Do you love horror games but you’re too intimidated to play them by yourself? Maybe you just want to check out the newest indie horror game and see if it’s what you want to play. If either of those situations sound like something for you, then watching YouTubers and ‘Let’s Plays’ are the perfect way to enjoy these games. But there are thousands of content creators out there, and finding the one that matches your tastes can be a long journey of trial-and-error. To help you in your endeavors, we’ve made this list of the best YouTube channels for horror games so you can enjoy the scares without most of the anxiety.
Looking for some survival horror games to enjoy? Here’s our list of games you won’t want to play alone.
1. CJUGames
CJU uploads about five videos a week and each one ranges from 20 minutes to over an hour. That relentless upload schedule makes his YouTube channel an amazing source of ‘Let’s Play’ videos for both indie and popular horror games. His commentary strikes a balance between energetic yet unobtrusive, letting viewers know what’s going on in his head without distracting away from the game.
In fact, one of the best parts of CJU is how he lets each horror game take center stage in his videos. This is best illustrated by how he starts and ends each video with a view of his face-cam, but during the gameplay itself he fades it out so his viewers can get an uninterrupted look at the game.
2. Gab Smolders
On the note of YouTubers who let horror games take center stage, Gab Smolders is a fantastic example of a content creator that does exactly that. The relaxed mood of her streams and videos contrasts with the scares happening on screen. But Gab’s amusing commentary and hilarious reactions makes each of her playthroughs an altogether enjoyable experience. Even if she’s freaking out over a scare, she somehow still maintains a relatively cozy atmosphere in her streams. In effect, if you’re looking for a chill adventure through terrifying horror games, then Gab is the perfect YouTuber to watch.
Recently she’s been doing more variety streams with games like Cult of the Lamb and ‘Hidden Object’ games. But when she does a playthrough of a new horror game, her love of the genre shines through and makes each Let’s Play worth the watch.
3. ManlyBadassHero
ManlyBadassHero is best known for his gorgeous voice – it’s like audible honey for your ears. His playthroughs usually focuses on more obscure, low-budget indie horror games, but his commentary (and that velvety smooth voice) adds plenty of personality into each video.
Similar to Gab, ManlyBadassHero has a laidback attitude in his Let’s Plays, and similar to CJU, he has a frequent uploading schedule at four to six videos per week. They tend to run between an hour and a half for a full play through to 15 minutes for shorter games. There’s no facecam, but Hero’s voice, dramatic readings of dialogue, and calming narrations (punctuated by some jump scares) are more than enough to keep you engaged in his videos.
4. John Wolfe
John Wolfe is known for his critical analysis of horror games and detailed breakdowns at the end of his playthroughs. These eloquent discussions are almost like a reward for coming back to his channel and watching through each part to the end. They’re well-thought out, wonderfully articulated, and his suggestions provide a juicy starting point for more discussions. John’s analysis also sticks to constructive feedback of what the game could improve with, similar mechanics from other games, and what he hopes gets improved in the future.
His playthroughs are a joy to watch because he rarely gets scared by horror games, which gives the viewer a nonstop flow of gameplay with a side of snarky analysis. This is wonderful for puzzle-heavy horror games where John can showcase the scares through a steady camera and how fun the puzzles in these games can be to solve.
5. POIISED
POIISED is on the opposite end of the “afraid of horror” spectrum from John Wolfe. Jump scares and horrifying situations make POIISED practically leap out of his chair. But what draws viewers are his hysterical reactions when they’re paired with his high-energy commentary. These elements bring a comedic light-heartedness to all of his videos that makes even the most terrifying jump scare come with a raucous fit of laughter. His videos get even better when he adds a VR headset to commonly played games like Mortuary Assistant since his reactions get more visceral as he jumps at every sound and sudden movement.
Compared to the other YouTubers on this list, POIISED does more livestreams and VR chat adventures to go along with his horror game videos. Each of these videos are hilarious in their own right, but when taken with his horror content, they serve as a refreshing change of pace.
6. SHN Survival Horror Network
If you’re sick of hearing content creators on YouTube talk over what’s happening in horror games, and you just want a pure playthrough without any commentary whatsoever, then SHN Survival Horror Network is the channel you’re looking for. Each of their videos is a nonstop, high quality playthrough of popular horror games like the Resident Evil series, and even indie games like The Complex. Their videos are perfect for days where you just want to enjoy a horror game without any interruptions.
SHN’s videos are especially fantastic for games where, for whatever reason, you most likely won’t play them but you still want that particular horror experience. A great example is the infamous P.T., which is unavailable outside of emulators or purchasing a PS4 with the game on it, or Fatal Frame 2 which would require a PS2 or an emulator to play.
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