Horror games have always been trendy among gamers of all ages and platforms. From the classic survival horror game titles from the 90s, like Silent Hill, to modern creations, like Visage, there are several experiences to choose from.

This genre continuously revolutionizes its mechanics and introduces new ways to scare players. Most people think a psychological horror game is restricted only to jump scares, but they can go far beyond that.

The psychological horror genre is very versatile and has numerous different kinds of titles. From narrative-focused games to puzzle titles with horror elements, each has its own characteristics.

If you’re looking for a new psychological horror title to play, you came to the right place. In this article, we will show you the best psychological horror games you can download and play right now.

We will also cover different types of experiences and platforms to ensure you find the perfect pick for you. Make sure to look at each option to see which one best suits what you’re looking for.

Before we see some of the best video game options for horror fans, it is crucial to understand the difference between survival horror and psychological horror. The survival horror game focuses not only on the haunting atmosphere and the supernatural enemies, but they also usually feature a sort of combat system in which you can fight back against the enemies you find along the way.

Along with direct combat, you can find healing items and other things to help you survive. This is not restricted only to survival horror, but that’s where it’s the most common.

The survival horror started its success in the '90s with iconic franchises like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. They have very solid game features for combat and have become industry standards for developers creating games of this kind.

On the other hand, the psychological horror subgenre is characterized by indirect encounters with what’s haunting you. Sometimes, you spend the entire game without seeing what’s after you. You can have healing items like in a Silent Hill game, but you won’t be fighting against the creature.

Not seeing the monster doesn’t mean it’s not scary. Some might argue that not knowing what’s after you causes even more panic and fear.

To summarize, survival horrors are more like action games, where you’ll engage in combat and try to defeat the monster chasing you. A psychological thriller tries to provoke fear through the atmosphere, with the settings and sounds, even though the threat is not actually there.

Now it’s time to see some of the scariest games you can play right now. Make sure to take a look at each option to see which one best suits what you’re looking for in a game.

We will also cover multiple platforms, so regardless of where you’re playing the game, there’s always an option for you. Here are the best games that will make you shiver:

• Release Date: September, 2010

• Developer: Frictional Games

• Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows

If there’s a game that revolutionized psychological horror as we know it, it’s the original game from the Amnesia franchise. Considered by many to be the scariest game of this subgenre, the first game from the series, called The Dark Descent, will take you through a journey into madness and insanity.

The game mixes mysterious and immersive storytelling with puzzle-solving mechanics that make exploring new areas one of the best parts of this haunting environment. Be careful; you can’t stay for too long in the darkness, or you’ll go insane.

You have a lantern to help guide you through the dark corridors of what looks like an abandoned house with no one inside. Use your lantern wisely since the fuel is very limited, and you won’t find it everywhere you go.

In Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you’ll play as Daniel, a man who wakes up in this big castle but can’t remember anything about his past. Walking through the corridors of this disturbing place, you must fight for your life while trying to recall the purpose of your presence and unravel the chilling truth behind the unfolding events.

You’re not alone in this big house, and the game set will make you feel unsafe. The supernatural entities might be waiting for you anywhere, and the sound design will constantly make you shiver. This adventure is a must-play for any horror lover looking for a terrifying experience.

• Release Date: September, 2013

• Developer: Red Barrels Studio

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows

It is not wrong to say that Outlast and Amnesia are related horror games due to what they represent in the genre. The psychological horror subgenre struggled to launch memorable titles that would sell hundreds of thousands of copies.

Thanks to the two giant titles, people started noticing how fun these horror games could be and what they offer. Even after over ten years, when discussing horror games, the first ones that come to mind are Outlast and Amnesia.

The first Outlast title is a psychological horror game with many gore elements in its scenarios and story. Prepare to face grotesque monsters while fighting for your life in every new encounter.

You’re a journalist called Miles Upshur receiving a mysterious email from an insider within the infamous Mount Massive Asylum. The email reveals that Murkoff Corporation is conducting sinister experiments on the patients, prompting you to uncover the truth and expose the truth to the world.

Upon arrival at the location, your worst nightmare begins. Constantly hounded by the remaining patients of the facility, you must navigate the horrors of Mount Massive in a desperate bid to find an escape route. Will you be able to break free from this nightmare?

If you seek a scary game that will evoke your deepest fears, this is the one to go with. Grab your camera and start recording the truth about their cruel experiments.

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• Release Date: August, 2019

• Developer: Bloober Team

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Meta Quest, and Microsoft Windows

If you’re a fan of the Blair Witch movies or are looking for a shorter game, this might be the one to go for. Blair Witch will make you feel like a real character from the movie, not only because of its incredibly realistic graphics but also thanks to the atmosphere and sound design.

Just like you expect, you’ll rely on a camera to record what you see and guide you through dark places with its night vision mode. You’ll also have your loyal dog to help you find what you’re looking for.

This is one of this game's most unique mechanics and makes everything way more fun. You can give your dog a series of commands to perform, whether to search for something or follow you.

The game takes place two years after the Blair Witch Project movie, in 1996. You’ll control police officer Ellis Lynch in the search efforts inside the Black Hill Forest. After a boy goes missing in the woods, the entire city unites forces to look for him.

After everyone else loses hope of finding him alive, you decide to enter the forest by yourself to find new clues. That’s when an unforgettable nightmare starts.

The game has multiple endings, and they will depend on how you explore the environment and the puzzles you solve. Enter this cursed forest and put an end to the mystery of what really happened to this young boy.

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• Release Date: February, 2016

• Developer: Bloober Team

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows

Bloober Team is a game development company specializing in horror games, and in addition to Blair Witch, they boast the iconic Layers of Fear in their portfolio. This title is designed to evoke your deepest emotions and leave you feeling unsettled anywhere you go.

The focus here is to mess with the human mind, making you feel threatened even though there’s nothing after you. This is one of the best examples of how an excellent psychological game can evoke fear, even when there's no explicit danger lurking nearby.

Layers of Fear takes you on a journey where you control a psychologically disturbed painter trying to complete his most complex and meaningful piece ever. You’ll have to collect special supplies and ingredients hidden through the mansion rooms to do that. The more you paint, the more you learn about your past and the disturbed moments you already went through.

Along with the exploration, prepare for a lot of puzzle-solving since this is one of the key mechanics to progress in the title. The game puts players in uncomfortable situations, filled with tension, to make them feel the agony and insanity of the main character, making it one of the most immersive experiences on this list.

The best part is that if you like this one, there’s no need to stop there. There’s a sequel for it that continues the horrifying experience of the franchise but with a different storyline.

It is an authentic psychological experience that will please even the most picky players. Time to grab a canvas and start painting your masterpiece.

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• Release Date: February, 2009

• Developer: Monolith Studios

• Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows

F.E.A.R. is one of the most famous horror franchises ever created, and it stands for First Encounter Assault Recon. The second game from the saga took all the experience gathered from the first one and brought everything to a whole new level.

Even though most of its elements are typical of survival horror and action games, it also has a lot of psychological horror during its gameplay, especially when encountering entities trying to kill you. The atmosphere is also built specifically to make you feel like your weapons are useless and you can’t fight back.

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is a direct sequence from the first title and continues the story of the supernatural character, Alma Wade. She seeks vengeance against humanity for what they did to her and how they treated her special powers.

To do that, she plans to replace reality with her own version of it. This way, everyone will experience what humanity did to her for eternity.

Your main objective is to prevent that from happening and neutralize Alma. But this time, you won’t be playing as Point Man. You’ll control Delta Force’s Michael Becket, an experienced soldier and humanity’s only hope for stopping the little girl.

It is a scary game packed with action and a must-play for fans of this kind of experience. Grab your weapon and do everything you can to save the world.

Get F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Steam CD key on RoyalCDKeys.

• Release Date: September, 2017

• Developer: Team Salvato

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, macOS, and Microsoft Windows

How can a horror game look this cute? Well… There’s only one way to find out.

Doki Doki Literature Club is not your traditional psychological horror experience where you run and hide from monsters. Here, you’ll face a true psychological downfall, showing you how a person can crumble into insanity.

It is a visual novel that follows the story of a boy who just started high school and is now looking for a club to join. His close friend, Sayori, encourages him to consider joining the literature club, setting the stage for a captivating tale to unfold.

After joining it, you first notice that the club is composed only of girls: Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki, and Monika. You can choose between poems and dialogue choices to romantically pursue one of the girls.

What seems like a classic Japanese visual novel is actually much darker and scarier than you could ever imagine. As you progress in the game, things start to become strange.

The more you learn about the girls, the more dangerous it gets. Make the right choices and discover what this nightmare has to offer you.

• Release Date: September, 2015

• Developer: Frictional Games

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows

If you like Amnesia, you’ll surely enjoy this one. It is also developed by Frictional Games and has one of the best approaches to psychological horror. You can’t defend yourself from what awaits you. The only options are hiding and running.

In this sci-fi nightmare, you control Simon Jarrett, a man involved in a fatal crash that killed his friends and wife, also causing permanent brain damage to him. After living with these eventual pains and problems, he finds out about a new experimental treatment that might be the solution to his problems.

After going to the lab to start the treatment, you wake up in a random place, alone and with nothing to defend yourself. The place seems like it came straight out of a sci-fi movie, and the numerous mysterious noises happening everywhere make you think you’re not actually alone.

Now, you must do anything you can to try to find a way back home while exploring this fictional city and all it has to offer. The sci-fi environment will remind you of games like Dead Space but with the storytelling style of Amnesia that we all love.

Will you lose your sanity or survive this gruesome experience and go back home? Be careful with everything you do because someone might be watching you.

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• Release Date: October, 2018

• Developer: SadSquare Studio

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Microsoft Windows

We all know how P.T. impacted the gaming world forever. Its playable teaser is known to be one of the scariest experiences ever. Sadly, the project was canceled, and never saw the daylight.

Due to its enormous success, developers started to release P.T.-like experiences, and Visage is the most famous one. Considered the spiritual successor of the playable teaser, Visage takes you on a journey you’ll never forget.

The first-person title unfolds in the 1980s within a suburban house. You assume the role of Dwayne Anderson, a man wandering through the place after tragically taking the lives of his entire family before ending his own. Defenseless and haunted by the persistent fear of pursuit, the game encapsulates psychological horror, immersing players in an environment rife with dread at every step. As Dwayne, you face the consequences of your actions, trapped within the confines of the house with numerous supernatural entities tormenting you as punishment.

The game works with “chapters” that start once you pick up specific items. You can play them in the preferred order, but they’re all connected and part of the same story.

If you're eager to uncover the mysteries behind the unfolding events and delve into the chilling atmosphere, dive into this incredible horror game. It stands as one of the most terrifying experiences on this list and is a must-play for fans of P.T.

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• Release Date: August, 2017

• Developer: Bloober Team

• Platforms: Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, macOS, Linux, and Microsoft Windows

Another scary masterpiece from Bloober Team is Observer. The game takes a sci-fi approach that mixes great storytelling and creepy moments to create a narrative experience that will catch the player’s attention from beginning to end.

Set in Krakow, Poland, after a devastating digital plague claims the lives of thousands, the game unfolds in the year 2084. Society has undergone a profound technological revolution, granting individuals unprecedented capabilities in hacking and other activities beyond imagination.

You step in the shoes of the detective Daniel Lazarski, who receives an unexpected call from his son Adam. After tracing the number, the map leads you to a tenement building. Now you must investigate this location and try to find out what happened.

You’re a detective, so looking for clues won’t be hard. Plus, you’ll have a lot of modern tools and technology at your disposal to ensure you find all the details to discover what happened.

The game is a must-play if you’re looking for a good narrative that is not only scary but also immerses you in every aspect of the story. Explore this threatening environment and find out what really happened in this place.

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Now you know the best psychological horror games you can play, but another important aspect is to know where to find games for the best price. From the official store of each platform to dedicated online marketplaces, there are tons of options to choose from.

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Visit our homepage and check the latest releases for the best deal. It´s the most practical way to play every game you want while saving money.

Psychological horror games are very popular among gamers of all niches and ages, being some of the industry's most popular products with titles like Amnesia and Outlast. It is a versatile genre and, different from what most people think, you can have numerous different experiences in this kind of game.

From action-like titles where you fight against the monsters to visceral experiences where you can only hide, there are endless possibilities, and new titles are released every year to prove that. We all love some scary games, and there are plenty of options to choose from.

We showed you some of the best psychological horror games you can find, and now it’s time for you to choose the one that best suits your taste. Remember that these and thousands of other titles are available at RoyalCDKeys for a special price. Grab your equipment and prepare to survive the numerous threats you’ll find.