What are the best horror Nintendo Switch Horror games? Nintendo has come a long way from their previous ‘kids only’ image and with the Nintendo Switch, this is more evident than ever. The following list contains the best horror games for Nintendo Switch. I will try to list out one game per series, but we’ll see how we get on!
RESIDENT EVIL
We’ll start with one of the best-known horror franchises of all time, Resident Evil. The version on Nintendo Switch is the updated remade version that first appeared on the GameCube. In Resident Evil you play as either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield while exploring a maze-like mansion full of puzzles, traps and the Undead.
This game really is a must-have for any horror fan, it has everything needed to make the perfect survival horror, fixed camera angles, inventory management & tank controls (optional). There are two main campaigns so you get a nice amount of game time and replayability, not to mention bonus modes.
Resident Evil is one of the best horror games on the Nintendo Switch and although RE0, 4, 5 & 6 are now all on the Switch, Resident Evil was where it all started.
DETENTION
Detention feels more like watching a horror movie, rather than playing a Nintendo Switch game but the atmosphere is something else and truly quite unsettling at times. You play as a student who gets trapped at school, hence the name. Our character Wei Chung-ting falls asleep in 1960s classroom only to awaken to an evacuated school due to an approaching typhoon. Interestingly, there is no combat in Detention and the game is clearly heavily inspired by Silent Hill, which is no bad thing! The gameplay is mainly exploration, puzzles and a few stealth-like sections thrown in for good measure.
Due to the success of the game, a Taiwanese horror film based on the game was made, however, I have not watched it, although it did score 6.9/10 on IMDB, so not too bad for a video game adaptation!
So, what makes Detention one of the best Nintendo Switch horror games? The atmosphere, I would highly recommend playing this one in a dark room with some headphones in.
YOMAWARI: THE LONG NIGHT COLLECTION
Don’t let the cute art style fool you, both Yomawari games are terrifying. Yomawari: The Long Night Collection contains both Yomawari Night Alone and Midnight Shadows in one collection. Both games are isometric exploration games following a single protagonist around a very spooky town. I say, single protagonist, however, Midnight shadows you actually play back and forth between two protagonists, but you are truly by yourself.
You will spend the game sneaking around enemies, hiding in bushes and generally being scared. This is an actually scary series, I had many tense sessions narrowly escaping enemies, most of which are one-hit kills.
Should you buy Yomawari: The Long Night? Yes! If you can stand the tension. I found that the tension stuck with me even after playing the game, making this one of my favourite horror games on the Nintendo Switch.
I’ve actually given this collection a full review you can find here!
RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS COLLECTION
Resident Evil revelations is a spinoff series from the main Resident Evil games. They tend to be a little more action-oriented like Resident Evil 4 onwards, however, I was really surprised by revelations 1. I passed up revelations when it originally released back on the 3DS, I assumed it would probably not be very good and paid it no attention. So, I am very pleased to say the Switch port has given the chance to experience it for the first time.
In Revelations, you play mainly as Jill Valentine investigating a Cruise ship, the Queen Zenobia (Much like RE: Gaiden), Teammate Chris Redfield has gone missing and it’s up to jill and her partner Parker to investigate.
The Queen Zenobia feels an awful lot like the original Spencer mansion from Resident Evil. Something about the narrow corridors and more confined feel really adds to the tension. I won’t spoil much from the story, but it’s safe to say the ship is soon overrun by bioweapons.
Revelations 2 was not on the 3DS and you can tell, everything looks a little more ‘HD’, textures are smoother and character models are more detailed. Revelations 2 was released episodically and span over 4 episodes, over two scenarios. Now, if that may sound confusing and it is a little. The game opens with what I will call scenario 1, this features Claire Redfield as a playable character with Moria Burton as the support character. Claire and Moria are kidnapped and find themselves on an Island, where they must work together to escape. In scenario 2 you play as Barry Burton, 6 months later re-treading Claire and Moria’s footsteps trying to find out where they are.
Both the revelation games are great and deserve a playthrough from any horror game fan. They both contain a comprehensive raid mode, which is like a whole separate game, so they are both well worth the money. If you can only pick up one, choose Revelations, however, if you would prefer something a little more like RE4 then get revelations 2.
DEAD BY DAYLIGHT
Dead by Daylight is a horror game experience like no other, a group of survivors (up to 4) must outwit, outrun and outsmart a killer. Interestingly, the survivors play the game from a third-person view, while the killer plays in a first-person perspective.
As the killer, you must hunt down and sacrifice the survivors to the entity, which governs over the world in which Dead by Daylight takes place.
Dead by Daylight has a lot of DLC, which really does add a ton of new maps, survivors and killers to mix. Many of these DLC packs feature famous horror villains such as Leatherface, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger. The recent Silent Hill DLC has been my personal favourite, even if it is just to see Heather Mason and Pyramid Head in HD!
DARK SOULS REMASTERED
Dark Souls, while not a true horror game, definitely has many elements horror fans enjoy, the main one being tension. In Dark Souls you are a hollow, a type of zombie who can’t die. As an undead, you are tasked with defeating numerous large demons, witches and monsters to either link the fire and keep the world in light or snuff out the fire and plunge the whole world into darkness.
What I like about Dark Souls is the sheer hopelessness the game instils upon you; you feel very underpowered and useless a lot of the time. The game can be quite haunting at times, with no use of background music through a lot of areas.
So, even though most people wouldn’t class Dark Souls as a Horror game per se, I think it does hold up as a horror title. Please, give it a try and let me know what you think.
LAYERS OF FEAR LEGACY
Layers of Fear is a psychological horror traps you inside an old Victorian-era house, to make things worse our playable character’s sanity is deteriorating rapidly, taking the notion of the unreliable narrator to a new level.
While working on a painting we begin to descend into madness, getting glimpses of our characters somewhat dark past all the while questioning our everchanging surroundings. It’s a story that is told slowly and methodically so don’t be expecting to be running around like in a Resident Evil game. Layers of Fear is a deliberately slower-paced game.
The atmosphere and atmosphere are what make Layers of Fear one of the best Switch horror games. The game has a way of making you feel unsettled, even when there’s nothing (apparent) happening on screen.
OUTLAST BUNDLE OF TERROR
Outlast Bundle of Terror is proper scary stuff. This game is jump scare central and I usually hate jump scares, but here they are terrifying. You play as Miles, a journalist who breaks into the aptly named Mount Massive Asylum to find out what its owners are truly up to.
You soon find some of the inmates and let’s put it this way, Miles wishes he did not. You will find yourself slowly creeping around the corridors and hiding from the murderous inmates. In fact, you will spend a large amount of time hiding under beds and in closets as inmates slowly lurk around outside, it’s real, nail-biting stuff!
From the second you enter the Asylum you don’t feel safe and this feeling sticks with you throughout the whole game which is something not many other games can claim to do.
