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10 Best Scary Games for the Nintendo Switch
If you're looking to get spooky, here are the 10 best scary games that can be played on the Nintendo Switch.
When you think of the Switch, you don’t think of horror. You think of Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Kirby. You think bright colors, peppy music, and family fun. And while all those associations are strong for a reason, that doesn’t mean there aren’t scary games for the Switch.
Resident Evil 4 (Original)
If you want to play the incredible 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4, you unfortunately need a PS5. But if you want to jump into gaming history, an updated version of the 2005 game is available on the Switch. It doesn’t have all the modern glamor of the remake, but the fact of the matter is that Resident Evil 4 is one of the best horror games ever made. Even at 20 years old, the pedigree of the original still holds up.
Outlast: Bundle of Terror
Like many of the games on this list, Outlast is a horror game. But it distinguishes itself by being a psychological horror game as well. You play as a freelance journalist (already terrifying) investigating a psychiatric hospital, which goes about as well as you’d expect. Turns out, most of the patients want to kill you, and the hospital has definitely not put much money into lighting. As such, expect jump scares out of this one.
Detention
Ever want to check out an indie Taiwanese horror game? Red Candles’ brilliant and thought-provoking Detention is your chance. The game is set in the 1960s when real-life Taiwan was ruled by martial law. The game focuses on two students trapped in a school during a typhoon. Detention is a 2D side-scroller that relies on (and excels in) creating a vibe using freaky atmospheres and freaky music. This is the kind of horror game that builds up slowly, relying on that ever-growing feeling of dread accumulating in your chest.
Resident Evil: Revelations Collection
When you think of a horror game series, chances are the first title that pops into your head is Resident Evil. Unfortunately, the Switch is not where you go for the optimal collection of Resident Evil games. That would be the PS4 or PS5. Still, the Resident Evil: Revelations Collection is well worth your time. The story takes place shortly after Resident Evil 4. You’ll definitely get the survival horror fix you crave, plus the option to try out a Raid Mode for pure action.
Observer
Before Polish studio Bloober Team went on to make the remaster of Silent Hill 2, they had a whole library of horror games behind them. And of those, Observer is arguably the crown jewel, a sci-fi horror game that will deeply imprint itself on your mind. You play as a police detective in Krakow, Poland in 2084, who can interrogate people by hacking into their brain implants. As an additional bonus, the protagonist is played by Rutger Hauer, of Blade Runner fame.
Darkwood
Darkwood is an indie game that takes survival horror from the top-down perspective. Its setting is just as interesting, transporting players to a mysterious forest somewhere in Soviet-era Poland. Darkwood is also notable for its day/night cycle: spend the day exploring, trading, and prepping your hideout for the inevitable onslaught that comes at night. This is also a take on the “zombie pandemic” genre, where a mysterious plague seemingly caught only in the woods is turning its survivors into monsters.
Amnesia Collection
Amnesia is a puzzle-driven survival horror series, primarily from Swedish indie developer Frictional Games. Amnesia Collection originally came out for the PS4 in 2016 before being ported to the Switch, and it contains three seminal titles in the series: Dark Descent, its Justine DLC, and A Machine for Pigs. If you’ve ever wanted to explore a creepy, old, haunted European castle, this one’s for you. Amnesia offers an eerie soundtrack, creepy sound effects, and actual scares—so much so, it’s arguably the scariest game on the Switch.
Alien: Isolation
Usually, games that are based on films or TV tend to be a little disappointing. Alien: Isolation, a sequel of sorts to the 1979 classic film, is a very notable exception. You play as Ripley’s daughter, sneaking around enemies in an eerie space station. The aptly named Isolation amps up its survival horror with its wonderfully nerve-wracking stealth mechanics. Even without the Alien name to turn heads, this would be an incredible game. And it’s undoubtedly one of the best scary ones on any system, not just the Switch.
Little Nightmares II
What’s the only thing better than Little Nightmares? Its sequel.
Both entries are quickly-beloved puzzle adventure games. With the altering 2D and 2.5D perspectives, the games aren’t quite true platformers, but they definitely have that feel—which makes them very unique among horror games. There’s a lot about the Little Nightmare series that feels unique and fresh. And rarely does a game look this beautiful while being able to be quite this freaky. While both entries in the series are fantastic, common opinion holds that Little Nightmares II is even better than the first entry.
Limbo
Limbo is a puzzle platformer whose unshakable eeriness lies in its minimalism. Crafted by Danish indie studio Playdead, Limbo is a true 2D side-scroller. It’s black-and-white, its sound design is horrifyingly minimal and ambient, and its story is largely up to the player’s interpretation. Hell, its protagonist is simply known as “the boy.”
Limbo is truly artful in its approach to horror, causing many reviewers to compare it to movements in other forms of media, like film noir and even expressionism. It’s a unique and memorable horror gaming experience unlike any other.
And those are the 10 best scary games for the Nintendo Switch.
Most of the games on this list are available on the Nintendo eShop.
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