Best Xbox horror games July 2021
Best
Xbox horror games July
Windows Central
2021
Looking for a solid scare? You’ve come to the right place. Horror games aren’t the biggest part of the video game industry, but the last several years have seen something of a resurgence, with several high-quality horror games from different publishers making up some of the best Xbox games available.
An overview of Xbox horror games in 2021
There’s a couple of key players helping to ensure the health of horror games as a whole. Japan-based publisher Capcom in particular has seen a massive resurgence, with the Resident Evil games selling millions of copies while shifting back into horror and exploring different themes with a balance of survival and action, all without losing the focus on being scary.
Some of the other developers working on horror games include Tango Gameworks, part of Bethesda Softworks and one of the 23 first-party Xbox studios producing some of the best Xbox Game Pass games. Arkane Studios, another pair of studios at Bethesda, is exploring horror concepts in its titles, while Asobo, well known for its work on Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, has taken a dark, medieval approach to horror.
All in all, horror games still thrive in the indie scene, but the big budget titles can be and are successful. Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S owners should be able to look forward to even more big horror games in the upcoming years.
1. Resident Evil Village
Source: Capcom
It’s also a visual and technological showcase for Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine. Resident Evil Village shines on the Xbox Series X, with ray-traced shadows providing stellar image quality, all while the game runs at a solid 60 FPS and loads extremely quickly thanks to the SSDs in the latest lineup of consoles. Long story short, Tall Vampire Lady looks extremely good.
A multiplayer game called Resident Evil Re:Verse was supposed to launch with Resident Evil Village but has unfortunately been delayed to 2022, so don’t go into this expecting to get a multiplayer experience for now.
Pros:
- High replay value
- Visually gorgeous
- Great survival-horror gameplay
Cons:
- Accompanying multiplayer mode delayed
2. The Evil Within 2
Source: Bethesda Softworks
The art direction is genuinely unnerving, as the world of Union transforms and falls apart before your eyes. Gameplay takes a third-person, semi-open approach, with players having to carefully balance resources and choose which weapons to upgrade in order to survive. Meanwhile, the story is surprisingly touching, with the game taking time to explore Sebastian’s trauma as he struggles to rescue his family.
Outside of trying a new difficulty however, there’s not much replay value or any other modes outside of a first-person option, which is something to keep in mind.
Pros:
- Superb body horror enemy designs
- Compelling story and realistic protagonist
Cons:
- Limited alternate gameplay modes
3. Alien Isolation
Source: Sega
This might be Creative Assembly’s first horror game, but it’s one well worth playing. The Alien intelligently tracks and stalks the player throughout the many levels, while “Working Joe” androids are sure to set off your uncanny valley mental alarms. The station looks and sounds like it was ripped straight from the movies, with CRT-focused visuals that will always have you on edge.
Unfortunately, this game hasn’t been boosted in any way for the latest consoles, so it’s still a 1080p 30 FPS experience if you play it on Xbox.
Pros:
- Incredible attention to detail
- Legitimately scary Alien threat
Cons:
- Locked to 1080p 30 FPS
4. Resident Evil 2
Source: Capcom
This is simply a wonderfully polished horror game, so there’s a good reason it’s sold over 8 million copies so far. If you’re a veteran of the Resident Evil franchise, it’s one well worth experiencing. If you aren’t experienced with the franchise, it’s a fantastic place to start. Once you go through the campaign as either Leon or Claire, you can go through it again, seeing a bit of the story that you didn’t before.
It is worth noting that while these stories have some noticeable differences, the actual gameplay remains identical outside of some different weapons.
Pros:
- Incredible visuals
- Great performance capture
Cons:
- Alternate routes don’t diverge much
5. Dead Space 2
Source: EA
If you enjoy the main game, there’s also an additional mini-campaign called Severed, which tells an additional story during the early breakout of the Necromorph threat.
The game also benefits from Auto HDR, bringing out the colors of your armored suit and the neon lights around you in a way the original 360 game couldn’t have possibly presented. Unfortunately, the game is still locked at 720p 30 FPS, so it might be a bit rough by modern standards.
Pros:
- Excellent pacing and gameplay
- Great use of Auto HDR
Cons:
- Stuck at 720p 30 FPS
6. A Plague Tale: Innocence
Source: Focus Home Interactive
Playing as Amicia de Rune, you’ll struggle to care for your younger brother Hugo and navigate the dark world you’ve been thrust into. It’s a legitimately gorgeous game, with an optional 120 FPS mode on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The gameplay is solid enough, though there is a bit of room for improvement. Fortunately, the studio will have the opportunity to do just that in the upcoming sequel, A Plague Tale: Requiem.
Pros:
- Gorgeous visuals
- Striking contrast between calm and horror
- Solid story
Cons:
- Gameplay could use some refinements
7. Prey
Source: Bethesda Softworks
Prey is one of the titles that benefits from Xbox FPS Boost, so it runs at a smooth 60 FPS, allowing players to react even faster to the paranoia-inducing Mimics that can imitate practically any item in the game. Nowhere is safe and you can never be sure you’ve truly cleared a room. You can use Neuromods to boost your capabilities or give you unique powers, but you’ll need to be careful: Grow beyond human potential too much, and you might lure in something even worse.
While it’s an excellent story, the pacing does suffer towards the end, with quite a bit of backtracking, something that is alleviated on the latest consoles due to faster loading times on SSDs, but is still worth mentioning.
Pros:
- Unique setting
- Unnerving alien threat
- Near-limitless possibilities for problem-solving
Cons:
- Pacing is jarring towards the end
Horror games are thriving on Xbox
Horror games remain a smaller genre but there’s plenty to choose from. With big titles continuing to get sequels and publishers exploring high-quality remakes, it’s never been a better time to catch up on the horror games you’ve missed, or if you’re a newcomer, start exploring the concept of horror for the first time ever.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.
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