Spooktober is here and that means pumpkin spice flavoured everything, spiderwebs are now decorations and horror streams on Twitch are back. But for some the world of spooky gaming may be new and unfamiliar. There are so many titles big and small that it’s hard to instantly come up with a game that would be both interesting for you to play and entertaining for your audience to watch, especially with your heart rate widget on screen.
This is why we asked some seasoned streamers who have a lot of experience with the genre to give some suggestions on their top horror games to play on Twitch, YouTube or any other streaming platform. You may have heard of some of these titles and some of them may be a discovery to you but there sure is something for everyone here. We also included a scare score. It’s an abstract metric where streamers determine how scary the game was for them on a scale of 60-160 beats per minute.
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan (suggested by GAEL LEVEL)
Scare score: 115 bpm
The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan is a game we don't hear enough about. I had no idea what I was getting into and played the multiplayer mode with YoonaVT. As a fan of horror movies, this game delivers a great cinematic experience that is only heightened by the quick-time events and crucial decisions you have to make. The game actually shows the players different visuals, purposely creating confusion and panic. Finished it in one sitting and can't wait to play more similar games, it was an amazing experience.
Summer of ’58 (Suggested by IMDANM)
Scare score: 145 bpm
Summer of ’58 is a first-person psychological thriller, set within an abandoned building of a Soviet Camp. You play as Alex Morton, a video blogger who specialises in making videos about paranormal phenomena.
Although Summer of ’58 is a relatively short title (took me 1.4 hours to complete it), it is packed with on the edge of your seat moments and jump scares that will have your viewers laughing at your pain and misery. Coming in at a low price point it is a great starting point to jump into the psychological thriller genre of horror games, and I highly recommend it. If this is the title for you EMIKA_GAMES also have a brilliant range of other titles to keep you going within the genre.
Lights Off! (Suggested by KiraPRaptorGirl)
Scare score: 151 bpm
This really short game has you turn off the lights and go to bed for 5 nights or more. When you go to bed, you have to hold the mouse button down to keep your eyes closed and spooky audio plays. This game really plays on the fear of the dark that makes you remember those scary childhood nights. It’s probably not actually that scary, but it’s definitely a good test of your courage in the dark.
Nun Massacre (suggested by IMDANM)
Scare score: 160 bpm
Nun Massacre is a game I discovered through chat, someone named the game but did not give any information on what it was about or who it was made by. Just a title, Nun Massacre.
Nun Massacre is another indie title, this one is from developer PUPPET COMBO (www.puppetcombo.com). The game is developed by one man who specialises in the genre of mixing PS1/PS2 survival horror with low budget 70s/80s horror films. I thought with the lower graphics and simple gameplay I wouldn’t be in for much of a scare… How wrong was I? The game places you inside a boarding school where you are looking for your daughter… but you are being chased by a psychopathic nun armed with a knife. This game is not for the faint of heart as the jump scares are frequent and VERY loud. A very worthy title for a Halloween stream with a heart monitor on (I peaked at 165 when I first met the Nun, enjoy!)
The Quarry (suggested by KiraPRaptorGirl)
Scare score: 112 bpm
This is more of a choose-your-own-adventure visual novel, but the camera work and summer camp setting really set the creepy mood, and the gameplay portions really prey on your heart rate with slow walking scenes and quick time events that get your heart pumping because whether or not you complete them determines what happens next and potentially if a party member gets eaten. It’s a really well-done horror game, and I would think this is a good entry into the horror genre, speaking as a weenie crybaby, ha ha.
Visage (suggested by IMDANM)
Scare score: 150 bpm
Visage is a game that was forced upon me by one of my Mods on my Twitch channel, he had played it himself and wished for someone else to experience the horror. He chose me as his victim…
Visage is another first-person psychological thriller, set within a huge house where some awful things have happened. It is then up to you as the player, to explore this atmospheric, ever-changing horrible house to piece together what happened to the family that lived there. The game screams of influence from the now cancelled P.T. (Hideo Kojima’s playable teaser for a Silent Hill reboot), the house feels similarly atmospheric and plays with your head with the use of sound and visual cues to make you genuinely fear what is going to happen next to you. Not only does the game make you scared, but also comes with a good story to keep you pushing through.
Streaming horror is always more entertaining with your heart rate displayed. Check out our list of Spooktober Pulsoid features for a prime horror streaming experience.
