While AAA horror games can scare you with beautiful graphics, hours of gameplay that develops tension, and a team of writers writing a single story to perfection, the games that are sold for free have a GREATLY smaller budget and so they must adapt to provide the players with the creeps.
I’ve played plenty of free horror games and I’ve come to enjoy the niche of short free horror games, and I’ve picked out my favorites here.
25. AfterHours
After Hours is a psychological horror game in which you explore an abandoned hospital late at night. Your goal is to silently move around the building, to avoid a mysterious entity that’s lurking around the hospital.
The game is simple, but it does a lot of things right. The scenery is creepy and the game’s monster is certainly not pleasant to look at. You have to be careful, your every move is being watched. It’s a short game, but it successfully creates tension and atmosphere.
24. Shrine
Shrine is a retro first-person shooter made with the Doom engine. It looks and plays a lot like doom, but the graphic design is very different because everything is eldritch-themed. The enemy and gun designs are very horrendous and drive home the hellish atmosphere.
There’s not much to say about the gameplay since it’s a doom-like game. You run around shooting everything you see until you’ve beaten the 16 levels the game throws at you. Take on the role of Tusk, a skinless monstrosity, and shoot your way through the hellish landscape.
23. He needs his medicine
You play as a police officer who has been dispatched to a very strange house. You are tasked with making His last dosage. He needs his medicine.
This is a very short game, about 20 mins if you want to see each of the 6 endings. The game looks like an Atari 2600 game with nicer colors. The ancient graphics and the dark ambiance make the atmosphere ominous even though the game is very short. The story is decent, even though it doesn’t take itself very seriously at times, but it was fun playing through the game and anticipating what is going to happen.
22. Deathly Stillness
Deathly Stillness is a boring third-person zombie shooter with no plot. Or that’s what the Steam description says. Deathly Stillness is a game that was made in 17 days for a tutorial. It’s rather short, but it’s actually quite fun for what it is.
Although short, the game is kind of fun. All that you can do is shoot the zombies and collect some ammo along the way. It’s not a monumental game by any means, but it does exactly what it says it will.
21. Hide And Shriek
Hide And Shriek is a 1v1 horror game in which the goal is to rack up as many points as you can in a single round. The point is to spook your “enemy” by setting a variety of traps that the opponent can trigger.
It’s an extremely fun game to play with your friends. You can mess around trying to outsmart each-other casually. You can certainly fall in love with the game and learn all of its mechanics, but I think it’s best enjoyed with a friend or few.
20. Minds Eyes
Minds Eyes is an experimental title with the purpose to survey and find out how to scare players and create a good horror environment. The developer has since then made new games (Girls Fabric Face and Suit 776) with the understanding he gained from this one.
Minds Eyes relies heavily on creating a feeling of dread and anticipation. There are many jumpscares in the game, and as soon as you get jumped for the first time, the game becomes way scarier as you dread the next time it may happen. The game’s story is simple and effective, but I can’t go into detail because everything is a spoiler.
The game revolves around one big scary guy, who looks janky and could have been more polished, but he gets the job done. The game takes place in a house which works as a nice horror setting. The game has many flaws but I still found it an enjoyable experience.
19. SCP: Secret Laboratory
SCP: Secret Laboratory is a first-person multiplayer survival horror game. During a containment breach in the SCP foundation, many anomalies have escaped their containment. This game has 6 different roles you can have randomly assigned at the start of the match, all with a unique goal.
This game relies heavily on teamwork to achieve victory, SCPs have their shortcomings, so learning them and mastering all of the game’s classes will be a key to victory. This game has a decent player base and is a chaotically fun experience even if you do not wish to master the gameplay.
18. We Went Back
We Went Back takes place in a futuristic space station. You are tasked with finding clues and solving puzzles so you can escape the space station and the creepy monster that’s lurking in it.
We Went Back invokes feelings of isolation and loneliness. The game is very slow-paced and it focuses a lot on the atmospheric appeal. This game has a time loop mechanic that makes it unique compared to other horror games, it combines well with the overall isolated aesthetic and makes you feel completely lost in time and space.
17. Alpha Polaris
Alpha Polaris is a point-and-click horror adventure game. It has a nice story and many elements of psychological horror. The game’s story will probably keep you hooked. It looks much like old-school point-and-click games used to look.
The game has many problems and tedious moments, but it also has a lot of fun puzzles only a point-and-click game can offer. It has a lot of atmospheric moments, which are this game’s strong side. It’s certainly not perfect, but if you’re a fan of point-and-click, this game is totally worth playing.
16.Dagon: By H.P. Lovecraft
Dagon is a cult short story written by the father of cosmic horror - H.P. Lovecraft. The short story has been turned into a free-to-play point-and-click adventure game. The story is quite interesting and the game is short, yet fun to play.
We follow the story of a morphine addicted, former ship officer as he wallows in unspeakable, long-drowned horrors of an eldritch island. The game is visually very pretty. If you don’t expect much gameplay, but are interested in how the story was adapted to the game, Dagon: By H.P. Lovecraft is quite enjoyable for what it tries to do.
15. Codename: CURE
Codename: CURE is a zombie-shooter game that was made in the Source engine (Counter Strike 1.6 and Half-Life are also made in the Source engine). It features multiple game modes. You can play co-op or pvp and both game modes are fun.
The game doesn’t have a story, but it really doesn’t even need one. It’s fun enough to gather a group of friends and shoot zombies. The game has multiple classes which you can take before the match starts. Each class has different weapons and unique perks.
14. The Backrooms Game Free Edition
This is a game based on the urban legend and creepy pasta about the backrooms. In the urban legend, when you clip out of reality you will find yourself in the backrooms, which for some reason look very ominous. This game lets you play that urban legend.
There’s not much to do in this game except explore the ominous scenery. It’s just a bunch of old, moist carpets and yellow walls, but the game is genuinely creepy. It’s a fun little game to explore. May God help you if you hear something wandering these halls with you.
13. The Supper
The supper is a short point-and-click adventure game about some horrific events. Ms. Appleton was a kind person her whole life until the voice started talking to her.
This game has a very charming vibe to it, it’s not something creepy or scary, it’s rather cute for the most part. But as the game keeps progressing, the story is slowly unveiling itself and at the end, everything is made clear. The point and click gameplay was rather fun, it requires a little bit of exploring. The pixel art is beautiful, and the story was impactful.
12. Ultimate Custom Night
We’ve probably all heard of the five nights at Freddy's franchise. It’s a series of games in which you are a security guard at Freddy’s Fazbear Pizzeria. To avoid death (and jumpscares) you must carefully pay attention to the movements of the animatronics and do a multitude of tasks to drive them away.
The FNAF franchise is known for its large and complicated story. However, Ultimate Custom Night is a game that doesn’t care about the overarching plot of the games, it’s a game that gives you a whole lot of animatronics to play with and master the nerve-wracking gameplay of the series.
This game’s like all the other FNAF games’ scariness comes from anticipating the jumpscares. You are tasked with keeping an eye on up to 50 animatronics, and at that point, it’s an understatement to call this game stressful.
11. Perfect Vermin
You start playing Perfect Vermin in an office and your only goal is to use your sledgehammer to find and kill the vermin which mask themselves as normal office appliances. While the gameplay of just walking around and smashing stuff is fun in and of itself, the game slowly starts showing you its story.
For some reason rushing to find all the vermin in a level before the time limit expires coupled with the music in the background makes this a very stressful experience. This is a very unique game and both the story and gameplay were very enjoyable.
10. September 1999
September 1999 is a game that lasts for exactly 5 minutes and 30 seconds, and has the artistic style of VHS found footage. There’s not much to say about this game since it lasts for 5 mins and there’s no gameplay, but it’s very interesting how with only 2 rooms and no interactive objects, this game managed to make a genuinely creepy vibe.
9. No More Room In Hell
No More Room In Hell is an interesting co-op shooter. It’s more realistic and slowly paced than other games in the same genre. It’s a very strategic game and it makes you pay close attention to your and your teammates’ actions.
It’s not a game for everybody since it is VERY slow. But if that doesn’t sound like a problem to you, definitely give this game a try. It’s fun to play for a bit with friends, or if you really like it you can learn maps and play them on the higher difficulties.
8. Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodhunt
Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodhunt is a battle royale where different vampire factions are locked in gang wars on the streets of Prague. The factions are very different from one another, which makes it pretty easy to find which one looks and works best for you.
The game has a lot of mobility. And while of course, it has a lot of gunplay, the mobility is my favorite thing about the game. Whether you need to escape from an enemy or you need to hunt down your prey, you will always be traversing around the map as fast as you can. The game’s aesthetic is amazing and beautiful.
7. Video Horror Society
Video Horror Society is an asymmetrical horror game that takes inspiration from the 80s horror aesthetic. You can expect to see a lot of pop culture from the 80s, which is a very interesting setting for a horror game.
The gameplay features 4v1 matches with a team of teens facing off against one of the horrific monsters. The gameplay is pretty much what you would expect from an asymmetrical horror game, with a few minor tweaks. The complete aesthetic of the game is its biggest strength. It’s a very interesting game to play, especially if you gather a few friends to play it with you.
6. The static speaks my name
The static speaks my name is a game in which you are just thrown into the story without the game telling you much. When you wake up, you are tasked with doing some mundane tasks like going to the bathroom and having breakfast. Soon enough you notice that the main character is obsessing over a weird picture, and in the short 10 minutes of this game’s runtime, a lot of things will happen.
The game takes 10 minutes to beat, but in those 10 minutes, the ominous atmosphere becomes really apparent. The story is quite dark and grim, but I found it interesting and certainly worth a play.
5. Cry Of Fear
Cry Of Fear is an action-driven survival horror game with a psychological storyline. You play as a young man in a deserted town filled with many horrific monstrosities, as he slowly descends into madness.
Cry Of Fear started out as a Half-Life mod. It’s built in the same engine and therefore shares a lot of similarities with the classic we all know and love. It was made by a small indie team which is surprising with how detailed and well thought out it is.
The game has many different enemy types and a huge number of different guns. Not only does it have over 8 hours of gameplay, but it also has a co-op mode and modding support.
4. Doki Doki Literature Club
If you don’t know what this game is I’d recommend just pausing this article and playing it as soon as possible without thinking of it as a horror game.
Doki Doki is an anime-style visual novel. This may be a turn-off to many players, however, this game is a very unique cryptic experience that has been stuck in my memory since the first time I played it. The story starts off slow and it looks like a generic dating simulator, but after a twist, the game’s real story starts unfolding, and just calling it creepy and captivating would not do it justice.
3. Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion
Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion is a game that combines comedic relief with the survival horror genre.
In Spooky’s mansion, you are challenged by Spooky to try and go through 1000 rooms. And at first, the rooms are simple, sometimes there are cardboard cutouts that stick out from the wall to jumpscare you. But as the game progresses, the cuteness also starts to fade. More enemies are introduced and the save points are fewer and farther in between.
Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion is not a scary horror game per se, but it has some fun gameplay, and Spooky’s character is funny and entertaining. Once you start being chased by enemies, you will feel like you’re playing a survival horror game, and all you will be thinking about is how to survive until the next checkpoint.
2. The Designer's Curse
This game draws inspiration from classic psychological horror games like Amnesia and Penumbra. The goal is to escape the underground prison complex that is filled with creepy human experiments. You must avoid these monsters by hiding or running since the main character does not have the ability to fight back.
This is not a full game but rather only the first chapter, but the second chapter is already in production. This game was made by a 15-year-old which is just insane to think about since the game is so good and detailed. The level design is creepy and claustrophobic, and the monsters are well designed.
1. Deceit
Deceit is a first-person social deduction game in a horror setting. All the story tells you is that you wake up in an unknown place with 5 unknown people around you. The gamemaster tells you that a third of you are infected and can therefore transform into monsters. The catch is, the non-infected people don’t know who is infected and who is not, and if they want to survive, they will have to figure out who to befriend and who to avoid.
Deceit has been a mildly popular game for a few years now, I don’t think it ever really blew up, which is weird since the game is very well polished and balanced and the premise and gameplay are quite interesting. It’s a simple game to get into, but it has a huge amount of strategies and is a blast to play with some friends.
Also Be Sure To Read:
- The Best Multiplayer Survival Games for PC
- [Top 50] Upcoming Horror Movies of 2020 We're Excited For
- [Top 15] Anime Horror Games With Great Storylines
- The Top 17 Best Survival Games for PC 2019 (NEW!)
- 10 Best PC Horror Games To Play With Friends at a Sleepover
You may also be interested in:
[Top 30] Best Multiplayer Horror Games That To Play With Your Buddies
- Top 50 Comedy Horror Movies to Watch with Your Buddies
- Top 100 Best Horror Movies You Should Watch With Your Buddies
- Top 50 Best Horror Movie Villains of All Time
- Top 25 Best Horror Animes With Great Storylines
- Top 10 James Wan Movies, From Worst To First
