Horror games that feature co-op without sacrificing tension

Horror games it often thrives when the player truly feels isolated from others, as when people are alone they are also more vulnerable. Because of this, most horror games are single-player experiences to take advantage of the player's loneliness, with only monstrous creatures and creeping fear for company.

Horror games that can create terror, tension and fear even when playing with friends they are a true testament to the skill of the developers in creating a truly terrifying experience. The eerie locations, masterful sound design and eerie atmosphere can still hold the player in an icy grip of terror, even when they are in the company of others.

Updated October 19, 2025 by Mark Sammut: Halloween is right around the corner, so it's the best time to call a friend and play a cooperative horror game. We've added two new recommendations: Devour and Obscure.

Dead By Daylight

Some of the killers on the roster are no less terrifying

There is no other game in the world where players can escape from the Demogorgon Stranger Things while playing as Resident Evil's Jill Valentine and hooking up with Nicolas Cage. This is the main key to Dead by Daylight's success as their rosters of killers and survivors are full of licensed characters from iconic horror IPs.

As an asymmetric horror game, those playing as survivors team up with friends or other random players to try and survive the trials that await them. They must repair the generators while avoiding the assassin's grip to escape through the exit gates or hatch. While Dead by Daylight is closer to a party game than a horror game, there are still instances where the killer scares the wits out of the survivors, either because of their sudden, stealthy appearance or because of the killer they're facing. There are few things scarier than being chased by a Xenomorph, for example, or a scratched mirror Michael Myers that eliminates all warning that it's close and leaves the player stuck in a suffocating limbo of tension.

Escape The Backrooms

Explore the spooky and mythical behind-the-scenes with your friends

Originating from 4chan of all places, The Backrooms has become one of the most famous fictional locations of modern times. It includes several different settings, but the yellow wallpaper and damp carpet are the bread and butter of this liminal space. Anyone who enters the Backrooms is said to do so by accident, cutting through the fabric of reality and ending up in this alternate realm. It is also said that anyone who falls here may face the dangerous entities that call this place home.

Escape from the backstage Set in this fictional setting, up to four friends need to survive The Backrooms and find a way to get home. Awash in an eerie, spine-tingling atmosphere, players must keep their wits about them and listen for any dreaded sound that breaks the silence, except that of their friends. With a total of 12 entities in the game, players never know what to expect, which only makes encounters more terrifying.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2

Work together to survive the horror

Resident Evil is normally a single-player affair where one person faces a survival horror game alone, solving puzzles, exploring a location, and killing their fair share of horrible, mutated creatures caused by one Umbrella Corp virus or another. Resident Evil 5 The series' brief attempt began with co-op play, specifically designing the game with the idea that it wouldn't be played solo with its incredible AI partner.

Resident Evil 6 continued this trend and was then also implemented in Resident Evil: Disclosure 2. The first entry returned the game to its isolated, claustrophobic horror roots, which continued in the episodic sequel. The dual storylines combine Claire and Moira's captivity on the island with Barry searching for his missing daughter. Teamwork is the goal of the game here, but it does little to diffuse the tension in the eerie locations, which definitely feel creepy. It won't be ghosts that players face, just classic mutants that may have once been human and are absolutely terrifying. Even as a team, these creatures can create a lot of scares and scenes a lot of tension.

Obscure

Co-Op added to the classic survival horror formula

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 tries to blend the franchise's old-school roots with its action-packed evolution, resulting in an experience that falls somewhere in the middle. If you want to try something that is 100% classic survival horror, Obscure is probably the better choice as the PS2 game plays almost identically to the PS1 Resi title. As a group of five teenagers, you explore a school that has some pretty nasty hidden secrets, along with plenty of monsters to scare you.

Even in single-player, the two characters are always paired up, so the game transitions into co-op relatively smoothly, as each player only takes on one of the active teenagers. However, each character can die permanently, so there are actual consequences that help increase the scare factor.

Outlast Trials

Avoid psychosis or witness the Skinner Man

Ride out began its run as a single-player survival horror game that took the player first to an abandoned asylum and then to a rural farming village in the sequel. With the gaming industry putting a lot of emphasis on multiplayer, it was no surprise Ride out to this market, resulting in in The Outlast Trialsa four-person horror co-op experience.

Playing as supposed “volunteers” for the new brainwashing and mind control methods masquerading as therapy, players must complete various trials involving different locations and objectives in order to gain their freedom. The catch is that standing between players and their goals are plenty of enemies that are undeniably terrifying. By far the scariest enemy is the Skinner Man, a hallucination caused when the player's sanity drops to zero. Not only is psychosis a dangerous state to be in, but it also creates an entity that causes nightmares.

Deadly company

Encountering enemy creatures while rescuing

A fun game designed with multiplayer in mind, Deadly company tasks up to four players to travel to different planets in search of salvage to bring back to the Society in order to reach their mandatory quota. Failure to meet the quota within the given time will result in them being kicked out…right out of the airlock.

If the horrors of dystopian capitalism weren't enough, players will also come face-to-face with a variety of hostile alien life as they search buildings on each planet for valuable scrap. These places are often dark and maze-like, which can make it doubly difficult to escape to safety. Although often considered a silly game to enjoy with friends, Deadly company packs a surprisingly scary punch with its monster design, which includes large spiders, a creepy ghost girl, and a spiral head, all of which are uniquely terrifying.

Phasmophobia

Hunt ghosts while not becoming part of their Legion of the Undead

Those looking for something more in the paranormal vein should definitely check it out Phasmophobiabecause it might be the scariest ghost game on the market. Playing as a group of drastically underpaid paranormal investigators, the team heads to their chosen location armed with as much equipment as they can afford. They then have to go through their device to see what triggers the response to narrow down which entity is haunting the premises.

There are many possible entities that require thorough investigation and a lot of courage to identify. The places the players travel to are always deserted and dark, creating the perfect atmosphere to scare the players. The ghosts' activities can also be startling, especially when they go into hunting mode and may end up killing one of the unlucky players in their path. With the addition of VR compatibility, Phasmophobia it never lets up with its oppressive atmosphere and haunting horror.

Absorb

Stopping a cult is a team effort

Absorb not all that different from Phasmophobiabut it works great as an alternative if you're looking for a co-op horror game that can both make you laugh and scare you. Since its launch in 2021, the game has expanded to 7 maps, each with a cultist/demon that wants to drag you and your friends down to hell. Meanwhile, you have to collect items and complete the ritual, although the process of completing the task varies quite a bit between maps. Cultists also have fun designs that are perfect for jump scares and work well with their maps.

Something that separates Absorb what makes it stand out from the crowd is its difficulty, as many of the maps are actually quite difficult. The game is designed to be played by four people, and teamwork is key to any chance of survival. While it's possible to play with fewer people or even go solo, you're basically setting yourself up for a bad time, which may be what you're after.

Anthology of Dark Images

A story series that players can influence together

FROM Until dawn fame, studio Supermassive Games went on to create more impressive choice-based horror games, collectively known as Anthology of Dark Images. The first season started with The Man from Medan and concluded with The devil in meconsisting of a total of four terrifying games, each with its own clever twist that completely changes the plot. Although these games are great for solo play, there is also the option to play with friends locally or online.

The way it works is that they will control another character on the screen and be tasked with making that character's decisions. This can cause moments of tension or chaos, especially in The Man from Medan when characters suffer from hallucinations that make it impossible to tell friend from foe. Intricate, well-crafted stories and plenty of scares make these games fantastic, and the sense of dread never wears off, even in multiplayer.