The best horror games to play in 2025

Silent Hill 2 is as horrifying as it is depressing. The 2001 game gave us some of the most recognizable enemies not just in the series but in horror gaming at large: the homicidal sexy nurses and Pyramid Head. But it’s the psychological elements and unsettling atmosphere that really cement its creep-factor. The 2024 remake feels even more in-your-face about it all, as if everything scary about the game has been ramped up a few notches. As in the original, you play as James Sunderland, who has traveled to Silent Hill in search of his (dead?) wife, only to discover a hostile ghost town. I did not relax for a single moment over the course of my first playthrough. That’s mostly due to the game’s incredible sound design, which creates an atmosphere of ever-increasing tension until it’s almost unbearable. In areas like the prison, the cacophony of frightening sounds in the dark — galloping horses, metallic clanging, creatures scuttling — had me so on edge I found myself having to step away ... Read full article.