Top 10 Xbox 360 Horror Games

Condemned 2 and the original Condemned are easily the scariest games on the Xbox 360. They are perfectly crafted to maximize the graphics and sound to present a truly creepy atmosphere. The set pieces are some of the most memorable of any game this generation and it is all just plain scary.

For the first few levels, Dead Space is one of the scariest games you’ll ever play. It is just really, really well done horror where you’re scared to take a step because you don’t know what is coming next. The game follows a pattern and becomes formulaic after a while, though, so you figure things out and know what to expect. At that point it isn’t so scary as much as it is just a solid, bloody, gruesome shooter that offers more than a few thrills.

FEAR 2 does psychological horror better than just about any other game out there. You’ll see and hear horrifying things and hallucinate and will never be able to fully trust what you are seeing in the game. It is a little predictable at times, but still dang scary particularly if it is your first experience with the series.

The scariest thing about Left 4 Dead is definitely the sound. It plays by the traditional zombie rules where one zombie isn’t a threat, but a hundred definitely are, and that is why it scares you. You can hear the zombies moaning and groaning in the city around you. And you can hear the thousands of thundering footsteps when they know where you are and all come charging after you. And on top of that, nothing is scarier than hearing the crying of a Witch off in the distance when you don’t know where she is.

Fallout 3 places in you the wasteland left behind after nuclear war. Survival is difficult because supplies of food and water and ammo are low and you aren’t the only person out there looking for them. There are monsters and raiders and giant insects and zombies and all sorts of nastiness out in the wastes waiting for you. Fallout 3 is one of the few games that truly captures both parts of the term “survival horror” even though, technically, it isn’t really a survival horror game.

BioShock works on a lot of different levels. The enemies are scary. The environments are creepy. The graphics and sound are awesome and really build a believable setting. And the story and the way it is told makes you really think about your actions. You feel bad about killing enemies, but at the same time, enemies use that fact to their advantage to set traps for you. It is still the best game overall on Xbox 360, but one of the best horror experiences as well.

Dead Rising is a game about zombies in a mall. Completely awesome, right? Well, the zombies aren’t actually even the scary part of the game. The other human survivors you run into – a deranged clown, a psycho cop, escaped convicts, a crazy cult, etc. – are the real horror element of this game. You can mow down zombies with ease, but when you have to fight against other people at the same time as you’re fighting zombies, things can go bad pretty quickly.

Half-Life 2 and its two additional Episodes might not seem like horror games, but they definitely are. Ravenholm is one of the most frightening levels in any game ever. And hearing the distinct noise of a black headcrab lurking somewhere down a hallway still freaks me out even though I’ve killed hundreds of the things.

Resident Evil 5 isn’t scary the same way the first few RE games were scary – it is a lot faster paced and action-y and there aren’t as many “boo” moments – but it is definitely still scary. Dodging alligators in a swamp, spiders pouring from the floors in an ancient temple, and the overall crushing feeling of dozens of enemies all closing in on you and trying to kill you is pretty darn scary.

The Saw videogame hits the same high notes as the movies – it is gory and grisly, the puzzles and deathtraps are cool, and it is a fun “popcorn” experience. It’ll scare you with a great creepy atmosphere and a thrilling sense of fighting for your life as the clock ticks down on one of the many puzzles. Saw is a great rental if you’re looking for a scare.