How This Scaredy Cat Started Playing Horror Games

It’s the moooooost spookiest time of the year 🎃 I can’t believe that Halloween is just two weeks away! It’s my favorite season and the perfect time to *play all the scary games*… if you daaaaare!

But if you’re anything like me then your scary tolerance is lower than my middle school self pretending I could dance to apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur…

Okay bad analogy because I didn’t get that low like the song told me to oops but you get my point! 

Now while I would pretty confidently say I am a spooky person, I’ll be truthful.

I am not into modern horror movies or anything remotely scary. Anything of the like is a big no for me. I will literally turn on mute or scroll away from anything that seems remotely scary. 

Yet somehow, ya girl got into the horror survival genre this past year 👀 Voluntarily too 😱

So I get it! I get how fun some of these scary games seem even tho you feel like you’re irrationally terrified since it’s just a video game but you’re literally about to faint just thinking about it.

Been there… still there tbh 😆 Yes I am def still too afraid to play horror games but from the little bit of guts I have mustered up, lemme tell you what worked for me to dip my pinky toe in!

Hopefully this will help you too!

Let’s get spooky!

From your Resident Weenie Hut Junior Rep here’s how I broke into the horror game genre and started playing games I never thought I would!

But before we hop into it let’s be real.

Why the heck do you want to play scary games?

Especially if you’re not generally into scary things?

Well I’m gonna assume that at least since you stumbled across this blog post and are still reading at this point hehe.

Lemme just say if your why is just because something is popular… you might want to rethink that.

If you’re anything like me it’d just be torture + a waste of money (which yes I have been there done that okay so trust me on this double ouchies lol).

There are plenty of games on the market for you to spend your hard earned cash on so make your purchases worth it with something you will actually get gameplay out of.

At least that’s my opinion, to each their own tho. If you want to play something just because it’s popular go for it – you do you! I won’t stop ya!

Now, if it’s because the game looks fun, interesting, and you can’t stop thinking about it even tho it scares the socks off ya because it’s a heckin’ scary game then I think we’re on the same track.

What’s your spooky level?

People are generally shocked when they find out how afraid of scary movies I am. It’s because I’m usually the creepiest person in the group ngl.

I’m pretty easy to spot. I accept it ☕

I think being an elder emo comes with that territory of looking the look but scary things just aren’t for me as much as I wish they were. *Sigh*

Personally, I’m more of an Addams Family spooky type of gal. I absolutely aspire to live in a house like theirs some day but I digress. This post isn’t about my love for macabre decor and Victorian homes lol.

Lemme give you a flavor of how mildly spooky I am to see if we’re on the same level or if you can tolerate more (you can prob tolerate more trust me lol).

I think the scariest live action show I can watch is Stranger Things. And I’m thinking the earlier seasons because I haven’t caught up yet hehe I’m so behind…

I can deal with most suspense but as a highly sensitive person I’m very particular about what I watch when it comes to anything with horror or adult themes because of how it affects me.

On the other hand there’s anime that I watch without blinking that literally made my bestie ask me you can watch this and not scary movies? 👀

I’m not scared of demons, ghosts, or gore in animes like Jujutsu Kaisen or Tokyo Ghoul.

Actually the more bizarre the cooler I think an anime is usually lol.

I kinda blame this on growing up watching Dragon Ball Z every day. I think it normalized humanoid looking demon characters for me that probably should have scared me at the time lol. 

While I’m not at all into horror I gotta say I do love paranormal.

I think paranormal and horror are two separate categories in my head. Is it like that for anyone else?

There is definitely some overlap tho and paranormal can get freaky scary at times but I don’t tread that far into that gray area. I know my limits 😅

My two favorite paranormal shows are Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency and Truth Seekers. And while I’m thining about it, this is prob why I love the anime Bungo Stray Dogs so much lol.

So I’m more into the paranormal mystery than creepy scare you to death paranormal stories.

Like I said before I’m mildly spooky & happy with that!

Find games that fit your spooky spice level

Once you get an idea of your spooky level this is where the research comes in 🔎

And lemme just warn ya before you start (sorry in advanced) this might expose you to scary trailers or graphics above your spicy level as you peruse the eShop and interwebz.

Use context clues from the titles and descriptions as warnings before you click.

Unfortunately tho it’s inevitable you’ll see something you didn’t want to if you’re tip toeing around spooky games in the eShop or YouTube.

I’ve been there like WHAT THE HECK WHYYYY 😭 …but I’ve never been that scarred so hopefully you’ll be ok…

Hopefully… good luck 😅

A game genre you already play but make it spooky

Okay so here’s what I recommend to do as you start looking around for scary games to play.

First, think of the type of games you already like to play.

Chances are there’s a similar game in that genre you might like but make it spooky 👻

Spooky games come in all kinds of genres, it just takes finding them!

Also as you peruse, know what you can and cannot handle.

Horror games have different mechanics to bring on the scary like jump scares or spooky story telling elements. There are all kinds of spooks!

I have to be extra selective in the horror genre as I am highly sensitive to certain topics. For me I tend to avoid most adult themes, anything overly gore, unnecessary acts of violence, traumatic stories depicting real people and events, or occult practices. It’s just not for me.

I know this piece of advice is broad as we are all scared of different things and have different tolerances but we all gotta know ourselves and recognize what we can and can’t do.

So I definitely encourage you to think about it before jumping into a purchase. Start where you’re comfy and build your bravery. I know my spooky tolerance has definitely been growing!

My first spooky game: Oxenfree

Synopsis: OXENFREE is a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift. Play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenager who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on an old military island. The night takes a terrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly gate spawned from the island’s cryptic past. How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you. (Source: Night School Studio)

The first spooky game I played was Oxenfree. Like I said paranormal mystery is kind of my jam and this game falls right into that genre!

This game has excellent story telling, a great soundtrack, and this element of suspense that kept me on edge the whole time I played. I got so immersed into the game while playing my husband had to physically walk across the room to get my attention.

That’s when I know a game is good 💯

Oxenfree was a quick play. I marathoned it through a weekend at home on the couch. It’s a choice based game so there are multiple endings which means replayability!

Maybe it’s time for another playthrough 🤔

If you and I are the same kinda spooky I can’t recommend this enough. 

Spooky games I’ve watched

If you are dipping your toe into spooky games for the first time and are mildly spooky like me, I recommend checking out these mildly spooky titles I’ve watched on my friend’s streams:

Little Nightmares (I & II)

Synopsis: Immerse yourself in Little Nightmares, a dark whimsical tale that will confront you with your childhood fears! Help Six escape The Maw – a vast, mysterious vessel inhabited by corrupted souls looking for their next meal. (Source: Steam)

There’s nothing scarier to me than puzzle games so Little Nightmares is coming in hot kicking it up a notch with the spooky vibes! Trust, this game is creepy 😩

I watched this on my friend Amber’s (OGAmberRose) stream. It is so creepy and the puzzles look challenging. The stream was so fun to watch though so if you like puzzle platformers this would be a great spooky option. Amber streams a variety of spooky games so I recommend dropping in!

And if you end up enjoying this game, there’s also a Little Nightmares II! Keep the spooks going!

Hollow Knight

Synopsis: Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style. (Source: Steam)

Ok I lied, there is something scarier than a puzzle game – a pure platformer 😭

Hollow Knight definitely has a unique and creepy theme that puts it into the spooky game category for me. But at the same time there are moments where it is such a beautiful game and I’m like wow!

I haven’t watched enough to catch all the pieces of the story but from what I read online I can definitely understand the cult following for this beloved game.

So if you want to get spoopy and love platformers I recommend trying this!

I’ve watched my friend Rev (RevloOW) stream this many times. He speed runs and is a BOSS. Def recommend checking out his channel if you want to see some gameplay!

Also if you end up liking Hollow Knight then you can hop on the hype train and wait for the release of Hollow Knight: Silksong!

Fran Bow (A little above my spooky level tbh)

Synopsis: Fran Bow is a creepy adventure game that tells the story of Fran, a young girl struggling with a mental disorder and an unfair destiny. (Source: Fran Bow)

I first watched Fran Bow on my friend Chama’s (ItsChamaMama) stream and I was SO afraid 😂 This is definitely hitting the limit of what I can handle on so many levels but over all it was an interesting story that kept me wanting to watch more to see what happened next even tho I was literally shaking!

If you want to play a psychological horror this is for you. You can check out the Fran Bow demo before you buy.

I only caught bits and pieces and tbh I’m probably too afraid to ever play it on my own 😅 So if you play lemme know how it goes!

Another game by Killmonday Games I hear about all the time is Little Miss Fortune. I get recommended this game all the time so if you end up liking Fran Bow, make sure you check out Little Miss Fortune next!

Watch some gameplay

Okay you looked up some games, watched a trailer, and now you’re feeling spooky.

You could def skip this step but I’m gonna recommend it because it’s a lot like trying a game before buying which what could be better when you’re trying to decide how to spend your monies? 

This is a tip I dropped in my 5 Mistakes I Made When I Started Gaming post and it’s especially relevant when it comes to horror games for me: Watch some gameplay!

Watching some gameplay on YouTube or Twitch has really helped me decide if a game is something I actually want to play.

Seeing more than just the action packed trailer def helps me decide whether it is or not!

Bonus: This is a great way to test your spooky level! (In a way you can easily dip hehe)

Last year my friend Cleo (PinkMatterGames) streamed Five Nights at Freddie’s (FNAF) Security Breech which was an absolute NO for me.

I didn’t know much about the franchise but I knew it was scary as heck. Legit when she started the stream I was sweating wondering why the heck I was out here watching this.

But by the end I was laughing (hehe sorry Cleo) and enjoying the challenge of figuring out how to escape from Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.

She’s also got me so curious on the lore of the game so if you see me sometime next year suddenly saying I’m a fan of FANF don’t be a shocked lol. 

This is also how I got into online co-op ghost hunting games! My friend Chama streamed Phasmophobia and it was such a hoot to watch 😂

I loved the investigation part of the game it made the ghost part tolerable.

Atleast that’s the logic in my head I think 😅

Within the next week I bought the game and we had a ghoul gang rolling onto sites to investigate ghosts! From there we’ve tried more games in the genre and have had a ton of laughs and scares.  

Give it a try (and remember the return policy!)

If you’ve done all the things I listed and found the game for you now all that’s left is to gather up the nerve to play! And please, remember my top tip: all games go on sale so do not pay full price! 

First playthrough tips

Here are three things I do when I play a horror game for the first time so I’m not fainting in the tutorial:

1. Use speakers instead of a headset

If I’m playing something at the top of my spooky level, I put the speakers on. I feel less immersed when my headphones are off which definitely takes some of the edge off of the game.

While I get the point of horror games is the immersion to scare you there’s only so much my heart can take okay? 😆

Playing with speakers def makes it easier to take a moment to set the game down, look away, and take a breath if you need it without the spooky sounds constantly blaring in your ears.

2. Play during daytime + with the lights on

Horror games are always spookier at night (it’s science!), esp when it’s dark and mysterious creaky noises can happen 👀

It’s the worst when I play something a little too scary then I’m home alone in the dark 😭

Mistakes have been made, can you tell? Lol.

Playing during day light hours definitely makes the scary parts of a game more tolerable imo vs. chillin’ in the dark feeling extraaaa paranoid.

It also helps ease the post game spooks. Trust me!

But I get it, we can’t always game during the day. I’m usually a night time gamer so if I’m playing something spooky I will turn on the lights. Sometimes all of my RGB lights on full blast no shame lol.

If it’s something extra spooky tho, save it for when you can play during daylight hours. Thank me later!

I’m definitely less paranoid walking around my house in the daytime after playing something spooky than I am at night when I’m suddenly too afraid to get out of bed even tho I gotta use the bathroom like ASAP 😂

3. Take breaks when you need to

I know, I know. You want to play this game and even tho it’s soooo scary so if you just keep going a little bit longer it’ll all just be over that much sooner.

There are definitely times to push through and then there are times to just put the game down and take a break.

Learn the difference and you’ll thank yourself later when you actually finish the game instead of leaving it on the backlog for being too scary and burning yourself out from forcing yourself to play.

Look if you get that feeling and you’re able to save your game on the spot do it. Otherwise at the next check point, save the game and take a break!

Remember the return policy

Sometimes you do all the things and a game just doesn’t vibe with you. You play it for a little bit but you set it down and forget about it. I’ve been there.

You can always leave something in your backlog but if you got really little play out of it (I’m thinking less than 20 mins) check the return policy!

This is coin you can put back into something you’ll actually love to play so don’t be shy to look it up. You can always go back and pick it up at another time when you’re ready to play.

Bonus: Try a multiplayer game (with people who won’t torture you)

If you are absolutely too scared to play something alone there are so many spooky multiplayers and online co-op games out there!

If you can get together a ghoul gang that’s the best route but I know that’s not the case for everyone. Personally I’m not a fan of random online queues so I’ll only play in them as long as I have one other friend and I’m always mic off lol.

online multiplayer horror survival games I’ve played with friends

Ghost Exorcism Inc.

Synopsis: Ghost Exorcism Inc is a spooky game about exorcisms. The exorcist’s mission is to cleanse entities that haunt locations such as castles, mansions, and abandoned houses. Exorcists will have several paranormal tools at their disposal; such as the EMF K2 detector, the entity analyzer, the threat detector, surveillance cameras, etc. Once the threat has been identified- you can follow the given exorcism protocol, using equipment such as the neutrino-gun, holy water, incense (and more) to send the supernatural entities back to where they came from. (Source: Ghost Exorcism Inc)

I have put the time into the ghost hunting genre (125+ hours logged on Steam!) and it has really increased my overall spooky level.

I’ll be honest tho, I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my friends!

Being able to play together was far less scary than playing alone.

If you’re interested in going on a ghost hunt I recommend Ghost Exorcism Inc. It does it all from finding clues, identifying the ghost, to the exorcism. Plus you can play with up to 6 people! Get the whole squad out on the scene.

They just did a huge update that imo made the game scarier!

Prop Night

Synopsis: Propnight is a survival horror online multiplayer game with Prop Hunt-style mechanics. (Source: Wiki)

This is a game my cousin recommended we play. She’s pretty good at knowing the types of games I would like and she was spot on yet again!

It’s a hide and seek style game where you shift into props to hide while trying to restore the generators to escape the baddie.

To me it was a much milder version of Dead by Daylight that I could actually play.

Even tho this has a scary killer trying to get ya, the rest of the elements in the game were mildly spooky and honestly fun! Being able to shift into a huge pig definitely was some much needed comedic relief at times.

The last time I tried to play over the summer I had a hard time finding a game. This would prob be best if you had a full boo crew otherwise I wish you luck in the queues! I’m sure with it being spooky season more people are hopping in.

The Propnight Halloween Event starts 10/25!

Dead by Daylight

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts you know I got a history with DBD.

Long story short, I was dead by the tutorial after purchasing the game for full price. (I know, learn from my mistakes okayy 😭)

I’ve tried Dead by Daylight again recently and this time around it wasn’t as scary. Shocker I know!

Dead by Daylight is another horror survival online multiplayer. I feel like they always have queues so you shouldn’t have an issue like I did with Prop Night!

If you want to check out gameplay my friend Jenna (JKImExploring) streams DBD often! Also, my friend MJ (LetsPlayMJ) recently started playing as she’s in her spooky arc which has been fun to watch her learn a horror survival game staple.

The Dead By Daylight Halloween event is running right now!

Ok I’m still too scared tho

If you’ve gotten this far and feel like you don’t have the nerve to check out the titles I mentioned above, I got you!

Luigi’s Mansion 3

Synopsis: Luigi’s invited to the towering Last Resort hotel, but when Mario and friends go missing, our green-clad hero will have to conquer his fears to save them! Slam, blow away, and vacuum up ghosts with the all-new Poltergust G-00, and join forces with Gooigi to overcome the puzzling contraptions and mischievous boss on each themed floor. And that’s just the Last Resort. Enter the ScareScraper for 8-player local wireless** or online*** co-op gameplay. (Source: Nintendo)

I recommend picking up Luigi’s Mansion 3. The king of scream Luigi never let’s down and it’s a spooky I think majority of people can handle, me included hehe. I honestly love this OG ghost hunting game and it is always good wholesome fun.

Plus there’s co-op! I’ve been playing through this game with my husband… we’ll finish it someday lol. I didn’t know there was an 8 player option tho, that sounds like super chaotic fun!!

Wrap It Up

If you’re hoping to break into the horror games I hope this helps you enjoy spooky season a little more 👻 I know nothing here is *revolutionary* but it’s all the practical steps I took to start playing games in the horror genre so hoping it’s helpful!

I gotta give a shoutout to my friend Nessie (check her out on Twitch!) who encouraged me to write this post! I really wasn’t sure about this topic but now I’m glad I wrote it. Even if it’s just for me to remind myself how to play more spooky games 😂

Yeah I still need all the help 😅

Games I mentioned in this post if you’d like to check them out (physical copies linked) : 

• Oxenfree (Switch | Xbox | PS | Steam | Epic | Netflix)
• Fran Bow (Demo | Steam)
• Little Misfortune (Switch | Xbox | PS | Steam)
• Little Nightmares I (Switch | Xbox | PS4 | Steam)
• Little Nightmares II (Switch | Xbox | PS4 | Steam)
• Hollow Knight (Switch | Switch Collector’s Edition | PS4 | Steam)
• Five Nights at Freddy’s (Xbox | PS5 | PS5 Collector’s Edition | Steam)
• Prop Night (Steam)
• Dead by Daylight (Switch | Xbox | PS4 | Steam)
• Ghost Exorcism Inc. (Steam)

And if all else fails, there’s always Luigi’s Mansion 3 😂 (Switch)

If you’re looking for more recs, head over to my Instagram. I’m running a spooky gaming challenge this month with different spooky prompts for people to share their favorite spooky games using #spookygamingseason It’s been so fun to see everyone’s posts so far!

Let me know what spooky games you’re planning on playing this season in the comments below. Or if you have any mildly spooky recs to add! I’m always looking for new ones I can maybe try lol.

Good luck on your spooky quest!
Momo

---

Hi, I’m Momo! I’m a gamer, streamer, and digital creator. I love chatting about video games, anime, and manga. If you liked this blog go check out other spots I lurk on the interwebz!

• Instagram
• Twitch
• YouTube
• Twitter
• Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

---

Subscribe to my blog!
Liked this post and want to see more? Subscribe to get fresh new content delivered directly to your inbox. It’s dat easy. Nioce!

---