The 10 Best Co-op Horror Games [Recommended & Scary]

The horror genre has long been a staple in the gaming industry. From the fear these games inspire to the lets plays on Youtube to the feeling of existential dread, horror holds a special place in the hearts of many gamers.

But what about when you want to share that fear with your friends? What if you want to freak your friends out and enjoy their screams of terror?

Well, in that case, let me introduce you to the best multiplayer horror games you can play.

From the brutality of The Outlast Trials to the FPS Shooter Killing Floor 2, you are certain to find at least one game on this list that you and your friends can play on your next gaming night. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Tip: If you want to see if a particular horror title on this list offers cross-platform play, check out this guide.

The Outlast Trials

• Platforms: PC (Windows)

The Outlast franchise has long been a common name in the horror genre, but in recent years they began to develop The Outlast Trials, released on May 18, 2023.

It introduced something the franchise had never done before, a multiplayer mode. Even though it was something new, their fanbase took to it quickly, and it currently sits with a 9/10 on Steam and a ton of Very Positive reviews. 

You and your friends must survive numerous trials; in each one, a blood-thirsty psychopath wanders around, seeking someone to kill. Throughout each trial, things can start off slow, lulling you into a tiny bit of hope, but don’t worry, everything will take a terrifying turn in no time. 

The co-op mode allows up to four players to navigate the trials together, though you can play with fewer or, if you want a challenge, play by yourself.

However, it is not recommended to play single-player as the trials are quite difficult to overcome, even when playing with an entire squad. 

So if you are looking for a game to make your blood run chill as you and your friends are hunted, then The Outlast Trials is for you.

Phasmophobia

• Platforms: PC (Windows), Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5

Next up on the list is quite possibly one of the most popular modern horror games currently on the market. Phasmophobia pits you and your friends against a ghost lurking in a haunted house, and you must set their soul free.

Like most other co-op games, Phasmophobia’s co-op play allows four players to play together. Unfortunately, it is designed to be played with other people, so you don’t have the option to play by yourself. 

Since its early access days, the game now features a robust amount of ghost-hunting equipment that you can use to track, speak to, and interact with the various ghosts that you are hunting.

There is also a nice selection of different types of ghosts and evil spirits you can hunt, which helps prevent the game from becoming boring too quickly. 

Overall, it’s a great game to play occasionally with some team members to have a good time and a laugh. Still, as a game to play constantly every day, it’s far from the best in terms of overall quality of content and replayability.

Also, check out the best Roblox Horror Games Multiplayer.

Dead by Daylight

• Platforms: PC (Windows), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS

As a contender for the best co-op game in the horror genre to ever grace the gaming scene, Dead by Daylight is a 4v1 survival horror game. In it, four survivors must try to fix five generators to unlock the gates keeping them trapped within various maps.

Doesn’t sound too difficult, but that is where the Killer comes into play. 

The Killer can be one of many famous horror villains like The Shape (Michael Myers), Ghostface, Pinhead, Pyramid Head, and The Nurse from Silent Hill. Each one has been gifted with different abilities that they use to hunt the survivors better and sacrifice them to the darkness that sent the survivors here in the first place. 

Not only is it an awesome game, but it is also one of the few free horror games that you can find in the store. So when you’re looking to be scared and have a great time, there is no better game than Dead by Daylight.

Do you think you have what it takes to survive in this co-op survival horror game, or will you join the ranks of the thousands who have come before you and been sacrificed upon the meat hooks?

Check out this article if you’re interested in learning why sound is so important in horror games and reading more about horror tropes.

Back 4 Blood

• Platforms: PC (Windows), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 & 5

Back 4 Blood was created by the same people at Valve Corporation who brought us the amazing franchise known as Left 4 Dead; this first-person shooter game pits you and three of your closest friends and allies against the endless zombie apocalypse hordes who want nothing more than to eat you. 

While it has mixed reviews, as many people prefer the earlier Left 4 Dead games, it is still a great zombie game that can be a great time if you give it a chance. The AI could use a bit of a tweak, but other than that, the co-op experience is still fairly rich, though that may change over the next several years. 

So if you want to enjoy the game while it still has a place in the gaming sphere, I recommend jumping into it now. 

Don’t Starve Together

• Platforms: PC (Windows), Linux, Mac (OS X), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 3, 4, and 5, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS

If you don’t know much about Don’t Starve Together, you may be surprised to see it on this list, but it is well-deserving of its place on this list. Instead of using jump scares and lots of gore to frighten you like most horror games, Don’t Starve Together takes on a much more psychological and tension-building style. 

Each day you must focus on surviving and perishing the multitude of things that you want dead in the world. Deadly beasts hunt your every move, starvation is always just over the horizon, and insanity is never more than a few minutes away from taking over your brain. 

There is a single-player version, Don’t Starve, but it is definitely way better to play with a friend than to play alone, especially if you want to have the chance of surviving for even a bit longer than 10 minutes in the game.

Are you planning on playing horror games with friends on another platform? Check out my ultimate guide to cross-platform gaming.

Dying Light

• Platforms: PC (Windows), Linux, Mac (OS X), Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch

Next up on the list is the Dying Light Franchise, as both Dying Light and Dying Light 2 come with an online co-op experience that up to four players can enjoy together. It is another multiplayer game focused on killing zombies, but you can never go wrong with a zombie horror game. 

After all, people love to watch zombie horror movies, so why wouldn’t they enjoy the chance to live out the zombie apocalypse with their friends and slaughter thousands of the undead? And if you don’t have anyone to play the game with, you can still play alone in the single-player campaign.

So no matter what, you can test your skills against the endless hordes of the undead. But playing together with other people definitely make the experience better, as taking a squad into battle against those who wish you dead is one of the best experiences in gaming.

In Dying Light 1, all four players who participate in co-op battles earn progress toward their respective accounts.

However, in the second game, that was changed, where only the game host earns progress. Everyone else is just a guest in their game, which damages the playing experience. 

Even with that, though, it is still an amazing game to play and has earned its place amongst the best survival horror games. So get out there and show those zombies what you’re made of!

Speaking of zombies, check out how to install Custom Zombie maps in Call of Duty: World at War.

Killing Floor 2

• Platforms: PC (Windows), Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Many zombie horror games have been on this list, but this should finally be the last one before we leave the zombie genre behind. Killing Floor 2 is essentially another Dying Light, except instead of only a 4-player co-op, it can support up to 6 players in its co-op.

On top of that, the game also features a versus mode, which supports 12 players and allows you to battle against other players, with one side being survivors and the other taking on the role of zombies.

When it comes to the best zombie games that you can play with your friends, Killing Floor 2 is easily one of the best. 

It combines killing huge numbers of zombies with the ability to play with up to 5 of your friends for a great game night. 

The Forest

• Platforms: PC (Windows), PlayStation 4

Moving away from zombies, it is time to talk about The Forest, which is quite easily one of the scariest horror games on this list. You and your friends are stranded in an open world dangerous forest after your plane has gone down, and at first, everything seems fine.

You have to gather resources, create tools, and set up a camp while you wait to be rescued, but that is when things begin to go wrong. It begins to feel like the trees have eyes staring at you as you traverse it, never straying too far from your camp. 

As night begins to fall, an uneasy feeling falls over you, and then before you know it, the forest erupts with howls and screams as a band of cannibalistic cult members comes barreling out toward you.

They aim to kill you and your friends and then eat your flesh. You aim to fight them off every night, desperately trying to keep your flesh in one piece.

Every night becomes worse; the cannibals mutate and grow more powerful, driven by some unholy power that seeks to drive you insane. Not only must you fight them, but you, as the player, must fight the terror that comes with each night as pitch blackness falls over the Forest. 

While you can technically play this game with as many people as you want, the developer recommended amount of players for cooperative play is eight players max. You can play with less, or you could play with more; the choice is yours.

Regardless, you are in for a horror experience you’ve never experienced before.

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GTFO

• Platforms: PC (Windows)

Do you prefer your horror video games to have a tint of Lovecraftian horrors? Are you a fan of a co-op horror survival game that puts you in a secret research facility? If so, then GTFO is the perfect game for you. In it, you and your friends (up to 4) must navigate through the research center as monsters sleep all around you. 

Due to the monster sleeping all around you, you have two options in this game. You can either spend a long time slowly weaving your way around the monsters, hoping they don’t awaken, or go barrelling in and killing as many of them as possible.

However, be warned. No matter what you do, the monsters will awaken at some point, and you will have to defend yourself. 

But even worse about this game is that the monsters are not just regular monsters. These supernatural beings seem to hail from another world, but don’t be fooled; they belong to this world we call home. So if you think you and your friends have what it takes, try GTFO.

Paranoia Place

• Platforms: PC (Windows)

The final game on this is Paranoia Place, a two-player game that puts you and your buddy in a haunted house. It is a puzzle-based horror game that focuses on cranking your paranoia all the way up to a ten as you play it.

The corridors twist and turn around you, things move from where they should be, and it feels like everything is alive in the game.

As you solve the puzzles, you must remain hidden, for something lurking in the house is hunting you and your friend.

You must always check in because otherwise, you could be left all alone before you know it. Nothing more than your thoughts and panicked breaths to keep you company as the evil around closes in. 

So if you want a game that will make you doubt everything around you, and cause you to feel like there is nothing you can trust, then Paranoia Place is the game for you. Enter if you dare.

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