Halloween is upon us, and what better way to prepare for the spookiest holiday of the year than by diving deep into the best stories the horror genre has to offer?
Calling you if you’re looking for the best horror movies or horror TV to watch on Netflix (or the best horror movies in general). But what about video games? 2023 has been an amazing year for horror games so far, from modern adaptations of classics like Resident Evil 4 and Dead space in new titles such as The Outlast Trials, Dredge, Amnesia: The Bunkerand more.
We’ve put together a list of some of the best short horror games to play with just a few days left before Halloween. Whether you’re looking for a chilling psychological horror experience or a frantic splatter-core nightmare, these are some of the best games to play this season.
Helltown
Programmer: WildArts Studio
Average playing time: 1 hour 30m
Where to buy: Steam, itch.io
If you like popular horror movies, please like The Wicker Man and Enys Menyou will love it Helltown. Developed by Nicolas Lamarche and Gabriel Bolduc Dufour, Helltown follows the story of a postman assigned to deliver parcels to an isolated rural neighborhood called Little Vale. After their first day on the job, things quickly take a sinister turn as disturbing visions manifest into an insidious plot full of demonic cultists and unspeakable horrors. An open world horror exploration game, Helltown offers multiple endings and collectibles and is the perfect game for those who enjoy plunging into the unknown.
No one lives under the lighthouse
Programmer: Marevo Collective
Average playing time: 2h
Where to buy: Steam
Fans of slow-burn psychological horror with oppressive atmospheres and an emphasis on powerful sound design should definitely check this out No one lives under the lighthouse. Like Robert Eggers The lighthouse, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, this game puts players in the role of a lighthouse keeper who takes over the management of a small island off the coast of the United States after the former keeper leaves their position. Unlike the aforementioned film, you are alone. with no one else to keep you company as you tend to the tower light and run errands across the island. Or is it you?
The One That Gave Pursuit
Programmer: Aslak Karlsen Hauglid
Average playing time: 1 hour
Where to buy: Steam, itch.io
In this experimental first-person horror game, players take on the role of a sled dog hired by a mysterious scientist to escort him safely across the frozen plains of the Arctic to a remote research facility. Along the way, the pair encounter increasingly strange and disturbing phenomena that call into question the scientist’s motives, if not the entire mission as a whole. Can you trust the scientist and what’s up with all these strange visions?
Mothered – A Role-Playing Horror Game
Programmer: Enigma Studio
Average playing time: 2h
Where to buy: Steam, itch.io
In this horror role-playing game (see the title?), you are Liana, a young girl recovering from life-saving surgery. Returning home, she wakes up one morning expecting to meet her mother, only to be greeted by a mannequin-like figure resembling her mother. What is happening here? As the week progresses, Liana must unravel the mystery behind her strange condition before time runs out.
The second game from Jamie Gavin, a Galway-based game developer working under the moniker “Enigma Studio” alongside composer Karl Barnes, Mother is the middle entry in a loose trilogy of games set to conclude this year in November Echostasis. If you enjoyed this, you should definitely check it out Mothered: Home — the “DLC sequel” is still available to play for free through it Haunted PS1 “Spectral Mall” Demo Disc.
Stay out of the house
Programmer: Puppet Combo
Average playing time: 4h 30m
Where to buy: Steam
Benedetto “Ben” Cocuzza is a game developer known for his unique low-complexity survival horror games inspired by the 80’s VHS aesthetic and classic slasher horror films. Taking cues from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The hills have eyes, Stay out of the house is a stealth game where players take on the role of a young woman who is kidnapped while on a road trip with her boyfriend across the Oklahoma border. To escape, players must sneak through the labyrinthine interior of a masked madman’s dilapidated home without alerting him or his disturbed family members.
