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Horror Games like P.T. (Free for the Whole Family)

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Inspired by this thread.

Okay.png


P.T. has a lot of attention, and I say deservedly so. It's an interesting Triple AAA take on those short experience horror games that have become very popular in the last four years on PC. In fact, I thought that was deliberately what they were trying to go for... One of those horror game experiences that are short, to the point, free, but good fun and a good experience all their own. Now not all of them feature hallways (some do) or weird fetuses in the sink, but they're out there, and some are very good. And almost all of them are free.

Of course I don't mean matching P.T. in terms of production value, graphics, or anything like that, as obviously P.T. will blow any of these short horror games out of the water with that (they have money behind them, a full product in the making, and a full team full of experienced and talented people behind it), but I think it's kind of important to point out as I've to think that most people haven't realized where P.T. is coming from, or what it seems to have been inspired by.

By 'like P.T.", I mean short and free horror experiences that are based around either cryptic solutions, triggering events, or wandering as things happen.

For sake of clarity, I'm skipping games that aren't very similar to it (such as RPG Maker horror, which there is some fantastic horror games made with, such as Ib or Witch's House or Yume Nikki, but nothing resembling P.T.), Slender clones, and the like.

I also am not putting these in any order, but how I recall them. Obviously I have not played every horror game under the sun (yet), so there are many I may miss, and definitely feel free to people in this topic to post more, and also discuss experiences with the various games, etc. In some cases I also went off popular user opinion of some that are considered good, not specifically what I think is good.

A lot of these games are best experienced with little to no description of what you're playing, Suggest you play in the dark, with headphones, and do not research the game. Just be warned some are a bit cryptic with how to continue, or close you out which you need to open up to resume.

Read at least the above two paragraphs, and know scariness is subjective, I tried to include a good variety of pretty interesting short free horror game experiences, not all of which I consider scary.

SCP-087
nzggga.jpg

Experimental horror game about stairs. Started the craze of SCP games.
Download: http://www.scpcbgame.com/SCP-087-B.zip

Toy Maker
hqdefault.jpg

DOS horror game about an urban legend, supposedly old, not the best on the list but the first that came to mind.
Download: https://mega.co.nz/#!RV5iGLKK!ZJNDqz994Vxx5XFEqhyEFWC0REoAHAXsKhPOR8-rYHU

Which
which3a.png

Your world is black and white, a heart beats...
Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/which/download-distribution/1572/?os=windows

One Late Night
onelate-300x169.jpg

You're in your office on one late night...
Windows Download: http://download.onelatenight.com/OneLateNight.zip
Mac Download: http://download.onelatenight.com/OneLateNight_osx.zip
Linux Download: http://download.onelatenight.com/OneLateNight_linux.zip

The Lady in Black
59896.jpg

Let's go explore a house.
Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/the-lady-in-black/download-distribution/33775/?os=windows

Insanidade
medium_1_screenshot.png

To insanity you go.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/rye9fa0fjbk99xx/INSANIDADE+V.3.0.rar

The Train
image-0EAE_51E27C8A.1.jpg

You're on a train.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/57728/113/d2aaa1a6b56d82086f7671478f5050c7

7Days
Immagine-570x333.jpg

Pixelated 3D Horror.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/55145/113/39f945781fb900763cc22264b2425f4b

Bunker 16
46256-550x309.jpg

Find keys, escape the bunker.
Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/bunker16/download-distribution/25187/?os=windows

Townlore
townlore_gamejolt.png

I said no RPG Maker games but for this I make an exception. More creepy than scary, and obtuse.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/77l2oeva9h5yrth/funny_game.zip


---

Edit: Collected some more and decided to put them in the OP. I haven't played these, these are just user-suggested from IndieDB. All future titles will be in regular posts and not updated in the OP, as a heads-up.

Survived
image.jpg

It's the end of the world.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69958/113/a3b11fcd42aebef97100eacb9a973b81

Scare
scare2.jpeg

But is it really that scary? It does look pretty.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69824/113/12f8f2ac4288b9731f5ea744abd49830

The Cursed Forest
70.jpg

Deep in the woods...
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/66711/100/067e929c4535117707032fb236977ef1

Kuro Oni
pic7.jpg

Ever played Ao Oni (pretty good RPG Maker horror game)? This is basically a 3D version of that.
Windows Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/h5uu7rbqgjther3/KuroOniV1.2.rar
Mac Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?x5a7n6vnjormd8x

Lurking
ss3.png

You're making sound, it can hear you.
Window Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69263/113/7288c6e1378aa47a99a0e182af9c94d1
Windows with Oculus Rift Support: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69265/113/ec8aa8368d7f429b2f4b74198745f2ae
Mac: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69264/113/fde90408d77209635891bba729346fb7

Lights & Shadow
Lights_Shadows_2013-11-19_18-05-24-44.png

I've heard this game is difficult but good.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61809/113/2457a5c07ac6e2de30bea104eb58f461
Download 32-bit: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61981/113/97cc686e8cde09cc3d4d2492f1009e06

Segatakai
screenshot12.png

This one is a slight Slender clone (as in you collect things), but I let it slide since there's a lot more to it.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61906/113/3e905b7b9c76b39ede42e941190094b0

The Deep Well
3.2.png

Can you escape from the depths of the well?
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61545/113/82142dfda4524358ad696dbbbad0de6f


Living in a Glass House
2014-02-16_15_03_59-Greenshot.jpg

Make sure it doesn't shatter,
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/65819/101/42dd069f41daf9535812146d3a8feeb9

Pesadelo: O início / The Beginning
screenshot4.png

One of those escape games.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/62290/113/97672dfbcabe8d18224fcf53186a2834

Imscared
Screen4.png

Escape your pixely face nightmares.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/47418/113/993ef38a8539aad153dba5111fd03c0e

SCP: Containment Breach
timthumb.php

Don't blink.
Download: https://mega.co.nz/#!OMQ0XIZQ!UMucM6mTbgunixE06bHgdGh5nH-6Qq8tGafqTuv3FcY




---



Please throw more suggestions, I still have a lot out there to play, these were just a few I recalled off the top that follow a sort of 'horror event cryptic solve' method that P.T. does, not in any particular order of quality again, I'll post again with more later if people are interested in this.
 
Awesome will download some for sure. Have my nephew over next week and he had a blast with me and some lols with Outlast. So P.T and some of these will keep us busy.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Awesome will download some for sure. Have my nephew over next week and he had a blast with me and some lols with Outlast. So P.T and some of these will keep us busy.

Oh my, hope you two have fun.

Are any of these multiplayer?

None that I listed, but there are multiplayer horror short free experiences. I wouldn't say any in the sort of spirit P.T. has, or any I personally found creepy or scary, most that are multiplayer either have some action elements or are Slender clones, usually.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
There's a HL1 mod on Steam similar to these that's been interesting me. Can't think of the name

Cry of Fear? If that's the one, it's very good, and definitely took inspiration from older Silent Hill games and The Suffering, even has a separate co-op campaign. But I opted not to include it as that's more action-horror, though definitely parts of it are scary as fuck.

Also another set is Nightmare House and Nightmare House 2 especially, Half-Life 2 mods, but I decided not to include those even if in a similar style as they're mods and you need the base game to play them. With Cry of Fear you don't, though.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Also, one I haven't tried but to reply to something in the inspired from thread when I posted about it...

SCP-087 is probably one of the ones he's thinking of. It was a neat experiment that could really be fleshed out more.

I hear this game is supposed to be like the first game on this list (SCP-087) but more fleshed out. I have not played it yet, so I have no opinion, will play later and post impressions here.

The Stairs
23873.jpg

Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/stairs-pre-alpha-demo/download-distribution/13451/?os=windows
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
A few more I haven't played quite yet, but taking some suggestions from IndieDB users right now and researched them to see if they fit the sort of style, or close enough. Not in any order except how I collected them again, adding them also to the OP.

Survived
image.jpg

It's the end of the world.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69958/113/a3b11fcd42aebef97100eacb9a973b81

Scare
scare2.jpeg

But is it really that scary? It does look pretty.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69824/113/12f8f2ac4288b9731f5ea744abd49830

The Cursed Forest
70.jpg

Deep in the woods...
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/66711/100/067e929c4535117707032fb236977ef1

Kuro Oni
pic7.jpg

Ever played Ao Oni (pretty good RPG Maker horror game)? This is basically a 3D version of that.
Windows Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/h5uu7rbqgjther3/KuroOniV1.2.rar
Mac Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?x5a7n6vnjormd8x

Lurking
ss3.png

You're making sound, it can hear you.
Window Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69263/113/7288c6e1378aa47a99a0e182af9c94d1
Windows with Oculus Rift Support: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69265/113/ec8aa8368d7f429b2f4b74198745f2ae
Mac: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69264/113/fde90408d77209635891bba729346fb7

Lights & Shadow
Lights_Shadows_2013-11-19_18-05-24-44.png

I've heard this game is difficult but good.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61809/113/2457a5c07ac6e2de30bea104eb58f461
Download 32-bit: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61981/113/97cc686e8cde09cc3d4d2492f1009e06

Segatakai
screenshot12.png

This one is a slight Slender clone (as in you collect things), but I let it slide since there's a lot more to it.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61906/113/3e905b7b9c76b39ede42e941190094b0

The Deep Well
3.2.png

Can you escape from the depths of the well?
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61545/113/82142dfda4524358ad696dbbbad0de6f


Living in a Glass House
2014-02-16_15_03_59-Greenshot.jpg

Makesure it doesn't shatter,
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/65819/101/42dd069f41daf9535812146d3a8feeb9

Pesadelo: O início / The Beginning
screenshot4.png

One of those escape games.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/62290/113/97672dfbcabe8d18224fcf53186a2834
 

TMC

Member
Very cool idea for a thread! Thank you! I really enjoyed trying to get the teaser to occur last night in P.T. I actually spent 3 hours just on the very last segment of the teaser waiting for those 3 baby laughs. It was so satisfying when I finally got it. Will definitely check some of these out.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I can't recall where I found it, but someone once did a game based on Serial Experiments Lain's 'Kids' MMO which is creepy as hell.
 
2spooky, subscribed

I think I might get my DK2 Rift this week, can't wait to try some more compatible horror games. They're 150% better in VR.
 

DryvBy

Member
The thing that helped with P.T. is the graphics and sounds. They look amazing.

Can you guys recommend actually terrifying demos/games for the Rift? My DK2 may be here soon.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
None of these really come close to what P.T. managed to pull of though. :(

One of the things P.T. has which these games don't have is marketing for a bigger surprise announcement. In that sense, true, or if you look into production values, true. But I'd argue definitely a few of these match it in atmosphere, scariness level, crypticness, and gameplay execution. But I also went for a variety of ones either I thought were good, or were highly rated, and tried to sparse them out. And not base specifically on how 'scary' it was in all cases, as scariness is subjective, and a few of these are more creepy than scary. But things that follow a sort of similar schematic to what P.T. followed with in the indie horror scene.

For example, the first game on the list is probably the shortest and least complex, it was made in two days by a student who decided to do a test, he made a game based on an SCP entry (google what SCP is if you don't know), and was made as an atmosphere test. All the game really happens to be is about
going down stairs, with an ending that can come randomly at anytime, either immediately or 100s of stairs down, with a few random events.

It's simple but was creative and caught attention because it was good at doing what it did, and sprung a number of inspired indie devs to try something similar, and brought forth SCP games. I'm not saying its the best game on the list, but its the most simple, and some of these do look very pretty (The Train, Survive, and Scare especially), and others are really good at what they do.
 
Great effort Dusk! I usually don't play horror games, don't like getting scared.
But I have to say that Office game looks intriguing.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
I tried One Late Night...interesting concept but really janky.

About my thoughts, I like the casualness of the environment, it has some good atmosphere, and doesn't look bad for no budget, but has some jank to it and the
woman.
 

Quikies83

Member
and Cry of Fear. Some of the enemy designs are crazy creepy. I had a ton of fun with 2 other friends playing the co-op missions.
 
Inspired by this thread.

Okay.png


P.T. has a lot of attention, and I say deservedly so. It's an interesting Triple AAA take on those short experience horror games that have become very popular in the last four years on PC. In fact, I thought that was deliberately what they were trying to go for... One of those horror game experiences that are short, to the point, free, but good fun and a good experience all their own. Now not all of them feature hallways (some do) or weird fetuses in the sink, but they're out there, and some are very good. And almost all of them are free.

Of course I don't mean matching P.T. in terms of production value, graphics, or anything like that, as obviously P.T. will blow any of these short horror games out of the water with that (they have money behind them, a full product in the making, and a full team full of experienced and talented people behind it), but I think it's kind of important to point out as I've to think that most people haven't realized where P.T. is coming from, or what it seems to have been inspired by.

By 'like P.T.", I mean short and free horror experiences that are based around either cryptic solutions, triggering events, or wandering as things happen.

For sake of clarity, I'm skipping games that aren't very similar to it (such as RPG Maker horror, which there is some fantastic horror games made with, such as Ib or Witch's House or Yume Nikki, but nothing resembling P.T.), Slender clones, and the like.

I also am not putting these in any order, but how I recall them. Obviously I have not played every horror game under the sun (yet), so there are many I may miss, and definitely feel free to people in this topic to post more, and also discuss experiences with the various games, etc. In some cases I also went off popular user opinion of some that are considered good, not specifically what I think is good.

A lot of these games are best experienced with little to no description of what you're playing, Suggest you play in the dark, with headphones, and do not research the game. Just be warned some are a bit cryptic with how to continue, or close you out which you need to open up to resume.

Read at least the above two paragraphs, and know scariness is subjective, I tried to include a good variety of pretty interesting short free horror game experiences, not all of which I consider scary.

SCP-087
nzggga.jpg

Experimental horror game about stairs. Started the craze of SCP games.
Download: http://www.scpcbgame.com/SCP-087-B.zip

Toy Maker
hqdefault.jpg

DOS horror game about an urban legend, supposedly old, not the best on the list but the first that came to mind.
Download: https://mega.co.nz/#!RV5iGLKK!ZJNDqz994Vxx5XFEqhyEFWC0REoAHAXsKhPOR8-rYHU

Which
which3a.png

Your world is black and white, a heart beats...
Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/which/download-distribution/1572/?os=windows

One Late Night
onelate-300x169.jpg

You're in your office on one late night...
Windows Download: http://download.onelatenight.com/OneLateNight.zip
Mac Download: http://download.onelatenight.com/OneLateNight_osx.zip
Linux Download: http://download.onelatenight.com/OneLateNight_linux.zip

The Lady in Black
59896.jpg

Let's go explore a house.
Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/the-lady-in-black/download-distribution/33775/?os=windows

Insanidade
medium_1_screenshot.png

To insanity you go.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/rye9fa0fjbk99xx/INSANIDADE+V.3.0.rar

The Train
image-0EAE_51E27C8A.1.jpg

You're on a train.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/57728/113/d2aaa1a6b56d82086f7671478f5050c7

7Days
Immagine-570x333.jpg

Pixelated 3D Horror.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/55145/113/39f945781fb900763cc22264b2425f4b

Bunker 16
46256-550x309.jpg

Find keys, escape the bunker.
Download: http://gamejolt.com/games/bunker16/download-distribution/25187/?os=windows

Townlore
townlore_gamejolt.png

I said no RPG Maker games but for this I make an exception. More creepy than scary, and obtuse.
Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/77l2oeva9h5yrth/funny_game.zip


---

Edit: Collected some more and decided to put them in the OP. I haven't played these, these are just user-suggested from IndieDB. All future titles will be in regular posts and not updated in the OP, as a heads-up.

Survived
image.jpg

It's the end of the world.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69958/113/a3b11fcd42aebef97100eacb9a973b81

Scare
scare2.jpeg

But is it really that scary? It does look pretty.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69824/113/12f8f2ac4288b9731f5ea744abd49830

The Cursed Forest
70.jpg

Deep in the woods...
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/66711/100/067e929c4535117707032fb236977ef1

Kuro Oni
pic7.jpg

Ever played Ao Oni (pretty good RPG Maker horror game)? This is basically a 3D version of that.
Windows Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/h5uu7rbqgjther3/KuroOniV1.2.rar
Mac Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?x5a7n6vnjormd8x

Lurking
ss3.png

You're making sound, it can hear you.
Window Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69263/113/7288c6e1378aa47a99a0e182af9c94d1
Windows with Oculus Rift Support: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69265/113/ec8aa8368d7f429b2f4b74198745f2ae
Mac: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/69264/113/fde90408d77209635891bba729346fb7

Lights & Shadow
Lights_Shadows_2013-11-19_18-05-24-44.png

I've heard this game is difficult but good.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61809/113/2457a5c07ac6e2de30bea104eb58f461
Download 32-bit: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61981/113/97cc686e8cde09cc3d4d2492f1009e06

Segatakai
screenshot12.png

This one is a slight Slender clone (as in you collect things), but I let it slide since there's a lot more to it.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61906/113/3e905b7b9c76b39ede42e941190094b0

The Deep Well
3.2.png

Can you escape from the depths of the well?
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/61545/113/82142dfda4524358ad696dbbbad0de6f


Living in a Glass House
2014-02-16_15_03_59-Greenshot.jpg

Make sure it doesn't shatter,
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/65819/101/42dd069f41daf9535812146d3a8feeb9

Pesadelo: O início / The Beginning
screenshot4.png

One of those escape games.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/62290/113/97672dfbcabe8d18224fcf53186a2834

Imscared
Screen4.png

Escape your pixely face nightmares.
Download: http://www.indiedb.com/downloads/mirror/47418/113/993ef38a8539aad153dba5111fd03c0e

SCP: Containment Breach
timthumb.php

Don't blink.
Download: https://mega.co.nz/#!OMQ0XIZQ!UMucM6mTbgunixE06bHgdGh5nH-6Qq8tGafqTuv3FcY




---



Please throw more suggestions, I still have a lot out there to play, these were just a few I recalled off the top that follow a sort of 'horror event cryptic solve' method that P.T. does, not in any particular order of quality again, I'll post again with more later if people are interested in this.

But the sad part is, most of the media doesn't care about PC. This game is on a new console. So they're gunna hype it up like crazy
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
If by "this game" you mean Silent Hill, then the hype is justified.

I'm thinking though it's a bit more than that. I mean, I was very excited for Silent Hill Downpour, and I liked the final game, but the hype for that game was almost non-existent, and it sold like shit. And honestly despite having some amazing games in its series, the series has never been a top-seller, just well received. I think the reason Silent Hills is exciting for a lot was an exciting reveal method and a confident horror game in this style by an AAA studio on consoles. While I love, LOVE the Silent Hill series, and hope this helps more people get into it and maybe try older games in the series, it's always been more overlooked than it should be, to be honest.

Also three big name people behind it. Downpour was made by a relatively new European developer that went under shortly after Downpour's release.
 

DedValve

Banned
But the sad part is, most of the media doesn't care about PC. This game is on a new console. So they're gunna hype it up like crazy

Yes, please do quote this whole, entire OP for your one liner.

Looking this up, nice to see some mac downloads there, my nephews absolutely loved watching me play SCP Containment Breach and Slender (both of them).
 
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