Horror games are known by many players for their scares and shocks, leading those that play them down creepy corridors in a haunted asylum or defeating horrific monsters that roam abandoned towns. However, some horrors take new twists that can be intentionally comical or just plainly over-the-top for the genre.
These campy horror games are sure to both frighten while also enlightening players as they leave them laughing or screaming in fear. These games are brilliant in their own right and haven't been seen as overly cheesy by gamers, unlike some titles that don't intend to be funny but turn out that way, for better or for worse.
10 Harvester
When Harvester released back in 1996 the reviews it received weren't too great, however some did see the charm behind it. As its name suggests, Harvester is filled with intense gore that at many times can seem a little over-the-top for players. Especially as the main character wakes up next to a skull and a spinal cord after their fiancée goes missing, with hardly any explanation, they must explore a nightmare world for clues.
Gamers that have tried to bloody adventure have praised it for the strange and unusual that it is controversial for. The game itself doesn't take itself seriously either, as those that keep playing will know, it only gets weirder.
9 Lollipop Chainsaw
This hack-and-slash has so much more to offer players than a gore fest of murdering zombies, as the game is hilarious from the very beginning. Players control Juliet Starling, a teenage cheerleader from high school, she is accompanied by Nick, her boyfriends decapitated head that hangs from her waist.
Throughout the story, there isn't just witty banter between the two of them, but the hilarious mechanic to slap Nick's head on top of a decapitated zombie, so he can control them and clear the way for his girlfriend.
8 Evil Dead: Regeneration
Keeping with the theme of hack-and-slash horrors with comedic value sidekicks, Evil Dead: Regeneration takes a much-loved film franchise and turns it into a greatly loved video game. Taking part in an alternate universe where Ash didn't get sent back in time, the chainsaw armed hero must prevent the world from being destroyed by the Deadites.
Players will be conflicted while walking around with Ash Williams' trusty immortal sidekick Sam, who dies in countless comical ways while playing. Some are even caused by the player themselves, as they have the freedom to literally kick him into combat to kill the enemy in brutal ways.
7 Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion
It isn't common that horror and cute are used in the same sentence. Well, Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion does exactly that as players attempt to survive a thousand rooms of jump scares in this game with an adorable art style.
As player progress through the rooms, that start off of tame with laughable cardboard monsters, the cuteness begins to ware off as the monster begin to become real. Even the lovable ghost mascot, Spooky, takes a sinister turn as the true nature of herself and the mansion is revealed.
6 Deadly Premonition
Earning the title of a cult classic, Deadly Premonition has received popularity for its commonly described eccentric plot. Many players felt confused when put into the shoes of FBI Special Agent Francis Morgan as he attempts to solve the murder of a woman, whose death is similar to countless others across the country.
However, the story gets weirder than this, as the mystery can't be solved so simply in this open-world horror that leaves those that have experienced it with their mouths wide open. Deadly Premonition itself feels like an intense thriller film, with heaps load of gore to send it further over the edge than any could imagine.
5 Shadows Of The Damned
Although, the story of Shadows of the Damned follows a Mexican demon hunter who must go to hell itself in the City of the Damned to save his true love. This hack-and-slash has so much more to offer. The game has a great sense of humor that will leave many players giggling through the challenging gameplay.
Besides its humor, this pop-culture obsessed horror's only wish is for the player to have fun while playing it. Especially when defeating the challenging bosses, the player will meet while exploring the underworld.
4 Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
Kindled from the success of Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare is a hilarious and interesting tale of what if the wild west was overrun by zombies? Hitting every trope of a zombie film ever in the most dramatic way possible, players know to not take this adventure seriously.
Gamers are able to meet their favorite characters once more from the original Red Dead to discover how they are surviving during this mysterious zombie outbreak. All while riding around on one of the infamous horses of the apocalypse.
3 Doki Doki Literature Club
Hidden behind the disguise of an adorable visual novel, players at first glance may not even consider this adventure through high school a horror game. However, the longer it is played the stranger it gets, as the dramatic glitching and graphic visionary begins to bleed into the dialogue and characters.
Transforming into a psychological horror that breaks the fourth wall, calling out to the player themselves till they eventually are urged by the game to delete the files from their actual PC. All while accompanied by the bubbly theme that will haunt the player's thoughts for weeks.
2 The House Of The Dead: Overkill
Overkill is a rail shooter horror that fondly follows the set genre of retro arcade games while packaged on the Nintendo Wii. Playing on a predetermined path, that simply requires the player to let bullets loose to defeat horrifying mutants, it can be picked up easily by beginners as well as experts.
In-between the action and bloodshed of wiping out every mutant, the game's excessive but hilarious use of one-liners are sure to make any player feel as if they are an action hero in an old film.
1 Dead Rising 3
Just like previous renditions of the franchise, Dead Rising 3 makes surviving in a zombie apocalypse fun for a wide variety of players. Anything can be used as a weapon, be it a bowling ball or wielding a literal cardboard cutout, the sillier, the better, and they can be combined to make even funnier weapons.
This entertaining story is filled with even stupider bosses, that can be not only exciting to battle, but hilarious due to how they interact with the protagonist Nick during their introduction cutscene.