The best horror games to play in 2025

In still awakens the depthsTerror comes in many forms. Eldritch creatures pursue the Beira de Oil rig on thin, very long limbs that protrude from their bodies like plucked bungee cords. Human-sized grapples and bloody ribbons grow in the corridors, emitting a sick cosmic glow. The North Sea is a constant threat, looming at every step. And then there’s the rig itself, a maze-like industrial platform supported by thin tension legs in the middle of a raging ocean, groaning as it bursts from the inside.

gameplay in still awakens the depths Traditional first-person horror is executed with elegance and expertise by The Chinese Room. The action involves jumping across broken platforms, balancing on ledges, running down corridors, climbing stairs, swimming through claustrophobic vents, and hiding from monsters in vents and lockers. There are no guns on Beira D, and the protagonist has just a screwdriver to help open locks and break metal panels, focusing on pure survival rather than combat. The game is entirely voice-driven and its crew members – most of them Scottish – are incredibly charming, which makes the massacre all the more disturbing once the monsters board the rig.

still awakens the depths is an instant horror classic. It’s full of heart-pounding terror and hilarious dialogue, and it all takes place in a setting rarely explored in interactive media. Between hiding, swimming, running and climbing, still awakens the depths Succeeds in telling a heart-touching story about relationships and sacrifice. – JC