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From Alan Wake‘s musical odyssey to the nightmarish symbolism of Pyramid Head, horror covers a broad spectrum. No one explores new ideas, mechanics, and art styles like indie devs, however, and Itch is one of the best places to find them. Sorting through the storefront’s massive catalog of horror can take ages, so we’ve done the legwork and tracked down some choice cuts for you (insert obligatory slasher joke). Here are 10 of the best free Itch.io horror games you can play this Halloween.
1998
1998 is a found footage-style exploration game set in the Backrooms. Without even creepy music to keep you company, it’s a lonely and unsettling adventure. There are puzzles, but the main draw is the atmosphere. It doesn’t need dolls to terrify you (although, yes, it brought dolls anyway). From the meathooks to the mannequins, there’s a lot to hate about 1998 in all the best ways, making it one of the best free horror games on Itch.io.
BloodbornePSX
BloodbornePSX is a fan project demake of FromSoftware’s gothic Soulslike. The PSX retro aesthetic is the perfect match for Yharnam’s spooky Victorian vibes. The combat also captures the spirit of the original, although there have been some concessions. Do you need more of an excuse to get savaged by a werewolf this Halloween? Neither do we. Father Gascoigne (or at least his low-poly cousin) is waiting to end spooky season right.
Flesh, Blood, & Concrete
Flesh, Blood, & Concrete walks a fine line between comfort and disgust. The art depicts trees, children’s faces, and entrails with the same loving attention, and the sound design adds a ton of warmth and richness to even simple interactions. It’s brief, mysterious, and quietly upsetting. If you’re on the hunt for a horror game that doesn’t need a ton of jumpscares to get into your head, this is one.
Bad Parenting 1: Mr Red Face
A nostalgic throwback to ’90s cartoons, Bad Parenting 1: Mr Red Face takes about half an hour to beat. Your skin might crawl for much longer. Mr Red Face was created as an educational tool for children, but Ron and his children see a far side different side of the character. It’s sad and unsettling in a dozen different ways, but if you’re down for a rough romp through existential horror, Bad Parenting 1 hits all the right notes.
If On a Winter’s Night, Four Travelers
The point-and-click genre isn’t known as the ideal horror playground, but If On a Winter’s Night, Four Travelers may make you think otherwise. Following the stories of four characters in a masked ball (taking place on a train in the ’20s, because why not), this narrative-driven adventure gives Old Hollywood vibes. The music and animations also evoke the same feelings as a silent film, where strange and arbitrary things keep disturbing the veil of normalcy.
Dead Plate
Set in 1960s France, Dead Plate follows Rody, a waiter trying to cash in on a week at a fancy bistro. Then we meet the bistro’s chef, Vince, and things get complicated. It’s a 2D restaurant tycoon game, but with trigger warnings for cannibalism and gore, you know it’s going to get messy. There are multiple endings and other goodies, so Dead Plate gives you several reasons to go back for seconds (and thirds).
Missed Messages
A horror romance about life, death, and memes, Missed Messages lures you in with its soothing art before taking out a hammer and smashing your heart to pieces. It deals with heavy themes including self-harm, but if you’re in the headspace for something weighty with darkness and anticipatory dread, this is one of the best horror games you can play on Itch.io this Halloween. With multiple endings and a structure that rewards multiple playthroughs, Missed Messages isn’t one to miss.
Exhibit of Sorrows
Visit a clown museum. Interact with the exhibits. Get keys. Press further into the museum. Leave, leave, leave. Why can’t I leave? Exhibit of Sorrows transforms a series of WarioWare-style minigames into a descent into circus-themed madness. The simplicity of its opening and mechanics do a great job of setting up the uncomfiness to come. If you’re on the prowl for creepy clowns, grab a free ticket to Exhibit of Sorrows.
Baby Blues Nightmares – Chapter 1
Take away the player’s tools, and make them feel helpless. How? If you ask Baby Blues Nightmare – Chapter 1, the answer is “make them a toddler.” Cruising around daycare on a tricycle after hours is a recipe for horror even before you start adding supernatural meanies and things that go bump in the night. You can upgrade and customize your tricycle when you aren’t sneaking around, and you can even eat chocolate to repress your urge to cry. Hey, that works in real life, too!
P.T. – The Stairway 7
P.T. will forever remain a tantalizing glimpse of what might’ve been, inspiring a generation of spiritual successors. P.T. – The Stairway 7 gives you a simple task: climb the stairs. If you see an anomaly, go back down to the previous floor to make it go away. No anomaly? Keep climbing.
It’s a story about you, your cat, and the blood that definitely wasn’t there the last time you reached that landing. Kojima isn’t giving us P.T. any time soon, but at least we have The Stairway for some Halloween thrills.
