As a fleeting moment of being frightened can feel like a lifetime, many survival horror games tend to only be around six to eight hours long, but other developers choose to design horrors much shorter, with the hopes of shocking and impressing players. They stand by the logic of keeping it short and leaving a lasting impression, rather than outstaying their welcome.
On the other hand, there are many horror games that can take tens of hours to fully play through, prolonging gamers’ terror and displeasure as they turn each corridor of a haunted house or scramble for the way out of a forest. Whether successful or not, here are the five shortest and the five longest survival horror games.
10 Shortest: Blair Witch
This adaptation of one of the most low-budget but horrifying movies of all time, The Blair Witch Project, may come as no surprise that it’s one of the shortest survival horror games on consoles, as the majority of the game is trying not to trip over branches in forests.
The game might clock in at just five hours, and that’s for casual gamers, but the game packs in more than enough jump scares, perhaps too many.
9 Longest: The Evil Within
With a game-time of 37 hours, The Evil Within is one of the longest games to play with the lights off. It is ranked as the scariest game on the PS4, and as it was developed by the Resident Evil creator, it comes as no surprise.
However, unlike Resident Evil, The Evil Within focuses more on psychological horror, a la Silent Hill, as opposed to physical beasts. As it has some of the most disturbing images ever rendered in a game, it may take the faint-hearted even longer than 37 hours.
8 Shortest: Outlast
Outlast is a game that could be completed in one evening long playthrough, but what makes this game so short (and scary) is that players are completely helpless and most of what happens on screen are completely out of the player’s control.
Though there are tonnes of enemies in the game world, the player is unable to engage in a fight and players are forced to explore the world, staying out of harm’s way. Though there is a significant lack of combat compared to The Last Of Us, Outlast was named as one of the few zombie horrors better than the AAA game.
7 Longest: Left 4 Dead 2
Though this Valve developed survival horror isn’t quite as long as it’s predecessor, Left 4 Dead 2 is still one of the longest horror videogames, totaling around 40 hours to fully complete.
And as if that wasn’t enough content for a game that will leave you pale white after just two hours, it is reported that the game will be getting a content update, and that’s after laying dormant for a full decade!
6 Shortest: Resident Evil: Survivor
Survivor, one of the earliest Resident Evil games, and the first that was in the perspective of first-person is the shortest Resident Evil game and one of the shortest survival horror games of all time. However, Capcom changed the gameplay to suit the game’s length, and the result was two hours full of fun.
Being more of an arcade game, Survivor used the PlayStation light-gun to shoot at enemies on-screen, similar to an on-rails shooter. Should the gameplay style return to the franchise, it would be embraced with open arms.
5 Longest: Resident Evil 6
On the other side of the spectrum is the longest game in the Resident Evil franchise and one of the longest survival horror games in the genre’s history. Coming in at almost 60 hours long, it has been argued that the game is begging to be adapted into a TV show.
However, the 60 hours it takes to totally complete the game is easier to stomach than the other games, as Resident Evil 6 is more of an action game than a survival horror game, something it has been criticized for.
4 Shortest: P.T.
Oddly enough, P.T. has been described as one of the most beautiful games of the decade, and the game was hyped to no end, as it was a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and filmmaking auteur, Guillermo Del Toro.
Originally dubbed as a teaser for a mysterious Silent Hill game, which was eventually canceled, this two-hour journey is what could have been of the Silent Hill franchise.
3 Longest: Left 4 Dead (70 hours)
Being one of the best pandemic themed video games in recent years, Left 4 Dead is one of the most refreshing survival horrors with its energetic gameplay, succinctly switching between erratic shootouts and trying not to make any noise.
One playthrough of the game can take as long as 70 hours, and there are a slew of different game modes too, making the game replayable able as hell.
2 Shortest: One Late Night
There’s nothing more horrifying than working nine to five in an office, and One Late Night ups the ante of laborious and menial paperwork by turning the IKEA furniture stuffed workplace into a theatre of horror.
Easily the shortest survival horror game, clocking in at just one hour long, One Late Night is an indie game that is so immersive and relatable, as opposed to just another zombie apocalypse.
1 Longest: Bloodborne
From the genius developers behind Dark Souls, the intentionally cryptic creators released the very longest survival horror game there has ever been, which is undoubtedly Bloodborne.
No other survival horror game has even come close, as the epic takes more than 75 hours to play through just once. The world of Bloodborne is so huge and expansive that there have been countless fan theories that, after having your mind warped from playing a survival horror for 70+ hours, will actually start to make sense.