The 10 Best Horror Multiplayer Games As Of 2023, Ranked
Justin Wood
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Most horror game experiences are best explored alone. Part of the feeling of getting scared is the isolation. Every once in a while, a multiplayer horror game comes out that helps bring family and friends together through the power of fear. While all these games have variations on how they can be played with other people, there is a crucial thought process: sometimes horror games can be fun together.
10. Obscure
It is the first horror game to do the Resident Evil style in co-op. Obscure follows a group of students on their campus trying to survive a monster outbreak. There are some fascinating ideas at play here. You get to pick from a group of five characters, each with their own unique skills. A second player can join in locally and choose another one of the characters. At the same time, you can freely switch between characters. But, if a character dies, they are dead for the rest of the game, so the characters themselves become an interesting resource to manage, as well as flashlight batteries to stun and kill monsters, ammo, and healing items. It is very much Resident Evil on a college campus and easily one of the most underrated horror games out there.
9. Left 4 Dead 2
Left 4 Dead was an incredible marvel at its time. But it was when the sequel came out the following year that it really launched into something exciting. While the game continues the barebones story of the first one with new survivors trying to find their way out of a multitude of situations, it’s the side content that has made Left 4 Dead 2 still relevant today. It’s been a long time since Valve has updated it, but there is a massive modding community behind the game. Adding new campaigns, guns, and sometimes, like with the Minecraft mod, completely retooling the engine for something spectacular.
8. Dying Light
Dying Light is easily the most story-heavy entry, with the main story taking roughly 15 hours without touching the side missions that pop up frequently. As Crane, you infiltrate a quarantine zone to find the cure but become infected almost immediately. Storyline aside, it features some of the best-feeling parkour systems. Plus, the way Techland has updated the game over the years to mainline the fun aspects, like being able to drop-kick zombies miles into the air, is always fun. Even with these additions, nighttime is a focal point of the game. That’s when the really nasty enemies come out, and the game excels in making us feel feeble and at the mercy of these horrific enemies.
7. World War Z
Zombie games, am I right? There is a reason so many of them are on this list. The factor of trying to survive the apocalypse with friends brings us closer together. In World War Z, we follow a group of survivors, of whom you can choose between twenty-four, as the looks are only cosmetics. It’s the class system that really makes a difference. Do you want to be more of a sniper? Or more of an up-close fight? The choice is yours as you battle through multiple locations, fighting increasingly larger swarms of zombies. The swarming system that the zombies adhere to in World War Z is a spectacle.
6. Zombies Ate My Neighbours
Okay, hear me out. I know Zombies Ate My Neighbours is an oldie, but it’s fantastic. As Zeke and Julia, you have to fight through fifty-five levels of non-stop horrors being thrown at you. As you go through the stages, the ultimate goal is to save all the survivors, but it becomes challenging as the number and variations of the enemies coming after you grow as time goes on. The way Zombies Ate My Neighbours plays with parodying horror icons from the time is fantastic, from the clear-cut Chucky dolls to the Leatherface chainsaw men. It’s all in good fun, as the ultimate goal for Zombies Ate My Neighbours is almost light-hearted fun. There are stages to this day that freak me out, but that could be me bringing baggage from my childhood nostalgia.
5. Sons of the Forest
Like The Forest before it, Sons of the Forest is made with cooperative play as a key selling point. As with all survival games, the systems work best when the player tries to survive with friends in some good old horror multiplayer. Sons of the Forest has a key difference within its gameplay loop. It’s pure and unadulterated horror not only for the situation of the player characters being trapped on the island but also for being hunted and stalked across the island with dangers lurking around every corner.
4. Dead By Daylight
Where do you even begin with Dead By Daylight? It’s the easiest of these games to pick up and have a great time with. Unlike most Asymmetrical horror multiplayer games, there is a wide net cast with its multitude of big-name killers. Mixing them with originals, it’s clear that Behaviour knows what they are doing at this point. It’s been interesting to see the evolution of characters and killers they have added, with the more recent additions really adding the scary element back into the game.
3. Phasmophobia
Ghost hunting with friends. Need I say more? The usual game of Phasmophobia has up to four players entering a house, and the ghost kills them within five minutes. But after a few rounds, when you get your footing, many tools and techniques are at your disposal. But, it almost plays out as a ghostly detective game as you track down clues to figure out the haunting. As updates come out, so do new overhauls to the maps, and even the addition of new ghosts has helped keep things fresh since its release.
2. Hunt: Showdown
Hunt: Showdown is a different kind of beast. It’s set in the Bayou with zombie-like creatures roaming around, not to mention the ones that explode and set you on fire if you touch them. The goal of each match is to kill at least one of the more enormous boss monsters roaming the inside of a build across the map and extracting its essence. The game has a significant PVP factor, and it is brutally difficult. But half the fun is the thrill that once you pick up the boss’s essence, you can be seen by any other surviving player on the map, so you become a giant mark to kill before you escape. It’s a slower-paced, more plodding game on the list, but it’s a game for the hardcore FPS lovers with a nice mix of horror multiplayer.
1. Lethal Company
Lethal Company is a game that looks simplistic on its surface, but the more you dig into it, the more it reveals itself. The general idea is that they enter the facility each day and gather as much scrap as possible before night time hits. But in the facility, boundless creatures roam around that send shivers down my spine and freak me out. Lethal Company has so much fun to be had if you can find a full crew of four (or more with mods). All for 13 bucks; it’s incredible. I’ll be interested to see what kind of content keeps coming down the pipeline because there is an amazing amount of variety and surprise each time I play.
There are so many multiplayer horror games out there, so there is no shortage of options. Here’s hoping that next year we get even more. While you’re at it be sure to check out our best games of 2023 list!
Categorized:Editorials Horror Gaming Lists
