Top Ten VR Horror Games
As a lead-in to the Top Ten VR Horror Games, have you ever seen the segment from 1983’s The Twilight Zone Movie with Dan Ackroyd and Albert Brooks? It’s a nighttime segment out on a deserted highway where a hitch-hiking Ackryod utters the famous line, “Wanna see something really scary?” to Brooks. Brooks agrees, and Ackroyd turns into a monster.
Good horror works best when it takes ordinary circumstances and injects something unexpected and scary into them. Horror works even better when one is fully engaged in the story. Until recently, the stage for horror has been the imagination of a reader or the images on a TV or movie theater screen. Now, in the comfort of your own home, you can take it a step further with VR.
VR and horror go together like peanut butter and chocolate. There is no greater sense of immersion than being placed inside the world of a horror story. Even if it is only a virtual one. The visuals and the 3D audio possible with VR headsets, plus the isolating nature of VR headsets, really put you in the game. And the terror!
With the Spooky Season upon us, here are ten VR horror games from COGConnected for you to try out. That is, if you are brave enough!
10 – Into The Radius (Steam, Meta, PSVR 2)
With this first pick, we’ll ease you into the horror. Into the Radius is a single-player VR game blending eldritch horror in a post-apocalyptic ex-Soviet setting. As you try to unravel the mystery of the Radius, be prepared for some creepy encounters with otherworldly creatures and lost souls. Still a gem on the PSVR 1.
9 – Here They Lie (PSVR 1)
Here They Lie turns the tension up a notch as it is a psychological horror experience that immerses you into a frightening, surreal world riddled with strange and malevolent creatures. This is basically a walking horror simulator. The game focuses on narrative and the experience of dread.
8 – Propogation Paradise Hotel (Steam, Meta, PSVR 2)
Trapped inside the Paradise Hotel, you are desperate to find your sister. Explore dark surroundings, gather resources, and survive terrifying encounters. This intense single-player VR survival horror game with great storytelling will get your adrenaline pumping.
7 – Ghost Town VR – Legacy of Shadow (Steam, Meta, PSVR 2)
Ghost Town is a single-player VR puzzle-adventure from the makers of The Room. London, 1983. Edith Penrose is a ghost hunter, busy exorcising her way through the city’s restless spirits. But after her brother goes missing, Edith must draw upon her wits & supernatural talents to unravel the mystery.
6 – Phasmophobia VR (Steam, Meta, PSVR 2)
Hesitant to go solo with a VR horror game? Then Phasmophobia may be a good starting point for you. This is a 4-player online co-op psychological horror game. Paranormal activity is on the rise, and it’s up to you and your team to use all the ghost-hunting equipment at your disposal in order to gather as much evidence as you can.
5 – The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners (Steam, Meta, PSVR 2)
Saints & Sinners is a game unlike any other in The Walking Dead universe. Every challenge you face and decision you make is driven by YOU. Fight the undead, scavenge through the flooded ruins of New Orleans, and face gut-wrenching choices for you and the other survivors. Live The Walking Dead. Nothing beats the tension of manually reloading your weapons while trying to stay out of reach of a zombie horde.
My Resident Evil bias notwithstanding, these next three Resident Evil games are all outstanding VR horror experiences.
4 – Resident Evil 4 (PSVR 2)
Take on Leon’s grueling mission as the full main story will be playable with PlayStation VR2. In addition to the knife, you will be able to wield Leon’s powerful and varied arsenal with an immersive and authentic feel. Given that RE4 is an older game, many game interactions are still button presses. RE4 is like the Aliens of the RE games. This one is action-heavy and just damn fun to play in VR.
3 – Resident Evil Village (PSVR 2)
As the most recent RE game, Resident Evil Village is the most VR-friendly of all RE games. When the player guards with their arms or mimics shooting a gun, Ethan copies the movements in-game. New actions, such as dual-wielding with a handgun and knife, or handgun and shotgun, are now possible. It’s like the player themselves is the controller! It’s truly a toss-up between this game and RE4 as to which one you will like better. I personally prefer RE4 because I like the story more.
2 – Resident Evil 7 VR (PSVR 1)
While Resident Evil 7 draws from the series’ roots of atmospheric survival horror, it also delivers a new level of terror. Even with the aged PSVR 1 platform, this game still brings the scares. This is because Capcom is able to achieve a higher degree of visual fidelity thanks to the new proprietary in-house RE Engine that includes VR-oriented tools. Tech specs aside, the story of RE7 is intense and in your face. The hillbilly styled Baker family and their creepy house make for the scariest VR RE game.
1 – Madison (Steam, Meta, PSVR 2)
Imagine waking up locked in a dark room, with your virtual hands soaked in blood. Assume the role of Luca in a skin-crawling immersive VR experience, and undergo the brutal torment of MADiSON, a demonic force that compels you to continue a gory ritual begun decades ago. Are you ready to confront the unspeakable terror right before your eyes and complete this sinister ceremony? This is, without doubt, the scariest VR horror game to date. The combination of unreliable main character, lighting, sounds, and jump scares will make you afraid to open doors.
This list is by no means exhaustive. There are a lot of VR horror games. Some honorable mentions include The Midnight Walk, Forewarned, The Break-In, Labyrinthe, Ovrdark, and Cosmodread. Check them out along with the ten previously mentioned.
Happy scares!