2021 has been a packed year for games on all platforms across different genres. If you’ve noticed, a lot of games are getting into the spooky season with in-game events and the like, but nothing beats a horror game during this season. For this SwitchArcade Special, we are looking at the best horror (scary, spooky, etc) games on Nintendo Switch. With Nintendo getting more third party support than ever before, there has never been a better time to pickup a Nintendo Switch for your portable horror fix. While not every game included here might be a pure horror experience, they do have horror or scary elements in them and some are there because they just fit the Halloween mood. We’ve tried to limit franchises to single slot as well. We’re presenting them in no particular order, and these are simply our favorites. Feel free to share yours in the comments.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water ($39.99)
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water debuted on Nintendo Wii U and was a Nintendo-published game that is now being released on all consoles and PC. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water celebrates the Fatal Frame series’ 20th anniversary bringing the Camera Obscura gameplay, evil spirits, and more from the original game to a new generation. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is known for its dark atmosphere. It is set on a mountain infamous for suicides and it features three protagonists. There isn’t anything else like Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water today, and it is worth checking out if you’re up for a different take on survival horror.
Dying Light: Platinum Edition ($49.99)
Techland’s survival horror game Dying Light recently hit Nintendo Switch as Dying Light: Platinum Edition. Dying Light: Platinum Edition includes the game with all expansions and DLC in a single package. Dying Light stood out from the crowd of zombie games with its parkour mechanics, day-night cycle gameplay changes, and multiplayer options. The Nintendo Switch port is very good all things considered, and this is a great value package if you enjoy playing on the go and have been curious about Dying Light. It also has a nice physical release with everything on cartridge if you care about preservation.
Corpse Party ($19.99)
Another recent Nintendo Switch release, Corpse Party joins our list because of how well it has aged. The original Corpse Party has been ported and re-released multiple times over the years and the Nintendo Switch incarnation is the most up to date release featuring loads of extras and enhanced visuals. What makes Corpse Party special, is in how it brings out horror with its 2D sprite aesthetic. Corpse Party takes place in Heavenly Host Elementary and it blends in point and click adventure style gameplay with RPG-lite mechanics. It makes great use of audio to elevate the experience. If you’ve never played it before, you owe it to yourself to give this classic horror game a shot in its newest and most complete release yet.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 ($59.99)
Yes, I know Luigi’s Mansion 3 isn’t a horror game but it really is the perfect Nintendo Switch game to play during the Halloween season. If you’ve never played Luigi’s Mansion 3, it is one of the best looking Nintendo games in years and is a polished adventure game where you take on the role of Luigi exploring a haunted hotel. It has memorable bosses, gorgeous visuals, capturing ghosts, and more as you vacuum various things. Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a great example of an evergreen Switch game and one of the easiest games to recommend to anyone. It oozes charm. It is also the perfect game to play if you’ve never sampled the franchise before.
Little Nightmares: Complete Edition and II
Bandai Namco and Tarsier Studios’ Little Nightmares series blends puzzles, platforming, and horror together with an interesting aesthetic. Both games complement each other well with the great atmosphere and puzzles. There are moments of frustration, but the end result is worth the time you will put into this. Little Nightmares and Little Nightmares II together go above and beyond what you’d expect, and are great to play if you’re looking for something to dig into over a weekend. Little Nightmares II builds on the first game well and is better in almost every way. The Nintendo Switch ports are also very good if you’re worried about dipping into a multi-platform game on Switch.
Alien: Isolation ($34.99)
Alien: Isolation was a surprising Nintendo Switch port in the best ways possible. Over the years, Alien: Isolation’s fanbase has slowly grown with it being referred to as the best Alien game ever. Alien: Isolation understands the Xenomorph perfectly and it plays a huge part of the experience. Feral Interactive are known for amazing ports and Alien: Isolation is yet another feather in the developer’s cap. If you’ve never played Alien: Isolation before, the Nintendo Switch version is an amazing experience. It includes all the DLC episodes which are also worth checking out. Alien: Isolation is an easy recommendation for the season and in general. The atmosphere is near perfect.
Spirit Hunter: Death Mark and NG ($49.99)
What do you get when a developer known for amazing dungeon RPGs decides to do an adventure and horror game? Clearly Spirit Hunter: Death Mark. As the name suggests, Spirit Hunter: Death Mark involves an urban legend where horrific birthmark-like symbol called the Mark appears on the bodies of certain people. Anyone who gets this Mark ends up dying in a pretty gruesome way. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark clearly did well because it got a sequel in the form of Spirit Hunter: NG. Barring the interesting premise and stories, both Spirit Hunter games are worth playing for the aesthetic and designs. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark in particular has some very unique artwork.
Famicom Detective Club ($59.99)
Nintendo and Mages remade both the Famicom Detective Club games for Nintendo Switch earlier this year and they are excellent adventure experiences. Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind are available separately or in a bundle. Both adventures feel very much like the originals despite the new coat of gorgeous paint. The Girl Who Stands Behind is the more interesting one as a horror experience with how it brings in those elements to enhance the experience. While both games have a few moments where you will be unsure how to progress just like the originals, Nintendo took a chance releasing these in the West and the end result is worth it for any adventure game fans. If you care about adventure games and Nintendo’s history, these are worth getting. The narratives also fit the spooky season well.
Resident Evil Series
Over four years into the Switch’s lifecycle has seen Capcom bring not one or two but multiple Resident Evil games to the platform. Both Resident Evil Revelations games are here in addition to Resident Evil 4,5,6 and the Origins Collection with 0 and 1. The Resident Evil series caters to horror fans across gameplay styles and most of the Switch ports are good. If you’ve never played a Resident Evil game before, you owe it to yourself to try Resident Evil 1 and 4 at least. While the pricing is off compared to other platforms, the portability aspect might make the cost easier to stomach. A horror list isn’t complete with Resident Evil and here we are.
Yomawari: The Long Night Collection ($39.99)
NIS America is one of the strongest Nintendo Switch supporters and the publisher has continued to bring over some of its back catalogue to Switch over the years. The two Yomawari games were previously released on PS Vita, PC, and PS4, but they made their way to Nintendo Switch in Yomawari: The Long Night Collection. Just like Corpse Party, Yomawari: The Long Night Collection has a very unique aesthetic for a horror game. What makes Yomawari scarier than expected, is in how the grotesque enemies are designed and how it pulls no punches with the plot. It involves light puzzle solving, exploring, lots of death, and some frustration. Both games aren’t too long, but they are memorable for sure.
And there you have it. Yes, every game featured isn’t a traditional horror game, but they have some form of horror elements or fit the Halloween season with spooky themes or are just scary in general. There are many more games like this on Nintendo Switch but these are our favorites. What are some of your favorite Nintendo Switch horror or scary games? Comment below and let us know!
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