Sometimes, it's nice to sit down with a scary game that you can start and finish in one session. It's always satisfying to get a complete story in one go, and when life gets busy, shorter games allow players to stay in the loop while not having to commit too much time. There are a lot of fascinating, creepy, and jumpy horror games out there that slot nicely into a dark evening after a busy week.

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The following games are varied: some will make players jump out of their skin. Others are excellent at creating tension in a more subtle way. They all have an interesting story to tell. From interactive novels to puzzle games to run-away horror games, there's something here for everyone.

9 Bonbon

Kicking off with a classic, Bonbon puts the player in the shoes of a small child. It starts innocuously enough: the player collects all the balls they've scattered around the lawn. The player can toddle around, pick up items, and 'speak'. Not particularly creepy, right? The problem is the thing standing in the corner, watching.

In Bonbon, this giant rat-like creature lurks, ominously, in every room. It's difficult to tell at the start whether his presence is threatening or benign. This, combined with the wobbly toddler-like movement and hazy graphics, creates a completely disorienting effect that recalls long-lost, disjointed memories from childhood. It's a short game at around 20-40 minutes, and it's deeply unsettling.

8 The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo

A classic Itch.io horror game, The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo is an interactive story that will give the player goosebumps. Based on a creepy pasta, The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo tells the story of a child, visiting their best friend for a sleepover. Their friend is excited because their uncle (who, unsurprisingly, works for Nintendo) is on their way.

Right away, something feels 'off' about this mysterious uncle, and the player can make choices that will decide the ultimate outcome. It's a creepy game, laden with mysteries to uncover, and the sound design brings the text to life. It's a short game, but it's worth uncovering as many of the endings as possible. It's a great game to fill an hour on a dark evening, especially if you prefer scary games with no gore.

7 Perfect Vermin

Perfect Vermin is an interesting game. Unsettling rather than terrifying, it's a short game at around half an hour, but it's incredibly thought-provoking. The game opens with the player in an elevator. The door opens, and the player is given a simple instruction: move using WASD and left-click to interact.

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'Interacting' in this game means 'smash with a hammer', and the player must move around an empty office building, smashing items that don't seem to belong: an extra chair by a desk, a fridge sticking out in the staff room. Smashing these objects does not break them apart: it obliterates them in an oddly gory explosion of blood. The game gets progressively weirder (and more intense) from there. It's a short but very memorable experience.

6 Anatomy

Anatomy is around 45 minutes long, but every single second of it is tense. The player must explore an abandoned house, playing old tape recordings. Only the content of those tapes is not exactly reassuring.

It's not a jumpy game. If players are looking to jump out of their seats, they won't find that here. However, it's amazingly tense, creating a real sense of fear. The sound design is excellent, with the warping, warbling tapes adding old-school terror. This is another game with multiple endings, and it's worth exploring each one to make the most of it.

5 Ao Oni

Ao Oni is a Japanese survival game. Launching way back in 2004, it's a fan favorite, spawning many fan games (and an official novel, too). Ao Oni has a monster with a horrible face, and it's the kind of image that sticks in the player's mind long after they finish it. Ao Oni is an incredibly creative piece of work, and it's worth looking out for an English translation (although only two of the four versions have been translated into English so far). It's free to download and lasts about an hour.

In the game, the player must explore an abandoned mansion. The main character, Hiroshi, soon finds out that the mansion is haunted by the 'Blue Demon' (Ao Oni). This creature will chase the player as they solve puzzles, explore the mansion, and try to escape. It's excellently scary, and a fun game to try out with friends.

4 Erie

Erie is a free horror game. Set in 1996, the player is charged with investigating a power generator after an incident occurs. However, events quickly start to change, and players must escape the facility they are trapped in without getting caught by a horrible creature. Escaping involves running around, collecting items in order, and not getting grabbed along the way.

It's a fun, high-tension game that is great to play with friends. Lasting around an hour, it's also a great one to watch on YouTube: some big YouTubers have tackled Erie over the years, with entertaining results.

3 IMSCARED

Another YouTube classic, IMSCARED lasts for around an hour. Players must escape a room, but of course, that's way easier than it sounds. A creature, White Face, will appear suddenly, and players must keep on their toes in order to dodge them.

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IMSCARED gets pretty meta: for example, it can add files to the player's computer. Like Doki Doki Literature Club (another good, short game, although it's a lot of reading to fit into one session, which is why we didn't include it on this list), it removes the fourth wall to get under the players' skin. IMSCARED has brilliant music and sound design, and it's another fun game to play on a dark night.

2 One Late Night

One Late Night is set in an empty office building. It recalls that creepy feeling of being the last one in the office at night, only in the game, things start to fall apart pretty quickly. The main character, a graphic designer, is alone working late in the office. When strange things start to happen (weird messages on the computer, phones ringing suddenly with ominous voices on the other side), it's up to the player to work out what's going on.

One Late Night is an hour long, and it's a satisfying game to play from start to finish in one sitting. It gets more terrifying as it progresses. Plus, there's a sequel that players can check out afterward, called One Late Night: Deadline.

1 Iron Lung

Released in 2022 using PS1-style graphics, Iron Lung is set in a fictional universe where every habitable planet and star has died. The only remaining humans are those living on space stations or starships. In the aftermath of this 'Quiet Rapture', the player steps into the role of a convict, tasked with exploring the depths of an ocean of blood on a new planet. The question is: what lurks down there in the dark?

The player must navigate to points marked on a map using coordinates, without crashing into obstacles. Once they arrive there, they need to take a photograph of each location before moving on to the next one. It quickly becomes clear, however, that the player isn't alone down there. It's a tense game, sitting around the 1-hour mark, with an excellent ending.

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