Highlights
- Indie developers put incredible love, time, and effort into their games, creating amazing horror experiences for players to enjoy.
- Some of the most inventive horror games are free on Steam and include players of every budget.
- From idle clickers to point-and-click adventures, there are a variety of free horror games on Steam to suit your favorite subgenre.
The amount of love, time, and effort that indie developers have put into their games is incredible. Their primary goal isn’t necessarily to make money but to put their passion to work by creating amazing experiences for others to enjoy. Some of the best horror games aren’t always expensive triple-A games from huge game developers.
If you want to play horror games that won’t empty your wallet, we have provided the best free-to-play horror games on Steam. These range from pixel RPGs and point-and-click adventures to VR rail shooters. You're sure to find an entry in your favorite horror subgenre.
Updated on September 17, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: With spooky season rapidly upon us, we're updating plenty of our horror game lists to make sure you're enjoying only the best spooks and scares. We're touching up our picks for the best free horror games on Steam for the 2023 Halloween season - the price tag should never be the scariest part of a game!
15 Scream Collector
Scream Collector is an idle clicker with the goal of creating the scariest haunted house, decorating both the inside and outside of your haunted house to maximize its creep factor. The developers made the game entirely using pixel art, but they added a special touch by animating everything. Bats fly, eyes blink from the walls, and everything makes a sound when clicked.
There are four different locations, each with minigames that add extra fun. There are some microtransactions, but they aren't mandatory to progress the game - the developers did an excellent job adding them only to help support the team.
14 Alpha Polaris: A Horror Adventure Game
Alpha Polaris is a slow-burn, point-and-click, character-driven horror game that takes inspiration from Cthulhu mythos and Inuit legends. Alpha Polaris is an American oil research station in Greenland that experiences cosmic horror events. You take on the role of a graduate student staying at Alpha Polaris while completing his thesis.
The station experiences strange events after the research team discovers some mysterious bones. You will navigate the station while interacting with its crew and solving puzzles to find the source of the events. The game features voice-acted dialogue, an original soundtrack, and hand-drawn assets.
13 Cry Of Fear
Cry of Fear is a psychological horror game where you take on the role of a young man investigating the cause of creatures descending upon the town of Fäversholm. The game features an eight-hour campaign that you can play either solo or with up to three other players.
It also has multiple endings, with 20 unlockables and an extra campaign after beating the main story. There are 24 weapons to choose from, and it also has a fantastic, five-hour soundtrack that really adds to the atmosphere.
12 No More Room In Hell
“When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth” is a quote from George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. The developers took this as their title, and the game is an homage to Romero’s zombie masterpieces. No More Room In Hell is a realistic zombie survival game, with dynamic objective maps that make every playthrough experience unique.
The game features cross-platform multiplayer (up to eight players), 30-plus weapons, text and voice communication limited by distance, and shelter management. Will you make Romero proud by surviving the zombie apocalypse, or will you become just another zombie searching for its next meal?
11 Doki Doki Literature Club!
Doki Doki Literature Club! is a visual novel game that appears to be ultra-cute on the surface, but it slowly reveals plenty of dark twists and disturbing undertones. It is a fun, terrifying take on dating simulators that will leave you thinking about it long after it is over.
This is one of those games you'll want to play uninformed to experience it all first-hand. It comes with a well-deserved warning, so player discretion is advised. A paid DLC includes a beautiful soundtrack, high-resolution wallpapers, and a concept art booklet if you can't get enough of the game.
10 Entropy: Zero 2
Entropy: Zero 2 is an extremely well-developed Half-Life 2 mod that unofficially continues the story of Half-Life. Take control of the witty protagonist, "Bad Cop," as you explore the Arbeit Communications facility. Half-Life fans consider it canon and an official part of the series because of how well it was created.
The game features a seven-chapter campaign that is fully voiced, and also contains overhauled combat and AI systems and 39 achievements for the completionists. We recommend this if you are a Half-Life fan.
9 Trick And Treat
Trick and Treat is a 90-minute puzzle-solving horror game set in a cursed mansion. You take on the role of Amelia, who is trick-or-treating with her maid, Charlotte. When they both decide to visit a mansion, Amelia suddenly finds herself lost in a mansion with supernatural creatures living inside.
Your goal is to find Charlotte by traversing the mansion and solving puzzles. The game features cute pixel graphics, multiple endings (and dead ends), and fun music. There is a paid remake of Trick and Treat that offers visual and resolution upgrades if you enjoyed this free version, too.
8 Ultimate Custom Night
Ultimate Custom Night is a free-to-play entry in the Five Nights At Freddy’s series. This is a good entry into the series if you've never played one before since it's free.
Ultimate Custom Night lets you choose from 50 different animatronic characters, spanning seven games. You can also select their difficulty level based on your skill level and understanding of the mechanics. There are 16 challenges, voice actors from the series, and many unlockable skins and cutscenes.
7 The Supper
Octavi Navarro, the creator of Midnight Scenes and The Librarian, brings you a point-and-click adventure game that is equal parts endearing and grotesque. The game deals with heavy themes of life, death, and revenge, all with a rather emotional ending.
You take on the role of a tavern owner named Ms. Appleton, who, after waking up in the tavern’s kitchen, has a voice in her head telling her to serve meals to the tavern’s guests. You will explore the surrounding town while finding ingredients to use in the food that you serve your guests.
6 Grimm’s Hollow
In Grimm’s Hollow, you traverse the afterlife, searching for your brother in the town of Hollow. Armed with only a scythe, you will explore creepy locations like haunted caves while battling ghosts.
Grimm’s Hollow features four alternate endings, quirky characters, an emotional plot, beautiful art assets, and fun RPG mechanics that all lead to a fantastic experience that will make you forget you are playing a free-to-play game. The developer offers a fan pack that includes an art book and wallpapers for you to remember the game long after you beat it.
5 Propagation VR
Propagation VR is a rail shooter that takes place during a zombie apocalypse. It is a static wave shooter, with each round taking roughly thirty minutes to complete. What makes Propagation unique is the weapon handling system. It makes you think about using specific weapons — each has its unique abilities — and keeping track of your ammo.
When all else fails, your fists will become your life-saving backups as you try out the four difficulties to choose from. While the base game is free, the developers offer a paid DLC that enables a two-player co-op mode.
4 Tiny Bunny: Prologue
Tiny Bunny: Prologue is a horror visual novel set in a small village in the Siberian forest. You take on the role of Anton, whose family just moved to the village. Control Anton as he investigates terrifying events that start in his nightmares but soon become real. Your choices affect how the story plays out. It is the beginning of a fantastic episodic series.
Tiny Bunny’s unique atmosphere, original soundtrack, and art style will make you want more. Lucky for you, several of the five episodes are available for download already.
3 Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle
Friday The 13th: Killer Puzzle has you taking on the role of Jason Voorhees with the goal of slaying campers. This game mixes humor and puzzle-solving, taking place in all the iconic locations from the movie’s many entries. Play on R Mode for the most gruesome kills and PG mode for a family-friendly experience.
There are currently 100-plus free puzzle levels spread across eight episodes. The remaining paid DLC adds additional puzzle levels and visual additions to the game but isn't mandatory to progress or enjoy the game.
2 Dagon: By H.P. Lovecraft
If Lovecraftian horror is the goal, few options are as perfect as Dagon: by H.P. Lovecraft. This is a 3D, interactive recreation of a short story of the same name. You are a sailor who washes ashore on a strange, black land.
If you want to support the developer or get more of their content, DLC for Dagon exists that showcases more of Lovecraft's work. This includes a 3D recreation of another Lovecraft story the author wrote when he was only seven years old.
1 Liquidators
W makes Liquidators so terrifying is that it's not only possible, but already happened. This game tells the story of the Liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant during the disaster of 1986. Liquidators were the volunteers who returned to the plant during the meltdown to contain the problem before it got worse.
You have three lives, each one based on a real-life person, and your goal is to navigate to the cooling chamber and release the valves. It's a nightmare scenario that real people experienced, making it all the more emotionally provoking. It's the blend of history and horror that makes this the best free horror game on Steam.