Scare Your Friends With These VR Games

The Elevator Ritual

The Elevator Ritual is a short interactive horror story made by Samson Films. You take on the role of Sarah, a teenage student who finds herself in a terrible situation—she’s gotten herself lost in the “Otherworld” and must find a way to get home. To escape, you enter an elevator in a building with at least 10 floors and ride it to a series of floors in a specific order. If you do it wrong, you may be stuck there forever. 

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift
  • Input: Gamepad, Oculus Remote, Touch (as Gamepad)
  • Publisher: Samson Films
  • Developer: Samson Films
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store


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Emily Wants To Play

It was supposed to be the end of your shift at your pizza delivery job, but the last stop of the night might end up being your last ever. The door just closed behind you, and the windows are boarded up. Something is going on here, and it can’t be good.

Emily Wants To Play is a free-roam virtual reality survival horror. You must survive the night by avoiding the occupants of the house with whom you find yourself locked in. Emily, the girl, who is roaming the house with you, is not what she seems, and her three dolls are no better. Stay away from all of them at all costs.

  • Platforms: Steam VR, Oculus Rift
  • Input: Motion Controllers, Gamepad
  • Publisher: SKH Apps
  • Developer: Shawn Hitchcock
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Steam, Oculus Store


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Face Your Fear

From the developer that brought us Left 4 Dead and Evolve comes a virtual reality experience that brings every child’s wildest fears to life. Experience what it’s like to be a terrified kid stuck in bed, but the imaginary things that go bump in the night aren’t so imaginary.

Face Your Fear starts with creaking noises in the house, but it builds into something much more terrifying. The intensity of the situation changes based on where you look (or don’t look). It also includes a skyscraper scenario that challenges your fear of heights by putting you on the ledge of a tall building in a big city. Not only must you face potential vertigo, when you look down you’ll note that there’s a giant robot scaling the building. There’s nowhere to go.

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift
  • Input: Touch, Keyboard & Mouse, Oculus Remote
  • Publisher: Oculus Studio
  • Developer: Turtle Rock Stuidos
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store


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The Forgotten Chamber

Do you have what it takes to explore an ancient tomb and uncover the secrets that lie within? The Forgotten Chamber will take you on an adventure into the depths of the unexplored, ominous ruins an emperors tomb. As you explore the mystical chamber, you’ll discover that you’re not alone. Ghastly horrors lurk in the darkness, and when they jump out, they'll leave you breathless and your heart pounding. And Archiact leveraged the power of binaural audio to enhance the thrill of the experience and sell the illusion of entities hiding all around you.

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift
  • Input: Gaze-based
  • Publisher: Archiact
  • Developer: Archiact Interactive
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store


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Into The Dead

Left 4 Dead doesn’t exist for VR, but Into The Dead is a good substitute if you’re willing to go it alone. It's an intense first-person shooter that puts you in the heart of the zombie apocalypse. You must do everything in your power to survive: wield guns, throw grenades, cut zombies down with a chainsaw, and run.

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift
  • Input: Gamepad, Touch (as gamepad)
  • Publisher: PikPok
  • Developer: PikPok
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store


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Killing Floor: Incursion

Killing Floor: Incursion is an intense, action packed first-person shooter that will get your heart racing. Take on the role of an elite soldier and fight your way through the menacing hoards of Zeds. You’ll get access to an array of weaponry, including pistols, shotguns, grenades, and melee weapons to help you survive. The game is filled with intense fights and jump scares that will keep your heart beating through your chest. And that's before the boss fights.

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Publisher: Tripwire
  • Developer: Tripwire Interactive
  • Multiplayer?: Yes, Co-op
  • Store Page: Oculus Store


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The Mental Torment

The Andronauts development team built The Mental Torment series for one purpose: to induce fear that pushes you to your limits. The developer said that before you try the game, you should prepare yourself mentally, and you should avoid the game if you have “any psychological or heart conditions.” The Mental Torment is filled with startling jump scares and horrifying visuals.

It's built in Unreal Engine 4, and the developer took advantage of the engine’s capabilities to fill the terrifying world with near-photorealistic graphics. The game also has high quality binaural audio to create a realistic soundscape that adds to the terror.

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift, Steam VR, PlayStation VR
  • Input:Gamepad, Oculus Remote, Touch (as Gamepad)
  • Publisher: The Andronauts
  • Developer: The Andronauts
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store


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Narcosis

Are you afraid of the ocean? If so, don’t even bother with Narcosis, a survival horror game set in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. You have a pressurized dry suit to keep you safe from the elements, but don’t expect it to protect you from everything.

There’s no sunlight in the depth of the ocean, and you never know what might be around the next corner. The earie feeling of exploring the ocean floor alone will leave you with a sense of unease, to which the developers exploit to deliver an unnerving experience.

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift, Steam VR,
  • Input: Keyboard & Mouse, Gamepad
  • Publisher: Honor Code, Inc.
  • Developer: Honor Code, Inc.
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store, Steam


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Obscura

Obscura is an atmospheric horror game that “immerses you in an endless circle of fear." It is, however, a non-violent experience. It doesn’t rely on monsters and gore to set your mind in a state of unease. The creepy environment and “relentless and almost invisible entity” that you encounter are frightening enough without blood and guts.

Obscura is also meant to be played multiple times. The developer said the events are “fully randomized and unpredictable,” and each time you play the game, it “will draw you more and more into the dark.”

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift, Steam VR, PlayStation VR
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Publisher: Michael Hegeman
  • Developer: Michael Hegeman
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store, Steam


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Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul

The creators of the Paranormal Activity movie series branched into the world of virtual reality to offer their fans a new way to be scared. Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is one of the most terrifying experiences you can have in VR today.

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is an original storyline set in the universe of the movies. Armed with nothing but a flashlight, you find yourself exploring a seemingly abandoned home in the woods. Before long, you realize you’re not alone in the house—but who, or what, is here with you? Do you have the guts to stick around to find out?

  • Platforms: Oculus Rift, Steam VR, PlayStation VR
  • Input: Motion Controllers
  • Publisher: VRWERX
  • Developer: VRWERX
  • Multiplayer?: No
  • Store Page: Oculus Store, Steam, PlayStation Store


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 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.