October Is Thankfully Stacked With New Horror Games

Halloween has stretched to become a month-long celebration for many people, with many seeking to play new horror games, discover the best horror movies, and eat pumpkin-flavored treats. We already have a list of the best horror games to play in 2024, and it’s loaded with a few-dozen timeless classics, newer hits, and everything in between. But if you’re like me, and your horror backlog is painfully short because you’re all caught up on the genre, don’t worry. October 2024 is going to be a good, busy month for new horror games. We’ve rounded up all the major releases you can expect in the genre this month, which is a scarier sibling gallery to our broader list of October 2024 new video game releases in general.

The horror games you see below are listed in order of release date, so if you’re really diligent, you can keep up day by day, week by week. If you’re in need of even more horror content, don’t miss the best horror games on Game Pass and the best zombie games. On the movie side, we have a list of the best vampire movies, the best movies set on Halloween, and a list of horror movies that, for some reason, went to outer space. If you don’t mind Scream spoilers, we’ve even ranked every Ghostface.

Platforms: PC

Don’t let the cheerful imagery fool you. Moving Houses may look like a happy home redecorator sim, but it hides a much more somber side to it that comes to the surface the deeper you go. That twist is both teased in trailers and alluded to in the developer’s tweets, so we’re comfortable saying it here. Plus, we find such a rug-pull to be especially effective in the horror genre. If you agree, this one is out on Steam now with positive reviews.

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5

Illfonic is no stranger to licensed horror and horror-adjacent games, having previously worked on other games like Friday The 13th, Ghostbusters, and Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Predator predates all of those, and it’s recently been given renewed life on modern consoles. The 4v1 multiplayer game casts the titular hunter extraordinaire against a pack of soldiers meant to kill the being. How that turns out is up to you and your friends.

Platforms: PC, PS5

The re-release of Supermassive’s best cinematic horror story is being labeled a remake despite seeming to be more like a remaster, but whatever you call it, it should make for a great Halloween-season game whether you’ve played it before or not. These choose-your-own-adventure style games are great in small groups where different players can be assigned caretaking duties for different characters. Can you get your ward out of this story alive?

Platforms: PC, PS5

Perhaps the biggest game on this list, Silent Hill 2 follows a run of horror remakes like Resident Evil 2, 3, 4, and Dead Space, that have set a high bar, and the world is waiting to see if Bloober Team can keep the winning streak alive. It’ll be no easy feat, as the original game is often considered among the best in the genre’s storied history, but with some of the original team assisting on the project, we remain hopeful.

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4

PC and Switch gamers may have already experienced the unique horrors of this twisted take on a children’s TV show, but if you’re waiting to play it on other platforms, your wait is almost over. The game blends bits of first-person exploration and puzzle-solving with point-and-click mechanics when you’re inside the titular learning program. Think of it as Dora The Explorer… only with murder.

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5

DayZ is expanding again; this time it’s getting chillier with the winter-themed map, Sakhal, an archipelago that succumbed to the same zombie plague that the rest of the DayZ universe has suffered. The winner-takes-all ruthlessness of DayZ seems well-suited for a snowy region where keeping warm is likely to be a greater concern. Bundle up!

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5

There hasn’t been much talk of this one despite it being just a few weeks out at the time of writing this, but if you like the movies, this first-person shush-or-die horror game could be a fun companion piece, offering a new storyline featuring new characters not seen in the movies.

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, Switch

Boss Team Games is teaming with WayForward, one of the best 2D game developers going right now, for this unexpected series of horror platformers. Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead are the first two of at least four IP to be represented in this horror museum of a sort, with the next two still to be revealed. If these first entries do well commercially, Boss Team has plans to continue bringing in more iconic horror characters, leading perhaps to an eventual Scary Smash Bros. vibe.

Platforms: PC

Left 4 Dead-likes are bountiful, especially on PC, but this sequel to a somewhat under-heralded game inspired by L4D ups the ante in a few ways. For one, if it’s like the original, it’s much harder than typical Left 4 Dead. It’s also played in eight-player co-op rather than four, which seems to reinforce that earlier claim about difficulty. If I need seven allies to fend off zombies, things seem to have really gotten out of hand.

Platforms: PC

The next asymmetrical horror PvP game is on the way. Forest Hills: The Last Year is sort of a reboot of an arguably cursed game that first launched exclusively in the short-lived Discord games store, before later being moved to Steam after its momentum had vanished. Now, rebuilt in a new engine with a team that feels it’s ready to bring the game into the limelight of a competitive genre, the third time may be the charm.

Platforms: PC

Developed by a former Bethesda dev, The Axis Unseen is a first-person survival-horror and hunting game in which you track and kill strange mythical beasts. It’s also inspired by the heavy metal genre, and it seems like there’s a lot of overlap between the horror and metal fandoms, so this one is sure to become some people’s whole personality for a while after it launches.

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4

Post Trauma is an interesting blend of old and new ideas from the horror genre. Its gameplay is presented by way of fixed camera angles akin to classic PS1 and PS2 horror games, but its visuals reject the popular retro aesthetic in favor of a high-fidelity modern look. Like a lot of games of this sort, success will ultimately come down to how scary it is and how rewarding its exploration feels, but a new game going for that classic approach with a fresh coat of paint is an intriguing starting point.

Platforms: PS5, PS4, Switch, Mobile

The Clock Tower series has been dormant for a long time, but now its return will be marked with a reset, in a sense. Clock Tower Rewind is a re-release and somewhat modernized version of the very first game in the series. The 2D horror game predates basically every other horror series you may know by name, so even if the 2D style isn’t your thing, there’s a historical case for checking this one out.

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5

Nearly a year to the day since the game launched, Alan Wake 2’s second (and presumed final) expansion is coming this month, though no release date has yet been specifically circled on the calendar. In The Lake House, it seems players will take on the role of yet another new playable protagonist, with Special Agent Estevez filling that role after the base game and first expansion combined for five playable characters. For Remedy Connected Universe devotees, expect this to be another must-play chapter with as many questions as it has answers.