The Scariest, Coolest, and Freakiest Browser Games for Halloween
There is something far more immersive about scary video games than scary movies or literature. Though all are great mediums to convey fear, with a video game, it is the closest you come to actually living those genuine feelings of fleeting terror. Seeing a character run from something evil and ominous is creepy, but being the person running away from the monster yourself (be it made of pixels or polygons), that can be downright terrifying. It causes your pulse to race, your hands to get sweaty. It takes you out of your comfort zone and refuses to put you back. It takes the idea of a horror movie and places you inside it, with survival being your main (and often only) goal.
With that in mind and with Halloween just around the corner, here are some scary games you can go play in your browser, right now, for FREE! Without further delay, here are the freakiest and scariest free, internet-browser based games out there.
Play these suckers with the lights out for maximum effect, obviously!
Exmortis 2
As far as free, browser games go, Exmortis 2 is up there in terms of both quality and creepiness. Sort of a mix between straight horror and a puzzler (Hell, there is even a full-on Sudoku puzzle in there), Exmortis 2 doesn’t present itself as most browser games do. It is just a higher tier than most.
And yes, as much as it is a sequel, you do not need to play part one to get sucked into the sheer creepiness of part 2.
Five Nights at Freddy’s (The Series)
Though the game can be polarizing, it should be said that a great deal of current horror games wouldn’t exist like they do if Five Nights at Freddy’s hadn’t popped up and became a huge sensation, basically also kickstarting the Twitch movement of “reaction gamers” recording themselves, of which there are so many now.
But man, when this game first dropped, it was a phenomenon and still is, though it has come to an end (as far as we know, for now). People would have their friends play it just to see their reactions to the jump-scares. and the idea of placing it inside a Chuck-E-Cheese type of environment and making the animatronic mascots come alive at night is a very creepy concept (and better in concept than half the horror movies we get these days).
Love it or hate it, Five Nights is a cult classic with many sequels for a reason. That reason being people played the shit out of it and had a great time doing it, in between all the screaming.
Slender: The Eight Pages
Some people hate this game because they think it is a matter of luck and tend to get really frustrated at how randomly you die. Thing is, the game plays off the Slender Man mythos made famous by the internet, and for a freebie, the sound design is quite effective and the cool and the grainy screen you get when you are near the Slenderman make it harrowing experience, if not a short and somewhat repetitive one.
But man, those first couple play throughs trying to find all those pages can be exhilarating (and creepy AF).
One Chance
Okay, so not so much straight horror as it is a game about the end of the world, that, in itself, is a terrifying concept for many to grasp, and One Chance approaches it in a way NO OTHER BROWSER GAME DOES.
The game is about the last days of mankind on Earth, and you have to choose what to do. Spend time with your family or use those days at work trying to find a cure (you are a scientist and the outbreak is partly your fault). It is a game about the tragic consequences of some decisions we make, and it hits you right in the feels. And here is the kicker that puts it above most:
The game reads you I.P address and literally only lets you play it once.
So if you let down your family and they die alone and without you, you cannot undo that guilt from your conscious or fix it, ever.
THAT is pretty horrifying if you ask me. But if that’s not horror enough for you, try….
SCP: Containment Breach
Anyone familiar with Creepypasta knows the premise behind SCP, specifically SCP-173. These are monstrous, weird, cryptic looking beasts who do not move when you look at them, but as soon as you blink or turn around, they come at you FAST (think Weeping Angels from Dr. Who).
The sense of tension can be choking in SCP: Containment Breach, because you never truly feel safe, an that is what makes it such a good time.
QWOP
There is nothing on this planet as scary or more unexplainable than QWOP. From the way the guy moves like he is attached to invisible strings to the stifling controls, QWOP puts you into a special kind of hell with no monsters or demons or control over bodily movement.
Plus, those gym shorts are REALLY short. Wait, is that a leotard? Oh man, this IS the scariest free video game on this list, hands down.
