From Paulina Pabis:
First person perspective indie horror game. If you like Slender, you'll like it too. Search an old, abandoned house and collect any valuables but be careful - there are rumors of a ghost haunting the building. WASD to move, hold shift to run. Space to jump. M - map, P - menu/pause, Q - ghost vision. Find required number of money bags then get back to the exit. Hide and/or run from threats. Preserve your stamina for dire situations. Use a map and Eyes to move safely. Push the door to open it. To lock a mouse pointer after losing focus press 'p' and then the 'Resume' button.
What do you need to know about free software?
Looking for spooks? Whether you're into jump scares, interactive fiction, thematically interesting stories or just large men running after you with a chainsaw, we've filled this list with a wide variety of games that'll hopefully freak you the hell out.
Like our lists of best strategy games or best FPS games, we tried to focus on a variety of horror experiences that still hold up well today, though we've expanded the remit slightly to include a few retro curios as well. For more, also check out our overall list of the best games to play today.
Resident Evil 7
What starts as a bold, scary reboot certainly gets closer to the more recent action-oriented entries in its later chapters, but exploring the Baker family's grimy plantation in Resident Evil 7 is a grisly treat. The detail of this setting is amazing, and in the first half of the game, there's such a sense of the unknown that you're cautiously poking around every corner and treating bullets like they're gold. Resi 7's videotapes, which have you play out-of-context asides shedding more light on the Baker family and the story, offer the game's best and most experimental moments.
Resi 7 is close to the original intent of Resi, but we kept the HD version of the original on this list too because they're both fantastic in their own way.
Inside
An unrelentingly bleak platformer that puts you through a gauntlet of hellish imagery: creepy mermaids, security robots, people hunting you down, nasty weather and more that we won't spoil here. Inside's vision of a cruel dystopian world that's out to kill you at all times is extraordinary, even if the moment-to-moment platforming is pretty familiar and can be frustrating. You're mainly playing it to experience the setting, really.
See also Little Nightmares, a similar type of horror platformer that isn't as scary but is arguably just as inventive.
Stories Untold
In this anthology game, you operate a computer within the game: first playing an old horror text adventure game set in a spooky house, and later performing similar interactions in other locations, including a lab and a station in freezing conditions. How these episodes link together is the game's overarching mystery, but it's the way the surrounding environment changes with the story beats that'll shit you up here. Stories Untold is co-developed by Alien: Isolation UI mastermind Jon McKellan, and a lot of that DNA is present here. Plus, it'll only take you a few hours to beat, and it's a very reasonable $10 on Steam.
Outlast 2
As a trial-and-error stealth game, Outlast 2 might not be for everyone, but thematically it's among the more interesting games on this list. Playing as a journalist searching for a missing woman in Arizona, your wife is then kidnapped early on by a deranged cult, the origins of which are told through snippets of letters during the game. You navigate dark environments using the night vision mode of your camera, and it's just scary as heck, with a whole village wanting you dead and some of the most gruelling imagery ever put into a game.
System Shock 2
Before BioShock was BioShock, it was System Shock: an altogether freakier combination of RPG and FPS, and one that in its second (and best) iteration told the story of a rogue AI on a haunted spaceship—that rogue AI being the incomparably uppercase SHODAN. The murderous artificial consciousness paved the way for GlaDOS of course, but its the combination of meaningful character advancement, rewarding exploration, horrifying enemies and (at the time) the novel use of audio diaries that make System Shock 2 such a memorable horror game. It was essentially Deus Ex on a spaceship—if you've ever played Deus Ex, or been on a spaceship, you can imagine how delectable that sounds.
IMSCARED
Don't be put off by IMSCARED's rather tedious 'A Pixelated Nightmare' tagline—it is easily one of the most unsettling games available today. But it's also a tough one to pitch, because much of its terror lies in the surprises that shouldn't be ruined by a meagre 150 word-long recommendation. Know that it borrows from 90's horror games via its aesthetic and fourth wall-breaking, file-bothering makeup; and that it consistently strives to surprise and keep players guessing. Understand that it'll play with your emotions, and drop you into a confused and confusing world while incessantly goading you till its final breath. Don't expect jump scares, but do expect to be scared enough to jump from your chair. The 2012 GameJolt version of IMSCARED is free, while the full, extended version is cheap as chips over on Steam. If you think we're at all grandstanding here, please be our guest and give it a try. We'll be hiding behind the couch.
Thumper
A rhythm action nightmare in which you play a silver beetle speeding down a track into the mouth of a huge demented boss head. Death comes quickly. Miss a couple of turns and you're dashed into a million glittering pieces against the courses metal banks. Miss a beat in the gaze of the ring-shaped guard robots and they'll hurtle towards you, lasers blazing. All the while the ambient soundtrack pulses uneasily and the the rhythms become faster, and more erratic. The effect is one of tense, compressed dread. Probably best to play Thumper in short bursts only.
Silent Hill 2
We can all agree that Silent Hill 2 is the best in the series, and although Konami have never made much of an effort with the PC versions, if you factor in mods and texture/resolution tweaks this is probably the best way to play it these days—even if prices for the (extremely rare) retail copies can be pretty extortionate. It was the first game to really push the idea of horror narratives as subjective, fluid and untrustworthy things, with a story that invites interpretation and a semi-sentient city that warps and shifts itself to fit the damaged psyches of its inhabitants. The confusing cult nonsense of the first and third games was pushed to the backburner for the more personal story of a psychologically damaged widower battling his way through a foggy purgatory populated by zombie-things, dog-things, and whatever the hell Pyramid Head was.
Sylvio
Whereas the likes of Silent Hill and Fatal Frame rely on radios to alert players to otherworldly adversaries, Sylvio uses sound, EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) and audio manipulation as its central ideas. Not only that, the game builds its entire gorgeously creepy world around this principle theme as players strive to uncover its backstories, bizarre plot twists, and insights into its unsettling unknown—all of which is backed up by some stellar voice acting. Generic first-person horror this ain't, and while it does occasionally force tedious combat set pieces upon players, it thrives in its quirky, idiosyncratic moments that are filled with atmosphere and character and dread. Sylvio is a thinking game and is unique within the horror genre.
Anchorhead
Horror games owe a significant debt to HP Lovecraft, and not just because he's long dead and his work is out of copyright. Plenty of games (too many, really) have included references to his brand of cosmic horror, but Anchorhead is more inspired than most, drawing from several of his novels and stories to tell the tale of the a married couple who have inherited an old mansion in a creepy New England town. The sedate exploration of the game's opening segments eventually give way to tense, turn-limited puzzles as you struggle to stop an ancient, possibly world-ending ritual from being completed. No pressure then. It's free, and you can play it in your browser.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent casts you as Daniel, an amnesiac who wakes up in a mostly deserted castle that must be explored in search of escape. Frictional draw on all of their experience creating atmospheric, exploratory horror in the Penumbra series to fill Amnesia's fortress with an oppressive and lingering sense of foreboding. Expect distant echoing noises, strange rumbles behind the walls, and to start seeing half-formed dark figures in the ambiguous candlelight. There's a monster, too, stalking you through the corridors. The perennial rule of horror creatures—that they're less scary once you've seen and understood them—certainly applies here, but Dark Descent is still a must-play horror game.
Dark Souls
You won't find scripted jump scares here. Dark Souls is a lonely, gruelling struggle through a world on the verge of being extinguished. Lordran is a sad and horrifying place to be. You catch glimpses of the gods' old glory, but mostly you're confronting the aftermath of their terrible mistakes, whether it's the nightmare of the Bed of Chaos or the gross parasite eggs of Demon Ruins. The PC port is poor, but most of its visual shortcomings have been solved by the modding community. Start with the DS Fix and pick and choose from the Dark Souls Nexus to get the game into shape.
Dead Space
Dead Space's lanky alien monsters are noteworthy not just for their ability to fit into tiny closets and jump out at passing protagonists, but for the satisfying fragility of their narrow, bony limbs. Dead Space's high concept, back in the first game, was that you're a simple engineer tending to a broken ship, rather than a meaty space marine with miniguns coming out of his chest. Better still, the cutting and cleaving tools your engineer is so practiced with ended up being more rewarding than the traditional machine guns and shotguns of your typical FPS. Worryingly, foes react differently when you snip off certain limbs—a headshot may only make them madder. Oh, there's a batty plot about an alien obelisk that sends people insane, a space cult, and other nonsense. Don't worry about that too much, the room-to-room stalking is super-tense in spite of the flimsy story. Dead Space classic piece of linear horror design that still holds up.
Stalker: Call of Pripyat
Poor Pripyat just can't catch a break. In real life it's been abandoned since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. In Stalker, it also suffers the indignity of corrupted anomalies and invisible monsters. The entire series has focused on a harsh and desperate struggle for survival. You may be seeking valuable anomalies and treasure, but first you'll need to secure the basics: food, bandages, and weapons. Occasionally you'll enjoy the companionship of fellow travellers around a campfire, but for the most part your exploration of the open world will feel oppressive and lonely. Call of Pripyat is the best and most technically competent game in the series, but the original Shadow of Chernobyl is also worth a look. Don't miss the Stalker: Lost Alpha—Director's Cut, either.
The Walking Dead
Is anyone still scared of zombies? Sure, they're creepy—there's something intrinsically unsettling about a vacant sack of human flesh—but when is the last time you felt visceral, gut-wrenching fear in the presence of the horde? Blood, guts, and realistic subsurface glistening just don't do it any more. Telltale's The Walking Dead forgoes the anatomy lesson for something more harrowing. The eponymous dead are extras in a bleak human drama, a handy plot device to prompt the fall of society and watch what happens when people break. Those people, all well-written and interesting characters, make for a more immediate, more believable horror story.
Harvester
Phantasmagoria is the most infamous horror adventure of the interactive movie age, but that's only because almost nobody played the infinitely gorier, endlessly more disturbing Harvester. You wake up with amnesia in a messed up 50s town, where mothers pop their babies' eyeballs, the paperboy packs a gun, the local teachers deals discipline with a baseball bat at Gein Memorial High School, and nobody bats an eye at the wasp woman down the street. All you know is that unless you join the mysterious Lodge in the middle of town, you're not going to last the week—one that ends in an involuntary blood drive where the nurse uses a scythe. Then things get really weird. It's a tough game to find legitimately, but check out our feature on it for more.
Pathologic
Pathologic is ugly and broken. It will sit on your hard-drive like a gangrenous limb, in need of amputation. If this sounds like a criticism, it isn't. Beyond the dirty, putrefied atmosphere, Pathologic is also weird and theatrical, frequently breaking the fourth wall and questioning your role as the player. You choose one of three characters, each with their own mysterious past. Afterwards, masked figures explain the rules of the game: that you have twelve days to cure the town of its disease, and that time will progress regardless of your actions. As it slips by, you'll have to pick your goals wisely, gathering resources and helping characters in the hope of slowing the inexorable decay. Whatever your choice, the town continues to rot, and the game builds towards its horrific conclusion.
It's being remade and expanded, in Pathologic 2, but you can also grab the HD edition of the original on Steam.
Condemned: Criminal Origins
The Silent Hill series does creepy mannequins well, but nowhere near as well as Condemned: Criminal Origins. The premise is quite simple: there's a serial killer on the loose, you're a crime scene investigator, and people expect you to catch him. What's less straightforward is how quickly agent Ethan Thomas takes to cold-blooded murder—even considering the entire populace of Metro City appears to have it in for him. Nonetheless, while Condemned: Criminal Origins offers frontman Thomas a range of firearms, he seems happy enough to do his crowd controlling by way of melee weaponry, each of which has its own distinct feel in close-quarters combat. With that, Condemned rarely pulls any punches—it knows what it is and is happy doing so from start to finish. It's now somehow ten years old, but it holds up well today.
The Evil Within
Reasons to be interested in this survival horror can be boiled down to just two words: Shinji Mikami, the designer responsible for Resident Evil (the good ones), God Hand and Vanquish, the latter of which have criminally never punched and rocket-boosted their way to PC. The Evil Within is his grand return to horror. Expect to spend a fair bit of time hiding from chainsaw-wielding psychopaths, shooting and burning lumbering zombie-likes and laying traps. And a follow-up is on the way, with multiple routes through levels and a story that's a little Silent Hill 2-esque.
Soma
Frictional Games has already appeared in this roundup, and that's because time and time again they've proven that they know horror—first in the Penumbra games, and then again in Amnesia. Soma is their latest first-person scare-'em-up, full of creepy experiments, creepier blinking computer-things, and exchanges that question the nature of humanity and consciousness. There are disturbing monsters too, though you can switch those off with a Steam Workshop mod if you want to.
Metro 2033
Similar to Stalker featured earlier in this list, Metro 2033 visits a post-apocalyptic, nuclear war-ravaged world that's filled with mutated abominations—the vast majority of which seek to harm you. Here, the year is 2033, 20 years after Russia fell victim to nuclear war. Moscow's surface is now too dangerous to explore, therefore much of the game takes place within its interweaving subway system and a hostile group named the Dark Ones stalks the player and their pals. Admittedly, Metro 2033, like Stalker, leans towards the action genre however while much of its scare factor is tied to running out of supplies and/or ammo, there's something truly unsettling about its post-nuclear war premise—that perhaps because this sort of scenario could happen, it becomes scarier? Maybe it's simply the fact the Dark Ones are bloody terrifying.
Slender
The slim, suited menace known as Slenderman started life as a forum meme, and has quickly grown into a horror series. His schtick is simple, but terrifying enough. If you look directly at him, he devours you, but when you look away he can move position instantly in an attempt to trick your gaze. You have to collect eight notes from a dark forest as the demon hunts you. The free downloadable version, , has inspired a wealth of YouTube Let's Play videos, because it turns out it's almost as fun to watch Slender's potent psychological terror inflicted on others as it is to endure it yourself. Its popularity encouraged Blue Isle studios and Parsec productions to create a prettier version called Slender: The Arrival, which is available for $10 on , and has bonus Oculus Rift support for VR terror.
Alien: Isolation
The best Alien game ever, by a long way, Alien: Isolation stars the smartest, scariest enemy in any game. The Xenomorph's killer instinct is matched only by its curiosity. It learns more about the Sevastopol's nooks and crannies as it hunts you over the course of 12 hours, ripping doors off closets and peering under tables in search of prey. The motion tracker can help you to avoid its grasp, but it can sense the sound, and even the gentle green light of its screen, making every glance a risk. When the game forces you into the vents and you can hear the creature in there with you, Isolation becomes one of the scariest games ever made.
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos should be a ripe playground for gaming scares. It rarely works out like that; the fiction often put to use in ways that fail to convey the sheer magnitude of its ancient and maddening horror. Despite the bugs and the clunkiness, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a first-person survival horror that both stays true to its source, and provides a multitude of ideas through its many and varied levels. You'll go from escaping an assassination, to being hunted by cultists, to fighting off Shoggoths and Deep Ones.
FEAR
FEAR is a better shooter than a horror game, but is worthy of note for referencing Asian cinema with its creepy villain, Alma, a little girl who can rip people apart with her thoughts. FEAR also exploited the first person perspective to create jump-scares, using ladders and narrow corridors to funnel the player's view through a rollercoaster of linear frights. You catch glimpses of Alma in the corner of a room as lightbulbs shatter, you'll suddenly see her feet at the top of a ladder as you descend, and there's a gratuitous corridor of blood, because The Shining deserves a nod every now and then. First person horror techniques have been honed into a more concentrated horror experience by games like Outlast, but FEAR does let you pin clone soldiers to walls with a stake gun, and kick them in the face in slow motion as they scream “FUUUUUUU” in a low-pitched, slurry expression of terror. The psychological horror themes persisted in FEAR's sequels—FEAR 2: Project Origin and FEAR 3.
Resident Evil HD Remaster
The tank controls and pre-baked backgrounds hint at Resident Evil's age, but it's a survival horror classic nonetheless, and received a handsome HD upgrade in early 2015. The famous Resi mansion drips with atmosphere, and hides some top-drawer jump scares—when crows come crashing through a window, it makes every future trip down that corridor especially tough. The giant spiders are hideous and the relentless threat of the mansion's zombie population grinds down your spirit and your health bar. Soon you're a limping picture of pain and regret, searching for the octagonal object you need to go in the octagonal slot. What a nightmare.
Lone Survivor
A somewhat underappreciated 2D horror adventure, Lone Survivor is a foggy, cryptic tale that draws from classics like Silent Hill and Twin Peaks and delivers a constant hum of low-key dread and a well-earned twist. The flickering scanlines and hard-to-read text are a little hard on the eyes, but it's worth adjusting to the engorged pixels for the payoff.
- LevelSkip»
What makes a game scary? Good visuals, better gameplay or an immersive plot? What if all these features were found in a computer game? Thanks to indie game developers, we horror fans can play some of the weirdest and the scariest games on our PC without paying a dime.
After Slenderman's success, a good number of indie horror games were released for Windows-powered computers. While many games were outright clones of the original, there were some decent titles that had a good plot, excellent graphics and brilliant level design. The games listed below are some of those titles you should download to your computer. All are free, not heavy on specs and can easily be played on mid-range laptops or desktop computers:
1. One Late Night
If you thought abandoned houses are creepy, think again. One Late Night will force you to change your opinion about haunted locations. This indie horror game presents a nightmarish adventure of an office employee who chooses to work late one fateful day, only to realize he made a big mistake.
One Late Night is a short game, but has plenty of tensed moments to keep you at the edge of your seat. The protagonist must escape the office and it’s you who can help him find clues, search for an escape route to get out of the haunted office. This exploration-based game can really get a bit intimidating in moments where you will need to search for clues in every room.
The puzzles are of normal difficulty for a seasoned seek and find adventure gamer. The office setting will make you feel a bit constricted for space and claustrophobic. In more than one occasion, you will feel totally vulnerable to the entity as there isn’t enough space to hide. The only way to escape is to search for clues, solve puzzles and escape the doomed office.
Graphically, One Late Night doesn’t disappoint at all. Powered by the Unity 3D engine, the game graphics are excellent and every object is highly detailed. Developers have dedicated their time and effort to create and the fact that this game is free is unbelievably true.
2. SCP: Containment Breach
Set in a top-secret facility dedicated to researching strange anomalies and creatures, SCP: Containment Breach puts you into the shoes of a test subject thrown in a chamber of human guinea pigs. The objective is to escape the facility alive or hunt for secret documents and find a solution to fix the breach.
The game has some of the weirdest creatures and anomalies you have ever seen, but the most frightening entity is a concrete figurine code-named SCP-173. The sculpture comes to life and is extremely dangerous, snapping necks of inattentive souls, but stays still if under direct line of sight. There are some more oddities and objects, each more bizarre and frightening than the other. Beware of the Shy Guy and the Plague Doctor and if you survive these two, then keep safe distance from the Peripheral Jumper and the main enemy.
To make gameplay more interesting, developers have introduced a “Blink Meter”. The faster your eyes blinks, the more uncomfortable it will be for you to search for objects or find a hiding place. You can set the blink rate manually or use eye drops to make it normal. Make sure your character blinks as you would do in real-life. An abnormal blink rate can really make survival extremely difficult.
A psychological/survival horror game, SCP: Containment Breach’s randomly-generated maps will make you feel trapped, claustrophobic, panicky and extremely scared. The game’s frightening atmosphere and even more frightening creatures and dangerous objects will keep you guessing while you run and hide from present danger.
3. IB
J-Horror games have wowed the audience with their bizarre plot, grotesque monsters and unique gameplay mechanics. Most of these titles have been released for the PS2 platform and are good examples of top-notch horror that can give even the most popular movies a run for their money.
Compared to PS consoles, PC has fewer Japanese horror games. In the indie horror scene, there are a few brilliantly-designed 2D computer horror games. The one that immediately comes to mind is IB. It’s a scary exploration-based survival horror game that takes place in a haunted art gallery. The main character, a young girl named IB is lost in the art gallery full of bizarre contraptions, riddles and frightening entities.
While IB is nowhere closer to graphics of a PS2 J-horror game, it has plenty of scary moments to frighten players. Developers have done a great job creating a gloomy atmosphere with plain 2D sprites. Lights go off all of a sudden, mannequins start moving, grotesque-looking paintings come alive and a frightening stalker suddenly shows, every moment spent at the art gallery will make your heart skip a beat. There’s plenty more to meet the eye and the bizarre settings in each area truly make it one of the weirdest PC horror games of all time.
4. Nightmare House 2
Nightmare House 2 is a modification that requires players to have both Half Life 2 and Episode 2 installed on their PC. This free mod can be found at developer WeCreateStuff’s website or at Moddb. If you are fond of conventional horror games (the ones that have those predictable jump-scare moments, plenty of weapons/ammo and monsters straight from 70s horror movies), then NH 2 is for you. Set in a haunted hospital, the game puts you into the shoes of an amnesic man. The abandoned hospital setting is a perfect place for experiencing horrific encounters and NH 2 developers have left no stone unturned to make it an unforgettably frightening experience.
The first-person horror shooter seems influenced by the famed Penumbra series, Half Life and FEAR. The physics-based puzzles and characters are similar to top horror games, but the game's presentation, visuals and brilliant level design overshadow them.
5. Kraven Manor
Kraven Manor’s graphics are so amazing, any player’s first reaction would be –“can’t believe this game is free”. The Amnesia-like gameplay and brilliant 3D visuals will make you forget top horror games for a moment. Developed using the Unreal engine, the game was actually a college project before it hit the indie gaming scene. It was developed by a team of Southern Methodist University students. You can download this free horror game to your PC via IndieDB’s page.
The atmospheric horror game lets gamers explore a huge manor full of secrets and a puzzle room. There’s no plot, but I can safely say that it lets you play the role of an adventurer, probably a ghost hunter who wants to uncover the hidden secrets of Kraven Manor. Upon entering the doomed mansion, you will find miniature pieces of each room scattered here and there, among other oddities. The miniatures are part of a series of frustratingly difficult puzzles. You will need to find these model rooms in hidden trapdoors and other areas and add them to the scale model in the puzzle area. A room materializes when the associated miniature model is added to the scale model. Finding room models isn’t easy as the manor has plenty of hidden chambers and trapdoors.
To make miniature-finding more difficult, there’s that occasional confrontation with a horrifying creature. His appearance is totally unpredictable and can really give you those jump scares. The sudden appearance of the scary entity would surely make you nervous each time you wander around the abandoned rooms. You will never know from which corner the creature will crawl from.
To me, Kraven Manor is an underrated game and deserves more kudos for the brilliant level design and visuals. The game’s ending is tense and extremely well executed. A must-download game!
6. REC Shutter
If movies like The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity and reality shows such as Ghost Hunters have scared the daylights out of you, wait until you play Shutter. The game lets you capture paranormal entities through the lens of a handheld camera. You will be exploring dark areas of a haunted madhouse, solving puzzles and occasionally bumping into paranormal entities.
Every moment spent in the asylum will be recorded on your handheld camera. You can investigate objects, search for clues and film ghosts in the haunted asylum. The game’s interactive part will ask you to take photos of paranormal activity with your camera. You will need to press the F button to take images of ghosts and ghouls.
Pc Horror Games Free Download
Another unique feature besides the camera view is the panic meter, which increases whenever a paranormal entity is near. Your panic level also increases when you stare at enemies. The Panic System works a bit like SCP: Containment Breach’s Blink Meter and can really hamper your ghost-hunting adventure as it will be difficult to control your player. You can take pills when the panic levels are high.
REC Shutter can be extremely frightening if played after dark, with your headphones on. You can download this free survival horror game from sites like IndieDB and Desura.
7. Cry of Fear
Cry of Fear (CoF) begins with a rather clichéd plot but turns out to be a terrific horror game, courtesy of a dark atmosphere, quick and deadly combat and extremely terrifying monsters that make weird sounds and spring from nowhere. The game gives you what you want – jump scares.
This horror shooter is another brilliantly developed Half Life mod; a completely revamped game with zero content from the Valve’s hit title. The gameplay style, combat and puzzles are unique. You won’t find any similarity between Half Life and this mod.
CoF’s visuals are not that bad. In fact, the primitive visuals do make it look creepier, just like it did for Half Life. Things get scarier when monsters come out from nowhere, leaving you totally confused. The horrific moments and the combat system is what make a game scary, and this clearly CoF’s developers know their horror. They left no stone unturned to keep the tension intact in every frame. To experience the scare-fest, download the mod from Moddb or Steam.
8. The Yore
The Yore is a short, isometric horror adventure game. While it may not be as scary as other 2D indie horror games, it’s quite playable and has a rather dark and haunted house setting. The game has a familiar plot – the main character wakes up in a room he has never seen before. You will need to help him uncover the mystery behind the haunted house. While exploring, you will solve puzzles by interacting with the environment.
Graphically, The Yore is too good for a free game. The animated characters are excellent and the entire atmosphere looks extremely scary. While developer Cobrasoft did a pretty good job presenting a scary atmosphere, the rather short gameplay session will surely make players wanting for more. The puzzles are too easy for the seasoned adventure player. The game will appeal to casual gamers more than hardcore adventure fans. It’s easy and too short and only 16 Megs large. You can download it for free from izzygames.com.
9. Deep Sleep
Don’t let Deep Sleep’s pixel art graphics fool you. This short point-and-click horror adventure game can extremely scary in some places. Deep Sleep is actually a dream sequence. The dark rooms and ghostly staircases surely look like somebody’s nightmare. You will need to get out of this dream, exploring rooms and solving inventory-based puzzles.
Playing Deep Sleep will make you feel gloomy and depressed. The game infiltrates your psyche to unsettle you. The puzzles are easy to solve, but you might need to go back to an already-explored room to find objects for a puzzle. Few objects can be combined with others to create a new one and then used in puzzles. Some areas can be darker than the others, so make sure you increase the in-game brightness by clicking on Game Options/Walkthrough at the top-right corner of the screen. A sequel to Deep Sleep, called Deeper Sleep, is equally terrifying. You can play both these games for free at Kongregate.
10. Sepulchre
Sepulchre is a free PC horror game with point-and-click mechanics. It takes place in a creepy train and has those horror novel moments to keep you at the edge of your seat. The game is not for those who prefer an outright scare-fest. It’s subtle, gloomy and has those tense moments to keep you glued to your monitor. Certain events within the game will leave you wondering about the objects and people around you. There aren’t any gory monsters to confront, but several sequences will leave you flabbergasted. The surprise ending is what makes it worth the download.
Sepulchre is a short game. You can download the free version from OwlCave’s website or pay just $2.99 and download the special edition featuring wallpapers, soundtrack and special copy of a horror novel. Download it till it is free – you never know when developers put a price tag on it.
All screenshots, courtesy of their respective indie game developers.
- Can you tell me where I can find Dungeon Nightmares 2 online or download it? I would be very glad if it wasn't a demo. Thanks.
- I made a mistake clicking on this Hub during nighttime, these all look great and I can't believe they are free. I've got my next week booked out with these games for sure.
- CoF, One Late Night, SCP, Ib and Nightmare House are all extremely good games- glad to know that others are aware of these great games haha. Also, Team Psykskallar (creators of CoF) made a game called Afraid of Monsters- it's not as good as CoF, but it's definitely up there & I would definitely recommend checking it out if u haven't already :)~ Cheers!
- Wow, never knew about these. Worth taking a look. Thanks!!
- I think this games are pretty interesting to make a live stream from
- Really all are very interesting games.. I loved all
- I might try some of those games out, my eldest son loves playing horror games, great fun for all the family.
- Very interesting!! I had no idea that there were so many horror games for the PC, let alone free ones!! Now I can't wait to get my computer fixed, because I will definitely be looking for a few of those!!
- LevelSkip»
It can be tough to find a scary horror game for your Android device. But we have done all the hard work for you, and hand-picked some of the scariest titles from the Google Play store, including spine-chilling room escapes, point-and-click horror games, and survival horror.
These horror-themed games give you an unforgettable scare experience on your Android-powered tablet or mobile phone.
1. Murder Room
From the creators of Ellie comes another nerve-racking game: Murder Room, a scary Japanese room-escape title with plenty of frightening moments. This adventure game, played from a first-person perspective, has some of the most complicated puzzles you have ever come across.
In this game, you are trapped in a room with a chainsaw-wielding serial killer. The only way to escape is to interact with various elements and solve mind-bending puzzles. On occasion, the inventory-based puzzles will leave you totally confused, which leaves room for trial and error, as in most point-and-click puzzle games. However, the ending is totally worth the hard work.
The concept is similar to most room-escape games. You tap an object, examine it, and perhaps use it on another object to solve a puzzle. Many puzzles are not easy to solve, and since they are not in any particular sequence, they may strand you in the middle of the game. Fortunately, hints are available, but you may need to buy them, using the in-game coins you get for free at the start of the game. The game also has a bonus story, which you can unlock after completing the main story, though you may need to spend real cash to unlock it.
This free horror game has unique visual novel-style graphics and excellent music and sound effects. Not only is it gory, but it is extremely challenging, which seasoned puzzle gamers will enjoy in a point-and-click horror adventure game.
2. Dark Meadow: The Pact
A survival horror game inspired by Bioshock, Dark Meadow: The Pact has a post-apocalyptic setting with a surprising fairy-tale twist. You will be fighting bloodthirsty goblins roaming the dilapidated halls of an abandoned hospital, seeking the warm blood of the living. More fear strikes as you encounter a witch, and eliminating her is the only way to escape the hospital.
A touch-centric game, The Pact has gesture-based controls that allow gamers to use common finger gestures while operating a crossbow or a sword. The controls are easy to master and quite fun. The stunning visuals, provided by Unreal's Game Engine 3, are an unmatched visual feast.
Dark Meadow is an exploration-based game and has some scary surprises in store. While exploring the haunted hospital, you will uncover several , puzzles, and weapons. You can use in-game money to buy items and equipment that will help you survive the goblin onslaught. With amazing visuals, deep storyline, and excellent gameplay, this survival horror game is here to give you the creeps.
3. Eyes: The Horror Game
Perhaps the first independent horror title developed for Android devices, Eyes is a spooky game played from a first-person perspective. The objective is to break into an abandoned haunted mansion, collect money, and get out. It may sound easy, but wait till you confront the evil lurking in the house, which is scarier than imagined.
Finding and collecting bags of cash isn’t easy. You will need to search for them inside wooden cupboards and safes, which can be opened with a key. So before grabbing bags of cash, find the correct key. It can get creepier if you start hearing bloodcurdling sounds. Things get even more terrifying once you catch a glimpse of the ghost: once it touches your character, it’s game over. Your best strategy to avoid contact is to run as fast as you can until the ghost stops chasing you.
You will find many gameplay features similar to Slender Man. The scariest part of the game is avoiding entering the ghost's line of sight. There are those panic-inducing moments where you will feel you are being watched, and look for a place to avoid getting caught by the spirit.
Eyes may be the creepiest horror game you ever play, and the dark environment, together with the spine-tingling sound effects, can really scare the daylights out of you.
4. Call of Cthulhu: Wasted Land
Call of Cthulhu: Wasted Land brings classic Lovecraftian horror to your Android device. Combining RPG with turn-based strategy elements, the game breathes fresh air into the horror genre. The game’s WWI setting provides a perfect scary atmosphere for a Cthulhu Mythos game. Inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Reanimator, Wasted Land pits a group of investigators against some of Lovecraft’s scariest monsters, including popular mythos creatures, spiders, and zombies.
Wasted Land’s top-down perspective makes it look more like a team-based tactical game. You can control a team of investigators armed with WWI weapons, equipment, and armor. The turn-based strategy sets the game apart from other horror games on Android. You can build your own team, equip them with your choice of weapons, and use strategy to eliminate monsters.
The nice strategy/RPG combo throws up plenty of combat possibilities, forcing you to plan your moves before Mythos creatures kill your teammates one by one. The monster weapons range from fearful spells launched from a distance to melee attacks by spiders and creepy critters. The game’s 3D visuals are good and the animation quite smooth. I like the way the screen shakes when a scary spider hits a character.
The game’s full 3D visuals, awesome sound effects, and eerie background music give you plenty of reasons to play it this Halloween.
5. Mystique Series
Room-escape horror games give you panicky moments when you have almost all the items required to escape a dilapidated building, but that one all-important item can’t be found in spite of searching every nook and corner of the room.
If you are fond of Android horror-themed room-escape games, then you shouldn’t miss the three-chapter Mystique series. It has all those scary moments, and can leave you totally helpless and confused unless you find all items quickly. The ghostly rooms in each chapter are filled with strange symbols, horrific entities, and some really challenging puzzles to blow your mind.
The second of the three chapters is the scariest and most confusing. There is no code for the safe and the doors are locked, making you a bit claustrophobic. You cannot escape unless you get all items and crack the safe. There’s also the constant feeling that someone’s watching you. All these can really give you scary jolts if played at night.
You can buy the three chapters individually or all together. For best results, play all three chapters in sequence. There’s a creepy story in there, and a creepier ending.
6. Dead Space Android
The Android version of Dead Space ratchets up the fear level by introducing grotesque necromorphs to your mobile screen. It has more than five scary environments infested with reanimated corpses. You will need to eliminate them using the most advanced weapons like the Core Extractor and Plasma Saw.
Despite these amazing weapons, there’s this constant fear of necromorphs attacking in large numbers. Using simple touch-based controls, you will need to tackle these clever monsters by swiping and tapping at the right moment.
Dead Space is designed for Android touchscreen-based devices, and is best experienced on a tablet device. The visuals are top-notch and the controls are smooth and easy to learn. The movie-quality sound effects and dialogues add more punch to gameplay; make sure you wear your headphones, to get the ultimate scary experience.
7. The Abandoned School
A creepy black-and-white survival horror game, The Abandoned School can get really scary if played with headphones on. The music and the amazing photorealistic visuals can really send chills down your spine.
You play the role of a schoolboy who wants to solve the mystery behind the suspicious deaths of his girlfriend and brother. The point-and-click mechanics allow you to explore classrooms, interact with objects, solve puzzles, and unearth a shocking truth about past memories associated with the abandoned school. The game also takes advantage of your Android device’s magnetic sensor. You can tilt or shake your phone to get past obstacles.
The game can get really scary if you keep on wandering around the school corridors. To assist players, developers have posted a mini-walkthrough on the app page. However, I would recommend playing the game first, and then, if you are really stuck, using the hints. If you are into creepy room escapes, then you should try this game.
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8. Bloody Mary
Possibly the only augmented-reality horror game on Android, Bloody Mary combines adventure-game elements with a slick interactive novel. The game relies on your phone/tablet PC’s real-time clock to trigger events. A player may even catch a glimpse of a ghost if he points the phone at the right place and time. This unique gameplay feature makes your ghost-hunting experience extremely frightening.
To ensure players are glued to their phones, developers regularly update this app with new chapters. The game has multiple endings and each ending will be based on the choices made by a player. It also has an in-game EMF sensor that lets you detect a scary entity by pointing your device at a spot in your area. The real-time day/night cycle and the dynamic events will keep you on your toes.
The slick graphics are all hand-drawn, giving a nice storybook look to the game. Play Bloody Mary when nobody’s around and it will scare the bejesus out of you.
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9. Twisted Lands: Shadow Town
Twisted Lands is one of the scariest hidden-object games I have ever played. Set in a remote town, the game teleports players to eerie, spine-chilling hidden object locales, sporting ghastly visuals of the dead and the unknown. The atmospheric music and sound effects complement each scene, giving a picture-perfect scary environment.
Uninformed about the terrors in store for them at the island, a husband-wife duo set out to explore Shadow Town, uncovering secrets and a shocking truth. You will have to help the couple solve hidden-object puzzles to survive the perils awaiting them. The game has around 80 locations and more than ten puzzles. All 80 locations have to be explored to unearth hidden clues that lead to the ultimate truth.
The Android version of Twisted Lands: Shadow Town is designed exceptionally well for touchscreen devices. Finding objects can be fun, but it’s the mini-games that give a major twist to the game. If you like horror-themed hidden-object games, then it's your best bet.
10. Into the Dead
Imagine being surrounded by a bunch of zombies in a dark forest. All you can do is run, or blast them using your assault rifle. Sounds scary! Into the Dead translates your deepest fears into a neat zombie survival game. The game combines endless runner mechanics with FPS, and presents a scenario where you can either kill your enemies, or run for your life if the dead outnumber the bullets in your gun.
This atmospheric game puts you into the shoes of a survivor. You will need to help him escape from the zombie-infested jungles and fields. With no hope for rescue, you will need to help him get away from the infected, either by running away from them or by eliminating them. Thankfully, there’s an assortment of unlockable weapons and items which you can use to your advantage to get rid of them.
Missions and mini-objectives reward you with coins, with which you can buy perks and weapons. The weapons reward you with some extremely gory scenes. Headshots are a treat to watch and so are special perks like exploding barrels that destroy a bunch of zombies at one go. You will find ammo while exploring (that is, running for your life through) fields and forests.
Into the Dead is a great horror survival game for a mobile device. The graphics are unique for a zombie game, with shadowy artwork and gory scenes extremely well designed.
11. Elder Sign: Omens
Elder Sign: Omens brings the old dice-based supernatural excitement to your touchscreen. With a board game look and feel, and lack of atmospheric visuals, it's not as scary as it might be, but it has solid visuals, background music, and sound effects, and it is deep and keeps you glued to your seat for hours.
Inspired by HP Lovecraft’s novelettes, the board game adaptation is set in a mysterious museum displaying arcane exhibits. Players need to don the role of an investigator and build a team to fend off the evil intentions of the ancient ones. The interactive map will help gamers explore the museum and face challenging tasks that will require intelligence and some luck. The dice-based gameplay is reminiscent of the original board game, but with changes for mobile play.
Elder Sign: Omens might not be the really scary game you are looking for, but can be a unique addition to your Android horror games collection.
All Screenshots courtesy of their respective game developers. All games are available on the Google Play Store.
- The Last Door is a great horror game. 'Love letter to Lovecraft', I'll say no more. ;]
- Also check out 'nO mooRe' (https://goo.gl/Lza6Z7), a short disturbing game about one room that does not change, but time does.
- the very scary game for android is pretty good. decent jump scares and is free.
- why not include fnaf the series is actualy great plus add its ever so unsolvable story
- Does anyone know of any game in the style of or inspired by Saw? Iv been looking for a game with puzzles but doing so to avoid death or consequenses, instead of the games more prone to just looting an abandoned house with ghosts or solving a mystery..
- Thanks for sharing these I may try out Murder Room to start off with.
- Very interesting. I love horror games and i will give those a try. :)
- I was just going to add the Five Nights at Freddy's series as a suggestion, but I see some comments have beaten me to it. So, instead I'll suggest Dungeon Nightmares.
- Thank you for creating this list. I am constantly looking for new horror games on my tablet, but I am usually disappointed.. they are never scary enough! I will check some of these out.
- What about Five Nights At Freddy's? I'm not sure if you're into the game or not but I know there's an android version.
- Call of Cthulhu and Into the Dead sound really cool. I'll have to check them out.
- Slendrina: The Cellar Is Scarier Than Those Horror Games
- Not bad
- The Abandoned School looks scary. I don't play horror games on my phone but i'll try after reading this hub. Thanks!
- Try Decay,The Mare. Very good. A little short put well done.
- These are ok, some ended up being a little disappointing (shadow town) one game that's not on here that scares the bejesus out of my is Five Nights at Freddy's.
- I've just recently started playing Dark Meadow: The Pact, I find the progression a little slow but I'm enjoying it none the less. Call of Cthulhu: Wasted Land looks more up my alley I might have to make the switch.
- Great list there, I am going to gave to check out a few of them.Thanks.
- Great list of games. Definitely gonna check out a few of them.
- Nice list here, never noticed most of these in the Android store. Gonna have to check some of these out. Thanks and voted up.
- Hello my friends, I am surprised to see that you have not included the games on slenderman, like slenderman chapter.1 alone. This game is much more creepier than those listed above, GIVE IT A TRY AT LEAST.
- played some of the titles in the list.id say the abandoned school is really creepy if ur into that japanese horror thing.i just wish u can navigate the game freely just like the eyes and murder room..but even if its just a point and click game its quite scary..haha..shadow town is disappointing.oppps!! haha.but great graphics..:)thanks for the list theres still many left for me to try.
- Is there a slenderman app yet? I think that would really scare the pants off ya!
- Great! I need to test Twisted Lands and maybe Dead Space. Good list of titles.
- I wasn't aware of these games, thank you for sharing this hub. I will surely explore these games.Cheers !!!
- These look interesting. I would include the price of the games for reference.
- Great Collection, had played all except twisted lands. gonna try it asap
- Great collection of horror games! Would love to try them :)
- Very very nice! I am actually downloading all of these except for the abandoned school, because I could not find it
- A very detailed hub on these android games. I'm downloading Twisted Lands right now. I'm not much of a gamer but I spend too much time on the train playing on Facebook. Thanks for the hub.
- This hub is definitely nice one. I had no idea Android offered such games too, mostly been busy playing the most known games. Going to try some of the listed now!
- Nice hub, I will definitely check out some of those titles. I started with the Abandoned School, let's see..
- Can you share any cost info? Any freebies or demos available?
- Spider Swarm is scary.
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Fight off the infected..21091 votes- PROS: Multi-player and single player supported, Great atmosphere, Dynamic campaigns
- CONS: Not wildly different to the first Left 4 Dead
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She’s not as sweet as you think273 votes- PROS: Easy game mechanics, Responsive controls, Different levels of difficulty, Features practice mode
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Go where you don't belong in Hello Neighbor8002 votes- PROS: Strange but charming art style, Atmosphere of breathless tension, Effective soundtrack, Adaptive neighbor AI
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First-Person Escape Game for Personal Computers1526 votes- PROS: Slenderman fans will like the similarities between Baldi and this Creepypasta character., The three-dimensional environment provides a retro appeal.
- CONS: Many users complain that a mobile version is not available to download., Some have stated that they cannot access the official download link for this game.
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Run for your life45 votes- PROS: Responsive game controls, Effective scare tactics, Easy game mechanics, Smooth navigation
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Zombies! Panic!7435 votes- PROS: Frenzied action, Great cooperation system, Dynamic AI, Relentlessly terrifying atmosphere
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Survive a forest inhabited by cannibals in this free game.10645 votes- PROS: Lots of updates., Brilliants graphics and sound.
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Horror gaming with a retro feel584 votes- PROS: Play as counsellors or Jason, Vintage visuals
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Anime-Influenced Survival Horror in Doki Doki Literature Club408 votes- PROS: Polished, anime-influenced visual style., Shocking and disturbing survival horror plot.
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Resident Evil 7 proves that the franchise is not dead yet653 votes- PROS: Multiple endings are possible, The backgrounds and scenes are very well crafted, Shadows and restricted light make the game scarier, The noises off camera are chilling and brilliant, Plenty of puzzles to keep you interested, Doesn't feel like a Resident Evil game, Music plays when something scary is going to happen
- CONS: They could have tried harder with the model rendering graphics, Jump, move on, jump, repeat, Some of the jump scares are a little cheap, Fans may not like that it doesn't feel like a Resident Evil game
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Go where you don't belong in Hello Neighbor321 votes- PROS: Strange but charming art style, Atmosphere of breathless tension, Effective soundtrack, Adaptive neighbor AI
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Atmospheric horror game1060 votes- PROS: Creepy atmosphere, Windowed or full-screen mode, Simple to play
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A terryfying free horror game1294 votes- PROS: Great set up, Very scary, Chilling sound effects
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A creepy adventure2109 votes- PROS: Interesting storyline, Unique character designs, Challenging levels, Smooth game graphics
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Best kirby right back at ya episodes. An award winning indie horror platformer704 votes- PROS: Incredibly atmospheric, Excellent graphics, Unique
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Free multiplayer horror game94 votes- PROS: Random gameplay adds replayability, Faithful recreation of the original game, SCP – Containment Breach
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# | Name | Version | Votes | Rating | Platform |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hello Neighbor | alpha-3 | 8002 | 8.7 | Windows,Android,iPhone |
2 | Left 4 Dead | 7435 | 8 | Windows,Mac | |
3 | Left 4 Dead 2 | 21091 | 7.8 | Windows,Mac | |
4 | Slender: The Eight Pages | Beta 0.9.7 | 14787 | 7.5 | Windows |
5 | The Forest | Preview 0.41 | 10645 | 7.4 | Windows,iPhone |