Braving a horror game on your own is a fun way to feel the anxious fear that comes with the single-player experience. But that isn’t the only way to enjoy the fright that lurks within this genre. I’d argue that it is even better to play a spooky title with a friend and experience the challenge of survival in the various unlikely scenarios that we come face-to-face with. That’s why I have put together a list of my Top 10 Spooky Games to play with your friends!
Number 10: Back 4 Blood by Turtle Rock Studios
From the creators of the Left 4 Dead franchise Back 4 Blood is the spiritual successor to the series. While not incredibly well received it has garnered some love for being the modern version of the co-op zombie shooter. Play with your friends and reclaim the world from an invasion of Ridden, humans plagued by parasites that turn them into monstrous zombie-like creatures.
Back for Blood is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Number 9: Viscera Cleanup Detail by RuneStorm
For anyone who wants the feel of spookiness but isn’t fond of actual horror games, Viscera Cleanup Detail is the perfect fit. Cheap and fun to play, Viscera Cleanup Detail is perfect for a calm funny get-together with friends online. Join your friends as a team of crime scene and hazardous event janitors as you are called to clean various absurd and gruesome places from Santa's workshop to a haunted house. Perfect for that casual Halloween hang with friends on Discord.
Viscera Cleanup Detail is available on PC via Steam.
Number 8: The Forest by Endnight Games
One of the great multiplayer survival horror games out there, The Forest is great for anyone planning on repeated sessions of spooks and gruesome psychological horror. As the only survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island, you and your friends must harvest materials and survive the local horrors while trying to figure a way home, all the while stumbling across various mysterious and terrible scenes that build up an amazing story.
The Forest is available on PC via Steam and PlayStation 4.
Number 7: Hunt: Showdown by Crytek
An incredibly unique experience, Hunt: Showdown is a western-themed PvP bounty-hunting game with PvE elements. Players will scour for enemies on large spooky tension-filled maps whether they be mobs or other players. Hunt down your enemies as a member of a blood cult and scare the living daylights out of anyone you get the drop on.
Hunt: Showdown is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, and Xbox Series X|S.
Number 6: Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed by IIIFonic
A new entry to the spooktacular game scene, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, is a lighthearted and well-designed take on the classic IP. Face off against your friends as one plays a ghost attempting to haunt a building and scare everyone away while the rest, a team of Ghostbusters attempts to hunt that darn ghost down. Although not particularly scary, Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed will scratch the nostalgia itch while being a genuinely fun game.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed is available on Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Epic Games Store.
Number 5: Midnight Ghost Hunt by Vaulted Sky Games
Much like Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, Midnight Ghost Hunt features two different teams. One team is the ghost hunters and the other ghosts. Play hide and seek as the ghosts possess props and the hunters seek them out, but hunters beware, at the stroke of midnight the tables turn and the ghosts hunt you!
Midnight Ghost Hunt is available on PC via Steam.
Number 4: Left 4 Dead 2 by Valve
The classic game series that launched so many others, despite being out for over a decade Left 4 Dead 2 is still a huge draw for the multiplayer zombie shooter scene. Join your friends and blast through various types of zombies as you rush through the levels scavenging for supplies and trying to survive. Beware the chaos though, if the zombies don’t get you, the friendly fire just might.
Left 4 Dead 2 is available on Xbox 360 and PC via Steam.
Number 3: Friday the 13th: The Game by IIIFonic
An amazingly scary game for those fond of scraping the bejeezus out of their friends. Live out the classic movie as one player controls Jason and brutally hunts down the campers as they try to repair a car and escape the cursed summer camp. A huge success, Friday the 13th: The Game has faced some difficulties in the past in regards to the IP rights, so play it while it lasts.
Friday the 13th: The Game is available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.
Number 2: Phasmophobia by Kinetic Games
A delightfully frightening indie horror game, Phasmophobia took the Youtube gaming scene by storm when it came out. Join your friends as a team of amateur ghost hunters exploring haunted houses. Investigate the haunts with your team as you try and find the ghosts, but be careful what you wish for, not all of you may survive.
Phasmophobia is available on PC via Steam.
Number 1: Dead By Daylight by Behavior Interactive
The eponymous title when it comes to multiplayer horror games, Dead By Daylight is the prime example of easy to learn and hard to master. The game has an incredibly high skill ceiling for those who love it and a low bar to entry for new players. Making use of a ridiculous amount of cross-promotion play as a wide variety of hunters both unique and from popular media, as you hunt down the four victims to sacrifice them to your evil god. Or as a survivor, fix generators to open the gate and ‘gtfo’ before the hunter gets you hung on a hook.
Dead By Daylight is available on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS, Stadia, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
