The Nintendo Switch has been Nintendo’s prime focus as a console for almost seven years now, giving a lot of time to build up an incredible library of games. The Switch has seen a wide variety of platformers, action-adventures, RPGs, and strategy games, but one genre remains a diamond in the rough: horror games, or alternatively, survival horror games.
Although every horror game challenges players by offering real scares, the six horror games available to play on Nintendo Switch are difficult for more reasons than that. From legendary franchises to one-off Nintendo eShop exclusives, the Nintendo Switch may not be the premier console for the horror genre, but these games are worth checking out.
Staying Up Past Your Bedtime Is No Easy Feat
Among the Sleep
Among the Sleep is a psychological horror game where you get to play as a two year old child. You get to experience the world through the eyes of a toddler with a vivid imagination that could easily scare your pants off.Welcome to an atmospheric horror game with an eerie feeling of helplessness. You are abruptly awoken one night and find the house completely dark and empty. You start searching for your mother, but she is nowhere to be found. What you find is a teddy bear that warns you that everything is not all right and that it is crucial to find out what is going on.This is the start of your dark adventure in the world of a scared child.
Among the Sleepwas released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019. This first-person horror game finds players controlling a toddler accompanied by a sentient teddy bear, exploring their home, and outrunning dangerous and mysterious creatures. Getting put intothe role of a small childis more than enough to make this one of the scariest games on the Switch.
However, the cutesy graphics ofAmong the Sleepshouldn’t fool you. Its linear story and lack of many options for players to escape make it an incredibly hard game to complete. As with many survival horror games, perseverance is key. However, no gamer would be blamed for putting it down if the frights become too much to handle.
Resident Evilis notablyone of the most famous horror game franchisesin the history of video gaming. One of the most difficult entries in the series isResident Evil: Revelations, which originated on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012 but received a port on Switch in 2017, alongside its sequelResident Evil: Revelations 2.
Although both games are great horror experiences, the firstResident Evil: Revelationsbenefits from the Switch upgrade, ramping up the difficulty withmotion controls and truly terrible frights. It may not be the most difficult the franchise has gotten, but for the Nintendo Switch,Revelationscan be frustrating for some hardcore Nintendo fans.
MADiSONfinally made its wayonto the Nintendo Switch in 2022, offering a truly unique horror experience. Upon its initial release, many reviewers commendedMADiSONfor being one of the most genuinely terrifying horror games out there, and studies were even done to prove that players' heart rates increased dramatically when trying to complete it.
As a result, many players, especially hardcore horror game fans, may findMADiSONtoo difficult to handle. While many horror games survive on dim lighting to set the atmosphere, inMADiSONthe lack of vision for much of the game can even turn out to be a bit tiresome. Nevertheless, it’s worth it for the terrifying horrors beneath the game’s surface. (1 link)
By 2023,Outlasthas become one of the most iconic horror games of the modern era, despite being released a decade ago for PC. It didn’t see a release on the Nintendo Switch until 2018, under the taglineOutlast: Bundle of Terror.Players control an investigative reporter exploring an isolated psychiatric hospitalfilled with homicidal patients running amok.
The game is filled with unpredictable jump scares and contains a traumatic backstory that is sure to frighten players of every age. Players can do a lot to escape the maniacs chasing after them, but once they’re caught, they’ll sadly have to surrender to the horrors. If players manage to make it through, there’s also a sequel on the Switch waiting for them.
This survival horror game was released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019, two years after its original release on Mac and PC. It’s a rare experiment of placing a horror game in an open-world setting, allowing players to scavenge a forest and surrounding areas for supplies so that they can survive the night when intruders willattempt to break into their hideout.
Darkwoodincorporates aspects from many games, such as an RPG-esque skill system, as well as the strategic survival of tower defense games. Many reviewers also credited the game for relying on frights outside of standard jump scares, creating an atmosphere that’s more likely to make players feel like they’re actually barely surviving each night in the game.
Amnesiais widely known to be one of the most difficult horror games out there, and that fact is no different in its Nintendo Switch version. Originally released asAmnesia: The Dark Descentin 2010, its Switch version also includes the expansionsAmnesia: JustineandA Machine For Pigs, but thankfully, its difficulty can be changed for more amateur players.
Although reviewers had fewer kind things to say about the expansion packs,the original gameThe Dark Descentcould be one of the hardest horror experiences on the Switch if players are bold enough. Its puzzles can be quite confusing for inexperienced players, while its frights are enough to deter some from continuing to play past early levels. Moreover, managing Daniel’s fear of darkness and overall sanity, as well as lantern oil, adds extra pressure on the player.
