There’s only one thing a self-respecting gamer can do this Halloween weekend: Play a horror game. And lucky you, the Mac has no shortage of great horror games. In fact, the best Horror games on Windows have a Mac version too.
This can’t be said of all gaming genres, so you have no more excuses. It’s time to turn off the lights, pump up the sound and prepare to be scared! A quick word about the games below. All are scary, but some more than others. I’m not too keen to shit my pants while playing games so I prefer games that focus more on the action, like Metro: Last Light or the original BioShock. But if you prefer jump scares or an impossibly tense atmosphere, Outlast or Layers of Fear should do the trick.
Game Name Genre Requirements PC Metascore Price range Alien Isolation Alien: Isolation Horror High 81 $$$ Layers of Fear Layers of Fear Horror High 72 $$ Metro: Last Light Redux Metro: Last Light Redux First-Person Shooter High 82 $$ SOMA SOMA Horror ⚠ Medium 84 $$ BioShock BioShock Shooter ✅ Low 96 $$ OUTLAST OUTLAST Horror High 80 $ The Walking Dead The Walking Dead Adventure ✅ Low 89 $$ STASIS STASIS Adventure ✅ Low 79 $$ Slender Slender Horror ✅ Low NA Free Doom 3 Doom 3 First-Person Shooter ⚠ Medium 87 $ Do you want to learn more about these games? Wondering why they’re so scary (and perfect for Halloween)? Alien: Isolation is the latest and greatest Horror game to come to the Mac. Set fifteen years after Ridley Scott’s original film, Alien: Isolation embarks you on a journey to the Sevastopol space station. This probably sounds like a standard Alien-scenario, but Isolation is unlike any other Alien game you’ve played before. Isolation is the first game to finally captures the essence of the original film.
/Dark-Souls-II-576057695f9b58f22eece9b7.jpg "Mac")
This game is about survival. The monster is to be feared and respected. It can’t be killed. All you can do is run and hide. Luckily, the Sevastopol is full of places to hide, including vents, lockers, and cabinets.
This means stealth will be your best weapon against the monster. But don’t forget about the killing robots and psychotic survivors.
The bottom line? This is the scariest game you can play on Mac. Plus, it looks great and plays smoothly on Mac thanks to Feral Interactive‘s fine work. That said, you will still need a powerful Mac to run it: A recent Mac with a powerful graphics card. Alien Isolation Mac requirements: OS X 10.10.4, 2.0 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 35 GB HDD space, NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, ATI Radeon HD 5670, or Intel Iris Pro with 1GB of Video Memory. SOMA is the most recent game from the creators of the Amnesia series. This first-person shooter takes place in an underwater research facility.
It’s Rapture meets the Nostromo, and that’s the best part of the game. The horror and tension come from the environments here, not the characters or monsters. The game will ask you to go from one end of the facility to the other to survive. Along the way, you will have to hide from the monsters that roam the corridors and discover what happened to all the missing employees. But it gets worst: There are no weapons and you can’t fight back. All you can do is run and hide. Just like in past Amnesia games, you can interact with everything around you.
You can grab door handles, yank cables, move items and more. This will give you one more reason to want to explore the claustrophobic corridors around you.
To play it, you’ll need: ⚠ A recent Mac with average specs. Soma Mac system requirements: 2.4 GHz i3, 4GB RAM, 25 GB HD space, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, AMD Radeon HD 5750, or better with 512 MB of Video Memory. You may be surprised to see BioShock here since the newer and shinier BioShock Infinite is also available on Mac. And BioShock Infinite is a better game in many ways.
But if you’re looking for a scary experience, the original BioShock is the top choice. This game is darker, grittier and scarier. BioShock is not about jump scares, it’s about immersing you in one of the most desperate places ever. The game takes place in Rapture, a city full of psychopaths ready to do the most gruesome and terrible things.
Rapture’s atmosphere is so intense it will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout BioShock’s terrific story. The gameplay mechanics are very good too, making this an extremely fun game to play.
But here’s the kicker: As BioShock is slightly old now, it can be played on most Macs: ✅ Any Mac, even an older one will do. BioShock Mac requirements: OS X 10.5.8, 1.6 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1.5 GB RAM, 8 GB HDD space, NVIDIA Geforce 7300, ATI Radeon X1600, or Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 128MB of Video Memory. Layers of Fear is a unique take on the horror genre. There are no monsters to be found here, but this is still one of the scariest games you can play on your Mac. In Layers of Fear, you play as a painter who has gone mad in his pursuit to finish his masterpiece. The entire game takes place in a single house and it all seems quite ordinary at first.
Except it starts to change, slowly becoming something horrible. You enter the room and turn around, only to see that the door disappeared. Paintings seem to follow you with their eyes.
At some points, you begin to understand what it must feel to go mad. The more you play, the more disturbing this game becomes. You’ll find clues of the horrible things you’ve done in your madness and you’ll hear or see terrifying specters of the things you used to know and love. This is an unsettling game that also looks great.
A Roundup With 10 Horror Games For Macbook Pro
Aspyr certainly did a great job here, but to run properly you’ll still need: A recent Mac with a powerful graphics card. Layers of Fear Mac system requirements: OS X 10.10, 2.3 Ghz Intel Core i5, 4GB RAM, 5 GB HD space, ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB VRAM, Nvidia GeForce 750M or Intel HD 6100. Many claim Outlast is the scariest game that can be played on Mac. The game puts you in the shoes of a freelance journalist who decides to investigate a psychiatric hospital lost in the mountains. That was obviously a bad idea, as hell breaks loose and you find yourself surrounded by homicidal patients.
Plus, most of the corridors, rooms, and sewers you’ll navigate are pitch black. The only way to see is by using the low-battery video camera you have on you. But it gets worse: You are completely incapable of combat. With no weapons at your disposal, you will have to be quick on your feet in order to stay alive. Needless to say, Outlast is a must if you enjoy horror games. This is a great-looking game too and to run it at the highest settings you’ll need: A recent Mac with a powerful graphics card. Outlast Mac requirements: OS X 10.9, 2.2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 5 GB HD space, GeForce GT 750M, Intel Iris Pro 5200, or Radeon HD 3xxx.
Slender is a unique take on the horror genre. The game takes place in a dark and scary wood. It gives you a weak flashlight and asks you to find the eight pages that are scattered throughout the woods.
The problem is, the Slender man is out to get you. Staring at the Slender will cause everything to fade to black, so your only hope is to run from it. I won’t lie to you, this didn’t sound that scary at first, but once I find myself in those dark woods, I got why this little game was so popular. But here’s the kicker: This is one of the top free horror games for Mac you can find. I won’t cost you a dime and it will never ask you for money. To play it, you’ll need: ✅ Any Mac, even an older one will do. Download for free.
Slender Mac system requirements: OS X 10.6 or later. Horror games are going through a renaissance. Indies are largely responsible for this, with Outlast and Soma as main ambassadors.
All great games, but all first-person games. That was the case until the excellent point-and-click adventure game, STASIS, was released last year. In STASIS you wake up in a seemingly abandoned spaceship. There are no signs of survivors, but the bloodstains on the floor help you understand that something went terribly bad. Turns out human experiments were carried out on the ship, but could not be contained.
Monsters lurk in the shadows, but they can’t stop you from finding your lost wife and daughter STASIS is an indie achievement, but what impresses me the most is how macabre this game can be. It doesn’t need jump scares, the atmosphere does all the work. Point-and-click adventure games aren’t supposed to be scary If you want a solid story, interesting puzzles, and a terrifying experience, look no further than STASIS.
To play it, you’ll need: ✅ Any Mac, even an older one will do. STASIS Mac system requirements: OS X 10.7, 2 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 5 GB HD space, Nvidia GeForce 205, AMD Radeon HD 3400 Series, Intel 4000 Graphics with 256 MB VRAM. The Walking Dead: The Game is based on the award-winning comic book and television series by Robert Kirkman. And it too does a great job at recreating the hopelessness of a zombie infested world. The game has its fair share of jump-scares, but the actual horror comes from the desperate world it recreates. The Walking Dead will show you how the world has gone to hell, how zombies could tear you apart and how survivors can be even more dangerous. Want to know the best part?
The game is a monument to storytelling in video games, featuring an amazing story full of choices that matter. Those choices will shape your adventure and define who your friends and foes will be. To play it, you’ll need: ✅ Any Mac, even an older one will do.
The Walking Dead Mac system requirements: OS X 10.6, 2.3 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB RAM, 2 GB HD space, NVidia or ATI graphics card with 512MB of Video Memory. Metro: Last Light was recently enhanced and improved for next generation consoles. Reborn as Metro: Last Light Redux, the game looks amazing. But looks aren’t enough to earn a spot here.
If Last Light Redux is one of the most chilling experiences on Mac, it’s because of its setting: the post-apocalyptic city of Moscow. As the name of the game suggests, most of the story takes place inside the metro system, with occasional missions above ground. But here’s the deal: The attention to detail is what makes Last Light such a disturbing game. And the game’s stealth mechanics are the perfect feature to go along with it.
Needless to say, the beautiful graphics help bring Last Light’s world to life. To play it, you’ll need: A recent Mac with a powerful graphics card.
Metro Last Light Mac system requirements: OS X 10.9.5, 3.2 Ghz Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 9 GB HD space, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750m or Radeon HD7950 with 1GB of Video Memory. Does Doom 3 really need an introduction? Ported to the Mac by Aspyr Media, Doom 3 is as old-school as it gets. Set in 2145 on Mars, the game takes place in a research facility where an experiment goes horribly wrong. A gateway to Hell is accidentally opened, causing a demon invasion.
As a space marine, you will have to fight your way through the base and find a way to close the gateway and stop the demons from invading Earth. Doom 3 isn’t subtle, but the endless waves of demons will keep you at the edge of your seat for the entire campaign. The bottom line: While the game is over 10 years old, it’s still one of the scariest experiences you can have on your Mac. To play it, you’ll need: ✅ Any Mac, even an older one will do. Doom 3 Mac system requirements: Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM, 2GB HD space, ATI Radeon x1600, NVidia Geforce 7300 or card with 128MB of Video Memory.
Want a bunch of recommendations for terrifying horror games that you can download to your iPhone or iPad, for a guaranteed sleepless night? Here’s our pick of the best scary apps on Apple’s App Store right now. If it’s bowel-emptying terror you’re after, check out our round-up of the best horror games for iOS devices. You can download these terrifying titles right now for your iPhone and iPad, with the majority costing no more than a couple of quid on the App Store. Once you’ve purchased your selection of scary games and installed them on your handset or tablet, we recommend plugging in some earphones and hiding away under the duvet for a proper all-night scare session. Check out our other horror-based app features below.
Forgotten Memories: Alternate Realities Fans of classic console horrors such as Silent Hill will be right at home with Forgotten Memories: Alternate Realities. In fact, the game’s plot – which sees a feisty heroine called Rose searching for a missing kid – as well as the infrequent save system and dark, grimy environments make this a fitting homage to Konami’s classic pant-filler. Goes without saying, best played alone in the dark with headphones. Tormentum: Dark Sorrow This overtly bleak adventure game sticks in the mind a long time after the credits roll, thanks to its sinister setting; a gothic castle that owes plenty to the grisly creations of H.R.
Trapped in this hellish fortress, your only chance of escape is solving all kinds of disgusting puzzles (such as poisoning a giant killer worm with the venom of a deadly spider) and outwitting your would-be torturers. With its grim and unsettling atmosphere and imaginative (although not too taxing) brain-teasers, Tormentum is one of our favourite iPad horror games of 2016 (so far, at least). Check out our full.
The School: White Day There are few worse places to find yourself trapped in overnight than a creepy school filled with bloody terrifying ghosts and ghouls. Sadly that’s exactly what happens in The School: White Day, a remake of a terrifying 2001 PC game that sees you running for your life from those beastly apparitions. Some of the ghosts you encounter are terrifying enough to give you endless night terrors, and you want to know the really bad news? There aren’t any shotguns or grenades to protect yourself, scattered around the place for no good reason.
All you can do is peg it away every time you spot a spectre or that murderous janirot. With seven endings to see in total, there’s plenty of reason to play this one over and over. Adam Wolfe If you like your adventure games with a sinister, mature plot and plenty of blood-letting, Adam Wolfe is a solid choice. This supernatural horror murder mystery sees you tracking down your long-lost sister, while also battling treacherous cultists, demented demons and all manner of beasties. Luckily Mr Wolfe is no pushover.
This ex-detective can hold his own against otherworldly enemies and can even glimpse the past to work out exactly what went down at a murder scene. Some fun action set-pieces break up the sleuthing, and make this a horror adventure well worth checking out. Check out our full Limbo Although Limbo only has a few moments of sheer terror – such as that moment near the beginning where an angry arachnid pursues you relentlessly – it’s still shocking enough to place in our best horror games list. The haunting monochrome graphics are certainly moody and you’ll feel a pang of guilt every time the protagonist meets a miserable demise.
Indigo Lake Indigo Lake is a well-polished first person adventure that’s more intelligent than your typical shooter. You’ll have to solve puzzles and carefully explore the sinister environments to make it through the lengthy campaign, and of course there are plenty of gribblies to blast away at.
Fun fact: Indigo Lake also contains driving bits that don’t actually suck. Dead Eyes This turn-based puzzle horror game is a nice change of pace if you’re tired of running away from or gunning down endless hordes of beasties.
The aim of each level is to dodge a number of ravenous zombies and make it to the exit in one piece. You’ll need to make full use of your delicious, moist brains to complete the game, while the bleak, monochrome graphics add to the oppressive atmosphere. Lost Within Lost Within may sound like your generic mobile horror game, that sees you searching a run-down asylum while uncovering secrets about its obviously sinister history.
However, the developers of PC game Prey have done a bang-up job, coupling an intriguing story with heart-pounding gameplay. Smash your way through enemies using pipes and other makeshift weapons, or simply run for your bloody life. The choice is yours. Papa Sangre/The Nightjar With no visuals to guide you through the deadly mazes, you’re relying on audio alone to get to the end in one piece. That lack of sight makes for some truly horrifying moments, as you attempt to evade monsters by standing still and listening to them. The Nightjar gets a special shout-out for featuring everyone’s favourite weirdy-named thesp, Benedict Cumberbatch.
Read next: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers Our pick of the best horror adventure game on iOS goes to Gabriel Knight. This remastered edition of the original Sins of the Fathers mystery sees egotistical writer Gabe investigating a spate of voodoo murders in New Orleans, as inspiration for his new book. A creepy plot, well crafted characters and one sublime use of the word ‘wanker’ add up to a sinister yet enjoyable adventure. The Walking Dead Telltale Games’ horrifying adventure series may essentially be a series of Quicktime events, but it’s still compelling interactive drama that stabs at your heart throughout. Played alone at night, it’s a sure-fire way to defeat any constipation issues.
Last Door: Collector’s Edition Don’t be put off by the pixelly graphics in the screenshots; Last Door is a creepy and unforgettable experience that forces you to explore increasingly horrifying environments, as you seemingly descend into utter madness. Very atmospheric and very smart horror. Five Nights At Freddy’s The sequels may have been churned out even faster than Angry Birds dross, and the series is renowned for being rather unfairly difficult at times, but Five Nights at Freddy’s is still a scary-as-hell iPhone game. Survive until dawn as a mob of nasty-looking mechanical creatures attempt to invade your room and make mincemeat out of your guts. Resident Evil 4: Platinum With a heavy lean towards action, Resident Evil 4 was less terrifying than previous entries in the series, but still had plenty of chilling moments: chainsaw bag head guy, El Gigante and of course the horrifying voice acting.
On iPad, the Resi 4 experience is still suitably intense. Year Walk This point n’ click adventure game features some of the most memorable and terrifying imagery of any iOS game, guaranteed to stick with you for quite some time after you finish playing. We won’t spoil anything here, but if you haven’t done the Year Walk, get right to it. Home A low-key horror game that relies a lot on the power of suggestion, not least because of the low-res graphics. The plot of Home sees you waking up in an unfamiliar house with no idea of how you arrived there. From there, things get very sinister indeed. Her Story Her Story may not be classed as a horror game (its more of a murder mystery thing), but there are plenty of skin-tingling moments as you unravel the tale and uncover crucial evidence in the case of a murdered husband.
Check out our full Read next.