Friends who scare together, stay together. After all, splitting up is just bad form when a monstrous killer is out to get you! Our roundup of the best multiplayer horror games to play with friends in 2023 will deliver all the spooks and jumps your cowardly crew crave. So set up your own haunted gaming space and prepare to be terrified together. We've covered a number of different horror game styles, so your can be sure your scares never get too familiar by jumping between each haunting game on the list.
The best multiplayer horror games to play with your friends
© Behaviour Interactive
Phasmophobia
Available on: PC (Steam)
Explore a haunted house! Hunt for the unsettling signs of spirits! Get murdered by a revenant as your friends hide in a closet! Phasmophobia is like every haunted house TV show you’ve ever seen, only here the ghosts are very real and likely to have you for a midnight snack if you aren’t careful.
Along with VR support, Phasmophobia makes the genius decision to use your microphone inputs. You can ask the ghost questions as you attempt to capture occult footage, but be prepared to run and hide if a hunt begins. Phasmophobia has received a steady stream of updates since release, adding new maps, a new hub area, cursed possessions, progressions mechanics, and more.
Loads of new ghost types have also joined the creepy catalogue, presumably after hearing just how many foolish humans are offering themselves up voluntarily each night. Newcomers will need to study up to identify the many included ghost types, but get a regular gang together and Phasmo remains a haunting and often hilarious blast in 2023.
Demonologist
© Clock Wizard Games
Available on: PC (Steam)
If you adore Phasmophobia but have watched its ghostly hands encroach on your vision one too many times already, Demonologist offers a twist on the same core concept. This is, at its heart, a Phasmophobia knockoff. You'll still be entering creepy houses and using equipment like EMF readers and temperature gauges to identify which malevolant spirit resides within. But thanks to souped-up visuals and the inclusion of some excellent set-piece scares, there's enough novelty to the horror here to set even a hardened Phasmophobia crew whimpering.
Forewarned
Available on: PC (Steam)
Are haunted houses proving a little too pedestrian for your tastes? Forewarned puts the "arg!" in archaeology (sorry) as you and up to three friends wander through Ancient Egyptian tombs in search of relics. As if the spike traps and swinging axes weren't enough trouble, these tombs are also infested by mummies, mean spirits, and a few things far, far more terrifying. Forewarned is like Phasmophobia's stranger, less predictable cousin, but just as likely to murder you on a moment's notice.
Much like Phasmophobia, the aim is to pick up on clues to identify the grand horror residing within the chamber. Only here a successful guess will see you scampering through the hallways in search of an exit before the mighty undead menace that you've roused gobbles you up. Each evil spirit brings its own challenges to deal with. One might demand you douse all light sources, while another needs you to make constant noise to keep it at bay.
Plenty of updates following the game's release mean there are now multiple ways to complete a mission, including the option to bravely banish your target as part of a dangerous ritual. It's also got full VR support, if you're brave enough to delve into the dark more personally.
Dead by Daylight
© Behaviour Interactive
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)
Work with three friends to escape from the clutches of an unstoppable killer bent on stringing you up and watching you suffer. The problem? That killer is one of your mates, or sometimes even you! Dead By Daylight’s Survivors are weak, while the Killer is invulnerable. But with stealth and numbers on their side, the would-be victims might be able to activate the generators necessary to open up a path to freedom.
Behaviour Interactive’s 4v1 multiplayer release remains one of the best online horror games to date, even if its bloated perks system makes it a challenge for new players to digest. Since release, the game has been flooded with new Survivors and Killers to purchase and scamper around as. Official partnerships have added iconic characters from Hellraiser, Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Halloween, Alien, and more. That means you can enjoy seeing classic horror movie icons like Freddy Krueger mixed in with gaming big bads like Resident Evil's Nemesis. Each one offers a unique system for hunting down their feeble human prey.
The Outlast Trials
© Red Barrels
Available on: PC
Always read the fine print before signing up for shady research ventures. Otherwise you might end up in a situation like The Outlast Trials' poor victims. Partner with pals as you take on challenges set by the Murkoff Corporation. Challenges which involve sneaking through ruined facilities housing maniacal misfits and fiendish mechanical traps. Complete them all and you might just earn the right to return to reality.
Each mission offers a shorter does of the main Outlast series' stealthy gameplay. You'll need to flee and hide from dangerous enemies as you complete each task, using tools to misdirect them or escape their sight. Fair warning to all before signing up: The Outlast Trials involves more gore and nudity than the other titles on this list. Enter at your own risk.
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC (Steam)
Supermassive Games has proven itself the master studio at recreating cinematic horror in gaming. The Dark Pictures Anthology – other entries to which include Man of Medan, Little Hope, and The Devil In Me – sticks you in the boots of typical horror movie protagonists, making key decisions and attempting to keep them alive during tense quicktime segments. Find yourself shouting at horror movie protagonists and declaring how much smarter you’d be? This is your chance to prove it.
Supermassive Games' original hit Until Dawn is still an absolute corker, but the Dark Pictures titles offer shorter bursts of tense terror that a group can enjoy in one or two sittings. The latest entry, House of Ashes, is set in an ancient Sumerian temple beneath modern-day Iraq. US and Iraqi soldiers find themselves lost in the dark corridors beneath the earth, but they're not the only living things down there. It's up to you to keep them alive through decisions and quick-time events, and a single slip up could see someone lost to the catacombs forever. Good luck!
The Quarry
Available on: PlayStation, Xbox, PC (Steam)
Another release by Supermassive Games, The Quarry is a larger, more involved horror story than The Dark Pictures' snapshot scares. In terms of scale, it's more akin to a refined sequel to Until Dawn. It's just as muh fun, too, albeit a little less scary. If you're looking for an interactive horror tale to enjoy with friends and popcorn aplenty, this is it.
Riffing on classic teen horror, The Quarry follows a group of camp councillors who stay one night too many at a sinister summer camp. As mysterious figures and monsters begin to appear in the woods and surrounding buildings, will your choices keep the flirty and often foolish cast alive, or lead them to certain death? With less reliance on challenging quick-time button presses, The Quarry is a more welcoming experience for those less game savvy. That makes it an ideal pick up for group gatherings like Halloween horror marathons.
Devour
Available on: PC (Steam)
So you've joined a demonic cult. We've all made mistakes, but at least this is one you might be able to rectify. Each of Devour's harrowing maps is prowled by the posessed body of one of your cultist colleagues, now transformed into a hideous beast. You and your friends must gather and cleanse 10 cursed items in the hopes of curing them. But that a task far easier said than done when they're hounding you at every step.
In Devour's base level, you'll be rummaging through an American woodlands shack to grab and roast demonic ghosts, but later levels like The Inn involve more complex tasks including purifying spider eggs before burning them at matching shrines. Your only defence against the demons and their leader? A UV torch with limited charge.
The challenge (and weather) ramps up the closer you come to completing your task. By the closing stages demons will flood the halls, and your posessed ex-cultist colleague will be a whirling mass of noise and terror, stomping through the halls as flashes of lightning illuminate the dark Devour is far from easy to win, so bring a coordinated team if you're hoping to escape the clutches of Azazel.
If you're a fan of Devour's structure but want an alternate take on the concept, consider checking out Pacify instead. Especially if you prefer creepy dolls and being chased by a flying child posessed by a malicious entity.
Sons of the Forest
Available on: PC (Steam)
Reckon you’re a wilderness survival expert? Got Bear Grylls skills? Well you might have what it takes to keep your friends alive when cannibals and mutants start calling in Sons of the Forest. This open-world survival game sequel is still in early access, but we'd already recommend it over the original.
Even when you're playing with friends, Sons of the Forest makes for an unsettling survival game. Enemies often prefer to keep their distance, watching from afar before striking when you least expect it. And once you start delving into the caves and depths of the woodlands, the humanoid figures stalking your camps will be the least of your concerns.
Sons of the Forest is still in development, but you can already complete a full run through the main story which sees you searching for a missing billionaire on an unwelcoming island. Or you could climb to the top of the tallest mountain and take sled rides down for laughs. Your choice. Playing solo is a true test of fear, but bring a few friends and you might just be brave enough to tackle the more grotesque of the mysterious creatures and cannibals lurking in the woods.
Evil Dead: The Game
Available on: PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC (Epic Games Store)
Prefer a B-movie romp to genuine scares? Evil Dead: The Game is another 4v1 horror-laced showdown based on the iconic movie series. One player takes command of a Kandarian Demon, summoning Deadite minions and taking direct control of them, haunted trees, and more to attack Ash Williams and his friends. The four human survivors -- all drawn from the Evil Dead universe -- must cooperate to loot weapons and secure key items that will let them seal the breach to another realm. It's still, gory, entertaining stuff, best enjoyed with a group of four friends.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed
Available on: PlayStation, Xbox, PC (Epic Games Store)
All the above options too spooky for you? Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed takes the 4v1 format and smothers it in officially licensed slime. One player picks a ghost type and attempts to fully haunt a building by posessing items, spooky civilians, and spreading chaos. The other four players take control of ghost hunters who must work together to wipe our rifts and catch that ghost before he conquers the building!
Unlike Dead by Daylight and other 4v1 games, the ghost hunters can't die in Spirits Unleashed, so you'll never be knocked out of a game early and left waiting for your friends to finish. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed blends parts of prop-hunt gameplay with detective work and proton-pack blasting, making it a great multiplayer spooky blast for the timid hearted.
Those were our picks for the best scary games to play with your friends. Got any other spooky suggestions? Let us know your co-op horror game picks so we can all have a harrowing time together! Prepare yourself to face the games above in safety courtesy of HyperX gaming gear. We also have a roundup of all the big gaming Halloween events for 2023, just in case you were feeling like an extra dose of spooks.
