5 Best Horror Games of 2022 (So Far)

If you're to compile any sort of bucket list this year, then it should probably be one that revolves around the best horror games of 2022. And boy, what a year it has been for the overshadowed genre, with more psychologically tormenting works of art fleshing out the market than the past three years merged together. This has, of course, made our jobs as curators a little tougher than usual, though it's also fantastic to see the world of terror finally getting its well-deserved moment in the spotlight, too.

Anyway, if you are planning on scribbling down some of the best horror games of 2022, then let this be your formal guide. Here are the five best-selling horror games you should check out before year's end.

5. The Quarry

Supermassive Games‘ The Quarry is a third-person interactive survival horror that takes all the same leafs out of The Dark Pictures' book and scrunches them into a whole new terrifying concept. Similar in design to Until Dawn, Man of Medan, Little Hope, and House of Ashes, players are once again invited to curate a story that employs upwards of a hundred or more possible character arcs and conclusions in its arsenal.

The Quarry follows the story of six summer camp counsellors who are forced to spend a final night in the desolate canyon district of Hackett Quarry. With Mr. Hackett himself out of town and the the county spirit supposedly on the prowl for blood, the six survivors are forced to band together to survive a night of adrenaline-fueled chases and deadly apparitions. Summer may be over, but hunting season has only just begun.

4. Evil Dead: The Game

Ash Williams, the double-barrelled boomstick-wielding sociopath with a fistful of rage and a thirst for everlasting bloodshed, has been in line to receive an original video game for decades now. Being one of the cult classics of the horror world, it was always in the cards, but never fully realized until much later down the line. Fortunately, Saber Interactive finally saw profit in the concept, and eventually went on to develop a fully-fledged universe based solely around into demonic realm.

Evil Dead: The Game is a multiplayer third-person shooter that pits a number of iconic survivors against the sinister forces of the underworld. Together, the two factions must thrash it out for dominance over a series of instantly recognizable locations torn straight from the movie saga. Think Dead by Daylight, but with a whole lot of Ash Williams up in your face…with a chainsaw. Groovy? You bet.

3. MADiSON

MADiSON is a first-person experimental survival horror game that opts for a puzzle-heavy narrative over your cliché jump scare-riddled slog through the motions. Similar in design to the Fatal Frame series, players are tasked with roaming an opaque setting with nothing but a camera to bridge the world of the living to the shadowy realm of the dead.

MADiSON puts you in the shoes of a young teen named Luca on his sixteenth birthday. After receiving an old camera as a gift, the oblivious teen comes to learn that it belonged to a notorious serial killer many years prior. The camera in question, which has the power to capture the dead through its dusty lens, is your only line of defence when it comes to roaming your paranormally unhinged home. Unfortunately for you, the dead are known to run free during the twilight hours, and you'll have to do a lot more than snap pictures to banish them, that's for sure.

2. Dead by Daylight

It's hard to turn a blind eye to Dead by Daylight, especially when it has a constant litter of classic horror crossovers and seasonal events. Even if you're not all that keen on diving head first into the online multiplayer world, it is still a world worth experiencing, if only to mope about as your favorite slasher villains and survivors for a short while.

Dead by Daylight is an always-online asymmetrical multiplayer game that lumbers a team of survivors with a myriad of puzzles and challenges to solve, and a known serial killer with a simple goal: to capture and slaughter every other player on the board before they escape. With a generous variety of iconic locations to choose from, this lofty package of horror springs to life as one of the best and most complete in the genre to date.

1. Scorn

Scorn is an all-new open world survival horror game that brings biopunk to a machine-like dystopian future, a realm in which you can explore freely in search of old memories of a lost civilization and harvest clues to unlock the truth about its fleshy locale. Although not technically a shooter game, it does feature its brief moments of combat, which is mostly supported by powerful storytelling and a bone-chillingly dark and dreary atmosphere.

Scorn is very much a first-person survival horror game that pairs the love of exploration up with a slew of thought-provoking puzzles and mysteries. As an open world game that lets you navigate at will, it is up to you to forge a path for yourself, using whatever tools you can find to wade through the scattered districts of the forgotten alien planet. Whatever path it is you choose to follow, know that the world is yours to interpret, from the moment you cross the threshold, to the second you escape its boney metropolis.

So, what's your take? Do you agree with our top five? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.