5 Best Horror Games on Nintendo Switch (2024)

You’re not mistaken to look for horror games on Nintendo Switch. Sure, many popular games on the platform are family-friendly. However, more and more horror games are flooding the Switch. Rest assured, you’ll find the exact match to suit your needs. Whether survival horror with an eerie atmosphere or episodic adventures with paranormal activity, Nintendo Switch has it all. Check out the best horror games on Nintendo Switch in 2024 below.

5. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water

First up, we have Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, a Japanese survival horror that follows Yuri Kozukata, Miu Hinasaki, and Ren Hojo’s adventures on the once-revealed Mt. Hikami. You’ll explore the mountain’s unique religion and gruesome past. It’s said that many people met their deaths on their mountain and that the place holds mysterious secrets. 

If you’ve played any Fatal Frame games, you’ll know how the story and gameplay play out. Everything, from the eerie atmosphere to each character’s story path, sparks intrigue. You’ll run into bone-chilling ghosts and unravel a gruesome story. Plus, you engage in combat, too, with an excellent shooting system. But if exploring Japanese lore and creepy forests isn’t your cup of tea, consider Amnesia: Collection instead.

4. Amnesia: Collection

Also a survival horror, Amnesia: Collection contains The Dark Descent, its Amnesia: Justine expansion, and A Machine for Pigs, guaranteeing to occupy your next gaming hours with two wholesome games and a DLC to boot. It has the same brilliant, eerie atmosphere you’ll find in horror games. However, a more profound and entangled mystery lies in its depths. 

In The Dark Descent, you’ll be tasked with putting the pieces of Daniel’s memories together. He suffers from amnesia, only waking up in a desolate castle and barely having any knowledge of his past. Of course, the more you discover, the more terrifying the experience will be. Then there’s Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, which follows industrialist Oswald Mandus. He, too, wakes up sick and with the sole knowledge that his children are in grave peril. Can you rescue them in time? 

The DLC, Amnesia: Justine, is more or less the same chilling experience. However, you’ll, instead, take on several trials orchestrated by a demented mind. At the core of the games is the struggle of risking your life to save others. As nightmarish as the missions become, at times veering on the edge of insanity, you can never give up hope.

3. Observer

In the same psychological horror vein, you may want to consider playing Observer. It follows the detective, Daniel Lazarski, and adds a cyberpunk twist to solving cases. It’s always difficult to tell when witnesses lie. In Observer, though, you can hack into the minds of every person of interest. Essentially, brain hacking lets you feel, think, and remember every little detail the person experiences, which, in retrospect, doesn’t sound so pleasant, does it? 

The sense of dread is cranked up by the world you’re thrust into. The setting is a dark, cyberpunk world crawling with plagues and all-out war. And so, as simple as your first case sounds, to investigate the cause of an automatic lockdown on a rundown apartment, soon you’ll go down a rabbit hole that not only affects others but your past, too. Ghosts from your past haunt you as you struggle to deal with ghosts of the minds you hack into. Freaked out yet? Well, maybe the Resident Evil Revelations Collection will do the trick.

2. Resident Evil Revelations Collection

Also, a collection of Resident Evil Collection and its sequel, Resident Evil Revelations 2, ought to keep you busy through the weekend, at least. It’s a survival horror that tasks you with completing several chilling scenarios. Among all the games on this list, the Resident Evil Revelations Collection is perhaps the most hands-on. You play as Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield as they, once again, rid the world of all accursed creatures. 

This time, you explore an abandoned cruise ship, investigating for clues and staying put for the next terrifying encounter. While the original games have outgrown themselves, you’ll be surprised how solid an experience they still are. Controls still play smoothly and without fault. Environments are as slick as ever, with excellent cold, damp corridors and, overall, better designs. The campaign remains as chilling as you remember. You’re still constantly at the edge of your seat, anticipating the next terror lurking in the shadows. Most of all, it’s fun as hell, blasting monsters to oblivion. Still, you may want to lean a little more toward Limbo.

1. Limbo

Nothing is as intriguing as being in a state of limbo. You just never know what’s going to happen next, opening up a number of possibilities to consider. If you agree or need more convincing, check out Limbo, a puzzle platformer with horror elements. You control an unnamed boy through a series of wildly unsettling and uncomfortable, genius-level designs. You do have the end goal of finding your sister. However, you must get through difficult puzzles and dark, chilling graphics first. 

Limbo is constantly surprising. It doesn’t stick to gaming norms, choosing to forge its own path in the puzzle field. You not only think about solving the puzzle before you but, all along, are immersed in a brilliantly moody atmospheric experience that keeps you guessing. It’s perfect for gamers who want a unique experience from most survival horrors out there. Sure, Limbo doesn’t have the most compelling story. But it does have genuinely poignant moments infused with cold, gruesome deaths that you’ll remember. 

From tilting rooms, hanging lamps to giant spiders, camouflaged pits, and parasitic worms, anything goes. It never gets boring throughout its five-hour or so playthrough, which I guess is why, even after squirming so hard, you can’t help having another go at it.

So, what’s your take? Do you agree with our best horror games on Nintendo Switch in 2024? Are there more horror games on Nintendo Switch we should know about? Let us know in the comments or on our socials here.