Home is supposed to be a place for you to relax, unwind from your day, and, most importantly, feel safe and secure. That’s what makes it such a great place forhorror to unfold. The most terrifying thing that can happen when you’re in your home is finding out that you’re not actually alone, and that you have no idea what the other person inside your house wants from you.
These survival horror games, ranging from surreal and nightmarish to grounded in reality, take what should be your home turf advantage and flip it on its head. Get ready to experience survival horror at its most intimate.
9The Swine
Isolation, Witchcraft, And Home Invasion
Living out in the middle of nowhere might have its benefits, but that also means if anything goes wrong, you’re much further away from help… and no one will hear you screaming. For example,in this short game,your peaceful country life has been crashed by a strange group of invaders.
Over the course of a week, you’ll have to not only try to figure out just what’s going on but also survive. If you’re new to the genre and want to dip your toes into home invasion narratives, this detail-rich, horror walking simulator The Swine is a great place to start.
8Bughouse
The Worst Thing That Can Happen To A Kid Home Alone
A cheap, short horror gamethat’s throwing back to PS1 graphics,Bughouse is a home invasion survival horror game that’s sure to keep you on your toes. You play as Christopher, who’s been left home alone, but what should be a peaceful night takes a dark turn.
There’s a terrifying stalker on the loose! What’s worse, he’s already inside your house, and he definitely doesn’t have your best interest at heart. The game is only an hour long, but there are multiple endings. And, for the price, the scares are well worth it.
7After Midnight
90s Horror Is Back And Just As Scary As We Remember
If you love old horror movies, especially 90s movies,then you might like After Midnight. Styling itself after both those movies and using PS1 graphics, you play as Brad. Since your mom is working late, you’ve been left alone at the house. You probably know where this is going.
Unfortunately, the man who’s broken into your house doesn’t just want you dead, he’s also messing with your mind. For example, you’ll be getting text messages you definitely don’t want. It’s a short, cheap game on Itch.io that focuses on creating a suspenseful atmosphere. Plus, it has four endings.
6Intruders: Hide And Seek
Home Invasion On Vacation
A family’s vacation becomes memorable for all the wrong reasons when three dangerous intruders break into the house they’re renting and take them hostage. You play as Ben, who hasn’t been found yet, and you’re now responsible for trying to figure out how to save the rest of your family from whatever horrible fate the kidnappers have in mind.
The game is stealth-based, forcing you to really consider where you’re going to go next in relation to the kidnappers. This hikes up the tension at key moments. Since the game is primarily a VR experience, make sure you have the right equipment to play it.
5C.H.A.S.E.D.
Can You Protect Yourself Faster Than They Get In?
For those who want their home invasion games to be heart-pounding instead of slow-burning, C.H.A.S.E.D. is willing to oblige. Made by only one person, it’s a fast-paced survival game that sees you being hunted by a stalker who desperately wants to be inside your house.
The game takes place over five nights, with more enemies trying to get inside and difficulty picking up. If you manage to make it through all of those nights unscathed, there are two more game modes available.
4Welcome To The Game 2
Real-Life Consequences For Online Actions
You play as investigative reporter Clint Edwards, trying to track down the source of a livestream you’ve been sent featuring a woman in danger. This means you’re now trying to gain access to the shadow web, where you think you’ll find her location.
If navigating the horrifying content of these illegal websites wasn’t enough, you have to continuously log off in order to ensure your real life, physical safety. Because there are people who know what you’re trying to do, and they’d like to stop you doing it by any means necessary. Which means your apartment is anything but safe.
3Scrutinized
The Hunter Becomes The Hunted
Part mystery and part home invasion, this game puts you in the shoes of Luna Youngman, a Criminal Analyst for the District Attorney’s Office. You’ll be sorting through various reports on people, their archived conversations, their search histories, and even their recent purchases in order to determine if any of them pose a real threat to your town.
The only problem is that while you’re hunting down bad actors, they’re also huntingyou. You’ll have to keep your wits about you to make sure you don’t become another victim in your own home. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s by the same creators as Welcome To The Game 1 & 2.
2Unspoken
Home Invasion That Dissolves Into The Surreal
In this indie horror game,meant to be played through in one go, you wake up in a house without any idea who you are or where you are. You don’t have much time to process this, however, as there are alotof other things to worry about. The further you push into this bizarre house, the deeper you’re getting into what seems like an endless nightmare.
A retro-style, fast-paced game that gives you the option to defend yourself (and plenty of opportunities to do so), Unspoken is a quick, heart-pounding dose of horror. This is home invasion decidedly on the supernatural side.
1Fears To Fathom Series
Terrifying Tales Grounded In Realism
These episodic horror games claim to be rooted in true stories, and each of them takes on a different story of survival. The first one is Home Alone, and you play as a 14-year-old left at home for the night. When you find yourself the victim of a break-in, what will you choose? Depending on your answers, you may just make it through alive.
Home Alone is free to play, so you can experience this story right now before deciding if you liked it enough to pay for the next installments in the series (for home invasion specifically, we also recommend Carson House). Each of them has the same feeling, though: like this could really happen to you.
