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5 Best Horror Games on Xbox Game Pass (August 2023)
What's great about Xbox Game Pass is that it provides gamers with a variety of experiences. From FPS and Indies to action and adventure, there are a ton of different genres to broaden your horizons with. But, one of the best genres you can immerse yourself in is horror games. Especially because Xbox Game Pass is chock-full of excellent titles. So much so, it was difficult to settle on five for this list. Nonetheless, shots were called and our picks are in, here are the best horror games on Xbox Game Pass in August 2023.
5. The Evil Within (Series)
The Evil Within series, developed by Shinji Mikami, director of some of the Resident Evil series' games, is a survival horror game that will make your skin crawl. In terms of plot, you play as Detective Sebastian Castellanos, who stumbles upon a mysterious powerful force while investigating a series of murders. It inevitably kills your other policemen but leaves you unconscious. You then awaken in “a deranged world where hideous creatures roam among the dead. Facing unimaginable terror, and fighting for survival, Sebastian embarks on a frightening journey to unravel what’s behind this evil force.”
From there, the game is a never-ending barrage of horrifying environments, unnerving interactions, and compelling stories that combine to make a well-rounded horror experience. The best part is that both the original and the sequel are available with Xbox Game Pass. So, don't miss out on one of the best horror games on Xbox Game Pass, which will undoubtedly make your hair stand on end.
4. Inside
If you're looking for a fresh horror experience, check out Inside, an award-winning indie. In this atmospheric and harrowing puzzle platformer, “a boy finds himself drawn into the center of a dark project.” While that's not exactly descriptive, Inside's mystery and intrigue are what draw you into its disturbing plot. From there, you progress through the levels of a horror story that grows darker and more harrowing with each step.
The game has received over 100 awards for everything from its art style to its soundtrack and story. As a result, Inside is unquestionably of the best horror games on Xbox Game Pass. You just have to be open-minded and let its story swoop you away into an unsettling and unnerving adventure. What's more, if you're a fan of games like Limbo and the Little Nightmares series, Inside draws its inspiration right from them.
3. Dead by Daylight
Multiplayer horror games have been growing in popularity since the likes of Dead by Daylight. However, even seven years after its release, no one can top the game that began the uprising. What we're saying is that Dead by Daylight is still going strong in 2023 and has an ever-growing active community. As a result, not only is it one of the best multiplayer horror experiences, but one of the best horror games that's included with Xbox Game Pass.
Essentially, Dead by Daylight is an expansive horror that pits one killer against a squad of four survivors. There are more than 30 killers to pick from, ranging from Michael Myers to other outer-worldly entities. Each killer and survivor has different characteristics and talents you can level to define their playstyle. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, it is up to the killers to eliminate the survivors and the survivors to make it out with their lives.
2. Amnesia: The Bunker
Amnesia: The Bunker is the latest installment in the critically acclaimed survival horror series Amnesia. Launched on July 6, 2023, Amnesia: The Bunker is a spin-off entry in the series, nevertheless it provides an equally terrifying experience. In this first-person horror game, you're alone in a desolate WW1 bunker, with only one bullet left in the barrel. In search of a way out, something in the dark and murky corridors stalks, haunts, and slowly drives you insane.
Your mission is to scavenge whatever materials you can, keep the lights on as long as possible, and try to keep yourself from going insane. With randomization and unpredictable behavior installed into the AI, the game reacts and changes to your every step. As a result, Amnesia: The Bunker offers an endlessly haunting horror experience that's new with each playthrough. It's one of the newest and best horror games on Xbox Game Pass, and we highly recommend checking it out.
1. Amnesia: Collection
With the most recent installment, Amnesia: The Bunker, on the list, we couldn't leave out the three-part series that started it all. Thankfully, Xbox Game Pass has Amnesia: Collection up for grabs on Xbox Game Pass. That includes the original Amnesia: The Dark Descent, and sequels, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs and Amnesia: Justine.
While each game has a similar dark atmosphere, they all convey a separate yet unsettling story. The original game puts you in the shoes of Daniel who awakes in a desolate castle and can't remember anything about his past.
In the sequel, A Machine For Pigs, “wealthy industrialist Oswald Mandus wakes in his bed wracked with fever and haunted by dreams of a dark and hellish engine.”
The final game in the three-part series, Justine, “puts you through a series of trials constructed by a demented mind. Will you risk your own life to save others?” Altogether, the Amnesia: Collection brings you three of the best horror games on Xbox Game Pass.
