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Fear is one of the most basic and primal human emotions, and we’re literally programmed to respond to it. Over time and with constant exposure to horror video games on the traditional flat screen, you learn to disconnect and desensitize yourself from imagined frights. Still, if you want to hammer that primordial feeling of fight or flight back into the ol’ lizard brain, higher sensations offered by the best VR horror games should do it.
From heart-pounding encounters with extraterrestrial terrors to bone-chilling exposures to the supernatural, these games will test your courage like never before. So, grab your VR headset and brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride of terror– and make sure you have ample room in which to move around. Unless you want your house wrecked.
Alien: Isolation
This horror game is nearly a decade old at this point so consider it a classic. It didn’t exactly get an official VR mode, but thanks to modders and their MotherVR mod for Alien: Isolation, you get to be the rat in H.R. Geiger’s twisted alien maze.
Alien Isolation plunges you into the dark, claustrophobic corridors of a space station infested with the relentlessly iconic Xenomorph. The game will have you tiptoeing around every corner, dreading the moment when that iconic blip appears on your motion tracker. Most of the time, all you can do is hide.
You’ll be surprised how long you can hold your breath thanks to this game. Just remember: in space, no one can hear you scream… but your neighbors might.
Phasmophobia
It’s a game about ghost hunting, and while it sounds cliched, horror games don’t actually dabble into that premise too often. That’s why you can consider Phasmophobia as a novel experience, especially in VR. It’s still in early access, but that doesn’t matter much; it will still scare out your very soul.
Phasmophobia drops you and your friends into haunted locations armed with nothing but your wits (which will be gone soon) and a collection of ghost-hunting gadgets. You can also play it solo if you hate yourself that much.
Phasmophobia will have you questioning every creak and groan in your own home. You’ve probably even seen some gameplay clips from streamers who squeal like pigs getting slaughtered while playing the game.
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard VR
The Resident Evil franchise has always been synonymous with survival horror, but Resident Evil 7 Biohazard VR takes things to a whole new level of provincial slasher horror. The game literally took inspiration from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to bring itself back to its horror roots.
As a result, it’s a lot more traumatic than the usual city zombies you encounter in other Resident Evil games. In-game, you’ll stumble into a dilapidated Louisiana plantation where the Baker family awaits, ready to turn you into their next body-horror masterpiece.
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The VR experience puts you right in the shoes of protagonist Ethan Winters as he battles inexplicable creatures and tries to uncover the dark secrets lurking within the mansion.
Cosmodread
Space is the final frontier, and in Cosmodread, it’s also your final destination. This VR roguelike horror game throws you into the depths of an abandoned space station overrun by otherworldly horrors.
You’re armed with only a flashlight and your wits, and you’ll have to navigate the station’s labyrinthine corridors while avoiding some real and imagined creatures. If you thought that’s easy, wait until you have to do all of that under the pressure of puzzle-solving. There always have to be puzzles.
The Exorcist: Legion
A sizable chunk of the VR horror community swears by The Exorcist: Legion as one of the best VR horror games they’ve played. All that’s left is to see for yourself, or if those fans are just blowing steam.
As expected, you confront the forces of darkness in The Exorcist: Legion, it’s a VR experience that will test both your courage and faith. You’re supposedly a member of the Vatican’s elite Exorcist Unit in this game, and you have to investigate demonic possessions and perform harrowing exorcisms in a series of five spine-trembling episodes.
So while the power of Christ might compel you, The Exorcist: Legion might still have you questioning your own beliefs as you confront the horrors of the supernatural. Just remember to keep a crucifix handy… and maybe a change of underwear.
Into the Radius
Into the Radius is not just a good VR horror game, it’s also one of the most unforgettable VR shooters to date because it emulates the mysteries of contemporary Eastern European urban legends surrounding the Chernobyl Disaster. That very same atmosphere was what made the STALKER series so unparalleled and unusual.
Here, you step into the mysterious and deadly Pechorsk Radius, it’s a forbidden zone filled with strange anomalies and eldritch horrors. It’s obviously an analog to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The game was inspired by the similarly named works of the Strugatsky brothers.
Even though you get guns and can feel safe or powerful, bullets can only do so much against the out-of-place giggles of children in an abandoned city or the incomprehensible anomalies that aren’t afraid of you. It’s the kind of horror that makes you feel small and helpless despite your means of fighting back.
Dreadhalls
What’s scarier than being lost in a dark, labyrinthine dungeon? Being lost in a dark, labyrinthine dungeon in virtual reality, of course! Dreadhalls delivers classic survival horror thrills as you navigate procedurally generated mazes filled with unspeakable monsters. That’s part of what makes it so heart-pounding. It’s a random experience every time you jump in.
With its straightforward yet effective gameplay mechanics and oppressive atmosphere, Dreadhalls proves that sometimes the simplest scares are the most effective. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself jumping at shadows and checking over your shoulder long after you’ve removed your headset.
It’s also one of the first few VR games that showcased the platform’s effectiveness in delivering more perceptible scares, and some might consider it a VR pioneer.
