Best Horror Games Set In Isolated Towns, Ranked (2024)

Horror games are among the most popular within the gaming community, and with good reason. Many games in this genre offer players hours of fun, spine-chilling experiences, and a good deal of adrenaline-rushing situations that will have their hearts racing a mile a minute. While these titles are not for everyone, those who enjoy them have a wide variety of options to pick from.

While horror games can be set in almost any location and deliver a thrilling experience, it's usually a good idea to set them in areas where there's little to no human contact, which not only adds to the sensation of loneliness but also makes players feel like they're defenseless against whatever threat they're up against. Here are some of the best horror games set in isolated towns.

5 Deadly Premonition

A Detective Story Set In A Lonely Rural Town

• Greenvale is a small town that players must investigate.
• The game features an over-the-shoulder third-person perspective.

Set in the fictional rural town of Greenvale, Washington, Deadly Premonition focuses on the story of an FBI agent by the name of Francis York Morgan. Assigned to solve the case of a young woman's murder, Morgan will have to delve deep into the town's history and darkest secrets to uncover the truth and shed light on this mysterious case. With an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter perspective, players will get to experience what it's like to be a veteran detective trying to solve a grim case to ultimately catch the infamous Raincoat killer.

The town of Greenvale is just what players would expect from a horror game's setting. While there are a few people who appear throughout the story, most of the investigative experience is done in deserted areas, leaving Francis all alone to face the evil that's lurking in the shadows. Deadly Premonition will have players on the edge of their seats as they uncover more and more disturbing elements around the game.

4 Outlast 2

A Journalistic Nightmare In A Secluded Area Of Arizona

• Blake Langermann and his wife investigate the murder of an unknown woman in a secluded Arizona village
• The game is set in the same universe as the first title, but the location is different.

Taking place in the same universe as the first game, Outlast 2 focuses on Blake Langermann, a cameraman working with his wife as they investigate different stories that other journalists do not dare to touch. After Blake and his wife Lynn travel to a secluded village in the canyons of Arizona to investigate the murder of an unknown victim simply known as Jane Doe, they will become involved in a series of terrifying events that will make most players look away in horror and disgust more than once during their playthrough.

The Outlast franchise is well known for having terrifying villains who are not only extremely violent and psychopathic, but also merciless to the bone. While the first game was set in an abandoned asylum, which also makes for an amazing setting for a horror game, there's just something even more special about a couple of journalists exploring a secluded village in Arizona.

3 Alan Wake

Bright Falls Is The Perfect Setting For This Thriller

• Alan Wake and his wife Alice travel to Bright Falls for some rest and to try and cure Alan's writer's block
• The game is divided into episodes, with each one uncovering new pieces of the plot's puzzle.

Few games have made as much noise upon release as Alan Wake. While Remedy Entertainment was already an established studio, it still needed a few more hits before joining the major leagues, and Alan Wake gave them just that. Granted, Alan Wake is a psychological thriller first and a horror game second, but many elements of it, including its constant unsettling atmosphere, make it a worthy addition to this list.

The game focuses on a New York-based bestselling crime novelist of the same name, who has been struggling with writer's block for a few years. Seeking to clear his mind and end his creative dry spell, Alan and his wife, Alice, set out on an adventure towards the isolated and modest town of Bright Falls.

Unfortunately, the couple finds more in Bright Falls than an improvised, relaxing vacation, which unleashes a series of events that will have players wondering what the next step will be throughout their entire playthrough. The narrative is divided into episodes, with each one uncovering new pieces of the plot's puzzle and adding to the investigative experience for another layer of complexity.

2 Silent Hill 2

A Fog-Shrouded Town Harboring The Purest Form Of Evil

• The fog plays a key role in making the town of Silent Hill seem more ominous, cold, and overall mysterious.
• The game has a great narrative and amazing creature designs.

After receiving a mysterious letter from his wife Mary, James Sunderland, the protagonist of Silent Hill 2, arrives in the town of Silent Hill, Maine. Since Mary passed away three years before sending the letter, James decides to investigate to get to the bottom of the situation. On his way to Silent Hill, James meets a mysterious woman who warns him that the town has become a dangerous place and that he should steer clear of it at all costs. Motivated by solving the mystery of the letter, James ignores the woman's warnings, only to discover that Silent Hill is completely covered by a mysterious fog. As the story progresses, James will uncover the many mysteries that await in the shadows and come into contact with various vicious monsters and creatures of the night.

Silent Hill 2 is one of those timeless horror classics that not only created thousands of horror fans from an early age, but also inspired many other titles that players are still enjoying to this day. The fog-shrouded town of Silent Hill is the perfect setting for this unsettling horror story that will have players looking over their shoulders for any threats that might be coming their way. Players who are interested in reliving the horrors of Silent Hill 2 through a new perspective should check out the recently released remake, which keeps a few elements of the original title while implementing a few new ones of its own.

1 Resident Evil 4

A Spanish Village Sets The Scene For This Amazing Survival Horror Classic

• Villagers are aggressive and can outnumber Leon quickly.
• The game has a constant sense of urgency, as if players were always being followed.

When asking a veteran Resident Evil fan what their favorite installment of the franchise is, the most likely answer will probably be Resident Evil 4. This game marked an entire generation due to its great combat mechanics, incredible enemy designs, and overall entertaining and spine-chilling gameplay. When Leon S. Kennedy travels to a mysterious village in Spain to rescue Ashley Graham, the daughter of the President of the United States in the game's universe, he finds himself amid various violent villagers who follow a cult known as "Los Iluminados" with unquestioning devotion.

Players will have to explore the village as they try to survive the vicious villagers and a considerable number of monstrous creatures along the way. Resident Evil 4 shines in many aspects, and one of the most significant ones is the Spanish village it's set in, as it works very well with the title's combat mechanics and adds another layer of complexity to the game. Like Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 4 has also been remade recently. The new title keeps many aspects of the original while implementing a few others that complement the experience very well.