The spooky season is upon us, and there’s no better time to rattle ‘dem bones in VR. Here we take a look at some of the best VR horror (and horror-adjacent) games across Quest, PSVR 2, and PC VR.
Many of our top picks below support all three platforms, although you’ll see a few mentionable exclusives you should consider grabbing this Halloween.
Whatever the case, make sure to deadbolt the doors, lock the windows, ready your adult diapers, and consider warning everyone in earshot—because it’s VR fright night!
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners 1 & 2
Whether you choose the original single-player RPG or its sequel (also available in cheaper bundles), you’ll not only be knee deep in zombie gore, but also random bits and bobs worth scrounging as you craft weapons and nab supplies to keep up with the daily hordes. Physics-based melee against walkers is tense, but like the TV series, the danger also lurks in the form of warring human factions. Shoot, stab, rest and survive for another day in the this grey, terrifying world.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners: Quest – PSVR 2 – Steam
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Quest – PSVR 2 – Steam
Arizona Sunshine Remake & Arizona Sunshine 2
Arizona Sunshine is more than just zombie-killing action in the arid deserts of Arizona. Including single player or co-op play, Arizona Sunshine lightens the tone of the post-apocalypse by being a little more on the comedic side, offering up an episodic narrative that follows the protagonist (and in number two) his dog scrapping their way through the wasteland. Physics-based melee and realistic weapons make for an immersive zombie-ganking good time that’s less moody overall.
And if you own the original Arizona Sunshine (2016), you can upgrade to the new remake for just $10.
The Room VR: A Dark Matter
The Room VR: A Dark Matter is a puzzler that lets you step back into Edwardian-era London, 1908. As a detective, you’re tasked with investigating the disappearance of an esteemed Egyptologist where you’ll explore cryptic locations, examine gadgets and uncover an otherworldly discovery which blurs the line between reality and illusion. No jump scares, plenty of puzzles and creepy vibes.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 1 & 2
No VR horror games list is complete without Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted, and now its sequel should be on your radar too. The jumpscare-tastic games pits you against a virtual retinue of mechanical foes and a very temperamental power generator that only has so much power to run the lights, cameras, and thick steel doors to keep you safe. There are mini-games too, but the main attraction is truly the most unsettling in VR.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted: Quest – PSVR 2 – Steam
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2: Quest – PSVR 2 – Steam
Into the Radius
The forbidden ‘Radius’ zone requires grit—that and all the tactical gear you can scrounge up as you take on spooky and deadly anomalies in this open-world, survival-horror adventure. Time and ammo are precious though, so every encounter could mean you’re ejected from the Radius before you can solve the mystery at its core.
Resident Evil 4 VR (Quest, PSVR 2)
The nearly 20-year-old game may be a blast from the past, dated tropes and all, but Resident Evil 4 has undoubtedly gained new life en realidad virtual. Take on ‘El Gigante’, brave the mindless cult of Spanish villagers, and step into the shoes of special agent Leon S. Kennedy on his mission to rescue the U.S. President’s daughter.
Note: we’ve lumped in both Resident Evil 4 versions here: Resident Evil 4 VR for Quest is the uprezzed original with native VR controls, and Resident Evil 4 Remake with VR mode is exclusive to PSVR 2. If you own both headsets, definitely get it on PSVR 2.
Download it on: Quest – PSVR 2 (free VR mode download required)
Dreadhalls (Quest, PC VR)
Old, but gold, Dreadhalls traps you deep inside a massive dungeon where you’re tasked with exploring, surviving, and finding a way to the surface through the enemy-encrusted labyrinth. No fighting, plenty of jump scares, and only a little light to guide you. It’s one of those games that’s easy to recommend, if only for elemental shock value it continues to provide year after year.
Cosmodread
From the developer of Dreadhalls comes the 2021 sci-fi horror game Cosmodread, which invokes a lot of the same horror of its forebear. Trapped in a dying spaceship filled with terrifying cosmic creatures, you must find your way back to the safety of Earth. Like in Dreadhalls, you search for resources through procedurally generated room layouts, and will most certainly be jumpscared to death, but this time around you’ve got some trusty guns to take on the darkness.
Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire (Quest, PC VR)
Vampire slayers be warned: powerful sleeping monsters lurk within increasingly difficult coffins ready to jumpscare you death if you so much as breathe wrong way. Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire in choc-full of defensive mechanisms designed to protect a particularly nasty vampire clan, tasking you with cutting fiddly wires, prying out nails, and breaking protective barriers with blood magic. And for Van Helsing’s sake, don’t drop anything.
The Exit 8 VR (Quest, PC VR)
The Exit 8 VR is a short walking simulator inspired by Japanese underground passageways, liminal spaces and Internet cult sensation ‘The Back Rooms’. Do you see anything out of place? If you do, make sure to turn back, because you’re basically in the Japanese Twilight Zone and you never know when an anomaly can strike.
Phasmophobia (PC VR, PSVR 2 on October 29th)
What bumps in the night? Ghosts. The answer is always ghosts. In this four-player co-op game, you can take on over 20 different ghoulies with a range of ghost-finding paraphernalia, including EMF readers, spirit boxes, thermometers, night vision cameras, and CCTV so your teammate can help direct the action. Supporting PC in addition to PC VR headsets, you won’t need to push your non-VR owning friends too hard to get a play session this Halloween either. The PS5/PSVR 2 and Xbox versions are also coming, so watch out.
Download it on: Steam – Wishlist on PSVR 2
Stranger Things VR (Quest)
Stranger Things VR is an absolute mental trip. Make your way through Eleven’s internal hellscape whilst navigating the real world, which is less real than it may seem at times. While it can be confusing, and some mechanics feel experimental, it feels like Stranger Things VR is blissfully doing its own thing, all the while sticking to a back story you already know and love.
Download it on: Quest
Noclip VR (Quest)
‘The Backrooms’ Internet lore has spawned a torrent of games, but Noclip VR is one of the best (and free!), letting you and online players explore the liminal spaces, solve puzzles, and escape that which lurks within. Always keep in ear-shot of your friends, otherwise they won’t hear you scream.
Download it on: Quest
The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR (PSVR 2)
Like the original PSVR fan favorite Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, this fast-paced, on-rails rollercoaster shooter tosses up thrills and chills, and a good dose of pew-pew-pew action too. As a PSVR 2 exclusive, it also makes use of eye-tracking, so don’t blink or enemies may just pop out where you least suspect them. It’s shorter than we may have liked, but it’s longer than a movie, and cheaper than riding a rollercoaster.
Download it on: PSVR 2
Resident Evil Village (PSVR 2)
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, step aside. While Sony hasn’t updated the classic go-to horror game for PSVR 2, Resident Evil Village has nestled firmly in its place, offering up the full survival-horror adventure in VR. Set a few years after the events of Biohazard, you step into the shoes of Ethan Winters who must delve into the culty, sinister pits of Romania. We only wish there were more like it. Sony.
Download it on: PSVR 2 (free VR mode download required)
Half-Life Alyx (PC VR)
Don’t pretend you’ve never heard of Half-Life: Alyx, because we know you have. Still, if you haven’t picked up VR’s preeminent horror-shooter, you’re doing yourself an extreme disservice. The quarantined zone is brimming with zomboids and tactical baddies alike, although the dilapidated (and extremely detailed) East Bloc-esque world should be more than enough to put the chills down your spine. Also, it’s Half-Life! In VR!
Download it on: Steam
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR Edition (PC VR)
Spoiler to attentive readers of our horror game roundups: we will never not recommend Hellblade: Senau’s Sacrifice. This frightening action-adventure game is set on the Orkney Islands with dips into Norse-inspired celestial realms, tasking you to fight the demons without and within. Beware: Hellblade simulates psychosis with constantly shifting game geometry and disembodied voices that whisper in your ears, and criticize your every move. We (and BAFTA) liked it so much, we can forgive it for being a third-person experience.
Download it on: Steam
The Forest (PC VR)
As the lone survivor of a passenger jet crash, you find yourself in a mysterious forest battling to stay alive against a society of cannibalistic mutants. Build bases, explore the island, and travel around in this 12+hour horror-survival game. Whether you play in solo or in co-op mode, in VR or on flatscreen—you’re definitely not alone.
Download it on: Steam
What’s your favorite VR horror game, and what platform are you playing it on? Let us know in the comments below!
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