You can play single-player horror games where there are no companions or multiplayer horror gameswhere you get some help from friends, but it can be agreed that there’s no better horror game experience than when you have a dog by your side. Who doesn’t want to have a dog around to help ease some of the terror and anxiety you’ll face?
If you adore dogs and horror equally, these are the games you might want to treat yourself to. There’s a wonderful mix of breeds and plenty of different ways these sweet and loveable pooches factor into the gameplay, whether you’re hunting after a lost dog or having one protect you from harm.
11German Shepherd
Shines Over: The Damned
Shines Over: The Damned is a 2024 experimental horror game that is by far the weirdestand shortest gameon this list. There’s an unknown mystery about the world, its enemies, and even your main protagonist, but the one thing that remains certain is you have a trusty German Shepherd guiding you through the eerie environments.
It seems as though you’re in some sort of spirit realm with other souls that are more antagonistic toward you and have to solve platforming puzzles and collect orbs to advance. The dog’s purpose is just to be there and won’t assist you in combat, appearing in certain parts to show you the path forward. Nonetheless, when you see this German Shepherd, you immediately feel more comforted.
Lost in Vivo is a psychological horror gamethat starts out rather chill with you going for a walk with your service dog, a delightful Corgi named Dani, until suddenly a storm comes and rain starts to pour. The entire opening almost feels like a dog-walking simulator where you just allow your dog to enjoy being outside. However, not being prepared for such intense weather, you allow your poor dog to get sucked down a sewer and then have to rescue her.
Dani is as brave a dog as you, venturing deep into the sewer system and coming out unscathed with all the nightmarish creatures you’ll be encountering. This is a game that aims to make you feel claustrophobic the entire way through, and it truly achieves that, only adding to the suspense by including a cute service dog. Lost in Vivo will make you think twice about taking your dog out during a storm in real life.
Lost in Vivo’s Dani is named and modeled after YouTuber MrKravin’s Corgi.
Oxenfree 2 follows the story of work buddies Jacob and Riley as they journey together and deal with all the weird extradimensional phenomena happening once again.This duo is among the best characters in the entire game, but you also learn Jacob has a dog, so that automatically gives him the edge. Athena will make an appearance in the final part of the game, and she’s super sweet and affectionate.
Thankfully, Athena is safe from all the spooky events happening in Oxenfree 2, and she will give off a bark to make her presence known to Jacob and Riley as they approach the docks. When reunited, Athena will give a long-overdue kiss to her owner, and Riley can even get multiple opportunities for some pets (which also earns you a trophy). This dog’s cutest personality trait is how she listens and communicates back to Jacob with her barks.
The Last of Us Part 2, unfortunately,goes the route of many stealth gamesand forces you to kill dogs that will get alerted and then attack you. It’s not your typical game for dog lovers, but there are still moments where you get to enjoy being in the company of some sweet fur friends. One occurs at the beginning of the game in Jackson while playing as Ellie. Buckley, a Border Collie belonging to the banjo player Gustavo, will approach Ellie to ask her for some scratches.
When you’re in Abby’s camp, you get to meet and play with some of the WLF’s dogs, particularly Alice and Bear. Alice will run with Abby, Mel, and Manny on missions like she’s part of the squad, being the goodest girl by guarding them and even helping fight some infected. But then there’s also Alice’s pen-mate, Bear, who loves to play fetch with a tennis ball, and you can throw it to him and see him return the ball to you for endless rounds.
Buckley first made an appearance in The Last of Us, where Joel can pet the ‘guard dog’ at Tommy’s hydroelectric dam base. Buckley is bonded to the banjo player, Gustavo, who’s modeled after the game’s composer, Gustavo Santaolalla. Buckley’s name also honors Troy Baker’s late dog.
In between all the unnerving horror and non-stop Taken combat transpiring throughout Watery and Bright Falls while playing as Saga, Alan Wake 2 seemingly has a political element with mayoral campaign booths scattered throughout the environment. Turns out, it’s a dog named Setter running for mayor, as interacting with all six campaign spots will have the adorable chocolate lab spawn on stage at Suomi Hall.
Aside from the comedic beats of Alan Wake 2, meeting Mayor Setter is the best form of relief that this intense survival horror game can provide, like an emotional support dog for all the stressful events you’ve just gone through. You can interact and affectionately pet Mayor Setter right on stage, and doing so will also earn you a trophyand a helpful new charm.
The campaign slogans at each booth are even riffs of dog puns, such as “Mayor Setter won’t roll over the issues” and “Vote Mayor Setter to sit (in office).”
The entire series of Telltale’s The Walking Dead was nothing but an emotional roller coaster ride, packed withsome of the most devastating losses in the horror genre. However, you also had a dog in the fourth and final season, a female brown American Bully named Rosie, who really stole the show and became the heart of the storyline.
While Rosie is loyal to Marlon, her adoptive owner, she will eventually become Clementine’s protector after Marlon dies. Rosie is very adept at killing walkers and protecting her group and is one of the rare animals in The Walking Dead to be shown doing that. And yes, Rosie survives the entire season!
Season 2 also introduced Sam, a wild dog that acts antagonistically toward Clementine when it comes to food. The dog attacks Clementine for her can of beans, and there’s sadly no other choice except for either Clementine killing the dog or leaving Sam to die.
Silent Hill 2 tells one of the darkest and dreariest stories in horror gaming, full of frightening enemies and bosses posing a threat in the thick fog and Otherworld. It’s no safe place for a dog, yet the encounter with the iconic Shiba Inu named Mira is not what you think. What if everything James saw wasn’t a psychological manifestation of his own guilt?The Dog ending offers a cute explanation.
James Sunderland will walk into a Cabin in the Woods-style control room where Mira the Shiba Inu can be seen wearing headphones and tapping away at a series of multicolored buttons, implying that everything you’d just gone through was orchestrated by the dog. Mira will then jump from her chair and go to comfort James, attacking him with kisses across the face and excitedly showing him she wants to play, though James hates himself too much to give in.
Mira the Shiba Inu makes several appearances in other Silent Hill games, including Origins, Shattered Memories, and Book of Memories.
Resident Evil 4 delivered one of the most iconic moments of the series with its dog character, or really a white wolf comically referred to as"Hey, it’s that dog!" by Leon S. Kennedy. You’ll find this animal needing to be rescued from a bear trap. Once you free the beautiful white-furred creature, the dog will return in a later section to return the favor to Leon.
The dog springs into actionduring the El Gigante boss battle, entering from the top of a cliff that surrounds the arena and letting out a howl as lightning strikes down. During the fight, this good doggy will keep El Gigante distracted so you can put a few good shots into the giant monster. “That dog” will also take a chomp at El Gigante’s ankle.
Did Rule of Rose unashamedly copy Haunting Ground’s dog companion setup? Yes. Are we mad at them for it? Absolutely not; this is the only instance where something like this is not only allowed but welcomed. However, recruiting Brown is pretty dark in Rule of Rose, with the Labrador Retriever also in need of rescue, cruelly being bound and suspended in the air by a rope.
Brown is happy and relieved to be free and awaiting you to put on his collar, and from that point, he can fully become your four-legged best friend. Brown knows only three commands – Stay, Come, and Find (where he’ll sniff out some items for you) – and can help with distracting enemies by growling at them.
Haunting Ground is an iconic horror game from Capcom,already celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025, and it would feature a white German Shepherd companion named Hewie accompanying you in the Clock Tower-inspired horror adventure. The story follows teenager Fiona Belli, who was involved in a car crash and wakes up in a bizarre castle where evil alchemy is practiced.
Hewie became one of the best boys in horror gaming, not only because of his adorable design but because of the advanced way he could be utilized in the gameplay. Hewie is a vital part of combat and can be ordered to attack enemies, even building up his attack and needing to be fed to regain health. Everything also depends on the relationship you build with Hewie to earn the dog’s complete trust, which was way ahead of its time.
