Following the release of Resident Evil Village, many might be searching for some spooky games in order to keep the frights coming. While there are a ton of great horror games available though, paying for them all can be hard to justify.

Thankfully, there are plenty of free horror games that can be played through Steam, independent platforms, and even web browsers, meaning that players don't need to splash the cash in order to fill the gap. Just like any other genre, free-to-play horror games can vary quite a bit in quality, but there are quite a few that are worth checking out at the very least.

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Updated on January 23rd, 2023 by Russ Boswell: The Resident Evil series continues to crank out titles for its long-running franchise, with the latest first-person offerings bringing the beloved franchise back to its roots. Dedicated fans have an upcoming Resident Evil 4 Remake to look forward to, but there isn't much information on the horizon about what's next for the franchise. To keep horror fanatics entertained, here's an expanded look at some of the best free horror games available right now. The following list has been updated with even more entries.

25 Dead Frontier 2

Those looking for a much darker MMO experience can hop into Dead Frontier 2 and live life as an apocalyptic survivor. Players will need to keep their wits about them, scavenging for food, weapons, and other items, while simultaneously bartering and banding together with other players if they want to keep themselves safe from the hordes of undead roaming the area. With solid graphics, fun gameplay, and a variety of weapons and items to collect, Dead Frontier 2 is a great experience for fans of the horror genre.

The free price tag is hard to beat, especially for a game that players can enjoy online with groups of friends.

24 September 1999

Many of the free-to-play games featured on this list offer lengthy experiences, but there are some short and sweet Horror gems out there that fans should experience. One great example is September 1999. This free game is micro-sized, lasting only approximately 5 minutes and 30 seconds, but it's tense and gripping enough to make a lasting impression on most players. Shot in a "found footage" style, this free Horror release is great for a quick fright.

23 Poppy Playtime

Five Nights At Freddy's did a fantastic job of ushering in a new era of creepy games inspired by a fear of animatronics. There have been a few notable knock-offs that took the FNAF formula and ran with it, but Poppy Playtime subverts the core gameplay a bit by offering players an explorative experience filled with tense moments and puzzle-solving mechanics. Rather than being rooted in a single location, players are free to explore (although the designated path can be a bit linear). This ups the scare-factor significantly as players find themselves running for their lives from a seemingly innocent toy mascot that is much more sinister than he looks.

Players can grab the original Poppy Playtime for free on Steam but they'll need to pay for Chapter 2 if they wish to continue the storyline.

22 Dagon: By H. P. Lovecraft

Evoking H. P. Lovecraft's name can be a recipe for success and disaster. While it will pique the interest of quite a few horror aficionados, it also comes with a certain expectation of excellence. There are plenty of games based on Lovecraft's work and they tend to be all over the place in terms of quality. Dagon is better than most, a compliment that is not solely due to its free status.

Lasting roughly 30 minutes, Dagon is a point-and-click adventure that guides players through quite a faithful adaptation of the source material. Although not heart-in-the-mouth scary, Dagon makes effective use of sound to create a constant sense of dread. This is a mood piece that does justice by Lovecraft's cosmic horror.

21 Dark Deception

Only the first chapter of Dark Deception can be experienced for free, which should be enough for players to judge whether they would like to invest in the rest of the story. Glowstick's project is an arcade-style maze game that tasks players with traversing a creepy hotel-like location filled with creative monsters.

Visually, Dark Deception is quite impressive, particularly when it comes to the designs of the creatures. In terms of gameplay, this is essentially just a horror version of Pac-Man, albeit one that introduces a fair few unique mechanics.

20 Slender: The Eight Pages

That Slender: The Eight Pages has almost been around for a full decade will likely make some readers feel old. For those who are yet to play the game though, it remains surprisingly fresh. It certainly helps that the game never really relied on visual fidelity to get its scares across, instead focusing on a terrifying antagonist who could show up at just about any time.

The game draws much of its strength from this uncertainty as well as its foreboding atmosphere and dark muted color palette. There are times when it can feel a bit like a walking simulator, but this only serves to build up tension for the inevitable jump scare.

Slender: The Eight Pages Remake is currently in Early Access on Steam, although this version is not free.

19 Imscared - A Pixelated Nightmare

Imscared eventually made its way to Steam through an updated release that costs $3.99, and while that is the best way to experience this horror game, the free-to-play version should not be dismissed either. Released in 2012, Imscared is a meta game that uses the player's computer against them. Revealing anything else would be a disservice to Imscared since this is one horror game that lives and dies by its unpredictability.

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The great thing about Imscared is that it doesn't rely exclusively on its meta antics to deliver surprises and the occasional fright. It is also unsettling outside these moments.

A non-free Steam version of Imscared was released on January 31, 2016.

18 Shattered Lights

In the world of VR gaming, Resident Evil 7 reigns supreme as the scariest game on any platform. However, players looking to keep the frights going after completing Capcom's title have plenty of options at their disposal, including some freebies. Shattered Lights is an atmospheric psychological horror game designed to craft as immersive of an experience as possible.

As a room-scale VR project, Shattered Lights allows players to physically move around its world without relying on the controller. This technology brings out the best in the horror genre, crafting scares through its atmosphere rather than jump scares. If someone has a VR headset and the required space, they should give Shattered Lights a download.

17 Doki Doki Literature Club!

Doki Doki Literature Club! may not look like a traditional horror game at first glance, but it's actually one of the most disturbing games on Steam. The dating sim elements might not be to everybody's tastes, nor may the visual novel approach that is taken to storytelling. Those who persevere with it, however, will likely be glad that they did.

Rather than zombies, ghosts, or other supernatural entities, the game instead focuses on delivering a surreal and, at times, unsettling experience that will stick with players long after the game is over. It's a strange title in many respects, but also an incredibly unique one that's as hard-hitting as it is subversive.

16 Blameless

Blameless is shockingly effective. Steam has plenty of free horror games, but few come close to eclipsing the simple brilliance of this 2016 release. The setup is straightforward: an architect visits a desolate house, gets knocked out, and wakes up alone in an intimidating part of the estate. Now, they must puzzle together a few tools and make their way out.

Blameless relies on atmosphere and mounting tension through environmental storytelling, steadily building up anxiety towards a final scare that makes the whole experience worthwhile. The game doesn't overstay its welcome, as it can be easily completed in 20 minutes, but it makes full use of every second. While not as scary as something like Resident Evil 7, Blameless can give Resident Evil 6 a run for its money.

15 Play With Me

Is there a genre that has benefited more from the invention of virtual reality than horror? History has more than proven that games do not need VR to produce bone-chilling frights, but it certainly does not hurt to fully immerse players in terrifying worlds that are home to, in this case, clowns. Heck, Resident Evil 7 is one of the best virtual reality games of all time and arguably the scariest entry in Capcom's franchise.

Play With Me is quite straightforward, which works in its favor. Finding themselves in a spooky house, players must search through the rooms for candles; however, they are not alone. The main villain's design is the stuff of nightmares, regardless of whether someone has a pre-existing aversion to clowns or not.

Play With Me is compatible with the Oculus Rift.

14 Blink: The Last Night

Although technically a demo of a game that's currently in development, Blink: The Last Night offers over an hour of content to mess around with. This makes it a great way to kill some time while also getting a good idea of what the final release is going to look like.

It's a first-person psychological horror game that follows a babysitter watching over a little girl. The demo may be short, but it offers a lot in terms of its eerie atmosphere and intriguing mystery. The full game is being developed by a team of only two people, but things look pretty promising so far.

13 Exhibit Of Sorrows

Welcome to the circus, and this one specializes in frights rather than laughs. Exhibit of Sorrows is a point-and-click Itch.io game that centers around a string of carnival-style exhibits. Players can interact with each toy in one way, and things naturally go wrong before too long.

Exhibit of Sorrows nails its presentation. While not especially complex, the visuals utilize a colorful art style that lends itself surprisingly well to horror. The animation is also pretty good. All these elements are elevated by an effective soundtrack that creates a sense that something terrible could happen at any moment.

12 Cry Of Fear

Cry of Fear is definitely starting to show its age a little, but it's still a great game to play either in single-player or in co-op. The game takes place in a deserted town full of terrifying creatures and boasts a very uncomfortable atmosphere.

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The mysterious narrative is engaging, and it can be a lot of fun to play with another person. The only real problem with Cry of Fear aside from its dated visuals is its odd control scheme. If players can get past that, however, they're in for a pretty unique experience.

11 Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion

Although Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion starts with a lighter atmosphere and funnier tone, the game becomes a lot more like a traditional horror experience over time. Its cutesy aesthetic might make it seem like a bit of a non-starter in that respect, but it really does come into its own as the narrative progresses.

It's much better to go into the game blind, although it is worth noting that many players may set the game aside before it really gets off the ground. Those who stick with the game will be surprised by how scary it can actually get. As the name suggests, players will need to prepare for a few jump scares along the way.

10 September 1999

A VHS horror game, September 1999 does a lot with very little. Akin to something like P.T., this indie title restricts players to a very small area; in this case, the setting revolves around a single room and a hallway. As players explore, the game will jump to different dates and times, altering the apartment as the story slowly unfolds.

September 1999 can be completed in under 10 minutes, and it makes every second count. This freebie is largely devoid of significant gameplay since the changes happen automatically, and September 1999 gets its scares by simply forcing players to helplessly exist in an environment as it progressively goes to hell.

9 Perdition

Although Perdition is played through a browser window, it feels like a traditional 2D side-scroller that one would expect to see on any major platform. Granted, it's not quite as well polished as a triple-a title, but it's definitely up there with some other great indie titles that have been released over the past decade or so.

Perdition is available on Newgrounds, which is great, as it's easily accessible through either an internet browser or the Newgrounds Player. The game utilizes a horror sci-fi aesthetic that makes it feel pretty unique. While the mechanics of the game can be fairly shallow, the experience is really sold through the intriguing narrative and complex visuals.

8 Face Your Fears

From the team behind Evolved and Back 4 Blood comes Face Your Fears, a free-to-play VR horror package split into distinct experiences. As the title suggests, the stories all revolve around challenging common fears. Outside of scrolling through a menu, users are passive participants in these shorts, so this release is more of an immersive movie than a standard game.

Also, not every experience seeks to terrify the audience to their core, although they are all scary or intense to varying degrees. Face Your Fears 2 is a premium experience, and a decent one at that, but its predecessor's free status makes it a must-own install for anyone with an appropriate VR headset.

7 Wrong Floor

Wrong Floor is short, but it offers a truly terrifying experience. Unlike longer horror games, it instead leans heavily on its tone, offering players an extremely short game that packs one hell of a punch. Everything in Wrong Floor works to create an experience that's as fascinating as it is unsettling.

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The way that the camera works and the sound design add a unique touch that can make any player feel uneasy about what might pop up around the corner. This one is a perfect game to play in the dark — although players should be prepared to sleep with lights on for a few days after doing so.

6 Deadeus

Styled after Game Boy releases, Deadeus is a free horror game that sells itself on the fact it comes with 11 endings. As the campaign is on the short side, the meat of the experience is tied to replaying the story, and the endings are unique enough to justify multiple playthroughs.

The premise follows a boy who is trying to stop an ancient deity from wiping out everyone within three days. Deadeus is a text-heavy adventure game with a decent amount of puzzles, and scares are a bit on the low side for large chunks of the campaign. That said, Deadeus makes clever use of the Game Boy's unique color palette to craft some genuinely creepy visuals. Obviously, a Game Boy-tyle horror title is not scarier than Resident Evil at its best, but Capcom's franchise doesn't always bring the frights.