Sometimes, fans ofhorror gamesdon’t want to sit down for a prolonged period of time or split their playthrough into multiple sessions. Sometimes, they want a quick scare, and be done with the game in one sitting.
Thankfully, there are plenty of horror games that offer a short runtime, allowing horror fans to get their fix with plenty of time to spare.
10 Criminally Underrated AA Horror Games
Not quite indie, not quite AAA, but definitely terrifying.
A short runtime for a video game is a game that could be beaten in one sitting – without taking up the entire day, either. In simpler terms, you can play the game within a typical 8-hour work shift; it’s a short game.
These games fit within that ideal timeframe, all while sparking new fears that players had never previously thought possible.
10Iron Lung
Runtime: 1 Hour
Iron Lungis anunderrated indie horror gemthat touches on uniquely distinct fears: being trapped, thousands of feet underwater at crush depth, and you’re not alone. You’re tasked with manning a submarine through an ocean of blood for a chance at freedom – but deep down, you know it’s not coming.
It’s a short, unique experience where you have to navigate the blood-red waters and take pictures of various points of interest.
At first, the atmosphere is unshakeable, like you’re constantly being watched – and it’s not until you’re greeted with an eye after one of your pictures that you realize that you are.
For players wanting to indulge in a quick session of tension and dread, they’ll be met with a grand time withIron Lung.There are not many games like it.
Just saying, there’s a reason whyMarkiplier is turning it into a movie.
9The Mortuary Assistant
Runtime: 2 Hours
The Mortuary Assistant
I knew someone back in college whose family ran a funeral home, so naturally, we all asked if the job was as genuinely creepy as it sounded. Without missing a beat, he laughed, “Oh yeah, it’s haunted as hell.”
Now, whether that’s actually true is up to funeral home workers, but you get to experience this exact nightmare withThe Mortuary Assistant. In fact, the funeral home that you work in is worse than haunted: it’s possessed by demons – demons that have a particular interest in you.
In one of thecoolest puzzles in horror games, you have to discover the demon’s name and which body it’s attached to and exorcise it, all while making sure that you don’t get possessed in the meantime.
It genuinely may take several tries toget the good ending where you succeed, but thankfully, it only takes two hours to beat.
This is a game that’s packed with so many intricate details while you’re playing, and it’s genuinely cool to replay and discover them all. Plus, it’s surprisingly accurate to a funeral home (minus the demons, of course, but hauntings might be another story), so aspiring morticians can get some practice in.
Runtime: 1.5 Hours
Silent Hills
At this point, what has not been said about the tremendous loss ofSilent Hills(otherwise known asP.T.)? What was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for theSilent Hillfranchise ended up becoming only a demo, one thatKonamidesperately hopes will be lost to time.
It won’t be, though, as it remains one of the scariest horror experiences of all time. It’s a bit long for a demo, but it’s the perfect length for a small game, taking only about an hour and a half to complete. That is, if you know what you’re doing.
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Fans of Silent Hill tend to be hungry for more horrifying games similar in style — maybe with the fog not included.
Escaping the onslaught of nightmares is a lot harder than it sounds, requiring players to try to trigger chance encounters and decode incredibly cryptic puzzles.
All of this is happening while being completely trapped in this horrifying apartment, and to this day, it’s still one of the scariest horror games of all time – and it’s not even a full game.
At this point,P.T.is an unofficial official game in the franchise and cemented in the horror game hall of fame, at least in the fandom’s eyes – whether Konami likes it or not.
7Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s
While to some players,Five Nights at Freddy’s(FNAF) is just overhyped mascot horror, there is something distinctly freaky with the first game. Those who weren’t in the horror scene when this game dropped have no ideajust how unique this game actually was.
Unfortunately, the very mechanic it became known for ended up beingthe only interesting part of the rest of the franchise(at least in my opinion), as the narrative continues to becomefar too tangled with itself.
The first two nights in the firstFNAFgame, though, cannot be beaten in terms of atmosphere. Your heart races, even reaching for the lights, and you find yourself quietly hoping and praying that there’s nothing staring back at you when you pull up the cameras.
And thankfully, all five nights ends up creating a two-hour runtime, not including the extra modes (such asCustom Night,which allows for endless hours of replayability). This allows players to experience all the best fears that theFNAFfranchise has to offer, all in an easier-to-understand storyline.
Runtime: 5 Hours
Being unable to fight back in a horror game already puts players on edge, creating a type of creeping terror when done right. AsOutlastimplements horrifying villains and equallyadrenaline-inducing chase sequences, the terror goes from creeping to full-on Usain Bolt levels of sprinting.
Outlasttakes place atMount Massive Asylum, one of the mosticonic hospitals in all of gaming, and you have only one objective: get the heck out of there. If you happen to getsome sick found footagealong the way, that’s all the better for your journalism career (if you’re able to survive to witness it).
Thisstealth horror gametakes about five hours to complete, which is a little on the longer end when it comes to short games, but it is still short, nonetheless. The thing with this game, though, is that it’s genuinely so horrifying that it feels longer, so imagine my surprise to find out it’s five hours.
It’s great for horror nights, with the lights turned off and a storm outside to accompany the mood. Friends are a bonus, but it’s far more terrifying playing this game alone – after all, in this game, that’s exactly what you are.
5Little Nightmares
Runtime: 3.5 Hours
Little Nightmares
Little Nightmaresis such a wonderful title for this game, because that’s exactly what you end up playing. Coming up at a three-and-a-half-hour runtime, with an odd,dreamlike coziness, you are playing a sequence of literal little nightmares.
Unfortunately, as everyone raved aboutLittle Nightmares 2(which already had more of a budget),this game ended upbecoming criminally underrated. It’s three-and-a-half hours of the grotesque, the bizarre, the outright uncanny – and it’s wonderful.
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Linear storytelling is overrated.
Little Nightmareshas you playing as a child, namedSix, as she makes her way through thispuzzle platformer. However, as you progress, you see just how much this world has corrupted even the most unassuming.
It’s just excellent, and it’s wrapped up in a nice little package – and I am incredibly excited to see where the series continues to go.
4Doki Doki Literature Club
Runtime: 4 Hours
Doki Doki Literature Club!
At first glance,Doki Doki Literature Club(DDLC)doesn’t seem like it would be a horror game, especially with its cutesyanime style. However, don’t let its cute style fool you;the game is dark, devastatingly so.
Thisfree-to-play horror gameis laid out like adating-sim visual novel, which only adds to the game’s overall deception (and subsequent terror).It starts out as a literature club to promote an upcoming festival, writing poems and getting to know your peers, but everything changes inAct Two.
From there, it’s not about a cute school club; it’s about escaping a sentient A.I. who has become obsessed with you. It’s a distinctly new type of fear thatTeam Salvatowas able to wonderfully capture, one that I’ve honestly yet to see replicated in such a way.
The best part is, the game is only four hours long, meaning that it can be completed in a single playthrough. Plus, several of the scares are chance encounters, which encourages players to go back, try new things, and discover new horrors.
Runtime: 3 Hours
How many more ways can I gush aboutDevotion? Other than the fact that I firmly believe it to beRed Candle Games’sMagnum Opus.
Thestory of this game is densely packed, retelling the tragedy of theDu Familyat the father’s very own hand, all at the actions of an outside cult-like shaman … who happens to be a scam. So much is told all at once that it’s hard to believe that it will only take three hours to complete.
However, if you’re including all the repeat playthroughs to discover the endless amount of details that are hidden in plain sight, you’re looking at a runtime in the double digits. That is, after all, if you’re like me and have zero self-control.
Dealing withheavy themes of religiousabuse, mental health, domestic violence, and other commentaries on the state of Taiwan at this time, this game is a devastating masterpiece.
2Resident Evil 3 Remake
Runtime: 6 Hours
Resident Evil 3
As a long-time fan of theResident Evilseries, an opinion I had even as a child was thatResident Evil 3: Nemesisshould be longer. Coming in at six hours, it’s one of the shortest games in the franchise. It’s crazy to think that, after all this time, I’d have the same opinion about theResident Evil 3 Remake.
That being said, the game is still great, and it’s loads of fun. Plus, withNemesisconstantly on your tail, the experience still gives players that coveted surge of panic.
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In case you’re craving some tingles with your game.
Playing asJill Valentineas she fights to escapeRaccoon City, you can’t seem to shake off thisS.T.A.R.S.-obsessed killing machine. The remake is wonderful, but some fans of the original (like myself) would be disappointed to find out that the Clock Tower sequence was removed.
Somehow, it still keeps the six-hour runtime like the original, so either way, players can expect to finish this in one sitting if they have the rest of the day off.
1The Closing Shift
The Closing Shift
The Closing Shiftis a masterclass ofmundane horror, taking such a distinctly real fear (stalking) and incorporating it into a game where you’resimply working as a barista.
It’s a slow-burnJapanese horror game, a horrifying crescendo, one that comes to a head and completes right at the two-hour mark. It feels like you’re witness to a horrifying crime first-hand, but you’re the victim at the same time.
Chilla’s Artgames, in general, all tend to have short runtimes, being distinctly horrifying in their own ways – but to many,The Closing Shifttakes the (coffee) cake.The dread that this game’s atmosphere can invoke is just downright chilling.
Plus, it’s a very grounded commentary on how stalking cases are treated, for those who want to take a literary lens to the game.
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Sometimes, things can get lost in translation, or are simply better in their mother tongue. These games are best played in their native language.
