The Best Horror Games on Switch for Halloween or Anytime of Year

Sure this is late, but Halloween technically isn’t over yet! Below are five games we think are worth playing on Nintendo Switch that range from spooky, to unsettling, to downright terrifying, and are perfect Halloween. But, let’s be real…these games are great all year ’round.

Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 4 is one of my personal favorites in the entire franchise, right up there with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (which, sadly, isn’t on Switch. Yet.)

Resident Evil 4 took the series in a new and refreshing direction- one where Capcom expertly balanced both the horror elements of the game with unforgettable action sequences. We also saw a new camera placement in this game, with the view being placed over Leon’s shoulder. The result made for some incredible combat, with Resident Evil 4 leaving its defining mark on third-person action games and setting a new tone for the series as a whole.

The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season

The first season of The Walking Dead is classic, and Telltale Games (R.I.P) really made a name for themselves in the genre of episodic adventure titles when the episodes released throughout 2012.

Not only did the first season introduce us to Clementine, now one of the most well-known characters in gaming, but there were also some genuinely heart-pounding and shocking moments scattered throughout the first season. From escaping hordes, to surprising character deaths, this first season kept players alert and hyper- aware of their choices. While I love The Walking Dead on console, the port for Nintendo Switch runs extremely well!

Outlast 2

To date, Outlast is still one of the scariest games I’ve ever played; and the stealth mechanics and fact you’re unarmed really puts the survival in “survival horror.” I was skeptical if Outlast 2 could live up to Outlast, but as it turns out, it takes everything that was great about the first game- the stealth, the atmosphere- and expands on it.

What makes Outlast 2 so terrifying is the fact that it is so open. Instead of being confined to a house like in the first game, you’re in rural Arizona, attempting to evade a murderous cult. If you’re a Nintendo Switch owner and are looking for several great scares, Outlast 2 is definitely worth playing.

Observer

Observer is the dark, cyberpunk horror game no one knew they needed.

Bloober Team completely nails the futuristic, sci-fi environmental design of the game and the unsettling feeling players have as detective Daniel Lazarski. Known as an Observer, Daniel hacks into people’s minds on behalf of Chiron corporation, in a city that has largely gone to ruin due to war and the onset of heavy drug use.

While there are several frightening moments in Observer (at least, moments that frightened me!) as you move through the slums of an apartment complex, Bloober Team relies heavily on atmospheric horror, creepy sounds within the environment, and the dizzying experience of hacking into the city and people around you.

Gone Home

This recommendation is more for players who enjoy being spooked, rather than scared. Because here’s the thing…Gone Home isn’t actually scary. At all. But if it’s your first time playing through this walking simulator, no article will you convince you there isn’t something lurking around the corners or hiding within the shadows of the large house that serves as the game’s only setting. The atmosphere is so well done, it simply screams “horror” game.

You play as a young woman returning home from studying abroad. When she arrives, she finds her entire family is gone. The only way to unravel what happened is to explore the house, reading through notes and traversing dimly lit hallways and rooms for clues, with only the pattering rain and cracks of thunder in the background. Instead of a horror tale, though, what you find is a human story that might stay with you longer than you think.

Check out our review of Gone Home on Nintendo Switch here.

Honorable Mention: Perception

Perception has so much potential. It’s not a terrible game, but it’s also not the greatest once you fall into the repetitive nature of its gameplay.

You play as young, blind woman named Cassie who arrives at an abandoned house to solve the mysteries of her past. Cassie’s blindness is the driving force behind the “horror” of the game. There are several scary moments in the beginning as you make your way through the house in darkness. Cassie uses echolocation to illuminate objects in her immediate area, but once you grow comfortable with the layout of the house, the experience tends to run a bit flat.