Update 2023. Another year, another Halloween, and more scary coop games to play on Steam. While all the games on the original list will remain here, there have been a few notable editions that are worth mentioning. 

Halloween is upon us. Spooky season has officially begun and with it, you’re looking for many evenings of frightful fun with friends. If you’re on Steam, you’re in luck. I’ve compiled a brief list of scary coop horror games on Steam to play with friends this Halloween season on Steam. 

The Outlast Trials

Outlast Trials is the latest offering from Red Barrels, and it’s tailor-made for some Coop Halloween fun. It’s designed from the ground up to be a coop adventure, which I detailed in my review here. 

Still in its Early Access form, The Outlast Trials brings a level of quality and polish that you won’t see elsewhere on this list. The budget on display is easily visible in its grotesque environment and tight, murder-filled gameplay.

Grab three friends and try your best to outlast the game’s insane killers and devious traps. There are three main levels to play through with many permutations within to add layers of replayability. There’s a decent leveling system and various playstyles to implement with different abilities.

In recent news, Redbarrels mentioned that The Outlast Trials will be receiving a Halloween update soon, so expect even more reasons to jump in this year.

Phasmophobia 

C’mon, this one goes without saying. While it feels like a cheap addition, the juggernaut in amateur ghost-hunting coop horror games must be mentioned.

The newest update has been called Ascension and brings with it revamped tools, pacing, and reward progression  As always, Phasmophobia is in an upword albeit slow progression, and it’s always worth firing it, grabbing your EMF readers, and hunting ghosts with your friends. 

Find it here on Steam 

Forewarned

Another big name in the coop horror scene, but with an archeological twist. While Phasmopbia is great for jump-scare deaths-by-ghost, Forwarned is a little more involved in your interactions with the evil Meji that hide within their chambers.

Not only do you and your friends have to go through the investigative steps to identify the type of monster, but you then need to loot its inner sanctum and escape with your lives. This leads to many terrifying chase sequences as your friends get picked off one by one as you desperately search for the lever to open the exit.

Recently, Forewarned has seen several progression and content updates. They’ve added entirely new maps and sub-maps of older ones, new Meiji to hunt, new tools, sub-objectives, and progressions systems.  It’s great to see a game so dedicated to improving the player experience through regular updates and content drops.

Of the games on this list, Forewarned probably rewards you most for your time investment as you look collectible and lore, as well as new equipment to outfit your archeologist for future expeditions. 

You can find it here on Steam 

Inside the Backrooms

There is a plethora of Backrooms-inspired games on Steam. It can be hard to differentiate them as they all feature drab yellow hallways and derelict office buildings while nearly all include some entity stalking you.

Additionally, the genre has little to offer in terms of unique experiences. However, Inside the Backrooms offers a coop horror experience that most don’t. You and three friends explore several levels, collecting items, solving puzzles, and of course, dodging the entities that hunt you.

There’s not a ton of unique content on display here, but there’s certainly enough for a few hours of scares. Each level is another layer of the Backrooms, and the environments are pretty visually distinct.  Aside from new environments, each level introduces new creatures and mechanics to solve.

But you’re not playing a game like this for it’s thoughtful gameplay or intricate puzzles, you’re playing it to get chased around by scary monsters while trying to group up with your friends and complete the level. Inside the Backrooms can offer this.

Labyrinthine 

Have you ever gotten lost in a hedge maze? This is the first level of Labyrinthine. Something evil stalks you and your friends as you drop glowsticks to mark your path and navigate the tangle of claustrophobic greenery around you. Not only do you need to dodge creatures that lurk in the dark, but you must solve a central puzzle in each level to progress. This usually involves gathering items and regrouping at the exit.

As of August 2023, Labyerthine is officially out of Early Access! With it, comes a new map and cosmetics to unlock as you play. While the Devs won’t be giving the game all their attention going forward, they have promised continual support for Labyerinthe going forward.

Each of the six main levels is vastly different, from a rural forest town to an underground system of catacombs to a hydroelectric plant and its surrounding map town. There’s little to do outside of running for your life and searching for the exit. While the overall offering here is probably the lightest on the list, good times can still be had in Laberythine. 

You can find it here on Steam 

Devoured

Devoured is for those who want nothing more than pulse-pounding, jump-scare-laden madness. This four-player horror coop game sends three ex-cultists to banish a demon by collecting material to perform an exorcism.

The whole time you and your friends search for the required items while avoiding the demon in question and being caught awards a headphone-breaking jumpscare and a limited amount of time for rescue before you’re knocked out of the game. It’s loud, it’s fast, it’s cheesy but my god it’s fun.

Since we last looked at Devoured, the devs have been hard at work.  They’ve released a few new maps, lots of new cosmetics and characters, and further refinements from bug fixes.  It also boasts a light progression system involving perks to boost your survivability and teamwork synergy. Once you see each level and survive each monster, there’s little to keep you playing, but you’ll get a few good hours of scares before then. 

You can find it here on Steam 

If you’re looking for solo-scares this Halloween, check out our ranking of the 5 Best Puppet Combo Games