Ladies and ghouls, prepare to scream your pixels off because we’re diving into the world of the best VR horror games. Let’s face it; this genre has come a long way since the days of low-res graphics and jump scares that would make your grandmother yawn.
And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be screaming so loud that your neighbors will think a real-life monster is attacking you.
Ready to get afraid? Here are some of the scariest VR horror games that will leave you spooked!
DEVOUR
Our first game plummets one down to the very depts of hell if you’re unable to stop the crazed cultists chasing after you. Use all the tools in your arsenal; run, scream, hide, or even betray your fellow peers, but don’t get caught by them!
Aside from VR making the experience ever-so-realistic, you also get to party up with your friends in this unique co-op experience. With its interactive elements, and horror-filled aesthetics, the game challenges you to use every ounce of that brain power needed to survive!
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted
Those who have been waiting for a new installment of Five Nights at Freddy’s may want to check out this VR spin-off. In the same vein as the original series, Help Wanted is a horror game that will keep you on your toes with its jump scares packed in mini-games.
Don’t be fooled by its more playful appearance, though. The game offers similar terror elements as its predecessors, with familiar friends like Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and The Mangle making their frightful appearances. A non-VR version is also available, though playing it through the headset is highly preferred.
The Forest
The Forest is a VR game that takes place inside an overgrown forest where you stand alone as the only survivor of a plane crash.
Based on the popular PC game of the same name, it’s up to you to survive in this mysterious, open-world by gathering resources and building shelters. Your survival also depends on your knowledge of the surroundings, fraught with hostile animals and savage cannibals.
The core game is frightening on its own, but the way shadows monsters move at the edge of your vision through the VR headset heightens the fear element considerably. While devilish creatures won’t jump at you, the game provides a chilling experience in its own right that works with the right crowd.
Cosmodread
“Cosmodread” is a 2021 VR survival horror roguelike. As the spaceship’s sole survivor, you attempt to make your way back to Earth aboard a nightmare spacecraft full of hostile enemies.
As you explore this derelict ship, you have to traverse through random rooms and corridors to find the next path forward in the game’s procedurally generated layout. The scariest thing is you never truly know what lies beyond the door—whether it’s resources to craft weapons and tools or hazards and enemies that are out for your blood.
Phasmophobia
If you’re a horror junkie like I am, you’ve probably (read: definitely) already tried this game before.
But don’t assume even for a second that your prior experience in the game is enough to keep you cool and collected—the VR version of this game manages to escalate the fear factor two-fold.
Developed by the experts at Kinetic Games, this VR game’s four-player multiplayer mode provides a fresh experience that can leave you and your friends screaming at each other in a cacophony of emotions.
With randomized levels and a slew of different monsters, no game offers the same experience. Are you ready to relive the experience in VR again?
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
Based on the mythology of the highly-popular Paranormal Activity franchise, The Lost Soul is a VR game that will feed your fear of the unseen.
This immersive horror game challenges you to explore an average home in the middle of a quiet neighborhood at night. With limited tools, progressing through the game requires you to outwit the paranormal creatures that pervade the house.
The game’s creators also intend to include a randomizer feature, which will force you to search the house without external resources.
Resident Evil 4 VR
Resident Evil 4 (RE4) is the first RE game on the list. This game, which takes you back to the mid-2000s with a modern portable experience, manages to remain a very high-quality port despite its age.
Instead of the 3rd person POV of the previous game, the VR version creates a visually competent first-person shooter that still manages to stay true to the atmosphere of the original. It’s not the stereotypical horror game with unsettling tight corners and loud jumpscares, but it deserves a spot on the list just the same.
Layers of Fear: Solitude
You get to explore a Victorian mansion filled with secrets in Layers of Fear: Solitude. In this horror mystery, you play the role of a mentally unstable painter that’s on the verge of insanity.
With each room comes a new nightmare, and getting through them all will take your sanity to its limits. You have to look for clues and solve the puzzles, but will you manage to quell your own demons before they consume you instead?
Layers of Fear: Solitude is a maddening yet chilling horror game that doesn’t rely on cheap jumpscares. From doors shutting to stuff falling, it’s as if the house has a life on its own, making it a rich and downright horrifying experience.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
Descend into perhaps the most horrifying rollercoaster ride of your life in this VR spin-off of Supermassive Games’ 2015 horror hit, Until Dawn.
In Rush of Blood, you ride a roller coaster that revolves around the haunted reimagining of the world in Until Dawn, with monsters, mannequins, and other murderous creatures trying to kill you. You have a few weapons at your disposal to counter their attempts to grab you, but your ability to parry opponents will be the difference-maker in whether you succeed or not.
While the original game is slow-paced and suspenseful, this VR spinoff keeps you exhilarated from start to finish.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is one of the most polished VR horror games to date, providing an unsettling experience in horrifyingly detailed visuals.
The game takes you back to the Baker household, where you play as the protagonist Ethan Winters in a first-person perspective. While there is some occasional blurriness when you walk around, the game is still enjoyable. These faults aren’t enough to derail the immersion to the game at all.
Unlike Resident Evil 4, RE7: Biohazard is filled with jumpscares that can leave you shaking, even if you’ve gone through the same sequence in the past.
If you’re a VR horror enthusiast, this game is one you should add to your list.
