Every Halloween, I try to play as many couch co-op horror games as I can find. So, these are my all-time favorites in no particular order. And I guess I should say these are not going to be the scariest games in the world. Some of them are actually scary, but some of them are more just horror themed. I tried to add some variety into this list, so there are different styles, but they are all games that are perfect to play with somebody this Halloween.
MORKREDD
Morkredd
So, Morkredd isn't a traditional horror game at all. In fact, if you're specifically searching for horror, this game might not even show up, but I'm talking about it for a reason, and that's because it has a very creepy and unsettling vibe. The whole entire atmosphere is very dark. The entire game plays with light and shadow, and it's designed to be a co-op game.
So, both players, you work together to move this orb around. If you get too far away from the orb and you get into the shadows, you die. There's no combat in the game. It's mostly just going to be puzzles. But the further you go, the creepier the environments get. And that goes for the creatures that you're going to run into as well. This game has a pretty unique twist ending, and that's the part where I think it leans most into that horror territory.
If you want to play something that's different from your normal zombie shooter, Morkredd is definitely worth a try.
TWIN CALIBER
Twin Caliber
Twin Caliber is a game that came out on the PS2 and this is probably my most obscure game on this list. I think the game got kind of mid reviews back in the day, but I just played it with my friend and I think it's definitely a hidden gem. So, it plays like an on-rail shooter, but the setup is not exactly what you'd expect.
You don't actually have control of your characters. All you do is move this cursor around, which is, I guess, exactly what you'd expect from an on-rail shooter. But when you're actually looking at the game, you'd think you'd have more control of your characters. But you just move your arms around. And there are different control schemes here, which I found to be pretty unique.
You can control your arms independently and shoot in different directions, or you could do it with one cursor, which is actually the better way to do it. Of course, nothing here is really scary. You're just going to be shooting down zombies. The dialogue and acting here is just so bad that it's good. But if you like B-horror movies, this should be right up your alley.
DEAD SPACE EXTRACTION
Dead Space Extraction
Dead Space Extraction to me is one of the best light gun shooters ever made. This originally came out on the Wii, but it was later ported to the PS3 with the Move Controls. This is a spin-off to the Dead Space series, which is already known as a really great horror franchise, and this takes a lot of those settings and those horror elements, as well as the production value, and puts it into a light gun shooter.
I feel like a lot of light gun shooters are pretty shallow. You just go through, you shoot enemies. You're not too interested in the story. It's more of just a fun arcadey type of experience, but this takes some of those elements and then mixes it with a little bit more depth. Of course, the story here has some ups and downs and some drama and emotional stuff going on, which, like I said, just makes it feel a little bit different from other games in this genre.
And there's also some branching paths and choices that you get to make. And the action scenes are split up with some puzzle elements as well. Not only is this one of my favorite horror light gun shooters, it's just one of the best light gun shooters ever.
THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD 2 / THE TYPING OF THE DEAD
The House of the Dead 2 / The Typing of the Dead
All right, I'm going to cheat and pick two different games for this one, but they're basically just two different versions of the same game, and that's House of the Dead 2. So House of the Dead 2 is just a classic light gun shooter. It has the same kind of B-movie style acting like the Resident Evil games, but it's just non-stop fun light gun shooting action.
This game originally came out in the arcades, but then it was ported to the Sega Dreamcast and it was included in the House of the Dead 3 port on the original Xbox and then later ported to the Nintendo Wii. This is a great game, another one of my favorite light gun games. But the other game I have to talk about is Typing of the Dead, which essentially is just the same story and all the elements of House of the Dead 2, but instead of using light guns, you use keyboards.
And I will never get sick of seeing these guys in the game with keyboards in front of them and Sega Dreamcast strapped to their back. I love seeing this. It cracks me up every single time I see it. And I just love the fact that you are literally just typing and for some reason that kills zombies. These are both really great games and I would recommend you try both of them.
MONSTER IN MY POCKET
Monster in My Pocket
When it comes to retro style horror games, Monster in My Pocket is probably my all-time favorite. Of course, it's not actually scary by any means. It's not really a horror game, but it's a 2D sidescrolling platformer with a horror theme. You play as Frankenstein's monster and Dracula. You just go around and you punch all these other monsters. It is one of my favorite co-op games on the NES, and it's one that's really easy to just pick up and play.
It's not incredibly hard like most NES games. I feel like if you try it a handful of times, you could probably beat it. The platforming is really solid. I like the level design, and I love that you can do a double jump. I just think that's always satisfying in any kind of platformer. This one was made by Konami, so it's probably not exactly a hidden gem, but I do feel like people don't really talk about it that much in the context of co-op NES games, and they really should, because it's an excellent game.
And of course, this is one that's totally family-friendly. You could play this one with anyone.
SEVEN MANSIONS
Seven Mansions
And let's talk about some actual survival horror games. Seven Mansions is the first co-op survival horror game ever made. This game came out exclusively on the Sega Dreamcast in Japan, but there's a fan translation now, so anybody can play it. It's not the best version of a co-op survival horror game, but it still does a lot of really cool stuff. First and foremost, this is a game built around co-op.
It even has different modes. It has a dynamic split screen mode where you're playing it with a fixed camera angle and then when you separate, it goes into split screen. Or you can play in the fixed split screen mode where you're always in first person. So, I like those options, but the first person view is the way to go. It's just a lot less disorienting.
The combat here isn't great. It's kind of clunky. Sometimes that's part of the fun of survival horror combat anyways. But sometimes you navigate areas together, but there is a big part of the game where you have to split up and solve puzzles separately and you have to communicate with each other. So, I really love those aspects where it's just built around co-op. If you haven't played it, I do recommend it.
OBSCURE
Obscure
And Obscure is another early co-op survival horror game. I remember I first played this game on PC. It was just a demo, but me and my siblings would take turns trying to figure things out. I had definitely seen Resident Evil and Silent Hill at this point, but I didn't really play them too much. So, when I finally played Obscure, it did feel very creepy for its time.
The vibe is pretty different from other survival horror games, as this one has more of like a teen slasher style, but there's a number of characters that you can play as, and they each have slightly different abilities. If they die, then they are dead permanently, which is pretty interesting for this style of game. Obscure is definitely a classic, and it's one of the best co-op horror games ever made.
VACCINE REBIRTH
Vaccine Rebirth
Vaccine Rebirth is a game that's a total homage to early survival horror games, specifically Resident Evil, and it even has PS1 style visuals, but you can play this one entirely in split screen co-op. The one thing that sets it apart, though, is it has procedurally generated levels. So, whenever you start a level, it's going to be a little bit different each time, but it does have limited resources.
It has some basic puzzles that you have to solve, and has the fixed camera angles and tank controls. You also have the ability to switch to first-person view, which definitely helps a lot with aiming. Co-op survival horror games are definitely a rarity, and I think this one is really good.
HUNTER: THE RECKONING
Hunter: The Reckoning
Of course, we have to talk about the Hunter: The Reckoning games. I'll specifically talk about the first Hunter: The Reckoning because that's the one that I played the most of. I first played it on Xbox magazine demo disc. I think it only had like the first intro level and the first level up to the first boss and then it would end. But I played that endlessly.
Then eventually we convinced my mom to let us get it. I'm the oldest of three. I have a younger sister and a younger brother. And the three of us were really excited to play this together. But we wanted to have a fourth player. So we talked my dad into playing this with us. And he liked it way more than we expected. In fact, he liked it so much that we played this game for maybe a couple of weeks and we were kind of over it and we moved on.
But he just kept playing it. And for the rest of my time living at home at my parents house, he played Hunter: The Reckoning by himself constantly. Almost every single night, he would play that game. So at that point, we kind of regretted introducing the game to him because we got annoyed with that. So my point is, I have a lot of experience with Hunter: The Reckoning, and it's a really great multiplayer game.
Just don't introduce it to your dad.
RESIDENT EVIL 5
Resident Evil 5
Of course, we have to talk about Resident Evil 5. This is one of those games where you either love it or hate it. Me personally, since I'm all about local co-op gameplay, I love this game. I really think that the only negativity associated with this game is that it has the Resident Evil name attached to it. So, people had certain expectations. Of course, this one leans a lot more towards action rather than the horror elements of the previous games, but of course, it still does have some horror stuff in there.
I just love the fact that this was a game built around co-op gameplay. And I think that was another one of the negative critiques that people had for this game. But I feel like a lot of those people might have only played this in single player. And that is not a great experience because when the computer takes control of the other player, it sucks and it's annoying.
But when you play this with a second player, I think it's a great experience. One of my favorite co-op games from the entire generation. And yeah, it might not be the best horror themed Resident Evil game, but it's still one of my favorites.
RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS 2
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Resident Evil Revelations 2 is kind of the best of both worlds. It takes a lot of the horror elements of the earlier Resident Evil games, and it has the co-op gameplay of Resident Evil 5 and 6, but it's a little bit different because it's more of an asymmetrical approach. There are two different stories that are going on and you switch back and forth between them, but each pair of characters have different abilities.
So, typically player one is going to be the one doing a lot of the shooting and more of focused on the combat aspect of things and then the second player is going to be more of a support character. But I actually really like this dynamic because you do still have to work together and communicate and sometimes those support characters are the only ones that can solve certain puzzles.
I still feel like it's an equal experience though, as both players are required to move forward. It's just an asymmetrical approach. You have the same goal but different roles. But this one is my favorite Resident Evil game ever.
LEFT 4 DEAD 2
Left 4 Dead 2
And Left 4 Dead 2. This is another horror themed game built around co-op gameplay. Of course, you could play it in split screen co-op with two players, but you could also do four players with online gameplay or system linking. Some of my favorite co-op memories are of playing this co-op in a system link. Me and my friend Danny and then my brother and his friend.
And we played through the entire campaign in four-player co-op, all in my parents' living room. This is one of my favorite first-person shooters ever made. And I just love that it was built to be a co-op experience. If one of your teammates goes down, you can help them back up. You combine your firepower to take out all the enemies. You communicate and strategize how to move forward through these hordes of zombies and monsters, and you all have to get to the safe room in order to move forward.
And this is another one of my favorite games of the entire 360 PS3 era.
EMISSARY ZERO
Emissary Zero
And one of the newer games on this list is Emissary Zero. I've covered this game on the channel a handful of times as well, and I'm going to keep doing it because I think it's a hidden gem. This one was made by a really small team, but it still has a lot of polish, so it feels like a much bigger budget game than it actually is.
But unlike most first-person horror games, this one's not about combat at all. It's mostly a puzzle focused game and trying to avoid a lot of the enemies here. You can play in two-player split screen, but you can also play it online. The main standout part of this game is just how creepy the environment is. Everything is very dark and very mysterious. There is a story that unfolds as you play the game, but it's all very weird and kind of vague.
When I was playing this with my friends, we genuinely did get scared a couple of times, especially when you're moving around in the tunnels in the earlier part of the game. The enemy down there is a Slender Man type of character, and you're trying to sneak around and avoid him to pull these various levers to unlock doors. And every time he jumps in to kill you, it's a jump scare.
And all the other monsters in this game are pretty unique. There's also a sequel for this coming out early next year. It's called Emissary 1, and there's a demo available right now.
ZOMBIES ATE MY NEIGHBORS
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Another classic that we can't ignore is Zombies Ate My Neighbors. This game is often cited as one of the best co-op retro games. Overall, I think this is a really great game. It's pretty much just a run-and-gun shooter with a bunch of horror references and a lot of that '90s attitude. Ultimately, I do really like this game, but when I did go back to play it, it's much longer than it should be.
The core gameplay is really solid, but there's just way too many levels. If you didn't know, this game has 48 standard levels with seven optional bonus levels. And I think this game would have been perfect if it was more in that 15 to 20 level range. But regardless, it's still classic and I had to include it.
F.E.A.R. 3
F.E.A.R. 3
And F.E.A.R. 3 is another great first-person shooter. And it's the first game in the series that actually was built to be a co-op game. And what I like about this game is this one also has an asymmetrical approach. So one player has that classic first-person shooter gameplay and then the other one has psychic abilities. So as you go through the story, you're going to utilize both characters abilities in order to progress.
This one might not be as scary as the other F.E.A.R. titles, but it's still a great co-op experience, and it's one that isn't getting talked about as much now.
REANIMAL
REANIMAL
And then another one I can't shut up about on this channel is REANIMAL. This is another one of the newer games on this list. You probably know about it, but this game is totally different from everything else on this list. It's not a survival horror game. It's not a zombie shooter. This one's a little bit more slower paced. There's very minimal dialogue and there's a story that unfolds slowly, mostly through the actions of the characters, but it's kept intentionally vague and up for interpretation.
And I just love that style of storytelling in video games. But this is another one. It was built from the ground up to be a co-op experience. And they keep putting out more DLC that expands the story. The main thing that this game does better than anything else on this list is it just has this very creepy atmosphere. There's really not a ton of action in the game.
There's very minimal combat. You're mostly just going to be avoiding these enemies and sneaking around. I think that adds a lot to the tension, though. A lot of the monsters in this game are very creepy and disgusting, and I love that. One of my favorite co-op games of 2026.
CONTAGION
Contagion
Contagion is one of those games that a lot of people missed, maybe because it only came out on PC. So that makes the inclusion of split screen co-op even more unique, especially for the time. I think this is a game that was definitely trying to capitalize on the success of Left 4 Dead. And ultimately, it does a really good job. So, it's pretty much another first-person shooter where you're just shooting a bunch of zombies and it has a co-op focus, but it does do a few things a little bit differently from Left 4 Dead.
For one, it actually does have a little bit more focus on the survival elements of a survival horror game. There's limited ammo and limited items. So, if you do get infected, you have to go and find a cure or you'll turn into a zombie. And then if you do turn into a zombie, you can go around and kill your teammates. But the main thing that makes this game different is there's a lot of randomization.
So, every time you replay a level, there will be different item spawns and the objectives and the paths change as well. If you missed Contagion, now is your chance to pick it up. It's only 10 bucks on Steam.
CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ZOMBIES
Call of Duty: World at War Zombies
I wanted to just briefly talk about the zombies mode in the Call of Duty games. So, I'm no expert when it comes to Call of Duty at all. I haven't played most of these games, but when Call of Duty World at War came out and it had that zombies mode, I played that endlessly with my little brother. It's not a campaign mode. It's a side thing where you just fight hordes of zombies.
You board up the walls, you kill all the zombies, and then you wait for the next wave. I think this is the first time where I played like a side mode with co-op that I was super into it and is the mode that I played more than the main story mode. It's just a very addicting concept and every single run you just want to try to get a little bit further than you did last time.
I have not kept up with all these games, but I will always have fond memories of playing the zombies mode with my little brother.
NIGHT OF THE SACRIFICE
Night of the Sacrifice
So, Night of the Sacrifice. This one might not be the best co-op experience on this list, but I had so much fun playing this with my daughter. So, this game basically plays like a walking simulator. You kind of just walk around, try to avoid the monsters, you might do some light puzzle solving, you'll flip a switch, and then you try to get to the exit.
When it comes to the co-op gameplay, it's more of an assist mode, but I do feel like it was done effectively, and the utilization is pretty unique. The main thing is when you get close to an enemy, player 2's Wii remote will start vibrating, so they're able to inform you whenever there's a monster close by. I think that was a pretty cool touch.
The other part is player two can move a cursor around and when there's a monster getting close they can freeze them. This might not sound like much, but having this ability is what saved me a number of times. Anyways, this is a really obscure game. It only came out in Japan on the Nintendo Wii. I don't think most people know about it. I really liked it and I genuinely feel like it's one of the creepier games on this list.
It has some really solid sound design and all the environments are very dark and actually feel kind of scary. So, if you have an open mind, I definitely do recommend you try this one out, too.
DARKWATCH (PS2)
Darkwatch (PS2)
And Darkwatch is a pretty unique first-person shooter. This came out on the PS2 and the original Xbox, but the PS2 version is the only one with split screen co-op. It's a Gothic themed vampire horror game that you can play entirely in local co-op. The game's a pretty fast-paced run-and-gun first-person shooter. And even though visually it does look dated by today's standards, I feel like the control scheme and everything feels modern.
At least the layout feels like a modern first-person shooter, which wasn't always the case back in this era. There's a bunch of really unique weapons you can get. There's melee attacks. You can unlock supernatural powers. And they have this morality system. So every time there's a potential victim, you have a choice. You can either kill them or spare them. And then this will lead you towards either good or evil.
So kind of has that fable element as well. It's a really good first-person shooter. One of my favorites on the PS2.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So there you go. That's my top 20 couch co-op horror games ever made. There's a handful of other ones that I really like as well, but I wanted to have a pretty diverse list and I didn't want to just have a bunch of games from the same series. Which one is your favorite and what did I miss? Happy Halloween.
Watch: The 20 Best Couch Co-op Horror Games