With Halloween right around the corner next week, we felt like it was time to start rounding up some of the very best VR horror games and experiences out there. While many of the absolute best VR games are relegated to more powerful devices, such as the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PSVR, mobile-based headsets like the Oculus Go, Gear VR, and Google Daydream.
For this list we’re focusing primarily on apps and experiences that can be accessed from an Oculus Go standalone VR headset. You can read our full review of the device here (we like it a lot) as well as our big list of 30 great games and apps worth checking out here.
The following experiences are all listed in alphabetical order:
Affected: The Manor
Price: $2.99 (Store) (Our Review)
If you want to be terrified or, better yet, you want to terrify a friend while you watch safely from the couch, Affected: The Manor is an excellent choice. It’s use of sound and clever scripting are superb for any VR horror title, mobile or not, and its visuals are another example of just how good a Go game can look. It’s light on gameplay and very short, but excellent as a one-off horror experience.
Cursed Night: The House
Price: $4.99 (Store)
If you’re after some cheap and easy jump scares, then this is always a good option. It’s one of the quickest to get into so if you’re showing the Oculus Go to family this Halloween, this is a solid choice. The tension and build up is very well done, but it’s not the most visually impressive.
Dark Corner
Price: Free (Optional Paid Content) (Store)
Miss the days of sitting around a campfire, telling scary stories with friends? Then Dark Corner may just be what you’re after. It’s sort of like a repository for spooky 360 videos and other experiences that can all be accessed from a single, central hub-like interface.
Dark Days
Price: $7.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Dark Days does a lot of things right and provides an interesting world full of thrills and mystery to keep you uncovering secrets until the end. Visually, it leaves a bit to be desired, but it accomplishes a lot for being on the limited Go platform. While the main character can feel a little annoying at times, you’ll grow to love her wit and charm as the adventure carries on. Prepare for a generous helping of jumps and scares though, as this isn’t for the faint of heart.
Dead Secret and Dead Secret Circle
Price: $9.99/$14.99/$16.99 (Store for Two-Game Bundle)
Described as “slow-burn psychological horror” the Dead Secret games feel like they could have been ripped right out of the mind of David Lynch or pre-Dark Knight Christopher Nolan. Part murder mystery and part sadistic fight for survival, these are two VR thrillers that you can easily sink several hours into each to uncover all of the secrets.
Doors of Silence: The Prologue
Price: $4.99 (Store)
Visually, this might very well be the best looking VR horror game on Oculus Go, period. Environments are incredibly detailed and hand-crafted using Unreal Engine 4. The entire experience isn’t very long and it’s just the intro to something much larger still in development, but it definitely makes you feel like you’re waking up inside of a nightmare. Also, yes, there are jump scares.
Dreadhalls
Price: $4.99 (Store)
Have you ever thought about how terrifying it would be to be trapped inside of a maze, in the dark, with no idea where to go? That’s basically Dreadhalls. The dungeon itself is procedurally generated so it’s never the same layout twice and it’s up to you to find your way out and survive.
Drop Dead
Price: $9.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Most of the games on this list are slow-paced and all about building up tension to really scare you down to your core. Drop Dead isn’t like that. Instead, this is a fast-paced zombie wave shooter, similar to the House of the Dead arcade games, that probably won’t scare you much, but is a fun and simple way to blow up zombie brains. It’s even got co-op too if you’d like to play with a friend.
Face Your Fears
Price: Free (Store)
Designed to be perhaps the ultimate intro-to-VR horror-themed experience out there, Face Your Fears is just excellent. In this game you play through a variety of scenarios that are each designed to trigger different types of fear you might have, meaning there is surely something here for everyone. And it’s all for free!
Five Nights at Freddy’s 360 Video
Price: Free (Find On YouTube or Via Oculus Browser)
Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of the biggest and most successful indie game franchises on the planet and it spawned a whole slew of product lines beyond the game itself. For those unaware, you basically watch security camera footage to see if/when the mechanical Chuck E. Cheese-type creatures start moving. It’s extremely unsettling and creepy and now this 360 video brings that horror to VR.
The Nun: Escape the Abbey 360 Video
Price: Free (Find On YouTube or Via Oculus Browser) (Our Coverage)
The Nun released to a mixed reception at the box office, but this short little VR teaser is worth giving a watch. It’s very, very short and doesn’t have any interaction at all, but it all builds up to one big jump scare at the end that is definitely scream-worthy. The atmosphere is extremely chilling.
Play With Me
Price: Free (Store)
Part escape room and part twisted clown-focused nightmare, Play With Me is a brief little VR horror experience for Oculus Go. You mostly just explore a house and try to find your way out with some minor puzzles along the way. However, the few jump scares are good and it’s totally free.
Rise of Insanity I and II
Price: $3.99 Each (Part I Store and Part II Store)
Inspired in part by The Shining, The Exorcist, and Silent Hill, Rise of Insanity is a psychological horror experience that has to be experienced to be fully understood. It’s set during the 70s in America about a doctor and his mentally-plagued patient. Both parts are great and build upon one another so they should be played in the correct order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSSmCL3FLCE
Silent Hill 360 Video
Price: Free (Find On YouTube or Via Oculus Browser)
Unfortunately this is not an actual official Silent Hill production and it’s not related to P.T., although that’s where a lot of its influences undoubtedly come from. It’s a free, brief 360 video that you can pull up inside of your Oculus Go’s browser easily to stream. It’s not interactive like a full VR game is, but it’s still full of spookiness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTVM7v8ivrw
Sisters: A VR Ghost Story
Price: Free (Store)
Sisters has been around for quite sometime now, dating back to even before consumer VR headsets actually hit the market. It’s a short, but extremely creepy horror story focused on dolls and small children which, if you’re anything like me, is more than enough to send chills down your spine.
