incredibly human.
Overall, Exodus is a feat of fiction and a game that will not leave your mind for a very long time.
2. Alien: Isolation (PC / Mac / PS3 / PS4 / XBOX 360 / XBOX One / Nintendo Switch)
Alien: Isolation Nintendo Switch Trailer.
The first time I played Isolation, I had to quit because it was too scary.
That should be review enough, but it isn’t. So let’s talk about what makes Alien great, namely the Alien.
The Alien is a constant enemy that pursues you throughout the whole game, and it’s probably the best enemy AI of any videogame.
The Alien is smart, quick, and stronger than you. The game pulls no punches when it comes to the difficulty, and it forces you to think like a survivor at all times.
Alien Isolation has you fighting as close to the real deal as you can get, which in turn means that you can never get any more confident, or stupid than Ripley did in the Nostromo. Not if you want to stay alive.
1. Resident Evil 7 (PC / PS4 / XBOX One)
Resident Evil 7 Launch Trailer.
Resident Evil 7 is a lot of things. The big title game that everyone hoped P.T. would become, a breath of fresh air for a franchise that seemed to be gasping for its last, a game where a lady shoots bugs out of her crotch…
The first first-person RE game, RE7 over delivered on every single front. The game captures everything that made the manor of the original scary and it gives it new life. Ironically enough.
The Bakers, a family of re-animated cannibals with supernatural powers, quickly became iconic antagonists of the genre. The protagonist might be a little dull, but only in the same way that you never feel alienated by a stick figure.
In RE7, Capcom wants you to feel like you’re the one exploring the Baker state, and the one that’s facing horror beyond comprehension. And it succeeds.
That being said, it isn’t devoid of the classic Resident Evil-isms that fans love. The ridiculous moments treated as dead-serious, the grenade launcher hiding somewhere in a quaint outhouse, the tributes to B horror from the 80s…
Resident Evil 7 is just the best game for fans of Resident Evil to play right now. Or fans of horror. Or fans of FPSs. Or fans of horror FPS. Or...
You may also be interested in:
The Top 10 Horror Games Where You Can Fight Back https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/horror-games-where-you-can-fight-back
7 Horror Games Where You Play as the Killer https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/7-horror-games-where-you-play-killer
Top 10 Games Like Resident Evil https://www.gamersdecide.com/articles/top-10-games-resident-evil
