7 best action horror games to play in 2024

❘ Updated: 2023-12-22T11:45:00

Naughty Dog Games

Halloween is great for spooky games but some players prefer the more action-packed approach. Here are seven action horror games to play to try.

Lots of people enjoy playing survival horror, these creepy games that ramp up the tension slowly before the monster reveals itself. The question is, do you have enough ammo to take it down? Or will you soon be facing the Game Over screen? However, some horror games take a more action-heavy approach, or blend the action and the horror into one experience that leans into both styles.

While lots of horror games work by making the player feel vulnerable and underpowered, others equip us with big guns, point us in the direction of the danger, and encourage us to go full-on Doom Guy. Below are seven games that do just that. Even if the game starts like a survival horror, there is lots of monster blasting by the end.

Alan Wake 2

Scares soon turn into action.

Alan Wake 2 does a great job of not only giving survival horror fans more creep factor to enjoy, but the game also doubles down on the action making it appeal to both camps. Taking inspiration from recent Resident Evil entries, Remedy’s own Quantum Break and Control games, while also building its own shared universe with the latter, Alan Wake 2 could soon become the new face of survival horror and action horror.

Those who enjoy skulking around in the dark uncovering a mystery while waiting for the inevitable showdown with something hideous will be well served by Alan Wake 2. The series also has an air of Twin Peaks to it, adding to the intrigue even more.

Resident Evil Village

The action in Resident Evil Village never lets up.

The eighth mainline entry in the Resident Evil series knows exactly what it wants to be and blends horror with action seamlessly, making it one of the best entries in the franchise. This time, Ethan Winters isn’t playing around and is no longer the white-collar lamb to the slaughter he was in Resident Evil 7. Ethan now likes big guns and knows how to use them after being trained by another Resident Evil protagonist, Chris Redfield.

While Resident Evil Village is a superb survival horror game, like most Resident Evil entries, the experience gets more action-packed as the adventure goes on, turning the once timid Ethan into a shotgun-toting dark avenger by the end of the story. It also lets you choose between a third and first-person viewpoint, depending on your preference for horror and action games.

Back 4 Blood

Back 4 Blood is one big zombie onslaught.

Yes, it has some scary moments and leans quite heavily into the survival horror aspects when played on the harder difficulties, but Back 4 Blood is about one thing – getting a squad together and blasting zombies! The game is also the spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead, being designed by some of the same team.

Like those games, this isn’t a game about cowering in the dark, wondering what horrors may lurk around the next corner. It’s a game about running around that corner with your gun trained, before blowing away a horde of zombies before they can consume you and the rest of your crew. The experience is best played in multiplayer, making it even less scary, but more action-packed!

Dead by Daylight

Run and hide. The Killers are coming for you.

Dead by Daylight is a deadly game of hide-and-seek where players must try to survive as long as they can while they’re stalked by a menacing killer. The game sounds scary, but it’s a multiplayer experience that’s more thrilling than it is terrifying. It’s mostly running, fighting, and dying, should the killer catch up with you.

The best part is lots of monsters and killers from different movies and TV shows are used, meaning you could be chased by the girl from The Ring, Jason, Michael Myers, or a range of other psychos from popular culture. However, it’s the person controlling the killer who has the most fun!

Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2 is a zombie playground.

Improving on the original game in every way, Dead Island 2 is set in Los Angeles after a zombie apocalypse decimates the city. But this isn’t just a case of scrambling to survive, instead, the whole map is your playground to unleash as much brutal havoc on the undead as you can. Of course, you can ramp up the difficulty and play Dead Island 2 as a survival horror experience, but really, this is a game that encourages you to just let loose and have fun in a city full of zombies.

Dead Island 2 is all about sun, sea, sand, and slaughter, and the game’s tongue is firmly placed in its cheek. You’re unlikely to be scared during your time in undead LA, but you’ll have an absolute action-packed blast.

The Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol is a fun and tense action horror game.

Coming out around the same time as the Dead Space remake, and made by some of the same people who made the original Dead Space series, The Callisto Protocol is often unfavorably compared to EA’s sci-fi horror series and has struggled to escape its shadow. However, while there are many similarities between The Calliston Protocol and Dead Space, the former wins out when it comes to action horror.

While Dead Space is the better survival horror game, The Callisto Protocol is the better action horror game. It not only allows you to blast space zombies with a range of cool futuristic prison guns, but it also lets you engage in melee combat, beating the undead creatures to a bloody pulp if they get in your way. While you may start the game fearfully watching your own back, you’ll soon be stomping around looking for your next victim.

The Last of Us (1 & 2)

The Last of Us is one of Sony’s flagship games.

Both The Last of Us games occupy a strange space, they’re survival horror games in many ways, but despite all the fungus zombies trying to infect you, it’s the living who are the biggest threat – and the guns they have. While creeping around and avoiding the infected is a scary and huge part of The Last of Us, so is getting into a firefight with many of the game’s human enemies.

It’s here where the games really shine, as TLOU borrows from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series to really deliver some exciting third-person shooting segments. This firmly places both The Last of Us games into the action category, making them appeal to more than just horror aficionados.

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