Games

The Best Hide And Seek Games

Published

2 months ago

November 6, 2024

Christoph Rediske

Key Takeaways

Hide and seek originated on the playground, and is now in video games like Hello Neighbor and In Silence.
Hide N Seek offers a mobile version of the classic game with unique features for both seekers and hiders.
Midnight Ghost Hunt and Dead by Daylight provide ghoulish and suspenseful twists on the hide-and-seek concept.

The concept of hide and seek originated in the playground, where kids during recess would have one person count to a number, which could range from 1 to 100, while the other players in the group would have to run and find a good hiding place in hopes of not being caught, or at the very least the last one found.

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The game is simple yet thrilling and fun and has since crossed over to the medium of video games in a variety of ways. There are both multiplayer and single-player games that mimic this classic children’s game, placing the player in the role of the seeker or the hider, which is arguably the role that emerges more in horror games. For those wanting to relive those days without leaving the comfort of their sofa, these games are perfect.

7 Hello Neighbor

Avoid Detection from the Neighbor While Exploring His Home

Released: October 8, 2017
Developer(s): Dynamic Pixels

Anyone who thinks they have a neighbor from hell should check out Hello Neighbor to realize just how lucky they are. In this game, the player character moves into a new home just across the street from a peculiar name who seems very protective of his property and is definitely hiding something in the fortress-like confines of his home.

The protagonist decides to take it upon themselves to discover what he is hiding by breaking into his home and exploring the very peculiar insides. The neighbor doesn’t take kindly to spotting the intruder in his home, so they must do their best to hide away as he prowls the interior, looking for where the player could be hiding.

6 Hide N Seek

A Simulation of the Classic Game

Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: April 2020
Developer: Supersonic Studios LTD
Genres: Casual, Multiplayer

For those in the market for a more accurate hide-and-seek game, they can’t go wrong with Hide N Seek. This little-known game is the perfect medium to experience the classic game without even having to get out of bed thanks to its availability on mobile.

Players are given the option to play as either the hide or the seeker as they navigate through the map trying to either chase or run away. The game is given a unique spin with the ability to build shelters to further expand the number of hiding spaces, or even throw one of their fellow hiders into the seeker’s path to try and cheat their way to victory.

5 In Silence

Remain Quiet and Out of Sight to Avoid the Monster

In Silence

Systems

Released: October 16, 2020
Developer(s): Ravenhood Games

In Silence is a rather unique asymmetrical multiplayer game. One player will assume the role of the terrifying monster that hunts mostly on sound but can see objects and victims up close. The other players are tasked with the job of completing objectives to find a way to escape the creatures’ clutches, but of course, it won’t be so simple.

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These games provide an immersive and thrilling experience for groups of players thanks to the in-game proximity chat.

The game relies on proximity chat the players working together use to cooperate—and that the monster can hear too. They rely on sound to chase them down, and maybe even terrify them by making scary noises or taunting them through their own microphone. With no means of self-defense against the creature, players need to hide if it draws near, and the player behind the monster needs to track them down.

4 Outlast

Miles Must Hide from Dangerous Inmates

Released: November 4, 2013
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Outlast quickly became one of the most successful horror games of all time, terrifying its players as they navigated the dark rooms and corridors of Mount Massive Asylum armed with a camcorder that they could use to find their way around.

As a journalist, Miles isn’t a fighter but finds quickly that this would have been a useful skill when he encounters the dangerous inmates in the asylum. With how dangerous and deadly they are, Miles only chance for survival is to hide. He can hide inside lockers, beneath beds, and behind obstacles as the enemies try to see him out. As far as hide-and-seek games go, Outlast is among the most frightening.

3 Midnight Ghost Hunt

Hide as a Ghost or Seek as a Hunter Until Midnight Comes…

Midnight Ghost Hunt

Systems

Released: March 31, 2022
Developer: Vaulted Sky Games
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Most players will have heard of prop hunt, but have they heard of prop haunt? This is the concept at the heart of Midnight Ghost Hunt for those who choose to be one of the ghosts, a fun and inventive multiplayer hide-and-seek game.

Top-Right: A detective's ghost looking down at a police crime scene in Murdered: Soul Suspect. Top-Right: A boy floating in water, surrounded by buoyant bodies anchored by apparatuses attached to their heads in Inside. Bottom-left:Corvo perched on a window ledge in Dishonored. Bottom-right: Raimi's ghost separating from a body in Geist.

Horror Games With Possession Mechanics

Possession is a great scare tactic for horror villains, but it can also make for spooky gameplay when the player character can possess other NPCs.

Players choose to be a ghost who can possess inanimate everyday objects, or one of the hunters who must seek out the ghosts before the clock strikes midnight, otherwise the tables turn and the hunters are the ones who now must hide. Both sides offer fun and chaotic gameplay and perfectly encapsulate the spirit of the classic hide-and-seek game with a ghoulish twist.

2 Dead by Daylight

Stealth is a Viable Option to Evade Killers

Released: June 14, 2016
OpenCritic Rating: Fair

The most successful and popular asymmetrical horror game on the market, Dead by Daylight pairs one killer against four survivors. The survivors must complete their objectives to escape, and the killer must hunt down and sacrifice the survivors to the entity.

‘Looping’ is one of the ways survivors can escape killers, which involves running around walls and other obstacles to stay out of their reach, but players can also evade them by taking a more stealthy approach. They can hide inside lockers or crouch behind walls to avoid being spotted, while the killer will need to keep a close eye out to try and spot the hiding survivor in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.

1 Prop Hunt

A Fun Game Where Players Hide in Plain Sight

Platforms: PC
Release Date: March 26th, 2021
Developer: HorseGames
Genres: Indie, Casual, PVP

When thinking of hide-and-seek video games, Prop Hunt is likely the one that comes to mind. It is one of the most chaotic, fun, and outright hilarious games that can be enjoyed with friends, allowing players to be the ones hiding, or the ones seeking.

It does have a slight twist that places it above other games in the genre, as those who are hiding won’t just be crouching their avatar behind a desk or closing them into a toilet cubicle. Instead, they will be mimicking the props littered across the map, hence the name. The hunters in turn will need to be eagle-eyed to differentiate normal everyday objects from their hiding friends who are probably barely hiding their giggles as they walk right on past them.