Horror games translate extremely well to VR, and most people will either love them or hate them due to the overall level of terror that can be achieved. Shutting out the real world, including your desk, monitor, lights, and family members, and being injected straight into a horrifying world is quite a thrill. Whether you're using Rift, Vive, Windows Mixed Reality (WMR), or Index platforms, we've rounded up a bunch of the best horror games that will give you a scare.
Zombies for all
You play a soldier whose brain is hooked up to a virtual world where you must protect a computer system from a virus. How do you do this? By mowing through armies of zombies out for blood. You'll need to multitask solving problems to help the computer, while also dealing with waves of enemies who want nothing more than to eat your brains. Grab it for Rift, Vive, WMR, or Index systems.
Dark story on a sunny day
Arizona Sunshine, compatible with Rift, Vive, WMR, and Index systems, blends a satisfying campaign with good ol' zombie gunplay. It's up to you to find other survivors not yet turned into a flesh-eating ghoul as you make your way across a scorching backdrop full of loot to pilfer and secrets to discover. There's a DLC that adds new guns and some extra campaign missions, and you can jump into a game with a friend for some co-op zombie action.
Survive, build, thrive
The Forest is a worthwhile game even without VR, but adding official support for Vive, Rift, and Index takes the horror to a new level. You're the only survivor of a commercial jet that crashed on an island, but you're coincidentally not alone. Build a base, craft new weapons and food, find secret loot, and defend yourself against the homicidal cannibals who venture out of their caves when the sun goes down.
Do we have more AAs?
If you've watched some of the films from the Paranormal Activity series, you probably know what you're getting yourself into. The VR spinoff for Vive, Rift, and Index platforms brings an immersive experience that has you searching through a dark home with a flashlight that just won't stay on. Set it up so you have no HUD or tips to really get into the game, and move through the story, which takes about four hours to complete.
Botched surgery
This Oculus exclusive, set in the '40s before color was invented, puts you behind the eyes of Robert Wilson, a man just put through heart surgery. Except now you don't have a heart, and the hospital is turning into a labyrinth full of ghosts and characters who may or may not be real. Lots of puzzles and some serious jump scares here, but it's overall a psychological thriller with an interesting story.
Scare yourself good with these VR horror games
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This roundup of horror games should deliver something for everyone, whether you're looking for survival horror, puzzles, zombie-shooting action, or a thrilling story. If you're not sure where to start, we recommend checking out Five Nights at Freddy's VR: Help Wanted. It's compatible with all the major VR platforms and it brings a ton of content to the table, including a DLC called Curse of the Dreadbear.
It does a fantastic job of getting under your skin with anxiety as you live day in and day out amongst huge, creepy animatronics that may or may not want to murder you, but rest assured there are plenty of jumpscares. Reading reviews, you'll see that many people don't get too far into the story simply because it's so scary. If that's not a selling point for a horror game, I don't know what is.
When not cowering with eyes closed, there's much to discover, including a ton of minigames and puzzles, as well as content from the older games in the series remastered for VR.
