The Nintendo DS introduced touchscreen controls to the mainstream and became one of the most accessible consoles ever. Casual gamers could easily pick it up to play games like Brain Age and Nintendogs or dive into deeper titles like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
While the DS is loaded with amazing titles, it only ever received a handful of horror games. Despite the limited amount of them, many games found clever ways to utilize the console's dual-screen and touchscreen controls. These are the best horror games to check out on the DS if you're not afraid of being a stylus away from a jump scare.
Updated on September 24, 2023, by Kyle Chamaillard: There weren't many horror games developed for the DS, but the console became so popular toward the end of its run that nearly every genre found a home on it. We've decided to update this list to include a few more hidden gems that might give you the heebie-jeebies if you play them at night.
8 Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia
The Castlevania series isn't known for being terrifying, but the dreary environments and spooky monsters feel like they belong in a creepy book you read before bed. Out of the three handheld titles for the DS, Order of Ecclesia contains the most tension and dread as you navigate haunting environments while searching for your memories and lost villagers.
An essential element to the sometimes uncomfortable journey is Order of Ecclesia's excellent soundtrack. Slow, hypnotic melodies paint a portrait of doom and mystery as you travel between locations and face terrifying bosses. You might not encounter any unpredictable jump scares, but the game's aura is scary enough to stick with you even when you're not playing it.
7 Aliens: Infestation
It's hard to believe, but there are more games set in the Alien universe than there are movies. Many of them don't reach the same heights as the original film trilogy, but a few titles, like Aliens: Infestation for the DS, perfectly captured the suspense and terror of being stuck on a ship with a Xenomorph.
Developed by WayForward in 2011, Infestation is a traditional Metroidvania set after the events of Alien 3. Deadly aliens aside, one of the most terrifying things about this game is its unique permadeath mode. You begin the game with a party of four marines –and can find more along the way– but if all of them die, it's game over. Infestation is easily one of the best Alien games and will keep you on your toes until the credits roll.
6 Touch The Dead
Arcade rail shooters like Time Crisis and House Of The Dead are not nearly as prominent as they used to be due to their linear design and lack of replayability, but they can still be fun to hop into from time to time. Most of them require you to point a light gun at a screen to shoot enemies. Touch The Dead, however, uses the stylus to take out hoards of zombies as they approach you.
Aside from using the D-pad to switch weapons, Touch The Dead requires you to use the touchscreen exclusively to survive. It's not the best-looking or rewarding game on the console, but it's one of the few horror rail shooters out there if you're looking for a nostalgic throwback.
5 Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Resident Evil is one of the most successful franchises in the survival-horror genre and has been appearing on Nintendo consoles since 1998. In celebration of the series' tenth anniversary, Capcom decided to port the original game to the DS with some new modes and subtle yet innovative changes.
While the story remained unchanged, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence helped modernize the original by including a quick turn mechanic and the ability to skip door-opening animations. It also uses the second screen on the DS to show you the map at all times, which can be incredibly handy when you're running away from a Hunter.
4 Dementium: The Ward
There are very few genuinely scary games on the DS, but Renegade Kid's Dementium abandons the console's family-friendly reputation for a tense and horrifying adventure. Originally pitched to Konami as a Silent Hill game, Dementium follows an amnesiac man as he attempts to escape a run-down hospital full of terrifying monsters.
Like most survival-horror games, you'll need to defend yourself from enemies and solve puzzles to escape this nightmare. Dementium has surprisingly great graphics for a DS title which helps make the experience even scarier. It's ultimately a short adventure, but one you won't forget anytime soon.
3 Theresia
While Dementium is the perfect choice for fans of gore and anxiety-inducing exploration, Theresia offers a more subtle yet psychologically unsettling breed of horror. You will need to play through two different stories in this visual novel to unravel the dark secrets and mysteries that linger throughout it.
Theresia begins as a young woman named Leanne wakes up in an unfamiliar location with no memories whatsoever. As she explores the area and avoids traps, Leanne slowly discovers who she is and what's going on. Theresia's creepy aesthetic and disturbing narrative is one of a kind, and once you beat the main game you can also play through a prequel story that helps expand on the lore of its world.
2 Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Most horror games on the DS are fairly straightforward with their premise and gameplay, but Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors - commonly referred to as 999 - offers a rich and exhilarating story that's full of twists and turns. Created by Kotaro Uchikoshi, this visual novel follows nine strangers as they wake up on a boat as unwilling participants in a very deadly game.
Each character has a bracelet with a number on it and must work together to solve a series of puzzles and figure out who brought them all together. Anyone who refuses to play by the rules meets a grizzly fate, and some of your new friends are quite selfish and will do whatever it takes to escape. Every decision you make, from who to work with to where to explore, will affect your game and lead you to one of six endings.
1 Dementium 2
Shortly after the surprise success of Dementium, Renegade Kid quickly began development on its sequel. Not only does Dementium 2 offer a more cohesive and expansive experience than its predecessor, but it's also much scarier and much more fun to play as well.
Dementium 2 fixes every major issue with the original title while introducing new gameplay mechanics, like the ability to jump or crouch to evade or explore. Starring the same protagonist (poor guy) as the first game, you will need to once again escape a hospital and the nightmares held within it. Not only is Dementium 2 the best horror game on the DS, but it's also one of the few games on this list - aside from 999 - that was later ported to the PC, so you can play it without having to dig up everyone's favorite handheld from the mid-2000s.