2020 saw the release of the co-op horror experience Phasmophobia, which had players take on the roles of paranormal investigators, searching for and making contact with ghostly entities. The game became massively popular among PC gamers and was a best-seller on Steam during the weeks leading up to and following Halloween. Since its release, over two million players have worked together to investigate and communicate with the hostile spirits which haunt the game’s residences using whatever tools are at their disposal, from security cameras to Ouija boards.
Phasmophobia’s integration of voice functionality and virtual reality makes for a more immersive experience than any other similar game. Not only can players fully lose themselves in the unsettling environments, but they can interact with the game’s spirits by speaking through their microphone.
While Phasmophobia’s peak popularity was in October of 2020, the game is still in early access as of February 2021. Therefore, it is very likely that the best is yet to come for Kinetic Games’s indie horror title. While players wait for further updates to bring the game closer to its full official release, interest in similarly spooky multiplayer experiences has surged. Here are five more wonderfully terrifying and gloriously disgusting games that any fan of Phasmophobia should try out:
 
Left 4 Dead 2 
(Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
 
Valve’s classic multiplayer zombie shooter, Left 4 Dead 2, is as fun to play now as it was in 2009. You and three other friends can fend off hordes of zombies while navigating over a dozen campaigns, which feature diverse locations and set pieces, from an exploding bridge to a rock and roll concert. The infected come in all different shapes and sizes, like the enormous Tank, the acid-spewing Spitter, and the terrifying Witch.
In addition to the campaigns, the game features several alternative game modes. In survival, your group tries to stay alive as long as possible in one map. In versus, players are separated into two teams and can control either the human characters or the unique infected creatures.
Despite being over a decade old, Left 4 Dead 2 has been kept alive by its community, which continues to support it with mods and custom content that keeps the fun going. The PC version of the game has even been officially updated with community-made content as recently as September of 2020 with the Last Stand Community Update, which added a new campaign, new maps, weapons, and more.
 
Resident Evil 5 
(Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Switch)
 
Resident Evil 5 stands out in Capcom’s beloved horror franchise as the first main entry in the series to feature a two-player co-op campaign. Players take control of special agents Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar as they fight through a village infected by a mutated parasite. Throughout the campaign you will encounter numerous zombies, grotesque monsters, and superhuman villains.
The game leans further into the action-oriented aspects of the Resident Evil experience, featuring over-the-top fight scenes and a greater emphasis on combat than previous entries in the series. Still, the disturbing monster designs, creepy environments and tense encounters keep the game within the horror genre.
After completing the game’s story, players can try out Mercenaries mode, where they are caught in an intense fight against a zombie mob and must take down as many as possible within a time limit.
 
GTFO
(Windows)
 
While horror-themed co-op games like Left 4 Dead tend to focus on the joy of gory carnage as you and your friends blast your way through dozens of fast-moving undead, GTFO takes a slower, more tactical approach to the genre. Teamwork is required in order to navigate and survive the deadly chambers in each map. Players must work together and share information over voice chat in order to work out complex puzzles and strategize how to overcome the horrifying creatures that inhabit the game’s maps. 
The tension created by GTFO’s challenging gameplay is reinforced by its dark science fiction aesthetic. Areas are vast and dimly lit, and the sounds of approaching monsters can be heard echoing from the rooms ahead as you venture deeper into each maze. GTFO is dedicated to providing the feeling of entering a mysterious, hostile environment in every aspect of its design.
 
7 Days to Die
(Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One)
 
While the previous games listed here provide short matchmaking experiences or linear campaigns, 7 Days to Die drops players into a vast, open world sandbox where they must explore, scavenge for materials, and build shelter and defenses in order to stay alive. The game’s concept should appeal to fans of crafting-focused survival games like Rust or Minecraft, but adds a horror twist as zombie hordes arrive to destroy you and your structures. These hordes build up to a massive attack which occurs every seven nights, so be sure that you prepare accordingly to properly defend yourself once the time comes.
Extensive building and terraforming options let players get creative in how they handle the zombie onslaught, and the open-ended nature of this game allows players to forge their own memorable and exciting stories as they try to survive the post-apocalypse together.
 
 
Dead by Daylight
(Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S)
 
Traditional co-op horror games provide the experience of trying to evade nightmarish threats with friends. Behavior Interactive’s Dead by Daylight takes that concept one step further by letting you be the one hunting your pals. Four players are survivors, who must repair five generators to open the gates, which lead out of an enclosed map. One player is the killer, who uses their enhanced abilities to hunt down the survivors and sacrifice them to a mysterious creature called “The Entity” before they can escape. This unique gameplay twist allows for tense moments of stealth, thrilling chases, and exciting teamwork, all contained within a fifteen minute match.
The game has grown in popularity since its initial release in 2016, allowing it to feature iconic pop culture horror characters alongside its original cast. Some DLC Killers include Halloween’s Michael Myers, Stranger Things’s Demogorgon, and Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head. Each killer and survivor has abilities and perks which are vital for the player to learn if they want to stay alive, or satisfy the Entity.
Best of all, Dead by Daylight supports cross-platform play, meaning that players can join up together even if they are using different hardware. Since the game is available on nearly all modern platforms and (as of February 2021) is free on Game Pass for Xbox and PC, almost anyone can get their hands on it and hunt down their friends.
 
Each of these titles provide a unique approach to multiplayer horror gameplay, so whether your team wishes to evade, survive, fight off, or become the nightmare, there should be an experience for you. These five only represent the tip of the iceberg for the genre, as hundreds of terrifying virtual adventures await you and your friends. Best of all, the recent popularity of Phasmophobia will surely inspire game developers around the world to take a stab at creating similarly haunting titles, so you can expect the world of online horror games to only grow from here.
 
Have fun, stay alive, and remember to stick together!

Written by: Yanni Spanolios | Instagram

Art by: Al Kilkelly | Instagram