Fear is in the air. You wander through the cold dark around you. No matter which way you go, or how far you go, you always wind up back at the same spot. There’s something following you. You can’t hear it, you can’t see it, but you know it’s there; creeping closer ever so slowly, step by step. All you can do is run. And scream.

Good horror is hard to come by these days no matter what the medium. Horror movies seem to have lost their identity since the mind-warping days of John Carpenter and the campy slasher flicks of the 80s and 90s. We’re left with movies scraping the bottom of the barrel, trying to shock audiences with jump scares and gore. Much to our delight and fright, video games have come to the rescue.

While the selection of horror games has dwindled in recent years, 2016 will have its fair share of games that try to scare us. We’ve put together a list of thirteen games we hope will give us many sleepless nights this year.

Through the Woods (PC) – Q1 2016

Developed by Norwegian indie studio, Antagonist, this game is inspired by Norse mythology and Japanese horror. The developers have branded this a psychological horror game as it follows a mother’s quest to save her son. The game is played via a series of flashbacks with the narration evolving based on your actions. This game promises a great deal of exploration through the creepy woods as you learn what happened to the protagonist’s son.

Perception (PC) – TBA 2016

What’s this; a horror game by the guys behind BioShock and Dead Space?! In Perception, you play as Cassie, a blind girl who uses her ears to ‘see’, and try to solve the mysteries at the Estate at Echo Bluff. The game boasts several innovative features such as echolocation and a constantly evolving environment that changes as you solve the mysteries of Echo Bluff. The game looks creepy and given the developer’s credentials, we’re definitely looking forward to this.

Allison Road (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – TBA 2016

This game came into development after it was revealed that P.T., the playable trailer for Silent Hills, would not get made into a full game. For all intents and purposes, Allison Road sets out to be the game that P.T. was meant to be, and it looks like it may very well pull that off. The only thing that may come across as a bit odd is that the game is being published by Team17, the people behind the Worms series. Let that sink in for a moment.

P.A.M.E.L.A (PC) – Summer 2016

This is a horror survival game set in a utopian future that quickly turns dystopian. The player awakens from cryo sleep to discover the inhabitants of the city have been infected by a disease that mutates them and makes their behaviour rash and unpredictable. The game has a day/night cycle and requires the player to hunt for food, water and supplies while maintaining relationships with the various factions in the city. Often the player’s only support will come from the city’s AI Overseer, Pamela.

Friday the 13th (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – October 2016

It’s a pity that so many classic horror franchises don’t have good enough video game adaptations. Now here we are with what looks to be an excellent game based on Friday the 13th. The game’s main draw is its multiplayer that will pit Jason against a group of camp counselors. The game is set to feature a lot of cinematic moments, giving players the chance to recreate some of the top moments from the movie series. This is one horror game that we really hope delivers on its promises.

Outlast 2 (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – Fall 2016

The follow-up to the original Outlast and its prequel, Outlast 2 will hopefully be even scarier than what we went through the first time. When it was announced, the Red Barrels team said they wouldn’t release the game unless they were afraid to play it themselves. The original game did a lot of things right, but it wasn’t without its flaws. We’re hoping the sequel will be a more refined experience than the first. From what we’ve seen so far, the trailer for Outlast 2 manages to be unsettling without giving anything away.

Routine (PC) – TBA 2016

The game is set on an abandoned moon base. Your goal is to explore the base, gather data and discover what happened to those stationed on the Lunar Research Station. The survival is visually similar to Dead Space and Alien: Isolation. The game goes for a full immersion approach with no HUD or other on-screen elements. There’s no way to recover health or get a 1-up in what seems to be a fairly unforgiving perma-death system. It may be worth keeping an eye on Routine’s development.

The Park (PS4, Xbox One) – Q1 2016

The game came out on the PC in 2015 but the console versions are slated for release this year. While it may not have been the best horror game of 2015, it was an enjoyable one. In some ways, the game feels similar to Five Nights at Freddy’s but that has more to do with the environment than the gameplay. The game has a unique story and a sneaky way of delivering it. If you haven’t already played this on PC, then you may want to check it out on console. If you’ve already played it though, there really isn’t anything more for you here.

Dying Light: The Following (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – February 2016

While not an out and out horror game, Dying Light was full of scary moments, especially once the sun went down. The expansion features an all-new map set outside the quarantine zone, which is the size of all present maps. Apart from the new characters and quests, you’ll also be given access to all-terrain dirt buggies that you can of course customise to your liking. Players will step into Kyle Crane’s shoes yet again as they uncover the secrets of the mysterious cult that has the power to change the world.

Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster (PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360) – 19th January 2016

This is one of the best installments from one of the best survival horror series back in the day. While the later Resident Evil titles did start to become more action-oriented, there’s no denying that Resident Evil 0 still held the series’ survival horror charm. What’s interesting is that this a remaster of the Wii game that was itself a remaster of a GameCube game. The main updates here are the graphics, which have been given a complete overhaul and while the game looks good, the cutscenes and voice acting don’t seem to have been given near as much attention. Regardless, this was a fun ride the first two times, so there’s no reason it won’t be good the third time.

Oxenfree (PC, Xbox One) – January 2016

The developers at Nightschool Studio come from Telltale and Disney. This much is quite obvious from the way the game looks and would be even more evident in the way it plays. It is a coming-of-age journey where your decisions not only affect how the game progresses, but can also change your character’s past. You will have complete freedom to deal with the ghostly rift you unleash on the island as well as anything and everything else that you stumble across. While it may not be traditional horror, it does look like it could be a fun experience.

Dead Island 2 (PC, PS4, Xbox One) – TBA 2016

This game serves as the sequel to 2011’s Dead Island and is the third full release in the series (after 2014’s Escape Dead Island). Dead Island 2 will be an open-world game taking place in Los Angeles, San Francisco and a third, as-yet unrevealed location in California. The game’s combat system is also set to receive an overhaul while features such as the Rage system and crafting system remain unchanged from the previous games. With four playable characters and eight-player multiplayer in the works, this could end up being an extremely fun play.

Last Year (PC) – Fall 2016

Akin to the gameplay that Friday the 13th is promising us, Last Year will feature 5v1 multiplayer. It gives you the choice to play as one of five different teenagers, each with their own abilities, or the lone killer, with very different powers. The objective is quite straightforward; the killer has to take out the teenagers, while the teenagers have to escape the scene, and doing so requires them to complete various objectives. While the core concept may be similar to Friday the 13th, there look to be enough differences between the two games for both to be worth a look.