Haunted Headsets: Spooky and Supernatural VR Games for October and Beyond
October isn’t merely a time of year. It’s a state of mind. Black cats, full moons, and the color orange don’t mysteriously vanish on November 1, so why should your love for the supernatural?
Whether you prefer your ghosts friendly or fiendish, we’ve got games to indulge in all year round. You don’t need to say a spirit’s name three times, or light a circle of candles, or stand in a salt circle. Just put on your headset and try out The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Noclip VR, or The 7th Guest VR. We even have a few games for the faint of heart, like Ghost Giant and Waltz of the Wizard. Check out the full list below, ranked roughly from “drinking a warm cup of cider by the fire” to “barricading the doors and windows.”
Note: This list is periodically updated. For 2024, we've added Noclip VR, Propagation: Paradise Hotel, The Exit 8 VR, Stranger Things VR, Killer Frequency, Arizona Sunshine 2, and The 7th Guest VR.
Autumnal
Ghost Giant
If you’d rather be a ghost than be haunted by one, give Ghost Giant a try. You play as—well, a giant ghost. A giant ghost with an enormous pair of spectral blue hands. From high above the landscape you watch over Louis, a lonely little cat who desperately needs a friend. Clear the forest road of boulders, shop for sunflower seeds at Monsieur Tulipe’s shop, memorize a secret handshake, and more in this heartwarming adventure that’s more cozy than creepy.
Waltz of the Wizard: Extended Edition
Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble—but bubble with what? That’s up to you. Waltz of the Wizard is a sandbox for aspiring magic users. Use ingredients to devise spells like “Magnetize” and “Polymorph” and the ever-popular “Fireball,” and then use those spells in turn to reveal the secrets of the wizard’s tower. Pocket dimensions? A mysterious labyrinth? There’s plenty a keen eye can discover here. And even more to come, we might add! Come 2021, Waltz of the Wizard will add the massive Natural Magic expansion, adding new areas and spells to a game that’s already delighted Oculus users for years. (PS: Waltz of the Wizard is also a great way to test out Quest’s hand tracking capabilities, like making things explode with a snap of your finger!)
Spooky-ish
Stranger Things VR
Rule the Upside Down in Stranger Things VR, developed by Tender Claws and based on the hit Netflix series. Stranger Things VR gives you the unprecedented opportunity to play as the evil Vecna as he enacts his plan for revenge against Eleven and the town of Hawkins. Relive old memories to discover how Vecna became, well, Vecna—or invade the dreams and minds of other fan-favorite Stranger Things characters and manipulate them into doing your bidding. You can even bring a bit of the Upside Down into your own home with the Mixed Reality mode on Meta Quest 3 and 3S—if you dare.
Arizona Sunshine 2
Arizona Sunshine was one of the first games to really “get” VR, taking players on a zombie-filled journey through red-sand desert country. The sequel, Arizona Sunshine 2, shows just how far we’ve come in the years since, with “gore-geous” (their words) environments to explore, thousands of zombies to dismember, a new canine companion named Buddy, two-player co-op in the campaign and a four-player Horde Mode, and more. It’s an ambitious follow-up that doubles down on everything that made the original great—though if you’d like to go back to the first, there’s a complete remake of Arizona Sunshine coming later this month…
The 7th Guest VR
A wealthy recluse invited six guests to his mansion—but will any of them leave? The 7th Guest VR takes the classic PC point-and-click and completely rebuilds and reworks it for Meta Quest. Explore a creepy mansion that seems almost to rearrange itself as you wander its halls. Solve devious puzzles, uncovering secrets that were almost certainly better left buried. The 7th Guest VR uses cutting-edge technology to resurrect this iconic story for the modern era, with “ghostly” characters that are like nothing you’ve seen on Meta Quest before. Get ready for a haunting experience.
Resident Evil 4
It’s been nearly two decades since Leon S. Kennedy first wandered into a sun-dappled village in search of the president’s daughter. Two decades—but the opening of Resident Evil 4 is as tense as ever, as murderous ganados flood from the buildings and attack from all sides. Now, thanks to Armature Studio (in partnership with Oculus Studios and Capcom) you can experience a faithful recreation of this survival horror classic from an all-new perspective. Step into Leon Kennedy’s shoes, fight through near-endless ganados, and try to find out who or what has turned these villagers into violent and single-minded monsters. Resident Evil 4 VR is a great way to experience this fan-favorite, whether it’s your first time through it or your fiftieth.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
New Orleans teems with the undead in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. Drawing on Robert Kirkman’s celebrated comics, Saints & Sinners plunges you into a war between competing factions. Grisly combat underpins a grim story here, as you fight for survival amid the ruins and try to discover the secrets of New Orleans. Secrets so significant, it’s rumored they might turn the tide of the war. It falls to you to decide the fate of the city and your fellow survivors—assuming you can survive the walkers, of course.
You can also continue exploring New Orleans (and continue the story) in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners II - Retribution.
The Exit 8 VR
If you’ve ever been in a subway, you know that sometimes the stations seem to go on forever—white tile (most likely), broken up here and there with advertisements, signage, and the occasional (and inexplicable) door. In The Exit 8 VR, those hallways really do go on forever. The Exit 8 VR is a short but unnerving experience about being trapped in a subway station, desperately trying to escape the looping corridors and find the exit. Each loop features “anomalies,” and discovering these subtle differences brings you one step closer to the real exit. Just don’t let your imagination get the best of you first.
The Room VR - A Dark Matter
A dark matter, indeed. There’s always been an eerie undercurrent to The Room’s puzzles, and The Room VR - A Dark Matter is no different. A sealed sarcophagus is just the first clue in this ominous adventure, as you investigate the disappearance of a member of the British Institute of Archaeology. Expect to fiddle with lots of elaborate machinery, cranking gears and popping open hidden drawers as you try to solve the case—and save yourself.
Killer Frequency
There’s a serial killer on the loose and you’re a…DJ at the local radio station? Killer Frequency has a very quirky setup, but it works great in practice. You’re working the graveyard shift at a small-town radio station when reports of a mysterious killer start rolling in. Rather than putting yourself in peril, you’ll instead field calls from people in danger and give them advice on what to do. Just be careful! Your choices might keep them alive, sure, but might also send these hapless folks to their doom. You’ll need to think quick to help everyone survive the night—all while keeping the tunes flowing of course.
Red Matter 2
Deep in an abandoned research base on one of Saturn’s many moons, secrets reside. Dangerous secrets. Secrets that could potentially destroy the entire galaxy. In Red Matter, your job was to bring these secrets to light.
Now, in Red Matter 2, you must put an end to the ensuing threats before it's too late. Red Matter and its sequel are masterful adventure games, peppering an alt-history version of the space race with just a dash of otherworldly horror at the edges. Explore awe-inspiring installations in the depths of space, solve puzzles, and uncover a mystery that spans the solar system. And remember: Not everything here is as it seems.
Spooky
Propagation: Paradise Hotel
The Paradise Hotel is old and stately and full of monsters. Unfortunately, your sister is also somewhere inside. Can you overcome the odds and save her? Propagation: Paradise Hotel is a terrifying survival horror game in the classic sense. Scrounge for scant resources, solve puzzles, and take down (or avoid) fearsome monsters as you unravel what exactly went wrong at the Paradise Hotel. (For those playing on Meta Quest 3 or 3s, there’s also an update coming October 23 that will improve the game’s visuals on those headsets.)
Noclip VR
Like The Exit 8 VR (see above), Noclip VR takes the everyday and twists it into a nightmare. Here, you’ll explore the Backrooms—unassuming office buildings, parking garages, maintenance tunnels, and other repetitive spaces that stretch on forever, an unending labyrinth with seemingly no way out. And unlike The Exit 8, monsters patrol these halls. Gather up some (brave) friends, solve a variety of puzzles, and do your best not to draw anything’s attention in Noclip VR.
Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife
Are ghosts afraid of other ghosts? Turns out the answer is, “Absolutely.” In Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife, you’ve died and returned as a Wraith. Wander the Barclay Mansion and uncover the truth behind your own death—but beware the Spectres, sinister spirits who watch you from the shadows. You’ll need to use all your otherworldly talents to survive, including the ability to walk through walls and manipulate objects with your mind. Even that may not be enough. Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife brings the famed World of Darkness tabletop setting to life for a slow-burn horror story that’s as satisfying as it is terrifying.
Cosmodread
Something has gone very wrong aboard this spaceship. The power flickers on and off. A sort of...mold...is growing in the corridors. And sometimes you open a door only to find—well, best not let them get close enough to find out. Fire your crossbow and run. Cosmodread is the follow-up to 2016’s legendary Dreadhalls. Building on its predecessor’s ideas, Cosmodread is infinitely replayable, a run-based survival horror game that sends you to a different procedurally generated spaceship each time and challenges you to make it back home. Scavenge for weapons and ammo, keep an eye on your available oxygen, and uncover what horrors happened before your untimely arrival.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted
Do you have what it takes to work at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza? Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted collects some of the best moments from the series into one nightmare-inducing compilation built for VR. Steel your nerves and try to survive the night shift—just you and a bunch of obviously-not-threatening-at-all animatronics. Help Wanted is claustrophobic and tense and full of jump scares, and arguably the definitive version of Five Nights at Freddy’s whether you’re an old fan or a total newcomer.
Need even more pizzeria management and maintenance in your life? Check out Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 to diagnose and repair animatronics, try out a log ride, hang out in the Fazcade, play VR versions of minigames from Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location, and more.
The Twilight Zone VR
“You’re traveling through another dimension—a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.” The Twilight Zone VR is eerie from the get-go, as you journey through an immersive recreation of the classic title sequence, complete with voiceover and the iconic theme song. Three brand-new The Twilight Zone stories follow, each haunting in its own unique way. Every chapter plays differently, from stealth to shooter and beyond. Explore a bizarre workplace, survive an environmental apocalypse, and escape an alien ship, all in The Twilight Zone.
Lies Beneath
“A young university student returns home, but will this hurried homecoming be happy or haunted?” Spoiler: It's haunted. The town of Slumber, Alaska has been infested with strange monsters in Lies Beneath, a survival horror game with an eye-catching comic book look. Don’t mistake it for style over substance though, as Lies Beneath underpins its brush and ink aesthetic with white-knuckled melee fights, tense chase sequences, and a note-perfect feel for pacing that keeps the story gripping from start to finish.
