Halloween is right around the corner and a lot of players are getting into the holiday spirit by playing as many horror games as possible. This year, Xbox Game Pass makes the search for scares especially easy with a wickedly good collection of fear-inducing horror games included with a subscription. Microsoft could honestly change the name to Xbox Fright Pass in honor of the season with how many creepy and thrilling titles are available right now.
Here are some of the best horror games available on Xbox Game Pass this Halloween season. Alternatively, if you can’t do horror, check out our list of spooky games for Halloweenies.
Back 4 Blood
Back 4 Blood is a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead with a lot of obvious influences (it’s no surprise that it’s actually made by the same developers). It’s a squad-based first-person shooter that’s best enjoyed with a group of friends where players are tasked with surviving against an endless horde of gruesome, parasite-infected zombies, called “Ridden.”
Explosive zombies, giant zombies, bloated zombies — it’s all here and the strategies you and your friends will need to build to survive make it a great horror experience that’s best enjoyed together. Just picture a bigger, more modern version of Left 4 Dead, but with a surprisingly fun card system that lets you create specific builds.
The Dead Space series
Dead Space has a reputation for being one of the scariest gaming experiences out there. Those claims are 100% true and now it’s easier than ever to witness the horror of the entire series thanks to it all being readily available on Game Pass, via EA Play. Set in the year 2508, the game follows Issac Clarke, a space engineer who has to fight against hulking Necromorphs that want to tear his limbs off.
With a new remake of the first game in the series on the way, now is a perfect time to go into space and fight some of the creepiest enemies in gaming.
Destroy All Humans!
For fans of those campy “horror” flicks of the 50s, 70s, or even horror satire films like Mars Attacks or Killer Clowns From Outer Space, Destroy All Humans! is the Halloween game for you. You play as an invading alien in the 1950s United States and go through all the classic tropes of probing, abducting cows, shooting ray guns, and more. This is all accompanied by hilarious writing that’s made the game into a cult classic.
The version on Xbox Game Pass is a remake of the original 2005 game, so it has been modernized with updated visuals. So you can enjoy the classic without all the awkward fuss of a mid-2000s action platformer.
The Doom series
Game Pass features all the Doom you could ever want from the original to the newest entry, Doom Eternal. That’s thanks to Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition, which brought all of its best properties to Xbox Game Pass. Other great horror games like Prey are now on the service because of that, but Doom is a major addition.
This series isn’t about making the player feel scared. Rather, it’s the player that gets to put fear into the hearts of the demons hunting them using a massive arsenal of heavy weaponry. Though admittedly, the original Doom might make you jump a few times during its dense trek through the mazes of Mars.
Carrion
If you’re sick of being the hero of the horror story trying to kill a scary creature, why not try being the grotesque monster instead?
Devolver Digital’s reverse horror Metroidvania, Carrion puts players in control of a Lovecraftian creature on the hunt for the humans that dared to imprison it. The Carrion grows stronger with every feast, giving it access to more abilities and more ways to stalk and kill its prey.
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7 is one of the most prolific titles in the horror game genre in a long time. Coming off a string of weak games, it brought the struggling series back to life with a fun story, very memorable characters, and a return to classic Resident Evil horror and cheese-factor. It’s a back-to-basics reboot that focuses on a scary house, a handful of terrifying monsters, and some good old-fashioned jump scares.
If you’ve never played a Resident Evil game before, this is a great place to start. Even divorced from the franchise, it’s one of the best horror games in recent years, and a must-play Game Pass title this Halloween.
Alien: Isolation
If your goal is to find a game so scary that you want to turn the game off, Alien: Isolation is the one to play. Based on the Alien film franchise, the game features a persistent Alien enemy that stalks players around a ship. It’s absolutely terrifying.
This game has such a stressful atmosphere that you’ll literally be on the edge of your seat waiting for the next Xenomorph to show up the entire time. Though here’s a fair warning: You may throw your controller from time to time due to the scares. I sure did.
Visage
If Isolation isn’t scary enough for you, Visage might be up your alley. Fans of horror games owe it to themselves to try out this gem, as it’s easily one of the scariest games out there.
Visage takes a lot of notes from the John Carpenter school of horror. The game masterfully uses a tense atmosphere and a slow burn pace to amplify the scare factor as much as possible. The indie game is heavily inspired by P.T., a fantastic horror game that’s just about impossible to play, so this might be your next best option if you never got to try it.
Dead by Daylight
Dead by Daylight is a love letter to fans of horror movies and games. Not only does it feel like a classic slasher film made into a videogame, but it gives you the opportunity to play as some classic characters of the genre like Michael Myers, Hellraiser, Heather Mason, Jill Valentine, and a lot more.
This is an asymmetrical horror game where a team of humans has to escape from a player controlling a slasher villain. Whether playing as a hunter or survivor, each class has unique skills and different strategies to either work with others and escape or kill everyone in their way.
