NextGameLike
Call of Duty®: Black Ops III

17 Games with a horror setting like Call of Duty®: Black Ops III that you should try

Games like Call of Duty®: Black Ops III · Find similar →

We filtered the 50 games similar to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III down to the 17 that fit the “Horror” category. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Black Ops II top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

NextGameLike87/ 100

Did you find what you were looking for?

GenreShooterSubgenreFPSSub-subgenreTactical FPS
Tags
DarkNarrativeMultiplayerSolo
Year 2010Dev Raven Software

Quick answer

Within the “Horror” category, the closest game to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War — scoring 95/100 on our similarity scale. Call of Duty: Vanguard and Call of Duty: Black Ops II follow close behind.

🗳️

Help us build the best rankings

Community powered

Vote on each result below — good match or not. Every vote directly shapes how we rank similar games for everyone.

The best games with a horror setting like Call of Duty®: Black Ops III

17 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III. Each one has been evaluated across 14 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

1

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

95
NGL78
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Closest overall match
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalRangedDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2020Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

What brings it close to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is dark, oppressive atmosphere, melee combat and horror setting, and the two track each other on genre, combat and tone. The common ground extends to single-player focus and a first-person view. It sets itself apart with offline play.

Released 10 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Setting100Visuals100Game mode71
2

Call of Duty: Vanguard

95
NGL70
Call of Duty: Vanguard
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalRangedDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2021Dev Sledgehammer Games · ActivisionOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

What brings it close to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is dark, oppressive atmosphere, melee combat and horror setting, and the two track each other on genre, combat and tone. To that it adds single-player focus and a first-person view. They part company on game mode: this one brings offline play.

Released 11 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Setting100Visuals100Game mode69
3

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

90
NGL84
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
MultiplayerSoloCo-opOnlineMeleeTacticalNarrativeDarkHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2012Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC

What carries over from Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is strong narrative focus, melee combat and horror setting. The common ground extends to co-op play and a first-person view. It sets itself apart with survival mechanics and a sci-fi setting.

Genre100Tone100Visuals100Game mode79Setting77Combat73
4

Call of Duty: World at War

88
NGL88
Call of Duty: World at War
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opOnlineTacticalMeleeDarkHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2008Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC

What brings it close to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is dark, oppressive atmosphere, tactical combat and horror setting, and the two track each other on genre, setting and visuals. Both also lean on a first-person view and single-player focus. The distance is in combat — its own ground is stealth mechanics.

Genre100Setting100Visuals100Tone91Game mode79Combat58
5

NecroVision

88
NGL60
NecroVision
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerMeleeRangedTacticalDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2009Dev The Farm 51 · 1C-SoftClubPlaytime ~1hOn PC

If Call of Duty®: Black Ops III worked for you because of dark, oppressive atmosphere, melee combat and horror setting, the same is here. To that it adds single-player focus and a first-person view. Its own ground is horror tension and fantasy world.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Visuals100Game mode72Setting70
6

Call of Duty: WWII

87
NGL73
Call of Duty: WWII
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opTacticalMeleeDarkNarrativeHistoricalHorrorFirst Person
Year 2017Dev Sledgehammer Games · ActivisionOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

It shares the essentials of what Call of Duty®: Black Ops III does: dark, oppressive atmosphere, tactical combat and historical setting. To that it adds co-op play and a first-person view. They part company on game mode: this one brings offline play.

Released 7 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Tone100Setting100Visuals100Combat74Game mode67
7

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

87
NGL87
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeTacticalDarkNarrativeHistoricalHorrorFirst Person
Year 2001Dev Nerve Software · Bethesda SoftworksPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Apple Macintosh

With Call of Duty®: Black Ops III it shares dark, oppressive atmosphere, ranged combat and historical setting. The common ground extends to a first-person view and single-player focus. It sets itself apart with horror tension and stealth mechanics.

It predates Call of Duty®: Black Ops III by 9 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Tone100Visuals100Combat84Setting73Game mode72
8

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

85
NGL69
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opMeleeTacticalDarkNarrativeHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2016Dev Infinity Ward · ActivisionOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

The genre is the same as Call of Duty®: Black Ops III’s, and with it dark, oppressive atmosphere, melee combat and horror setting. Both also lean on multiplayer gameplay and a first-person view. The distance is in setting and game mode — its own ground is a space setting and offline play.

Released 6 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Tone100Visuals100Combat73Game mode66Setting55
9

Call of Duty: Black Ops

80
NGL69
Call of Duty: Black Ops
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
MultiplayerSoloCo-opMeleeTacticalDarkHorrorHistoricalFirst Person
Year 2010Dev Treyarch · ActivisionOn PlayStation 3 · PC · Mac

It shares the essentials of what Call of Duty®: Black Ops III does: dark, oppressive atmosphere, melee combat and horror setting. The common ground extends to multiplayer gameplay and a first-person view. Where the two diverge is combat and game mode: stealth mechanics and offline play.

Genre100Setting100Visuals100Tone90Game mode66Combat58
10

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood

78
NGL84
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerMeleeTacticalDarkNarrativeHistoricalHorrorFirst Person
Year 2015Dev MachineGames · Bethesda SoftworksOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

On paper it is what Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is — dark, oppressive atmosphere, melee combat and historical setting — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. Both also lean on single-player focus and a first-person view. The distance is in combat and game mode — its own ground is stealth mechanics.

Released 5 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Tone100Visuals100Setting72Game mode63Combat58
11

Spec Ops: The Line

76
NGL88
Spec Ops: The Line
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerMeleeTacticalNarrativeDarkHistoricalHorror
Year 2012Dev Yager Development · 2K GamesOn PlayStation 3 · Linux · PC

On paper it is what Call of Duty®: Black Ops III is — strong narrative focus, melee combat and historical setting — though the resemblance is mostly at that level. Both also lean on multiplayer gameplay. The distance is in visuals and combat — its own ground is stealth mechanics and a third-person camera.

Genre100Tone100Setting87Game mode72Combat58Visuals0
12

Ready or Not

92
NGL81
Ready or Not
Closest on game mode
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opTacticalRangedMeleeDarkNarrativeHorrorFirst Person
Year 2023Dev VOID InteractivePlaytime ~6hOn PC

It shares the essentials of what Call of Duty®: Black Ops III does: dark, oppressive atmosphere, tactical combat and horror setting. To that it adds multiplayer gameplay and a first-person view. They part company on setting: this one brings a contemporary setting.

Released 13 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Visuals100Game mode88Setting53
13

DOOM II

86
DOOM II
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerCo-opTacticalRangedMeleeDarkHorrorFirst Person
Year 2020Dev ELDRAZI-17On PC

It meets Call of Duty®: Black Ops III on dark, oppressive atmosphere, tactical combat and horror setting. To that it adds single-player focus and a first-person view. They part company on setting: this one brings a sci-fi setting.

Released 10 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Combat100Visuals100Tone89Game mode86Setting43
14

Black Mesa

84
NGL90
Black Mesa
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeTacticalNarrativeDarkHorrorFirst Person
Year 2020Dev Crowbar CollectivePlaytime ~6hOn PC · Linux

If Call of Duty®: Black Ops III worked for you because of strong narrative focus, ranged combat and horror setting, the same is here. To that it adds single-player focus and a first-person view. They part company on setting: this one brings a sci-fi setting.

Released 10 years after Call of Duty®: Black Ops III.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Visuals100Game mode72Setting51
15

Half-Life: Source

83
NGL70
Half-Life: Source
ShooterFPSTactical FPS
SoloMultiplayerRangedMeleeTacticalNarrativeDarkHorrorFirst Person
Year 2004Dev Valve Software · ValvePlaytime ~1hOn PC · Apple Macintosh · Linux

If Call of Duty®: Black Ops III worked for you because of strong narrative focus, ranged combat and horror setting, the same is here. To that it adds single-player focus and a first-person view. They part company on setting and game mode: this one brings a sci-fi setting.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Visuals100Game mode64Setting58

More similar-games lists to keep going

Found one on the list you already love? Open its own list: the games that play most like it, ranked, with the reason for each.

Explore games similar to Call of Duty®: Black Ops III by category

If Call of Duty®: Black Ops III left you wanting more, this is where you narrow it down. Was it the dark or the narrative that hooked you? There is a list of just that. And if you play on PS5, PlayStation and Xbox, filter by platform and skip the games you could not play anyway.

Rankings in the same genre

Sometimes what you want is not a Call of Duty®: Black Ops III look-alike but simply the best Tactical FPS Games there are. That is what these rankings are for: no comparison to anything, just the highest-rated games. And if you feel like widening the net, the Shooter Games ranking is a good way to run into something you were not expecting.