5 video games with the best jumpscares

Holidays are a perfect time to play horror games with the best jumpscares. Whether you are with family or friends, these spooky titles deliver in creating great bonding moments. The gaming industry is packed with immersive offerings that will trigger your fight or flight response through their creepy plot, macabre atmosphere, and thrilling jumpscares that will make you stay awake at night.

Jumpscares are a staple of any great horror game. It is a tool used by developers to enhance the suspense and provide players with the scariest gaming experience they have ever come across. If you’re looking for bone-chilling frights and wish to immerse yourself in the nightmarishly, foreboding atmosphere this holiday season, we have got you covered. Here are some games with the best jumpscares, sure to get your spirits up.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's views.

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Slender, Fatal Frame, and other games with the best jumpscares

1) Infliction: Extended Cut

Infliction is one of the popular games with the best jumpscares (Image via Blowfish Studios)

Infliction: Extended Cut is one of the greatest survival horror games ever. This interactive nightmare is set in a once-happy family's household and features an unpleasant and unpredictable first-person experience with a horrifying alien adventure.

In the game, you will take on the role of a guy who, under the control of some incredibly evil and possibly demonic influence, ruthlessly slaughters his wife and family. This game has a horrifying dynamic atmosphere and features some of the best horror audio design, which amps up the chills at every turn.

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2) Slender: The Arrival

Slender: The Arrival boasts some great jumpscares in the gameplay (Image via Blue Isle Studios)

Slender: The Arrival is one of the games with the best jumpscares. This first-person survival-horror title features the titular monster Slender Man and many more eerie aberrations that will make your skin crawl. Armed with only a flashlight, the main character ventures into several deserted locations to accomplish various goals.

One of the best yet most subtle jumpscares in Slender: The Arrival occurs when you explore the house in the woods near the very beginning of the game. You must then investigate this recently deserted house for traces of a little girl who has been abducted by Slender Man.

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3) Fatal Frame

Fatal Frame is one of the most popular games with the best jumpscares (Image via Koei Tecmo)

One of the horror franchises that is almost too terrifying to enjoy, the Fatal Frame series requires you to wander around particularly spooky places carrying only a camera called Camera Obscura. This is used to exorcise the various apparitions by looking through your lens and taking pictures of them.

The first time you spot a ghost while using the Camera Obscura in the first person point of view, you'll experience the best jumpscare of the game. Even if you know it's coming, when the spirit materializes in front of you ready to cause harm, it will still make your hair stand on end and send a chill down your spine.

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4) Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Amnesia: The Dark Descent features eerie jumpscares (Image via Frictional Games)

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a groundbreaking horror game launched in 2010. In it, you are devoid of any weapons or means of self-defense. This leaves you with no choice but to flee or hide from the creatures prowling the corridors of Brennenburg Castle.

One of the best scenes in the title is when you discover an iron maiden very late in the story. The creators deliver a very unexpected, startling jumpscare; it takes the game quite a while to introduce one, which makes it all the more horrifying.

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5) The Outlast Series

The Outlast is one of the most popular horror game franchises (Image via Red Barrels)

If you are looking for games with the best jumpscares, the entire Outlast Series is the perfect way to get that. It consists of several first-person survival-horror games where you assume the role of a protagonist who is utterly helpless and vulnerable.

The only way out is to conceal and utilize the surroundings to your advantage to make openings, which makes the tension constantly high. The game's jumpscares are also skillfully done, and are never cheap or predictable.