Shocktober: 13 Spooky games on Xbox Gamepass

Looking for some spooky videogames to play on your Xbox this Halloween? Check out these horrific titles available on XBox Gamepass.

I've played through Deadspace 2, Alan Wake, Resident Evil 2 and Silent Hill 2. I'm currently playing through Alien Isolation and, while I'm generally not a fan of FPS type games, this game has me on the edge of my seat. Plus it is set between Alien and Aliens and features Amanda Ripley who is trying to find out what happened to her mother, Ellen. Definitely worth checking out!

Game synopsis & text from https://store.steampowered.com/ & https://www.xbox.com/en-ZA/xbox-game-pass/games

1. Alien Isolation

Publisher: SEGA Europe Ltd

Developer: The Creative Assembly

Release date: 07/10/2014

Discover the true meaning of fear in Alien: Isolation, a survival horror set in an atmosphere of constant dread and mortal danger. Fifteen years after the events of Alien™, Ellen Ripley’s daughter, Amanda enters a desperate battle for survival, on a mission to unravel the truth behind her mother's disappearance.

As Amanda, you will navigate through an increasingly volatile world as you find yourself confronted on all sides by a panicked, desperate population and an unpredictable, ruthless Alien.

Underpowered and underprepared, you must scavenge resources, improvise solutions and use your wits, not just to succeed in your mission, but to simply stay alive.

2. Deadspace 2

Developer: Visceral Games

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Release date: 28/01/2011

In Dead Space™ 2, you join Isaac Clarke, the Systems Engineer from Dead Space, as he wakes up three years after the horrific events on the USG Ishimura. The Ishimura was a Planetcracker-class starship besieged by grotesque reanimations of its dead crew, known as “Necromorphs.”

After unearthing a strange artifact known as the Marker, Isaac finds himself on the Sprawl, a giant space station in orbit around Saturn. Unable to remember how he got here and plagued with demented visions of his dead girlfriend Nicole, he must survive another nightmarish outbreak of Necromorphs as he fights his way towards an answer he hopes will end all the chaos.

3. Resident Evil Village

Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Publisher: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Release date: 07/05/2021

Experience survival horror like never before in the eighth major installment in the storied Resident Evil franchise - Resident Evil Village.

Set a few years after the horrifying events in the critically acclaimed Resident Evil 7 biohazard, the all-new storyline begins with Ethan Winters and his wife Mia living peacefully in a new location, free from their past nightmares. Just as they are building their new life together, tragedy befalls them once again.

4. Alan Wake

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Publisher: Remedy Entertainment

Release date: 15/05/2012

When the wife of the best-selling writer Alan Wake disappears on their vacation, his search turns up pages from a thriller he doesn’t even remember writing. A Dark Presence stalks the small town of Bright Falls, pushing Wake to the brink of sanity in his fight to unravel the mystery and save his love.

Presented in the style of a TV series, Alan Wake features the trademark Remedy storytelling and pulse-pounding action sequences. As players dive deeper and deeper into the mystery, they’ll face overwhelming odds, plot twists, and cliffhangers. It’s only by mastering the Fight With Light combat mechanic that they can stay one step ahead of the darkness that spreads across Bright Falls.

5. Back 4 Blood

Developer: Turtle Rock Studios

Publisher: Warner Bros. Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Release date: 12/10/2021

Back 4 Blood is a thrilling cooperative first-person shooter from the creators of the critically acclaimed Left 4 Dead franchise. You are at the center of a war against the Ridden. These once-human hosts of a deadly parasite have turned into terrifying creatures bent on devouring what remains of civilization. With humanity's extinction on the line, it's up to you and your friends to take the fight to the enemy, eradicate the Ridden, and reclaim the world.

6. Visage

Developer: SadSquare Studio

Publisher: SadSquare Studio

Release date: 30/10/2020

IMPORTANT NOTE: The game focuses on exploration and builds tension slowly to create a deeper and more meaningful experience. Its story is unveiled through surreal imaging and subtle environment details. Be mindful that it is a difficult game in unconventional ways.

Visage is a first-person psychological horror game.

Explore a mysterious ever-changing house in a slow-paced, atmospheric world that combines both uncannily comforting and horrifyingly realistic environments, and enjoy a genuinely terrifying experience.

7. A Plague Tale: Innocence

Publisher: Focus Home Interactive

Developer: Asobo Studio

Release date: 14/05/2019

Follow the critically acclaimed tale of young Amicia and her little brother Hugo, in a heartrending journey through the darkest hours of history. Hunted by Inquisition soldiers and surrounded by unstoppable swarms of rats, Amicia and Hugo will come to know and trust each other. As they struggle to survive against overwhelming odds, they will fight to find purpose in this brutal, unforgiving world.

Enjoy 4K* resolution, 60FPS, highly improved visuals and fast loading on Xbox Series X|S.

*4K resolution requires compatible screen and Xbox Series X system.

8. The Evil Within 2

Developer: Tango Gameworks

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Release date: 12/10/2017

From mastermind Shinji Mikami, The Evil Within 2 is the latest evolution of survival horror. Detective Sebastian Castellanos has lost it all. But when given a chance to save his daughter, he must descend once more into the nightmarish world of STEM. Horrifying threats emerge from every corner as the world twists and warps around him. Will Sebastian face adversity head on with weapons and traps, or sneak through the shadows to survive.

9. Doom Eternal

Developer: id Software

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Release date: 25/03/2020

Hell’s armies have invaded Earth. Become the Slayer in an epic single-player campaign to conquer demons across dimensions and stop the final destruction of humanity.

10. Resident Evil 2

Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Publisher: CAPCOM Co., Ltd.

Release date: 25/01/2019

The genre-defining masterpiece Resident Evil 2 returns, completely rebuilt from the ground up for a deeper narrative experience. Using Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, Resident Evil 2 offers a fresh take on the classic survival horror saga with breathtakingly realistic visuals, heart-pounding immersive audio, a new over-the-shoulder camera, and modernized controls on top of gameplay modes from the original game.

In Resident Evil 2, the classic action, tense exploration, and puzzle solving gameplay that defined the Resident Evil series returns. Players join rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who are thrust together by a disastrous outbreak in Raccoon City that transformed its population into deadly zombies. Both Leon and Claire have their own separate playable campaigns, allowing players to see the story from both characters’ perspectives. The fate of these two fan favorite characters is in players hands as they work together to survive and get to the bottom of what is behind the terrifying attack on the city. Will they make it out alive?

11. Dead by Daylight

Publisher: Behaviour Interactive Inc.

Developer: Behaviour Interactive Inc.

Release date: 23/06/2017

Ever wished to play as one of the characters from your favorite horror movies? Dead by Daylight is a 1v4 multiplayer game that draws from all corners of the horror world from a powerful slasher to a terrifying paranormal entity.

Choose between playing an unstoppable Killer and one of 4 Survivors trying to evade a gruesome death. Each character has their own deep progression system and plenty of unlockables that can be customized to fit your personal strategy. Work together to escape, or stalk and sacrifice every Survivor.

This Edition of Dead by Daylight gives you access to a roster of 7 Killers (The Trapper, The Hillbilly, The Wraith, The Nurse, The Hag, The Huntress and The Doctor) and 9 Survivors (Meg Thomas, Claudette Morel, Jake Park, Dwight Fairfield, Ace Visconti, Nea Karlsson, Bill Overbeck, Feng Min and David King). It also includes two cosmetic add-ons packed with outfits for various characters.

12. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man Of Medan

Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe

Developer: Supermassive Games

Release date: 30/08/2019

The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of stand-alone, branching cinematic horror games featuring a multiplayer mode.

In Man of Medan, five friends set sail on a holiday diving trip that soon changes into something much more sinister...

Embark on a horrific journey aboard a ghost ship.

Experience your terrifying story with a friend online or go for safety in numbers with up to five players offline

All playable characters can live or die. The choices you make will decide their fate.

Who will you save? Don't. Play. Alone.

13. Prey

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Developer: Arkane Studios

Release date: 05/05/2017

In Prey, you awaken aboard Talos I, a space station orbiting the moon in the year 2032. You are the key subject of an experiment meant to alter humanity forever – but things have gone terribly wrong. The space station has been overrun by hostile aliens and you are now being hunted. As you dig into the dark secrets of Talos I and your own past, you must survive using the tools found on the station, your wits, weapons, and mind-bending abilities.