7 Horror Games to Play With Your Loved One(s)

With plenty of video games out there to play with your friends, family, or partner, nothing spells out romance like a horror game. Okay, so it’s not the most romantic, but my partner and I genuinely have fun playing single-player horror games together. While there’s no arguing it’s scarier to play the following games on your own, in a dark room with headphones on, it can be way more fun to scream and laugh with someone by your side.

Before we get into my recommendations, there are many fantastic horror games not included on my list. I’m only sharing games that I’ve played with my partner. Only one of these games is multiplayer, requiring you to own more than one copy of the game, so you’ll need to take turns as to who is in control with the others. You can swap who plays upon death, after an allotted amount of time has passed, or whenever you’re too scared and need a break. It’s fun making decisions about where to go and how to solve puzzles together. So dim the lights, grab some popcorn, and check out these seven horror games I think you should play with your loved one(s).

Little Nightmares (2017)

Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Stadia

Play as a hungry little girl wearing a yellow raincoat in a twisted world filled with monstrous creatures. Focusing on platforming elements as well as puzzles, you essentially have no way to attack enemies and must rely on sneaking around and hiding to progress forward. I'll admit that I played Little Nightmares on my own, but my partner and I played the sequel, Little Nightmares II (2021), together, and both games are fantastic. They're short, ranging from three to seven hours in length, so they're perfect for a night or two on the couch.

Until Dawn (2015)

Available on: PlayStation 4

If you've ever wanted to control a horror movie, then Until Dawn is the game for you. Described as an interactive drama, you play as eight young adults trying to survive in the winter on a secluded mountain. And when eight hormone-filled young adults get together, you bet there's gonna be drama. The choices you make matter, people will die, and there is a mystery to be solved. You'll also recognize a handful of famous faces including Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere. With hundreds of endings, this is one to go back to and play again, making different decisions along the way to see how the story can play out.

Resident Evil Village (2021)

Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia

Set in a snowy Eastern European village with horrifying monsters, you play as Ethan Winters, three years after the events of Resident Evil 7 (2017). With werewolf-like monsters roaming outside and a tall (and I mean TALL) vampire vixen inside a castle, nowhere is safe. While Resident Evil is mostly known for its survival horror gameplay, Village includes a bit more action than other titles in the franchise. But don’t worry, there still will be puzzles to solve. There’s a reason this game was nominated as one of the best games of 2021.

Resident Evil 2 (2019)

Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S\

If first-person games aren’t your thing, don’t worry, Capcom’s got you. Resident Evil 2’s 2019 remake takes you back to Raccoon City in this third-person shooter. This updated version of the game not only looks better but plays better. Gone are the tanky controls and fixed camera angles from 1998. Play as either Claire or Leon and fight the mindless zombies and find a way to escape.

Dead Space (2008)

Available on: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One

Another third-person shooter, Dead Space has been described by many as one of the best video games ever made. You play as Isaac Clark and navigate the Ishimura, solving puzzles and delimbing the dreaded Necromorphs with a multitude of weapons including the Ripper which shoots massive circular blade saws. But the reanimated corpses aren’t the only thing to fear on this spaceship. Isaac’s also battling to determine what is real and not real. It’s up to you to decide what’s scarier. Dead Space has two sequels as well as two animated films streaming on Amazon Prime and Tubi. Additionally, a Dead Space remake has been announced and is currently in development for release in 2022.

Phasmophobia (2020)

Available on: PC

Let’s move on from monsters and the undead and focus on ghost hunting. Phasmophobia has you play as a paranormal investigator exploring either house, a prison, an asylum, or a campground. Play with up to four people to solve objectives, gather evidence, and determine what kind of spirit is haunting the location. You’ll gain money from your successes to upgrade your equipment, which you use to narrow down which supernatural entity you’re dealing with. You can’t fight back, so if you hear something breathing down your neck, you better run and hide. This indie game is still in Early Access and is a bit rough around the edges at times, but the studio is working consistently on updates and new features. Even after playing for 25 hours, this game still has the ability to make me scream.

The Forgotten City (2021)

Available on: PC, Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

I’ll be the first to say it, The Forgotten City is not a horror game. But I feel justified putting it on my list because if your partner hates scary games but can handle a teeny bit of creepiness, this is a fantastic game to play together. You wake up by a river with no memory and find your way into a mysterious city living under the Golden Rule. If any person in the city commits a sin, all the citizens will be punished and turned to gold. Using time travel, it’s up to you to help the citizens and save them. Similar to Until Dawn, there are multiple endings to this game, though significantly less and the game encourages you to find them all with vague hints on how to do so. As I said, it’s not horror, but there are unsettling moments and it’s one of my favorite games of 2021.