We all have our guilty pleasure video games, games that are considered bad on several different accounts, but we love them anyway. Even more so if it’s a horror game, there’s truly something about the horror genre that takes quality in a complete circle — they start bad, and end up being so bad that they’re actually good instead.
In these horror games, they’re considered good because they’re bad; due to one reason or another, things that normally would be wholly counted against the game ended up working in their favor, and it always tickles me to see.
In fact, some of these horror games ended up developing cult followings as a result, cementing them as cult classics in the genre despite the many things working against it.
Either way, you’re in for a good time with these horror games, whether it’s in its strengths, or still loving the experience while knee-deep in its flaws.
10
Resident Evil: Director’s Cut
Terrible Voice Acting Became a Meme
If you were to ask literally any Resident Evil fan what their favorite quote is from the series, nine times out of 10, they’re going to say a quote from the original Resident Evil (with the other singular vote typically being a Leon quote). Seriously, this game is full of so many quoteable gems.
Perhaps the most iconic is “that was too close, you were almost a Jill Sandwich” after being saved from being literally crushed to death. Combine this with already cheesy voice acting, and you’re in for a laughter fest.
Yet, that hasn’t stopped this game from being outright incredible and setting the foundation for the rest of the Resident Evil franchise. In fact, the campiness we see this early on allows for more camp and silliness in the long run, keeping the series from feeling like a B-movie despite its AAA budget.
Resident Evil: Director’s Cut actually won awards for how terrible its voice acting is, which is normally what turns people away. However, if you were to go into any space with RE fans, you’ll be met with nothing but praise for this game, the ridiculous lines, and the countless other hilarious flaws that do nothing but bring charm.
9
The Mystery of the Druids
Mischief Managed
It can be hard to take a game seriously when the main character seems to be incapable of doing so, and that’s exactly the case with The Mystery of the Druids. In this game, you play as a detective named Halligan trying to uncover a recent string of killings, while also trying to prove its connection to some cult conspiracy.
Yet Halligan himself is a mischief-maker who is not above pulling pranks on others (including the homeless) and being obnoxious just for the sake of it. I’m just saying, I’m a high school teacher full-time, and there are several students I can see growing up to be Halligans.
Yet, in this game, there isn’t any irritation towards Halligan, especially since all of the side characters actually take things seriously. It becomes clear that we’re playing as a problem, an outlier from this police station, and it’s up to us to encourage his character growth.
Despite his character being the exact kind of person that most of us can’t stand to be around, it’s genuinely endearing in this game. It’s almost as if we’re playing a cautionary tale after a while, and it’s as bewildering and hilarious at the start as it is by the time we reach the end.
8
Cry of Fear
The Story > The Gameplay
Sometimes, the only thing wrong with the game itself is the gameplay, which can easily make or break the experience for some players who care deeply about how a game handles. Unfortunately for Cry of Fear, it plays like a hot mess.
Yet, at the same time, everything else about Cry of Fear is genuinely so good that players tend not to care by the end. We’re all willing to deal with a little jankiness for something that genuinely interests us, and Cry of Fear knows how to capture and hold your attention.
The gameplay takes a particularly tough nosedive during the platforming sections of the game, where you’ll be falling so often it’s enraging. Yet, as you continue onward, the story and characters keep you hooked and eagerly anticipating what’s next.
So if you’re a fan of horror games having a good story without too much care about the gameplay, you’re in for a great time with Cry of Fear.
7
Illbleed
Give Us a Remaster, PLEASE!
Speaking of terrible gameplay, the Dreamcast didn’t have a good track record of functional games, and Illbleed is one of them. However, players keep returning to it for one simple reason: it’s actually completely insane.
You think you’ll know where the story and its happenings are going, but then this game will fully yank the rug out from under you and laugh as you fall. There haven’t been any games like it before or since when it comes to the insanity here.
Regardless of how clunky the controls are, the fascination and intrigue is enough to keep you going; and by the time you make it to the end, you’ll have to pick your jaw up off the floor. It truly is nuts in every sense of the word, and the uniqueness of it all can’t be replicated.
It’s no wonder that fans are begging for a remaster, so not only will the janky gameplay be smoothed over, but the experience will be stronger (and crazier) than ever.
6
Post Trauma
Just Vibin’
When looking back on the best horror games of 2025, the indie love letter Post Trauma had easily cemented itself on that list — but it’s not because of the story. Instead, this game has mastered the survival-horror vibes we know and love from the classics (it was inspired by them, after all).
The voice acting and gameplay itself are fine, modern, while feeling like tank controls thanks to the fixed camera angles, and the aesthetics are just the coolest. The story, however, is where the game falls pretty flat — it really tried to go full Silent Hill 2 here, but it missed a ton of the nuance that made it work in the first place.
Plus, the puzzles are so hard it’s almost ridiculous. Despite the literal notes and pictures I took, there were some puzzles that were just unreasonable — I still don’t know how developers planned for players to solve most of them.
Yet, in spite of this, the vibes are simply so immaculate that a lot of us who played it didn’t actually care. Atmosphere tends to come first and foremost, and this game nails that atmosphere, delivering a survival horror experience that is sure to keep the gaming cravings at bay until the next giant drops their newest title.
5
Five Night’s at Freddy’s Sequels
What Even is Happening Anymore?
Regardless of how you feel about Five Nights at Freddy’s, you can’t deny the impact that the first game had on the horror genre and indie gaming as a whole. It was something new and unique, practically revolutionary in the fresh and exciting ways horror can be done.
That is, until it started releasing sequels.
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The first two sequel games aren’t too terrible, but felt definitely rushed — it’s not until even more sequels dropped (and more sequels still) that players started to get annoyed at it. The thing that keeps them hooked, however, is trying to piece together the insanely complicated lore.
In all honesty, I don’t even think Scott Cawthon himself knows what he’s doing with these games, but that’s not stopped them from becoming a guilty pleasure.
4
Resident Evil 6
A Great Time All Around, Actually
I don’t care what the consensus is about Resident Evil 6; it’s a great game, and I will firmly stand by that until I die. A lot of people hated the game when it came out due to a messy story, inconsistent gameplay, and turning the whole series into a comedy, but that just tells me they didn’t grow up with the RE games as I did.
Resident Evil 6 has a little something for everybody, and considering that you’re playing through multiple different campaigns, of course, the story is going to be cut up and missing information — you’re only seeing the story from a single perspective, you have to play them all to piece it together on your own.
Plus, a huge thing that fans were concerned about is that Resident Evil is going to lose its horror roots, but considering how both Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village made sure that wouldn’t happen, there’s genuinely nothing to be afraid of with RE6 anymore.
It’s a fun game, especially if you’re on multiplayer, so it’s time for players to just enjoy it for what it is. It’s not a masterpiece in the series, for sure, but it’s always been and always will be a great time.
3
Until Dawn
Corny Driving the Cornmobile
Art loves to imitate other art, and Until Dawn is no exception, imitating the terrible teen slasher movies that horror movie fans love to bits. Yet, there’s something about Until Dawn that is so campy and unserious, it’s just outright corny.
Personally, I don’t like Until Dawn because it’s too corny for me, but that’s the exact reason why so many other people love it. There’s a solid story, and the characters are decently written; it’s literally just the campy acting and terrible dialogue that completely take me out of it. It’s probably because I’m a high school teacher and know exactly how teenagers actually talk, and it’s nothing like what we see here.
Yet, this campiness is widely beloved in the game, especially when paired with the actually solid story that serves as the foundation. Plus, there’s a decent fear factor, more than enough to keep players motivated to finish it.
So if you don’t mind driving the cornmobile to get to the ending, you’ll have a good time with Until Dawn.
2
Heavy Rain
Press X to Shaun
Heavy Rain is as serious as a heart attack, and it fully treats itself with that seriousness. You play as a detective trying to catch a serial killer, which in and of itself is already a tragedy that begets more tragedies.
That is, until one simple glitch completely crumbled the entire tone.
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The game has its fair share of bugs, but the most infamous of them all is when all your actions are replaced with one simple button prompt: Press X to Shaun. At one point in the game, all your actions are replaced with simply calling out for Shaun over and over again, and it requires a reset to fix.
This glitch became synonymous with the game itself, becoming a meme in the fandom and in the horror gaming sphere as a whole. That is, until you pick up the game and play it yourself, and you’ll genuinely be devastated by the time you get to the end.
1
Deadly Premonition
Instant Cult Classic
We simply cannot talk about horror games that are “so bad, they’re good,” without bringing up the pinnacle of it all for horror gaming: Deadly Premonition. Seriously, ask anyone why they like this game, and the answer will typically fall along the lines of “it’s bizarre.”
And let me tell you, bizarre doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Deadly Premonition takes direct inspiration from Twin Peaks, and it ends up feeling like a fever dream as you play through it. It doesn’t help that our main character, York, isn’t all upstairs, so he’ll be equally unpredictable and outright insane. Yet, there’s a charm to it, especially with York, and it ends up being beloved as a result.
Between the gameplay, acting, and completely crazy writing, Deadly Premonition captured hearts everywhere, developing a cult following enough to warrant a sequel. And in all honesty? That sequel doesn’t hold a candle to this game, because it’s truly something special.
