10 Best Horror Games to Play on Xbox Game Pass for Halloween 2026
Xbox Game Pass has a massive library of games of all shapes and sizes. But during October, it’s much more fitting to seek out the horror games in the library in order to get into the Halloween spirit. Thankfully, there are many to choose from, especially for those on the more expensive Ultimate plan. There is only so much time, though.
To make this process easier, here is an unranked list of 10 great horror games to play on Xbox Game Pass.
10) Total Chaos
Total Chaos is, by definition, a first-person shooter — it has a first-person perspective and guns — but that description doesn’t yield the full picture. Even though there are firearms, melee is the bigger focus, and it’s more akin to a Silent Hill game with its spooky atmosphere. Players have to rummage through twisted worlds and bludgeon even more twisted freaks, which can be downright terrifying. Imagine creeping through a dark room where creepy monsters swarm if your lighter goes out or having to sneak through a nest of sleeping beasts.
In addition to having to endure scary sequences and fight off creatures, there are also survival elements that have players managing various dwindling meters. It can add to the tension but also contribute to its various other bits of tedium or frustration, such as its ability to kill players quickly and forfeit a ton of progress. However, it’s indicative of Total Chaos as as whole: unique but sometimes a bit annoying.
9) Dead Space
Even though Dead Space has been strictly relegated to crossovers as of late, that doesn’t diminish the quality of the 2023 remake. This remake beautifully realizes what made the original so impressive but amps everything up accordingly. Gunplay is more responsive and cleverly takes the advancements made in Dead Space 2. The stronger lighting and more advanced shadows also make just creeping around much more tense.
But, crucially, this remake also knows how to push forward while keeping the spirit of the original in tact. The ability to more freely wander the ship and explore side missions expands upon the lore while also making the game more unpredictable. To account for backtracking, Motive Studio added in a procedural scare system that could dynamically spawn in enemies or mess with the environment to keep players on their toes. When combined with a voiced and more active protagonist, the studio lovingly preserved what was there while also knowing how to make advancements. It’s a tragedy that such grace was met with disdain from Electronic Arts, but at least the team was able to leave the series on a high note.
8) Dredge
Dredge is a fishing game where players can calmly pillage the ocean for various fish and trade them in for upgrades. It’s relatively peaceful, but that changes at night. The terrors of the deep hinted at during work hours become more hostile and force players to make a mad dash to safety. It’s remarkably effective since both halves provide a change of pace from the other half. The serenity of fishing when the sun is out meshes nicely with the paranoia and Eldritch horrors that permeate when the moon appears.
Fishing isn’t terrible deep or too involved, but it’s relaxing enough and the loop of cashing in for more upgrades to be a better fisher is rewarding. And, on the other hand, it’s not too scary of a horror game, but it’s just tense enough. Dredge demonstrates how simplicity can pay off if the other pieces are relatively original and complement each other well.
7) Dead Island 2
Dead Island 2 was quite the surprise. Given its hellish development cycle, it was shocking that it wasn’t terrible. But it was much more than “not terrible.” Dead Island 2 is a solid example of how well the right tone and pacing can make a game better than it might normally be. The sendup of Los Angeles culture is often quite funny without trying too hard, and the tighter yet still highly explorable worlds makes sure it doesn’t wear out its welcome.
Combat is also responsive but is more noteworthy for its brutality. Dead Island 2 possibly has the most detailed gore system in the whole medium, as each zombie’s insides are modeled and can be smashed with the right tools. Such dismemberment is a spectacle every time and even lets players disarm — sometimes literally — threats by bashing certain body parts. Various elemental synergies also help add unexpected chaos to the mix, making for an overall combat system that punches above its weight. Developer Dambuster Studios pulled off the impossible by managing to get Dead Island 2 out the door and developing a great overall experience that makes the series’ future seem rather bright.
6) Resident Evil 2
The Resident Evil 2 remake is also among one of the best video game remakes of all time. This critical and commercial darling, despite its status as a remake and sequel, is also a fantastic starting point for the series as a whole.
It’s able to satisfy multiple different groups for a few reasons. The scares don’t just copy what the original did, and the added atmosphere afforded by the more advanced technology make it a bit more immersive. That’s not to disparage the original; it’s more of a testament to how well Capcom pushed the envelope here. The expansion of Mr. X’s abilities also make it scary every time, since he has a mind of his own that can make him unpredictable. This unpredictability is a boon, too, because the Resident Evil 2 remake is highly replayable and encourages multiple runs. It’s still one of the best horror games of the last few decades and, like Dead Space, one of the best remakes in the entire medium.
5) Costume Quest
While most games on this list are relevant to Halloween because they are scary, Costume Quest is one of the few games that is actually about the holiday itself. Turning the childlike joy of trick-or-treating into a turn-based RPG is awfully cute, because it lowers the stakes typically seen in the genre. There are no gods to slay here.
The actual combat isn’t incredibly deep, but it at least has some variety through the different costumes and Super Mario RPG-like feature of timed button presses. Even with a lack of true depth, it’s a charming experience that floats by on Double Fine’s signature writing style. The sequel is also on Game Pass, and, while slightly more refined, it is mostly more of the same.
4) The Walking Dead
All four seasons of Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead are on Game Pass, and while they all vary in quality, it’s hard to just recommend the first season. That said, it is the strongest and has the best character development and has a lot of elements that would go on to be praised in The Last of Us. Telltale’s ability to craft such a heartfelt tale in such a crowded genre is still remarkable all these years later.
The following seasons are much more streamlined and strip out a lot of the puzzles. Season 2 is relatively solid and banks on the player’s attachment to certain characters from the first season. The third season is the weakest of the bunch and is likely the most skippable, but it still has it some solid moments. The final season is just behind the first in terms of quality and at least means the series was able to go out on a decent note, which didn’t seem possible at the time given Telltale’s implosion between episodes. It’s a rollercoaster ride either way and is a decent way to feel the tension of the zombie apocalypse without having the hoard resources or pull off as many headshots.
3) Routine
Horror games set in space are not in short supply. That makes Routine‘s title somewhat cheeky, but it remains a decently scary and atmospheric game, even with its familiarity.
Routine makes players pay attention to the environment with its minimal user interface, lack of music, and flexible C.A.T. Gun that helps solve puzzles. These details ensure anyone playing Routine will have to soak in its sights and sounds in order to make it out alive. The menacing robots stalking the halls are quite freaky and tough to stun, so while the lack of combat may limit what players can do, it at least adds stakes to the experience. There’s a lot of running, hiding, and waiting, but at least it doesn’t have players waiting too long until they roll credits.
2) Ghostwire Tokyo
Ghostwire Tokyo remains a unique experience even over four years later. The open-world may have been its most pedestrian feature, but the actual city itself feels lived-in in a way Ubisoft’s open-world games, for example, almost never do. Setting the game in Tokyo gives it an incredible vibrance, where the raindrops and puddles reflect upon the vast neon signs or massive screens. Even though everyone is dead, the loving reconstruction of Tokyo makes it a wonderful world to explore.
And despite being a first-person shooter, the novelty of using magical spells instead of traditional firearms gives skirmishes a kinetic energy more typical shooters don’t have. With the right settings, it can play out like a DOOM game where players are blasting, ripping, and tearing, albeit with fancier hand animations. The monster designs inspired by Japanese folklore are also rather haunting, so while it isn’t horror game — aside from one terrifying mission in a school — it’s still able to have one foot in the horror genre.
1) CloverPit
CloverPit sits players in front of a slot machine in a dingy room and has them gamble for their lives. In a clever distillation of the hell that is modern capitalism, this roguelike has players weighing certain perks and manipulating those elements in their favor in order to make enough cash to survive.
It can be a little frustrating to die by the hands of Lady Luck — it is still a slot machine, after all — but it is also, admittedly, a rush to strike gold and blow past previous records. There are ways to spec in order to strike it big, and the deluge of effects that rain down upon hitting a jackpot is quite spectacular. CloverPit tries to have its cake and eat it too by commenting on gambling while also explicitly letting players gamble, but it doesn’t literally nickel and dime those trapped in its grasp and is also quite engrossing.
What horror games are you going to play this Halloween? Tell us in the comments.