Just like in movies and TV, horror games have been around in games ever since the beginning, spawning some of the biggest franchises in the medium. Whether it's Silent Hill, Dead Space, Amnesia, or Resident Evil, there are tons of big-name games that bring the scares to varying degrees of complexity and atmosphere. Even in 2021, a year that many believed was awesome for horror game fans, the genre is alive and well among some of the other most popular genres in games.

On all levels of gaming, from independent developers to AA and AAA studios and publishers, tons of horror games and horror-adjacent games impressed fans this year. The bigger examples like Resident Evil Village or House of Ashes, paired with indie games like Little Nightmares 2 or Inscription, altogether brought additions to the horror genre that fans loved for different reasons. There's a promising future ahead for the genre, and 2021 certainly showed that there's a place for all kinds of scary games.