5 Scariest Horror Movie Tie-In Games To Pick Up Before Halloween This Year
Halloween 2026 is right around the corner, marking the capstone to another spooky season where horror games are coming out left and right. However, for fans of all types of horror media, there are a surprisingly few quality games based on established properties in the genre, with many falling into disservice or cancellation over the years. If you’re looking for something more than just your favorite horror character getting a cameo in Dead by Daylight, there are some games based on horror movies that greatly honor their IPs for fantastically terrifying experiences.
Some titles based on horror movies have come out only to be shut down or have their servers go down after a frustratingly short amount of time. For example, games like Friday the 13th is no longer playable online, while Evil Dead: The Game is not available to purchase on Steam anymore, despite that title coming out recently in 2022. Some horror games based on certain franchises had to discontinue support after poor performances or the loss of licenses to specific characters, but that hasn’t stopped some games from continuing to shine through their connections.
5. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2023)
One of the most interesting takes on the asymmetrical horror PvP genre was with 2023’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a horror game based on the original 1974 movie of the same name rather than its countless sequels or reboots. This game was incredibly underrated upon its release, putting players almost directly into the same situation as the main characters of the massively influential horror title rather than creating an arbitrary situation to justify the framework of a game. In fact, this game had some unique innovations to the formula Dead by Daylight established, making it some terrifying fun friends could enjoy together.
This game didn’t just feature Leatherface trying to track down and hunt several survivor characters throughout maps that call back to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. Instead, it allowed players to embody either those trying to escape the nightmarish rural America horror setting or the cannibalistic Sawyer family as a group of antagonists alongside Leatherface and his iconic chainsaw. Each role had a number of unique abilities and skills to help a team reach their goals, leading to a more nuanced PvP experience with more multiplayer synergy than most horror games with the same premise.
Although not the most polished game in the world, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre found its fun by promoting teamwork on both sides of its game conflicts, with no side either to achieve victory without some sort of cooperation. The fear from fleeing the Sawyers generates plenty of scary moments, but players not on the side of the cannibals have ways of fighting back that makes the game not a cakewalk for that “faction” during a match as well. With authentic environments and music too, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre captures many parts of the franchise that make it a staple in horror.
4. Alien: Isolation (2014)
There are few survival horror experiences as terrifying as the one in Alien: Isolation, a game based on the original Ridley Scott movie that took sci-fi fans by storm. This game is actually a direct follow-up to the events of that movie, following the daughter of main character Ripley in between the events of Alien and Aliens. Amanda Ripley begins a deep space journey to find her mother, only to be trapped on a space station with a Xenomorph hunting her at every step.
This game has received endless praise for its complex enemy AI present in the Xenomorph, who actively learns your patterns and tendencies to track you down. The Xenomorph can hide in vents, doubles back to previous locations, and behaves in non-linear ways reflective of an adaptive AI that reacts to every action you make. For example, should you hide in lockers more often, the Xenomorph starts checking them more often. Even using the digital tracker can bring up sounds the Xenomorph can detect, creating tense moments frequently where you have to take bold risks to avoid the monster.
Alien Isolation also beautifully adapts the atmosphere of the first film, with futuristic retro devices on the space station reflecting the technology seen in Alien, down to the same sound effects from that movie. Malicious android enemies and survival mechanics also add some depth to this game beyond just the cat and mouse game with the Xenomorph, making your struggle feel more palpable. The tension of this game is constant, with screams around every corner as you are certainly the prey in space. With how scarily accurate Alien Isolation is to its source material, it’s no wonder a sequel is being developed.
3. Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival (2026)
The most recent horror game on this list is Hellraiser: Revival, a game based on the original movie from Clive Barker, and one that doesn’t turn a shy eye toward the brutal themes of that work. This game is dripping in blood and gore, blending body horror with sensual and explicit material to capture Hellraiser‘s central theme of pain and pleasure mixing together violently. This game is disgusting in all the right ways, while successfully adapting the most interesting parts of Hellraiser‘s lore established in the first two films. With even Pinhead’s original actor coming back for a vocal role in Hellraiser: Revival, this game is definitely for fans of the IP.
However, if Hellraiser: Revival were simply retelling the same stories from the movies, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting to players. This game tells an original story from the perspective of the character Aiden, whose girlfriend solves one of the infamous puzzle boxes from the Hellraiser universe, unlocking a world of horrors tied to the mysterious realm of the Leviathan and Cenobites. Aiden’s mission is to rescue his girlfriend from the nightmare realm, in a survival horror adventure whose gameplay is full of environmental puzzles and first-person action similar to the Resident Evil series.
This game also allows players to learn supernatural powers from one of the Hellraiser puzzle boxes called the Genesis Configuration, which has its own lore expanding on what the series has established over many years. This is one of the few horror games based on a IP that actually adds more to the series’ lore rather than simply adapt it 1:1, making it almost a must-play for die-hard franchise fans. As a full Hellraiser experience with plenty of Easter Eggs and homages to what makes the series special in horror, Hellraiser: Revival is a blast for anyone familiar with the series.
2. Blair Witch (2019)
The Blair Witch Project was revolutionary in horror when it came out, jump starting the “found footage” subgenre through its creepy atmosphere and constant tension at threats the audience couldn’t quite see. The tension of the unknown is something that the 2019 Blair Witch game also captures well, with players in a first-person perspective to almost immerse themselves into the same positions as the main characters from the first movie. Acting similar to games like Outlast, players are only armed with a video camera as they wander the woods haunted by malevolent evils, making every scary moment hit harder.
Players control ex-officer Ellis searching for a missing child in the woods, and quickly come across some of the same imagery that made The Blair Witch Project famous among horror fans. Creepy videotapes in the same found footage style of the movie act as transitions into environmental puzzles, creating a connectivity that makes players feels as if they are in a new movie entry to the franchise. Although the threats in this game are far more obvious than they were in the movie, the Black Hills Forest is still a foreboding setting that an throw scares at you constantly, testing your sanity for a nightmarish journey.
1. A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead (2024)
The A Quite Place movies are excellent for their use of sound, as the monsters in those horror films are an atmospheric threat for how quickly they respond to the smallest noises. The tension of the movies is translated well into A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, a 2024 survival horror experience that tests the player’s ability to not make noise just as much as the movie characters were challenged to do the same thing. Finding ways to not make a sound (or use noises as a distraction) elevates the survival horror in many ways, making each of your actions more deliberate instead of haphazard.
With other horror games like Silent Hill: Townfall having lackluster stealth segments, a game like A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead stands out even more for how important stealth is at every turn. The tight mechanics of the game may be somewhat frustrating for players, but there’s no denying that the systems tied to instant failure for making a sound reflect the vibe of Quiet Place movies accurately. Much like Alien: Isolation, the back-and-forth against a monstrous enemy is the main appeal here, as the main character must make their way through an abandoned hospital and eventually reach a safe area offshore.
Armed with very limited supplies, finding solutions to odd obstacles to clear your path is one of the reasons this game is unique among those that try to adopt horror IPs. The first-person perspective gets you right into the action, while the sound design is, expectantly, almost silent entirely. With A Quiet Place‘s franchise only seeming to grow, this 2024 title is a great way to celebrate how horror games are beginning to more authentically translate certain franchises into playable experiences for genre fans to revel in.
What is your favorite horror game based on a known IP? Let us know in the comments below!