2018 was a fine year for horror-based gaming. From heavy hitters such as God of War, to indie gems like DUSK or SEPTEMBER 1999, and VR fare such as The Persistence, gamers were treated to exhilarating, emotional, and disturbing, experiences. But the terror and adventure are far from over, for 2019 looks to be an even more epic year for games flavored by our favorite genre. Taking a look at everything from AAA to indie titles, here are a healthy selection of horror games to keep an eye out for this year.

Devil May Cry 5

The beloved hack ‘n slash series plans on making a stellar return in the first quarter of 2019. Players will have the chance to take control of Nero once again, along with Dante and a new character called V. This time around Nero is without his devil arm and will have to rely on a brand new robot one! The team at Capcom has made sure to include a variety of tricks into the game, allowing for players to go all-out in their demon rampage.

Moons of Madness

Taking place on Mars, you play a lone wanderer who begins to slowly lose his grip on reality. The plot is being kept under wraps, but early details state that Moons of Madness will deal with science fiction horror and themes of mental illness. Lovecraftian elements are said to appear throughout as well, building tension as players strive to survive on the desolate planet.

Metro Exodus (Multi)

As the next installment in the Metro series, Exodus comes forth with a beautifully somber atmosphere that has fast become a signature staple. The barren Russian wasteland will keep players on their toes as they fight through hordes of mutated creatures. This action-shooter looks to pack plenty of adrenaline, as survival will be a key factor in traversing such difficult terrain.

Sea of Solitude (Multi)

You play as a young girl who is exploring an abandoned submerged city. As you travel about the land you’ll come into contact with a terrifying creature, all while trying to discover why you have become a monster yourself. With details being hidden regarding the deeper themes at work, it’ll be fascinating to see how Sea of Solitude intertwines its story into the gameplay.

Resident Evil 2 Remake (Multi)

Speaking of other horrifying classics – Capcom will be releasing the remake to Resident Evil 2 in just a matter of weeks. From the trailers and gameplay footage already released, the game looks grimly breathtaking; seriously, the characters are some of the most lifelike in all of gaming. You’ll take on the role of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield, running about Raccoon City in an attempt to survive and fight off waves of zombies and other horrifying threats.

Scorn (PC)

Like an H.R. Giger wet dream, Scorn is a first-person shooter where you’ll embark into a world that is (to be blunt), quite uncomfortable to look at. Brimming with slimy, fleshy textures, the world of Scorn feels alive (especially when even your weapons are wiggling in your hands). There is little context so far about the plot other than the fact that you take on the role of a “strange skinless humanoid” being.

DOOM Eternal (Multi)

DOOM is still exciting and relevant 25 years after Romero and company first unleashed hell on home computers, and a lot of that is down to 2016’s semi-reboot rebirthing the legend for a whole new era, and now its stunning-looking sequel, DOOM Eternal, looks to iterate on the formula and become just as celebrated a successor as DOOM II was to the original.

Mortal Kombat 11 (Multi)

Ed Boon’s blood-soaked fighting series returns for the 11th round of bone-crunching, skin-slicing brutality. The reveal trailer certainly provided some of the grisly kombat fans relish seeing. The big question is, however, what horror icons will join the roster this time? In the previous two series entries, we had the likes of Freddy Krueger and Leatherface enter the grisly tournament. Evil Dead‘s Ash this time, please?

The Sinking City (Multi)

2018 had Call of Cthulhu and 2019 plans to have The Sinking City. The trailer alone is captivating in how it hints at time and space manipulation (along with the monstrous tentacle that grabs at the protagonist). Offering a fascinating Lovecraftian world to explore, The Sinking City looks to be another surreal mystery adventure full of untold horrors.

Atomic Heart (Multi)

Taking inspiration from the likes of Bioshock, Atomic Heart takes place in an alternate universe in Soviet Russia. What could have happened if the USSR succeeded above other countries? Through Soviet and science fiction aesthetics, you take on the role of a KGB officer, in charge of surveying a land and all its creepy dangers. With RPG elements on top of all the action, Atomic Heart looks to be one of the more unique titles in recent years.

Devotion (TBA)

RedCandle Games made one of the most fascinating horror games of modern times with 2D Survival Horror Detention by blending real Taiwanese history into its creepiness, and its follow-up, Devotion, will tackle a particularly hot horror trend in faith and family. This time we’ll be going 3D, and into first-person to explore a seemingly abandoned apartment complex that’s quite likely haunted by something. Devotion looks to be another fine slice of Taiwanese horror.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Multi)

We got a tasty bite of what Bloodstained can do with the retrotastic Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon last year, but 2019 should finally see the release of the much-troubled spiritual successor to Castlevania people backed on Kickstarter to begin with. The jury is still out on whether it will deliver on its initial promise, but things have looked a touch brighter in recent months.

Code Vein (Multi)

Bandai Namco, short of a Dark Souls this year, instead has a vampiric anime-inspired take on the formula in Code Vein. This post-apocalyptic action RPG sees your character able to harness vampire-like abilities and naturally that leads to some heavily crimson-soaked action. A delay from September last year seems to be for no reason beyond a bit of tweaking and polishing, so the promise is still incredibly high for this one.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Multi)

Yes, a DOOM and a Wolfenstein in the same year. Youngblood takes the alt-history route started by The New Order and thrusts it into the 1980s where series hero BJ Blazkowicz is replaced by his twin daughters as the protagonist. With twins in the lead role, Wolfenstein goes co-op with Youngblood. It’ll be just as fascinating to see how that works out as it will be to see where the Nazi War Machine is at in an alternate 1980s.

Days Gone (PS4)

Bend Studios’ post-apocalyptic open world game has been living in the shadow of its PlayStation stablemate The Last of Us Part II for quite some time. It finally gets its time in the spotlight this Spring. Previews last year suggested it needed a fair bit of polish, and zombie games are a hard sell critically at the best of times, but Sony’s delivered a fair few surprises with its exclusives in recent years despite early concerns. Hopefully Days Gone falls into this camp.

DECEMBER 2000 (PC)

Last year’s five and a half minute found-footage style horror game SEPTEMBER 1999 was among the most interesting things to happen to horror gaming in recent memory. It undoubtedly left fans wanting more, and creator 98DEMAKE has happily obliged with follow-up title DECEMBER 2000. The sequel promises to further expand on what came before and will be a much longer game this time around.

What games on this list are you most excited to see in 2019? What games aren’t on this list you’re looking forward to?