You don’t always have to spend a pretty penny if you want to be scared or inspired. Free horror games may act as a passion project for the developer or a good place to start as they’re learning the ropes to game design, testing the water on any brave folk willing to take a dip. These short tales may seem incomplete, rushed, or unpolished, but some stand out for their storytelling and terrifying delivery.
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Yes, these horror games may be on the shorter side, but they cost no money and don’t take much of your time to complete. Win-win! Here are the very best free horror games on Steam which have suspense, jump scares, good atmosphere, great sound design, and the occasional but unforgettable dark theme that has lasting effects.
1) Clap Clap
It may have a ridiculous name, but this short horror is effective with its simple design. The PS1-style aesthetics matched with the sound and light design allow it to focus on what truly matters: scaring you. Putting a horror spin on the very real and pretentious clapping to turn indoor lights on feature, the entity in Clap Clap uses the darkness against you, giving you something to fear and putting the control in its hands. It is an easy game to pick up, enjoy, and shouldn’t terrify you aside from a few jump scares and an intense climax.
2) Cry of Fear
This legendary indie horror won’t ever be forgotten for its immersive world and narrative, delivered in a Half-Life mod. Feeling panic, lost, and hopeless is an awful concoction that’s often felt throughout Cry of Fear as you’re transported to a nightmarish realm, having to deal with demons, while navigating around your own. It’s a mix of Silent Hill and Condemned, but holds tightly onto its own identity for its intricate level and terrifying sound design, enemy variety, puzzles, and morbid storytelling.
3) Discussion Over Dinner
This anxiety simulator coerces you into dinner with the creepiest host alive, for refusing him in any way will result in your demise. Surviving the evening takes the perfect balance of eating your steak, holding conversation, and swiping starving rats off the dinner table. Ignore the screams coming from the basement door, or you’ll be next. Discussion Over Dinner may be basic in its art design and storytelling, but this bite-sized horror will surely make you squirm and knock out any social confidence you might have had. It’s a dinner you’ll never forget.
4) Doki Doki Literature Club!
A visual novel romance on paper, there’s something far more sinister lurking under the aesthetically pleasing surface. Having a normal school life isn’t on the agenda for choosing your girlfriend takes precedent, and the wrong choice could get a girl killed. So what’s a hormonal kid gotta do? A twisted take on the slice of life genre, Doki Doki Literature Club shows the limitless power of illustration and anime, being equally beautiful and disturbing. It’s clever horror delivered in an everyday setting, which only makes its contents severely more unsettling.
5) Fears to Fathom – Home Alone
If you’re like me, the fear of someone breaking into your home is far scarier than any demon or ghost. Home Alone, the first in the Fears to Fathom series, is a bite-sized horror for anyone to pick up. The storytelling in this 15-minute game is impressive for its believability as most of the terror is delivered through the device we rely on far too much: our mobile phone. Paranoia and tensions are high in this installment. A figure may walk past the corner of your eye as you’re watching TV, and an image of a stranger surveying the house could send chills down your spine. Are you safe in the very place you call your home?
6) Mimic Search
This short horror demands you face the threat head-on as the only authoritative figure in this neck of the woods that has some semblance of firepower. Where you’d normally be defenceless against these fake humans, here’s the chance to get back at these imposters (and I don’t mean throwing them out of the airlock). Investigate an ongoing crime scene, speak to the locals, and whatever you do, don’t go out in the woods at night. Mimic Search is a good little horror game that effectively builds tension.
7) Missing Hiker
You follow in your friend’s footsteps after he went missing on a hiking trip to the mountains. Stories that people have mysteriously vanished after camping nearby have spread like wildfire in the community. Something is taking these people, but what? It may be bravery or blind stupidity leading you down the same path your friend made, but what outcome will you get? Missing Hiker is a 15-minute horror game that slowly builds, as the chances of your friend’s survival become slimmer and slimmer the closer you get to his last whereabouts.
8) TELEFORUM
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Are the stories true? Is there something on that tape that made those people who previously had it in their possession suddenly go missing? You have to find out. TELEFORUM is Ringu meets Videodrome, an eerie and mind-bending horror that won’t take up too much of your time. Is what you’re seeing real or are you a part of this? Conducting your own investigation out of curiosity or to go viral will only get you killed, so are you sure you want to take the risk and watch that tape for yourself?
9) the static speaks my name
You see your immediate future (or past) through a cosmic being, who tells you how you’re going to die. Its themes are realistic and something too many of us can sadly relate to, making it a difficult game to finish, even though its contents are far more disturbing than what the average person sees and experiences. The words “today will be a better day” are haunting as your front door and windows are boarded up from the inside, where televisions are playing and static on screen acts as your only comfort. the static speaks my name is a macabre 10-minute tale and is one of the darkest games you can play, so viewer discretion is absolutely advised.
10) The Windows Are Gone
Grief manifests in different ways, but moving to a new house in a secluded neighborhood may be the fresh start you need to see a shift. You can’t remain trapped in the past, but it won’t let you escape that easily. Your home sweet home isn’t so sweet as moving in takes a dark turn. Where did I misplace that vase? Hang on, The Windows Are Gone. Your past is seeping into your new place. There’s no rest or moment of clarity for every minute is a reminder. This short horror game cleverly captures loss and how it holds onto you, trapping you inside.
11) Ultimate Custom Night
Whether you’ve played through Five Nights at Freddy’s or are looking for a good place to test those reflexes of yours, Ultimate Custom Night is the best training ground for Fazbear employees. Forget Aim Labs, this game will surely improve your reaction time. Customize your time in the security office by bringing aboard any animatronic, old and new. They may distract you, obscure your vision, or brutally end you, but there are so many combinations you can try and see if you can survive until 6am. If you want the ultimate point-and-click challenge, then why look anywhere else?
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Image courtesy of Netflix
