Normally when playing a horror game, if it gets too much you can just turn your head away or look at the ensuing terror through the gaps in your fingers. Not in virtual reality. There is no escaping. And there is something about this pulsating intensity that makes me absolutely LOVE this virtual reality genre.
So, we’ve created a list of some of the best VR horror games available right now. Read on to find out more.
Related: The best PS2 horror games, The best Xbox 360 horror games, The best hidden object horror games.
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5. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
For anyone who played the original Until Dawn for the PS4, there is no question whether you will enjoy this virtual reality game for the PSVR. Released in October 2016, it is a direct spin-off from the original PS4 title, and features a horror-themed roller coaster that the player rides on via first-person perspective, providing a truly bracing and terrifying VR experience.
Players find themselves in a carnival amusement park and must shoot at animate and inanimate foes, with the game increasing in difficulty and intensity as it progresses. There are several roller coasters available to play throughout the game, each providing its unique thrills and jump-scares. If you have played the original title by Supermassive Games, then you will recognize some of the locations and characters encountered throughout the journey, but this is not essential to the gameplay if you are new to the franchise.
One thing worth noting is that this game was built directly for a virtual reality experience, and the scares and gameplay are designed as such to optimize the gameplay for VR users. This is really evident in the way the game plays out and, without giving too much away, you’ll be forced to face your fears in order to progress through the game. Looking in the direction that all your intuitions tell you not to look, is most likely the way to go!
If you want to find out more about this game and see first-hand why we think it is one of the best VR horror games around, check out the video below.
4. Emily Wants to Play
Without a doubt, Emily Wants to Play is one of the best VR horror games you can play right now. This game is a survival horror title available on the PC, Oculus Rift, PS4 and Xbox One. In this game, the virtual reality gamer takes on the role of a pizza delivery guy who is taking a pizza to a house containing a young girl named Emily, the main source of everything terrifying in this game.
Once you are inside the house, you are free to explore it freely and look for hints and clues throughout. The game takes place over a period of 7 hours – from 11pm til 6am – and each hour of the game represents a new level, with new clues and opportunities. The main puzzle the player encounters is how to interact with Emily’s dolls. If the player fails to interact correctly with said toys, they will soon find out via the form of a rather unforgiving jump-scare, and then the player must restart the level (or hour).
All the expected horror game elements are present in this game – doors conveniently lock behind you, lights go out in timely fashion, did you or did you not just see a creepy girl flash upon the screen? Yet, everything is done in such a simplistic and masterful fashion that, before you know it, you are completely immersed into the house’s disconcertingly calm environment, and you forget about all of your mitigation strategies for previous horror game scare tactics.
This all adds up to a rather frightening virtual reality horror experience and – although the game is not too long – it is certainly one worth checking out if you’re a fan of this genre. If you want to find out more, check out the links and the video below.
3. Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
There is a general consensus that the Paranormal Activity movie franchise has been getting progressively weaker since its first instalment was brought to cinema screens in 2007, but this VR horror game, released by VRWerx, injects a welcome lease of life into the series.
The first thing to note is how impressive the visuals are, and this sense of realism creates a thoroughly tense atmosphere. Add to this the game’s adaptive scare system and you’ll find the logical part of your being pleading with you to take off the VR headset. The adaptive system means that objects are randomly placed throughout the house as you explore it, meaning that each player can have a unique experience with the game. This also means you can play through the whole game more than once and have completely different encounters, which is great given that the length of the game is relatively short.
The game involves a lot of exploration and navigating your way through the house to search for relevant items in draws, cupboards, and the like. It is whilst you’re exploring that you will really get a sense of the game’s atmosphere and tension. Players can interact with an impressive amount of items within the house, and this can leave you on edge as you never know which objects will have significance to the game as you roam around the large, open space.
There has been some criticism aimed at the control system for the game, but it is worth noting that there are several movement variants to choose from in the options menu. Here you can test which movement setting is best for you before proceeding.
Overall, Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is a very complete VR horror experience and one which provides a strong sense of immersion and, with it, dread. This is one of the genres better options, and we strongly recommend that you try this out.
Check out the gameplay below to see why people consider this one of the best VR horror games around right now.
2. Face Your Fears
Released in 2016, Face Your Fears is a throroughly creepy game that kind of slipped through the radar. It’s surprising that it hasn’t had more attention, as it is easily one of the best VR horror games available.
Available on Gear VR for free, this game will pit you against robots, ghosts, and everything in between as you have try to and face up to the most horrifying scenarios you can imagine. One of the main appeals about Face Your Fears is that it is incredibly fun, especially for a horror game. You can multiply the fun tenfold if you’re playing with friends, too.
There’s no doubt about it, this game developed by Turtle Rock Studios is one of the best VR horror games on any platform. Watch the video below for confirmation.
1. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard VR
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard transposes brilliantly to the VR experience. This game is probably the most complete on the list – it has a compelling story, an eerily captivating atmosphere, and some rather chilling music. All of these attributes combine to make this, in our view, the best virtual reality horror game out there.
If you’ve played the standard version, you will already know how brutally terrifying this game is. Yet, in the PSVR version, that terror is multiplied tenfold. Here, there is no escaping behind the comfort of your analogue sticks, using your thumbs to move around corners to check for the presence of the annoyingly unpredictable Jack. No, here in the virtual reality version, you must physically crane your neck around these obstacles to peer into the dark void. This is one instance where practice does not make perfect. In fact, quite the opposite, it seemingly gets more difficult.
The storyline can last a good 12+ hours, making it comparatively longer than any of the other games in this list. Because of this, it is recommended that you remember to take breaks at regular intervals to avoid any VR sickness. This shouldn’t be a problem with this game, though. This game becomes like physical exercise at times, and it almost enforces the player to take involuntary breaks, if only just to break from the exhaustion of consistently tensing up and writhing through the seemingly endless hauntings.
This survival horror game is one that others should aspire to be like, and one which you MUST try if you are a horror game aficionado. You can see why this is one of the best VR horror games in the video below.
Get in touch
Do you agree with our list of the best VR horror games? What would you like to see in here? Let us know in the comment section below!
If you liked this article, you might enjoy reading our post about the best free horror games available for the PC. If you have any, please get in touch below or contact me at richard@blogofgames.com.
I don’t own a VR set, but a friend of mine does. We’ve played Resident Evil 7 with the VR set and honestly I could not handle it, haha 🙂 Neither did my friend. It was hilarious though to see him getting all freaked out and me standing there next to him.
Until Dawn is also on our playlist. So as soon we get that game, where gonna have some crazy scary game nights again. 🙂
Hey Jurgen! Yeah it took me a few tries too before I could pluck up the courage for Resident Evil 7! I think the reactions that people have with VR is one of the best things about it, it can be hilarious!
I loved your review! I have tried playing Until Dawn a few months ago thanks to my nephew who’s a big fan of horror VR, and I must admit it, it was terrifying – I lasted only a few minutes! It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted!
I like how many of the games are based on films, especially the Paranormal Activity films which were really spooky and intense.
I also like how you mentioned that breaks should be taken routinely as even though I lasted only a few minutes trying to play one game, I did feel a bit sick!.
Hey Teresa! Great to here that you enjoyed the review. Yes, Until Dawn is really quite terrifying and takes some time to adjust to the atmosphere! It’s a good point you make about the games being based on films. The VR genre lends itself well to this, so I think (and hope!) we will get a lot more film-based VR experiences in the future!
This is exactly what I needed. I have a 16 year old son and he absolutely loves playing video games. He can sit up in his room for hours for playing games all day. I just don’t understand how he does it or when he finds time to eat. But annyways his birthday is coming up and he has been bugging me about getting him a VR headset and these horror games. So I am glad I can across this website. I am definitely going to check some of these out. Where would be the best place I can buy them? Great article, very helpful.
Hey Garrett, thanks for commenting. I can totally relate to your son and his love for video games! As long as he keeps perspective and doesn’t prioritise gaming over important happenings in the world, I think it can be a great hobby.
Also, with respect to buying him a VR headset, whilst I very much recommend them (they are my favorite way to play games now), I have to add that it’s really important to take regular breaks as some people experience dizziness and feelings of nausea.
If you are looking to buy these games on the headset, you are welcome to follow my affiliate links to Amazon in this article (placed above each video). Otherwise, personally I like to find bargains on ebay or local brick-and-mortar second-hand shops!
Hope that helps, and have a nice day!
I have recently bought psvr like a month back. Earlier I had a ps3 and I loved playing games like last of us, far cry, assassin’s creed etc and after that I was really fascinated from the VR concept so me and my brother bought it last month. In that I am playing Firewall Zero Hour at present and I am really liking it, however, I also want to try a good horror game for an experience. I think Paranormal Activity will give me a hell of an experience. Apart from horror, are there any other games you would recommend me? Some must try for VR?
Hey Hari, thanks for the comment and it’s great that you’ve got into the world of VR gaming. I really think it is the way to experience games. Firewall Zero Hour is a great game from what I’ve tried, but I haven’t played it too much in all honesty.
VR horror games can get a bit much sometimes (my neighbors would probably agree with this, too…), and if you’re looking for another game I’d have to say that Skyrim is my absolute favorite to play with a VR headset. It’s already a great game and once you fully immerse yourself with the headset the open world environment really starts to come to life! Another one worth trying is Farpoint, it’s a game with great visuals but personally it’s not one of my favorites as I’m not the biggest fan of first-person shooter games.
Hope that helps, Hari, and have a nice day!
I’ve had experience of these VR horror games through my kids who like going to the VR chairs they have in shopping malls. At first I was horrified that they chose a horror game but it turned out that it wasn’t too bad! I don’t think I could take it to be honest! I’m too much of a scaredy cat!
Well reviewed though! I’d like to see reviews of other genres too.
Michelle
Hey Michelle! Thanks for the comment. Haha, yeah VR horror games are not for everyone! I, too, was a little sceptical at the start, and even now I sometimes fail to pluck up the courage to immerse myself in these dark worlds! I always end u coming back to this genre, though, it’s terrifyingly addictive.
I will definitely be reviewing some other VR genres in the near future, thanks again for reading and have a nice day!
I am a huge fan of anything horror, especially video games. Unfortunately for me, i have never tried it on the VR console, but I have played a baseball game and it didn’t feel all that real. To be honest, I’m still on the fence with VR as currently structured. I’m just worried how much I will enjoy the experience. I know there is still so much work to be done in terms of technology, so I’m really looking forward to see where it goes in the future. I’ve always been a fan of the resident evil series, and I gotta admit that it looks pretty cool based on that video you just provided. Great review.
Hi Ralph, I completely understand the scepticism for VR gaming and, I agree, it has a long way to go before it reaches its potential. For me, though, it is the best way of gaming in certain genres. Horror being one of them. I can’t imagine baseball being the correct environment for VR, it would be much more fun to actually go outside and play it. Walking through a haunted mansion while shape-altering foes chase you, however, is probably best done in a VR world!
Thanks for the comment Ralph, and hope you have a nice day!
Another post that I read and it has fascinated me, as I said before I´m a lover of video games, I played Resident Evil and Doom and I love them, horror games are one of my favorites.
I enjoy your blog too much, the recommendations that you give and the videos that you integrate also make me very happy. I will definitely read the best free horror games available for the PC recommendation.
Thanks for the great post. 🙂
Hey Emmanuel! Great to find you on another one of my posts! Resident Evil is a great game and is really quite something when experienced in VR! I haven’t tried the remakes of Doom, however, because I’m such a fan of the early ones (particularly Doom 2 released in 1994) that I don’t want to ruin them! Maybe I should give them a try, though, a lot of people say they are really good.
Great to hear that you will be reading other posts, and thanks again for commenting. Have a nice day!