By Steven Petite on October 25, 2022 at 1:32PM PDT
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
Steam has joined in on the Halloween fun by launching Scream Fest, a week-long sale filled with horror game deals. The sale runs until November 1, so make sure to make your selections before the deals expire. Scream Fest includes horror staples like the Resident Evil franchise as well as games like Control which substitute pure horror for haunting atmospheres. All told, there are hundreds of games on sale. We've rounded up some of the highlights from the Steam Scream Fest below, but make sure to check out the storefront for the full slate of discounts.
Steam is far from the only digital storefront that is running a Halloween sale right now. In fact, multiple PC game storefronts have competing sales that feature Steam keys. You'll want to check out the deals at Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, and Humble, too. Console gamers can shop horror deals on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, and Switch eShop.
Scream Fest isn't one of Steam's largest sales, but there are still plenty of enticing discounts. Keep in mind that Steam will also be hosting two other notable sales over the holiday season: Autumn Sale (November 22) and the massive Winter Sale (December 22).
Resident Evil, the most popular survival-horror franchise around, is well-represented in the sale, with deals on the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes as well as Resident Evil 7 and its sequel, Village. You can also get older Resident Evil titles for cheap.
Look, we know Vampire Survivors is only seeing a $1 discount, but the game is just five bucks to begin with. Vampire Survivors is a blazingly fast and ridiculously fun top-down shooter where you fight hordes of monsters. It's a perfect fit for Steam Deck, too.
Cult of the Lamb is an adorable game about running your own cult. Part management/social sim, part action-adventure, it's one of the standout indies of the year. It's not scary, but it is very funny.
If you've been holding off on Dying Light 2, it's not a bad time to buy it. Right now, you can get Dying Light 2 and Dying Light Enhanced Edition as a bundle for only $45.
The Forest is one of the best indie horror games released over the past few years. A passenger jet crashes in a strange forest, and you happen to be the only survivor. Unfortunately, the forest is filled with terrifying creatures. It's certainly not an ideal place to be stranded, but it makes for a riveting adventure.
Though it's not a scary game in the conventional sense of the genre, Remedy Entertainment's Control is an atmospheric action-adventure set inside of a mysterious and sprawling government building. You play as the new director of the agency tasked with studying supernatural occurrences. It's almost like a 3D metroidvania thanks to its labyrinthine design and powers that gradually unlock. For $12, Control: Ultimate Edition--which comes with all of the DLC--is a steal.
The Mortuary Assistant released a couple months back, so the discount here isn't huge. If you're looking for a newer horror game to play, though, you should definitely check this one out. At River Fields Mortuary, you have to put your mortuary sciences degree to the test by doing more than just embalming bodies to rid the mortuary of demons. The Mortuary Assistant encourages numerous playthroughs to see the full picture, and the scary moments are different each time.
Darkest Dungeon is a unique turn-based RPG because of how it deals with its frights. It asks you to manage your party's psychological and physical state in the wake of exploring terrifying and dreary dungeons. Even though it's more than six years old at this point, this novel approach to party management still feels exciting and fresh. With a roguelike structure, engaging combat mechanics, and a progression system that can keep you playing for dozens of hours, Darkest Dungeons is an excellent pick for both horror and turn-based RPG fans.
Rendered in rudimentary graphics that nod back to the original Doom, Dusk is a throwback first-person shooter with menacing enemies and a hellish atmosphere. It's a great pick for those who grew up with Doom, Quake, and other groundbreaking first-person shooters.
If have ever played a horror game and said to yourself, "Wow, I wish I could be the monster," you're in luck. Carrion is a "reverse horror" game starring giant red blob with many mouths and limbs. Your goal is to escape the research facility where you were being contained. As you kill and eat the human guards and scientists, you grow larger and more powerful. This side-scrolling horror game is probably pretty scary... for the people that get in the creature's way.
Trigger Happy Havoc is the first game in the excellent Danganronpa series. You and your classmates are locked inside of your school and are forced to kill each other by a demented bear. That's quite a dark premise, but Trigger Happy Havoc doesn't take itself too seriously thanks to over-the-top characters and clever writing that keeps you hooked while unraveling the game's central mystery.