Ever wondered why a real-life haunted house is much scarier than a PC horror game? The answer is one word – Immersion.
Immersion makes any game much more enjoyable, including horror VR games. If you have been claiming to be brave hearts or are avid horror fans, we suggest you try the following games on VR. Not only are they quite interesting in terms of story, but they also keep the player on their toes throughout.
5 Best VR Horror Games
1. Resident Evil 7
If you wish to get extremely spooked out by VR games, Resident Evil 7 is one of the scariest games out there. This video game has been around for a long time and has garnered quite an extensive fan base. However, with the addition of VR, Resident Evil has become increasingly immersive and scary. So immersive that the developers did not need to depend on jump scares to get a reaction from the users.
The lighting and background sounds of Resident Evil VR are more than enough to make it one of the eeriest games.
Though there are rare instances of jump scares, the main spook factor comes from the anticipation the player feels about what’s to come. Especially when they enter the eerie Louisiana haunted mansion, which is one of the most haunting places in Resident Evil. Its loose floorboards and dim-lit environment will surely send shivers down the player’s spine.
Note that a dip in resolution might rarely occur, but not nearly enough to disrupt your immersive VR experience.
2. Phasmophobia
Phasmophobia entails the player becoming a paranormal investigator who searches various locations and properties for any paranormal activity. Many realistic tools, such as an EMF reader, spirit box, and thermometer, are provided to assist them in investigating the haunted properties.
Aside from paranormal tools, the game also provides items such as crosses, salt, and smudge sticks, and in certain properties, you may even find an Ouija board.
The video game offers both PC and VR gaming options, but the VR version stands out due to how immersive the game is. Like Resident Evil, there are no jumpscares in Phasmophobia. However, in the middle of your investigation, you might find lights flickering, candles dying, and a creepy voice coming from behind you. And if you are the unlucky one on your team, the ghost will capture you, disabling all contact with the rest of the teammates.
Before the ghost gets to all of you, you will have to find clues and gather evidence to figure out what type of ghost you’re dealing with.
If you guess the ghost correctly, you’ll get more money for your service. This in-game money can be used to upgrade your gadgets. Though there are various ghost hunter simulators, Phasmophobia, especially in VR, provides a terrifying experience. With eerie sound design, spooky creatures, and an uncomfortable atmosphere, the game can become real scary, real fast!
3. Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood
The last thing gamers will expect is an on-rails arcade shooter to arise from a horror perspective, but a virtual reality version of such a game exists. Rush of Blood heavily changes the pace of the original Until Dawn, where you will have to fight off monsters across seven levels.
Since the game is an extension of Until Dawn, many environments are taken from the same universe and include many familiar components.
Unlike the above-mentioned virtual reality horror games, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a scary VR game that keeps the players on their toes at all times. You may get jump scares from all angles in the most unexpected ways possible.
Like how Until Dawn takes a glance at the weakness of the human mind, Rush of Blood expands further beyond with more horror elements. And the result is an arcade shooter game that you might find hard to focus on due to the number of disturbing events happening around you.
4. Layers Of Fear: Solitude
If Layers of Fear caught your eye and you’ve been waiting for the best version of VR games, then Solitude will be your answer.
This game lets the players explore the past of the main character, a painter, which contains several insanities of a vulnerable mind. The virtual reality version of the game lets the players step into the painter’s shoes and take on the role of a struggling painter trying to finish his masterpiece. The closer he gets to finishing the work, the deeper he dives into his paintings, and his world becomes a more complex, twisted mess.
Layers of Fear can be classified as a disturbing tale that makes it difficult for the player to segregate reality from absolute insanity. The Victorian Mansion in the game features rooms that can come alive, changing in ways to bring forward new truths and uncover the protagonist’s secrets. Look away from the game for a second, and a whole new scenario will be waiting for you when your head is turned back.
5. Here They Lie
Here They Lie is an ambient VR horror game with deserted streets, narrow roads, and abandoned buildings. As the player moves around this bizarre world, they will meet terrifying creatures. Upon meeting them, the players will have to make a decision that could result in a life-or-death scenario.
Apart from the ambiance of the game, the graphics and characters are quite disturbing, leaving the player feeling uneasy. The game consists of a plot that the player can unravel as they play. Even though the gameplay is relatively straightforward, the twisted characters you will meet make the game quite engaging. If you manage to survive to the end of the game, you’ll get to see a haunting end with an uncomfortable theme.
On the off chance that you fail to make it to the end, you can get uneasy trying to find several answers to unanswered questions, like about the Woman in Yellow. As such, Here They Lie is an extremely underrated game, although the VR experience is immersive and terrifying.
3 Best VR Horror Games For Oculus Quest 2
1. Red Matter
Have you ever wanted to explore a secret base located on one of Saturn’s moons? If yes, Red Matter falls among the best VR games that can enable you to do just that with a hint of horror.
This best VR horror game has an intriguing story, where the players are sent to a Saturn moon to explore a secret research facility after a gruesome “Sci-Fi Cold War.”
Though the game begins with a relatively calm environment, the deserted base contains secrets that will leave the players astonished. The clues to finding all the secrets are hidden in various places of the base, and you will have to scour through to find them all.
Red Matter is a highly immersive VR game in the horror genre that is only made better with virtual reality. The puzzles in the VR game will make you wonder, making you use your mind to solve them all. Apart from solving puzzles, the extraterrestrial atmosphere will most definitely leave the player amazed. Since the game is VR, even the smallest details will have a huge effect on the player.
2. The Walking Dead: Saints And Sinners
This series did not initially have a huge impact on the general public due to basic zombie lore. Games like The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct and The Walking Dead by Overkill were not quite well received.
However, The Walking Dead: Saints Sinners, which is a virtual reality game, did not follow the path of its predecessors. The developers efficiently managed to create the illusion of living in Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. Since the game was released in VR format, the zombies became scarier, and the post-apocalyptic feel of the world became much more realistic.
The player has to combat enemies be they zombies or other human beings that survived.
Saints and Sinners is a game that keeps the players on edge. Unlike other zombie horror dramas, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners offers a much more immersive gaming experience in a world where zombies exist.
3. Dreadhalls
Dreadhalls does not believe in having the same playthrough. This procedurally created VR horror game is perhaps the best way to keep the players in a state of constant fear. Most survival VR horror games can become too easy to get used to, making them much less scary. But the claustrophobic, uncomfortable dungeons of Dreadhalls can be hard to get familiarized with.
The players initially get a lantern and a never-ending supply of oil and will have to make their way through the spooky halls of Dreadhalls. Their only resort is to use stealth to avoid running into any horrors. Only stealth can help you stay safe from the bloodthirsty creatures that lurk around the massive dungeon.
To further improve the feeling of fear, positional audio cues are used, which will warn you of any incoming threat. What better way to keep your heart racing throughout the VR game?
Free Best VR Horror Games
1. The Bellows
Have you ever been to a haunted house? If yes, then The Bellows mimics that exact feeling of anticipation and fear.
The game starts with the protagonist situated all alone in a house that is supposedly haunted. Once you make your way into the hallway, the lights start to flicker and eventually go out. When this happens, you will have to make use of handheld lanterns to make your way through the dark corridors.
But navigating through is a challenging task. Books may fall, furniture can move on its own, paintings will fall off, and all other sorts of things while you make your way through. To remove the chance of any motion sickness, the game adds a blacked outer area around the player’s centered view, which can be toggled off if needed.
Though the majority of the game depends on anticipation, the random appearance of unpleasant things can elevate the feeling of dread in any player.
Once you navigate through the initial area, you will be taken to a deserted hospital. The rusted metallic bed frames and damaged walls make it no better than the previous location.
2. Hideout: Face Your Fears
Face Your Fears is a free VR horror game with minimal interaction properties. This game uses an older technology of VR but still manages to hold up pretty well.
Set in a post-apocalyptic environment, you start by choosing between two doors, one to a futuristic building and the other to a child’s bedroom. Choosing the initial door, which is called the “skyscraper,” lets the player experience events pertaining to heights, robot battles, plane crashes, etc.
The second door is called “the Haunting,” which offers three additional sets of experiences that you can select from three different books. Each book contains different horror characters, such as clowns, a possessed child, and a poltergeist who throws objects. What puts this among unique horror games is that it uses the information on where you are currently looking to trigger activities on the other side.
As you turn to check out a sound or random music that plays, the mysterious character catches you off guard. Especially when played in VR, this feature makes the game a lot more terrifying.
3. Propagation VR
Propagation VR is a free survival horror VR game that puts the player in the place of a survivor. Survivor of what, you may ask? Well, let’s just say a lot of unimaginable things. The protagonist is an abnormal civilian who managed to wander off into a deserted subway station.
However, the player does have a shotgun and a handgun to face all the terrible things that are bound to come. Though there is no consistent story in the game, the varying range of enemies does keep the player engaged. Enemies can go from zombies, alien-like creatures, and unsettling morphed spiders.
With detailed visuals and creepy imagery, Propagation VR is an ideal game if you prefer survival shooter games.
Final Words
The spooky season does not end with Halloween, especially when these games exist. Agreed, horror games can be tough to play with a straight face on a PC. But adding VR to these games makes the experience a lot more terrifying than it should be.
Well, at least it’s just VR and not actual monsters or ghouls. Or so we hope!
