10 Best Co-Op Horror Games to Make or Break Friendships

While co-op horror has been around for years, from Left 4 Dead to White Noise, it’s only growing more popular—and we can thank Lethal Company for that. Zeekerss may not be the first to combine comedy with horror, but many are trying to replicate what made Lethal Company work. Some try and fail, others succeed, but we cannot forget where games like these came from.

Proximity chat is a must for co-op horror to ease the tension, add comedy, and incentivize teamwork. Bugs are an inevitability that can (so long as they’re not game-breaking) create memorable and hilarious moments. What makes co-op horror games truly special is their simplicity paired with somewhat janky controls. They scream authenticity, created as passion projects that feel as if a part of the developer’s soul was left behind in the code.

With that being said, here are 10 of the best horror games that you can play with friends.

Cry of Fear

Price: Free
Release date: April 25th, 2013

Originally a Half-Life mod, Cry of Fear is a legendary horror game that offers a single-player and co-op mode, both being very different from one another. For those looking for an immersive and surrealistic nightmare, the single-player will keep you engaged from start to finish. But should you decide to venture into the horrors with a friend by your side, then you can play the campaign backwards in the search for Simon (the protagonist).

A horrifying experience with a sole objective to terrify you, Cry of Fear features a grungy landscape that distorts the more you explore it. Crazed killers and classic survival horror greet you at the entrance, but can you reach Simon without going mad alone the way?

Emissary Zero

Price: $8.99
Release date: March 28th, 2025

Emissary Zero is a quirky, chaotic adventure that tasks your team to infiltrate a mysterious building at night, and safely exfiltrate with the Moon. Yes, the Earth’s Moon has been kidnapped and contained. It’s up to you to free it. There’s nothing calm in this game, nor are you offered a moment to relax and reorganize your thoughts. Nowhere is safe and everything (aside from a random Anime girl) is trying to kill you.

This game is strange, but unlike other entries on this list, there are quite a lot of objectives you must complete, for freeing the Moon is no easy feat. Astronauts who came before you have all transformed into some otherworldly abomination only a mind like Junji Ito could dream up. Don’t let your team suffer the same fate. Panicking is an appropriate reaction with this one, but thankfully, you can save every 30 seconds, should it ever get too much.

Escape the Backrooms

Price: $9.99
Release date: August 11th, 2022

The best Backrooms games Steam has on offer, Escape the Backrooms is a refreshing early access game for the frequent updates that add infamous rooms and new mechanics to keep it engaging. Monsters roam in every room, eager to introduce themselves as they search for something to satiate their hunger. Nothing is welcoming inside the land of no-clipping, but at least you have friends to hand you Almond Water to keep you sane.

Escape the Backrooms is as scary as it is fun. Anxiety and isolation from single-player versions of the Backrooms landscape are removed as you must work together to solve puzzles and figure out where to go next. May no man ever be left behind.

RELATED: 10 Co-Op Games You Should Be Playing on Steam Deck

Forsaken Frontiers

Price: $14.99
Release date: October 21st, 2024

Forsaken Frontiers is on the dearer side when it comes to early access horror games. A Lethal Company-style game, Forsaken Frontiers takes some of the flaws from Zeekerss’ legendary game and improves them. Working to pay off your debt, you infiltrate hotels and bunkers, nabbing whatever loot you can get your hands on. Unlike Lethal Company, there is no limit to how much you can carry.

Stay for as long as you’d like, but don’t forget the way back. It’s easy to get lost, so stick together, find the elevator for the shortcut back to the train, and listen out for the horn when it’s time to pack your things and get the heck out of Dodge. The enemies are unique enough to set this game apart from Lethal Company, and the limited inventory adds a layer of strategy. There are so many ways your run could come to a grinding stop, so stay prepared.

Lethal Company

Price: $9.99
Release date: October 23rd, 2023

When I think about the ultimate co-op horror, my mind immediately goes to solo dev legend, Zeekerss, for the creation of Lethal Company. This indie gem demonstrates the power of simple gameplay that’s easy to digest. The goal is clear: bring loot back to the ship to sell at the Company Building. Failing to do so gets you and your crew shipped out of the airlock. Hostile monsters roam in and outside the Facilities, alongside mines and turrets that will swiftly take your life the moment you’re not paying attention.

Proximity chat makes this game both terrifying and hilarious, where the perfectly placed cut in your teammate mid-scream makes you wonder what could be lurking around the corner. The base game is near perfect with replayability like no other, but if you ever get bored, there are many mods you can add that’ll spruce up your high quota runs.

Nuclear Nightmare

Price: $6.99
Release date: October 20th, 2024

Inspired by The Thing, Nuclear Nightmare is an early access horror game where risk of infection is incredibly high. The tasks are more complicated than other Lethal Company-like games, but that keeps things interesting. It is perhaps harder to understand and get used to, but it’s well worth your time if you’re looking for a (somewhat) open-world adventure.

Nuclear Nightmare features RPG elements with its skill tree, allowing you to personalize your gameplay. There are snowmobiles you can use to traverse across the cold and bumpy terrain, but beware, for there are creatures that spawn at night, eager to assimilate with your DNA. Get the flamethrower, it’s research time.

Phasmophobia

Price: $19.99
Release date: September 18th, 2020

The best early access horror game when it comes to frequent updates, Phasmophobia is the ultimate ghost-hunting game. Tasked to figure out what type of entity is currently haunting the location, Phasmophobia has excellent replayability and a skill ceiling you can only reach by continuously playing the game. With the ability to communicate with the spirit and many signs to look out for, you feel like a veteran on Ghost Hunt.

But be careful, as the entity may not be too welcoming and a hunt could ensue. Pay attention to the clues and take as much evidence as you can without angering the spirit along the way.

PILGRIM

Price: $7.99
Release date: May 31st, 2024

The jankiest co-op horror, PILGRIM is (unfortunately) the most flawed entry on this list. However, it has the potential to be a fantastic horror game. During your pilgrimage, you must travel down one seemingly never-ending road while a giant beast tails you. Each location holds a dungeon or outside area where strange monsters try to keep you from collecting the valuable loot from within its walls.

PILGRIM is a lot of fun so long as you don’t experience a game-breaking bug (e.g., getting stuck inside the main entrance door). But there are a lot of ideas here, the strongest being the outside areas. There’s just currently not a lot of variety when it comes to content, but the replayability is there, as you’ll want to get as far as you can before releasing the pigeon to beat the game.

R.E.P.O.

Price: $9.99
Release date: February 26th, 2025

A physics-based Lethal Company, R.E.P.O. stands out in the small world of Lethal Company copycats with the unique monsters and challenging setting. While I’d say R.E.P.O. is less scary (even if you’re playing alone) due to the strength strat that turns you into a monster others will fear, R.E.P.O.‘s strength lies in the steadily increasing difficulty, level design, and hilarious character models.

It’s simple yet effective as the eyes of your friend’s semibot stare at you from afar when you use proximity chat. The ability to leap into teammates and enemies, to interact and pick up anything (including your friends), and the uncertainty of what’s to come when you load into the next level puts R.E.P.O. in a category by itself. There’s so much fun to be had with R.E.P.O., and thankfully, you don’t need to get far in the game to experience its full potential.

SCP: Containment Breach Multiplayer

Price: Free
Release date: October 25th, 2021

SCP: Containment Breach walked so that Lethal Company could run.

Many key components from these early access co-op games come from Containment Breach. From the labyrinth you can easily get lost in, to the monsters that have escaped through the breach, Containment Breach remains one of the best co-op games to ever exist, and it’s completely free. Your and your friends’ goal is to escape as a D-Class criminal, where you have to find a way out before Nine-Tailed Fox comes in to clean up the mess.

Unlike other games on this list, Containment Breach is a complete game with multiple endings. There is so much freedom and autonomy to do whatever you want to do in the order that makes most sense to you. Replayability comes in the many SCPs you can find, experiment with, and die to. You can miss a lot in your first playthrough and lose countless hours of time simply exploring the facility to find all SCPs, rather than escaping.

If you love the weeping angel mechanic with horror games like Lethal Company‘s Coil-Head, or you enjoy how the Robe works in R.E.P.O., then SCP-173 and SCP-089 (Shy Guy) are just dying to meet you.