Horror games

Forget Freddy’s razor glove for a second - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1989) for DOS is terrifying in its own way. Mostly because of the controls. You play as a teen trying to stay awake and alive while navigating dreamscapes full of death and digitized screams. The gameplay is a mix of exploration and survival, wrapped in graphics that look l...

A Personal Nightmare (1989) blends horror and detective work into one spooky little cocktail of 1980s DOS game design. You return to your hometown to find it overrun by demonic possession, creepy villagers, and enough red flags to wallpaper a crypt. The game mixes first-person exploration with point-and-click mechanics, and while it does try to be ...

Alien Trilogy is a first-person shooter video game released in 1996 for various platforms, including the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and MS-DOS. Developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim Entertainment, the game is based on the first three films in the Alien franchise. The game's narrative loosely follows the storyline of these mo...

Step into the polygonal shoes of Edward Carnby (or Emily Hartwood, if you're feeling bold) in Alone in the Dark, the grandfather of survival horror games. Released in 1992 for DOS, it throws you into a haunted mansion filled with wobbly monsters, creepy ambiance, and tank controls that feel like you're steering a refrigerator through a minefield. B...

The sequel no one expected takes our trench-coated hero from gothic horror to gangster ghost story. Yes, Alone in the Dark 2 (1993, DOS) swaps Lovecraftian horror for Tommy guns and pirates - because why not? The combat’s a bit like slap-fighting with broomsticks, and the puzzles could drive a monk to madness, but the charm is in the chaos. I...

By the time Alone in the Dark 3 (1994, DOS) rolls around, Edward Carnby has seen it all - so now it’s off to the Wild West, because of course it is. Zombies? Check. Cowboys? Check. Zombie cowboys? You bet. The gameplay is still tanky, the scares are a bit more “boo” than “boo-hoo,” but the sheer commitment to throwing ...

You don’t need to hate spiders to fear Arachnophobia (1991), but it helps. Based on the movie of the same name, it tasks you with exterminating wave after wave of creepy crawlies in a town that’s clearly being punished for its sins. Armed with bug spray, you’ll squish, spray, and scream your way through rooms infested with more pi...

Beast is ASCII horror at its most gloriously minimal. You’re a brave soul (well, a smiley face) trapped in a dungeon with sentient blobs (the titular beasts) that want you very, very dead. Armed only with moving blocks and raw fear, you’ll test your puzzle reflexes against relentless monsters. It’s like Sokoban had a nightmare, an...

Beetlejuice: Skeletons in the Closet is a video game based on the popular Beetlejuice franchise, which includes a 1988 film directed by Tim Burton and an animated television series that aired in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The game involves controlling Beetlejuice as he attempts to clear skeletons from various closets in a haunted house. T...

In Blackstar: Agent of Justice (1995), you play a noir-style detective in a trench coat so dramatic it probably has its own union. Set in a dark, crime-ridden city where everyone talks like they’ve swallowed gravel, it’s a point-and-click game with a gritty tone and a suspicious number of cigarette-smoking NPCs. Expect interrogation, cl...

Ah yes, Blood (1997)—the cheerful little game where you rise from the grave, wield a pitchfork, and quote evil-sounding movie lines while setting cultists on fire. It’s a first-person shooter soaked in gore and dark humor, like Doom went on a bender with Evil Dead. Between the voodoo dolls, dynamite bundles, and haunted amusement parks,...

BloodNet combines vampires, cyberspace, and noir in a cocktail so strange it probably shouldn’t work but somehow does. You are a hacker who just got bitten by a vampire and now you must juggle your thirst for blood with your desire to not completely lose your mind. The game world is dense, filled with dark alleys, gothic hackers, and more dia...

Bram Stoker's Dracula (the game) is based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the movie) based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the book). Confused yet? Good. This 1993 action-platformer has you battling the undead with the grace of a drunken Van Helsing. It's moody, messy, and full of things trying to kill you—like a haunted Castlevania knockoff ...

Castlevania, originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986, was developed and published by Konami. The game was known in Japan as Akumajo Dracula (Devil's Castle Dracula) and was later renamed Castlevania for its North American release. In Castlevania, players take on the role of Simon Belmont, a vampire hunter from the Bel...

Doom was released by id Software in 1993. It is widely regarded as one of the most influential and groundbreaking video games of all time, particularly within the first-person shooter (FPS) genre.Set in the future on the moons of Mars, the game follows the player-controlled character, known as the "Doom Marine", as they battle through a research fa...

Doom 2 is the sequel to the much acclaimed FPS Doom. Doom 2: Hell on Earth is a horror sci-fi first-person shooter created by id Software, (John Carmack, Sandy Petersen, John Romero) set on a hellish Earth invaded by demons. The player must find his way in 32 levels, shooting down monsters and picking up keys in order to unlock new areas.

Elvira 2: The Jaws of Cerberus is an abandoned horror adventure/RPG hybrid game with elements of dark fantasy, developed by Horror Soft and published by Accolade for DOS in 1991. Elvira 2: The Jaws of Cerberus is also part of the Elvira series of games, each of one based on the popular movie/TV personality Elvira.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark is a horror-themed point-and-click adventure and RPG video game released in 1990 by Accolade for platforms including Amiga, Atari ST, and MS-DOS. It’s loosely based on the campy, gothic horror persona of Elvira, played by Cassandra Peterson, who was a popular horror hostess in the 1980s and early '90s. You pl...