There is a wide range of games and fearful archetypes within thehorrorgenre. you’re able to find almost anything you want under that umbrella as long as you are willing to go through a few scares. Some horror archetypes are bigger than others: slashers, monster horror, and body horror, to name a few.
Whether it’s the main idea or just an additional way to scare you, isolation horror is an archetype that has become more and more popular over the years. There’s nothing that has the same feel as being alone in a creepy mansion or haunted graveyard and knowing there’s no one else around. Here are the best games that use isolation horror to their advantage.
Updated July 18, 2025, by Zackary Wiggs:There is nothing quite like turning off the lights, booting up your favorite gaming platform, and trying out a new horror game. The chills, the scares, the silence- there are quite a few horror subgenres, but isolation horror is like them all in spades. Whether you need a new horror game to get your heart rate up, or you just wanted to see if your favorite game made the list, here is an updated look at some quiet, atmospheric, isolation horror games.
Hacking the infamous Citadel Station isn’t an easy task, but it’s just the type of task you’re cut out for. What you may think is a cyberpunk FPS is quite a bit more than that. System Shock quickly changes tone once you are on board Citadel.
Locked in by a paranoid and malicious AI, you arestalked, hampered, and huntedat every point in your journey. Knowing that it’s either succeed or die, that there is no one there to help you, makes for a mission that becomes incredibly creepy incredibly fast. Not to mention all the mutants.
Based on the movie that made isolation horror a big name on the silver screen, The Thing brought its own flavor of horror to game consoles in the early 2000s as well. You and a select few Arctic researchers are trapped in a research base in the middle of a blizzard after a seemingly dead alien comes back to life.
Oh, and it has the ability to disguise itself as your team members. So anyone who you think might soothe your loneliness might actually be there to kill you. It’s a game that subverts and reinforces the isolation genre at the same time.
Space is a consistent setting for games with the theme of isolation. But what about the distant planets themselves? That’s the setting of Iron Lung. As an explorer of a far-off moon, you’ll move your submarine through an unforgiving ocean.
What makes it unforgiving, though? Well, for starters, the ocean is made entirely of blood, and if that wasn’t enough, it’s also full of monsters that don’t take too kindly to explorers. Seeing the world around you just through a series of grimy portholes is an experience you won’t soon forget.
A horror game that brought multiple generations together for one story. It’s an odd job to be an overnight security guard at a kids' pizza place, and it only gets weirder as the nights go on. What starts off as a normal game of watching cameras gets complicated quickly.
FNAF is the first game in a long-running series of games that asks you to be alone in the dark with some not-so-friendly animatronics. It’s interesting how quickly someplace that should be so cute and harmless can turn so dark and lonely.
One of the creepiest games to come out on the PC, The Mortuary Assistant is not a game to play if you aren’t a fan of the horror genre. The plot is simple enough; you’re hired on as a helping hand at a local mortuary. It’s not a fun job, but it gets far scarier than anyone could prepare you for.
The bumps in the night and jump scares are one thing, but the thing that makes it worse is the fact that you’re all alone. No one is there to help you or even to see the peculiar occurrences that go on while you’re at work. Your survival is up to you.
A crumbling mansion, a struggling artist, and a long past of trauma all await you in Layers of Fear. The game doesn’t tell you much starting off. It just drops you in the mansion and lets you find out the story yourself. Alone.
The only other things you’ll find while you’re there are plenty of rats and a vengeful spirit who you may or may not have had a hand in creating. It’s a weird take on the horror genre but one that takes isolation, visuals, and sound design to all new levels.
Dredge is part fishing game and part cruel cosmic horror. You take the role of a lone fisherman, moving his trawler out into the dark waters at night to make a living. It’s a lonely life out there with only the various sea monsters for company.
It’s a fun, if not creepy, mix of a space management game, fishing minigames, and horror exploration. You’d be surprised how fast you will miss the curious people of the village nearby as you venture out to deeper and deeper waters.
A well-named game for this list. Alien: Isolation asks the question: what’s worse than being trapped all alone on a space station? And then answers confidently by putting a deadly Xenomorph on board with you.
The only thing creepier than the silence in this game is the beep of your radar going off or the clank of a vent opening behind you. It’s a game that takes isolation to new heights by having you seemingly lightyears from anyone who can and would want to help you in your current predicament.
5The Amnesia Collection
Can’t Forget About This Classic
No one takes the psychological aspect of isolation horror to the level that theAmnesiaseries does. Waking up in a creepy castle is one thing; not knowing how you got there is another, and being the only human you may find is the worst of the three.
You’re almost happy to see a figure turn a dark corner until you realize it’s a horribly misshapen monster coming at you instead of your savior. There’s a reason it has been such a big name in horror since the first game came out.
A modern day classic, BioShock awed fans with its interesting mix of horror and FPS ideas. If you still haven’t played it, or you want to experience the stuffy halls of Rapture all over again, there are few games that take isolation to this level.
The sole survivor of a plane crash over the Atlantic, you find a curious lighthouse that takes you to a city beneath the waves. This land of invention has taken a turn, though, and the few people who still call it home aren’t really people anymore.
The other games in the series continue the themes, but none do isolation like the original.
