13 Games Like Resident Evil
Our assembled collection of games like Resident Evil features other action adventures filled with horror themes on a number of platforms.
Resident Evil is a diverse franchise of horror games and other media which first launched in 1996 for the PlayStation with the series now spanning a number of sequels and spin-offs in the same game universe. This game world has revolved primarily about the Umbrella Corporation and the recreation of the T-virus that was capable of turning humans into zombie like creatures and the impact of this in the fictional American city of Raccoon City. Fighting against this corporation is the police tactical unit of STARS with several major recurring characters from this government counter force.
While your experience will differ slightly based on the game many of the core elements of the original have remained consistent across the decades. This includes the underlying horror themes, inventory systems, control schemes, shooting mechanics, third person perspectives, puzzle solving and boss battles. A key source of fear for the majority of titles has also been the scarcity of resources that requires players to carefully consider when to use ammunition or other items.
The games like Resident Evil found here offer similar action horror experiences where you’ll experience combat against zombies and other strange monsters while solving puzzles and improving your arsenal from one level to the next from a scarce resource pool.
System Shock 2
System Shock 2 is a role playing action and horror game released in 1999 as a sequel to the popular 1994 original. Wit hacking and psionic abilities serving as core elements alongside first person shooting the System Shock franchise is often cited as influencing various classic and modern day FPS/RPG hybrid video game adventures. The setting for System Shock 2 pushes players far into the future (2114) with a dystopian style theme that centres on the player soldier as they attempt to fight off a ...[Read Review]
Outlast
Outlast offers a terrifying experience that draws inspiration from other first person survival horror adventures such as Amnesia. First released in 2013 for Windows the game later expanded to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Mac and Linux and the Nintendo Switch over the following years along with an eventual game sequel (Outlast 2). Outlast follows your journey as Miles Upshur, a freelance journalist who receives a tip about events going on at the psychiatric hospital known as Mount Massive Asylum. Onc...[Read Review]
The Evil Within
The Evil Within (known asPyscho Break in Japan) takes the survival horror genre into a whole new gruesome level with a third person adventure requiring you to scavenge for suppliers and pick your fights carefully if you wish to have any hope to survive. Released in 2014 (with a 2017 sequel) the game challenges the main protagonist with a world of dark distortions, nightmares and mutated creatures that is explored in third person. Requiring you to overcome these enemies and even boss variants you...[Read Review]
Doom 3
Doom 3 adds to the Doom franchise with a similarly scary experience that finds itself planted firmly in the survival horror genre. Like the other titles in the franchise players will find themselves on Mars with first person shooter mechanics as they slowly progress through a truly terrifying atmosphere of blood, gore and demons with a devastating arsenal of marine weapons. Released in 2003 with an improved edition (BFG Edition) in 2012 along with a 2019 release for modern platforms (Switch, PS4...[Read Review]
Cry of Fear
Cry of Fear is a free to play horror focused adventure with single player and multiplayer game modes that originally started as a mod for Half-Life 1. With the success of the mod a full standalone version was released on the Steam platform in 2013 which was similarly well received for maintaining and improving the atmosphere offered by the original mod. Cry of Fear is focused on offering a psychological adventure that will take you through a town that has been overrun by all types of horrible a...[Read Review]
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Condemned: Criminal Origins is a horror video game for your Xbox 360 and PC that also blends in some detective game mechanics into the experience. Delivering a strong horror atmosphere Condemned: Criminal Origins has received strong praise from genre fans for bringing fresh perspective and ideas into what was a stale genre at the time of release. Condemned: Criminal Origins takes place in a fictional city and puts you in the shoes of Ethan Thomas, a crime scene expert working for the FBI who get...[Read Review]
Alan Wake
Alan Wake promises an interesting adventure filled with horror for players to combat across popular game platforms. With a small rural town setting as the backdrop for this adventure players will be fighting against a dark presence that stalks in the shadows while also fighting their own sanity to save their wife from the other worldly threat. Alan Wake follows the story of well known thriller novelist Alan Wake as he goes on a vacation to the quiet town of Bright Falls in a hope to cure his wri...[Read Review]
Anna
Anna offers an adventure experience with horror themes exploring an abandoned sawmill deep in the Italian mountainside. Following it’s an initial release in 2012 a 2013 Extended Edition added a vast number of changes to the core experience intended to provide greater variety of puzzles and environments while addressing some user feedback on the user interface and certain graphical elements. Borrowing ideas from similar psychological horror experiences Anna is played in first person and exp...[Read Review]
Dead Rising 3
If you want more over the top zombie killing Dead Rising 3 lets you step back into the zombie infested franchise as you seek to survive and smash any zombie that gets in your way. Elevating the series to the next insane chapter Dead Rising 3 features similar mechanics to Dead Rising 2 and the original but significantly ups the action with this 2013 release for Windows and Xbox One. If you’ve been following the series closely you’ll find that Dead Rising 3 takes place a decade after the events of...[Read Review]
Dead Space 3
It’s time to put an end to the Necromorph virus in this game in the Dead Space series. Just like the previous games you’ll be assuming the role of Isaac Clarke through a third person perspective as you fight your way through the horrific Neocromorphs. In Dead Space 3 players will try to track down their girlfriend from the past, Ellie Langford. This journey takes place on the icy world of Tau Volantis which is scattered with two hundred year old ruins of the civilisation that once called this pl...[Read Review]
I Am Alive
I Am Alive belongs to the survival horror genre and lets players explore a decaying and dangerous game world very similar to other post-apocalyptic games. Players join the game a year after a cataclysmic event that destroyed many American cities with earthquakes and other natural disasters. As you would expect these events led to a massive shortage in resources for the population leaving many citizens to die in the aftermath or turn to violence in order to meet their needs. In the game players j...[Read Review]
Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition rolls open world gameplay, horror and even comedy into a single ball of interesting to create an adventure that is borderline insane. The game originally released on Xbox 360 in 2010 and saw a Director’s Cut for the PlayStation 3 and Windows released in 2013 after the game attracted a cult following online creating demand for the game to be delivered on alternative platforms. This same following was likely the reason behind the games port to Nintendo Switch in 2019. Part of th...[Read Review]
Dark Fall: Lost Souls
Dark Fall: Lost Souls aims to give fans of puzzle adventure titles a journey that incorporates horror themes and is the third addition in the Dark Fall series that was released in 2009. This blend of puzzle, horror and adventure takes place in a familiar location while also honing in on the horror and puzzle elements although this does come at some cost to the depth of story compared to the first two games. Players of previous Dark Fall games will instantly recognise the familiar setting of the ...[Read Review]