11 Best Free Horror Games On Steam That You Should Know Update 03/2024

best free horror games on steam

For horror game fans, the rise of online gaming has been more beneficial than for other types of games, because many well-known games started out as free-to-play indie games. There are no more Flash games. Because of this, Steam is now one of the best places for those indie game developers to show off their work.

Players, on the other hand, will be happy to know that there are always a lot of new free-to-play games to play on Steam. You can find a lot of great free to play horror games for people who like horror games on Steam, and they’re getting better and better all the time. Here are some of the best.

1. After Hours

After Hours

This movie isn’t perfect, but it makes up for it with a great sense of place. The game can be scary at times because of how much thought and attention to detail went into making its setting and how well it used sound.

After Hours, like many free-to-play horror games before it, takes place in a hospital that is no longer used. Players have to look around and get out of the abandoned building while being chased by the mysterious creature that lives there. Stealth and silence will be important for people who want to live, but even then, nothing is safe.

2. At Home Alone Final

If you look at the game’s title, you might think that At Home Alone Final took a long time to make. The current version was released at the beginning of 2022. This means that the game ends up being a lot more spooky than scary, but it still deserves to be in the upper echelons of the genre of free-to-play horror games.

The contrast between the cute and colourful art style and some of the dark themes and images in the game works very well and makes the game even creepier. Because the game can be slow to start and the translation isn’t perfect, but neither of these things should be enough to take away from how good it is.

3. Cry of Fear

Cry of Fear

Silent Hill and Half-Life make up one of the most well-known games in history. Cry of Fear is one of the best free-to-play games out there. The game is like a triple-A game, with an 8-hour campaign and multiple endings, as well as a co-op experience and a diverse modding community that makes everyone happy.

Cry of Fear takes the idea of Silent Hill’s otherworld and turns it into a first-person survival shooter, like the one in the movie. While the addition of heavy weapons might make the game less scary, CoF does a great job of making the player feel helpless anyway, with limited resources and scares lurking around every corner.

4. Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft

“A 3D narrative experience in madness”: Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft is one of the most immersive free-to-play horror games on Steam. It’s called “Dagon.” Most indie game developers can only dream of adding this kind of thing to their games, especially if they’re giving them away for free. At least when it’s played in VR mode.

One of many games that are based on H.P. Lovecraft’s work, it can be played with or without a VR headset. If you want to finish the whole thing in less than half an hour, this visual novel will likely have you coming back when you’re in the mood for another spooky boat ride.

5. Dark Fracture: Prologue

Dark Fracture Prologue

As of now, there’s no word on when the full version of Dark Fracture will be out. If the prologue is any indication, the game looks like it will be one of the best free first-person horror games on Steam. The visuals and audio work together to create a spooky atmosphere, while the thought-provoking puzzles add just the right amount of challenge.

Classed as a stand-alone game, the prologue is meant to give players a taste of what they can expect in the full game. It has its own spooky story, and it does a great job of introducing the main character Edward while also letting players into the dark depths of his mind.

6. Deceit

It’s possible that some recent changes to Deceit have made the game less enjoyable. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a lot of fun to be had with this asymmetrical multiplayer game. A lot of work has been done by the game’s developer, Baseline, to make sure that both playing as a survivor and as one of the infected are fun.

The game is set in a mysterious place, and the blackouts that happen at the end of each zone really add to the sense of danger. People have to think on their feet when they’re facing an infected in their terror form, which makes them move quickly.

7. Doki Doki Literature Club

Doki Doki Literature Club

It was a late entry into the YouTube horror craze, but Doki Doki Literature Club quickly became a favourite because its cover of a “raunchy fan-service visual novel” quickly turned into something a lot more scary. For people who like Japanese horror movies, Doki Doki is like a supernatural version of the plot of Audition, which is about a shocking romance.

The game doesn’t rely on shock value to get by, though. It’s interesting for people who want to see more psychological horror media after the recent surge of Silent Hill-inspired games. It’s also been praised by both critics and players as a new twist on visual novels, a genre that has become a lot like dollar store romance novels in the modern world.

8. Estigma

When you think about it, Estigma is an easy game with a simple but satisfying gameplay loop. Even though it doesn’t look like it at first glance. At its heart, it’s a little like Pac Man, but in this game, everything can and likely will kill the player at every chance it gets.

Probably not more than a few hours, but for the price, that’s still a good deal. A lot of the time, the visuals are very impressive. The gameplay is also very fast-paced, which can really get your heart racing.

9. SCP: Secret Laboratory 

SCP Secret Laboratory 

Steam has a lot of games that are related to SCP (Secure, Contain, Protect), but this one is the best. There is a fictional sci-fi world called the SCP universe. In this world, things that don’t follow the rules of nature are hidden by the SCP Foundation.

After a containment breach by the Chaos Insurgency, a group that wants to free some of the potentially dangerous things that were held at one of the SCP Foundation’s sites, the Secret Laboratory is set up. There are a lot of people in the game who have a part in the breach, like Foundation security, scientists, lab-rat prisoners called D-Class, Chaos Insurgency members, and more. You can play them all. A great first-person horror game. It’s one of the best there is.

10. Dark Deception

This game is like a horrific version of Pac-man—if you could see from a first-person view and the monsters chasing you were the stuff of nightmares. In Dark Deception, you are stuck in a maze with a lot of traps and nowhere to hide. Find a way out and stay away from the monsters that are coming for you to live.

These monsters look very silly, which is why they were made that way. This makes the game more like a dark comedy horror than anything else. However, you’ll have to be quick-thinking to last long in this game and you can expect to be scared a lot.

11. No More Room In Hell

No More Room In Hell

Made in honour of George Romero’s classic movie Dawn of the Dead, this game has a unique zombie experience. You play as one of the few people who are left when zombies take over. You have to work with other people to stay alive. A lot of things happen in the game, like killing zombies and strategizing with your team to live.

If you want a fun twist on zombie games, No More Room In Hell is the game for you.