A video game doesn’t need to belong to the AAA category to be able to steal the hearts of the players. There are tons of examples of small browser games that can be great fun, too.
Browser games were extremely popular two decades ago but gradually became less relevant over the years. Today’s gaming market is dominated by mobile games, but new HTML5 titles still appear on a regular basis, and people love to return to some of the classics they used to play in the golden era of browser gaming, thus saying that browser games are dead wouldn’t be exactly accurate.
The main appeal of browser games is the accessibility – there’s no installation needed and you can access the game from any device online, as long as it’s connected to the internet and supports modern internet browsers.
Browser games are usually relatively short, taking anything from between 5 to 60 minutes to fully complete, making them a perfect choice when you’re short on time and still want to experience some new games.
The horror genre seems to be working surprisingly well in such a formula, so here’s a list of some of the best browser horror games for you to try.
The House Series
Starting off with the House series, a classic, and often nostalgic, point-and-click adventure where you will be tasked with investigating the mysteries of the seemingly abandoned place that holds a terrifying past.
The first game from the series was released back in 2005 and, while relatively short and simple, received a lot of attention and recognition from the gaming community, encouraging the creation of a sequel that came 5 years later.
The game’s tense atmosphere and black-and-white visuals play crucial roles in the scary part, not to mention the jump scares that will try to get you by surprise.
What’s important, however, is the fact, that there are actual stories behind the events that are happening in both games. If you’re curious about them, it would be best to give the House series a go.
Eyes: The Horror Game
If you prefer more interactive 3D games, this one is for you. In Eyes, you’ll be playing as someone who’s essentially a thief hoping to make a quick and easy buck and be set for life. As such, you’re breaking into a house and your primary objective is to find the money bags scattered around.
They can be hidden in various, not-so-obvious places inside the mansion, so keep your eyes peeled.
At first, the task may sound simple – there are no guards and it seems like the mansion doesn’t have any proper security measures in place.
However, there’s something far more dangerous lurking around and you can only survive if you smartly utilize your limited chances of seeing through the evil entity’s eyes to get an idea of where it’s currently wandering.
Prepare for a tough encounter, because you’re about to fight for something far more important than gold. Now… Run.
Real Horror Stories
Real Horror Stories is another simple point-and-click adventure with a creepy atmosphere and the extensive use of jump scares meant to give you a fright. Your job is to make it through a variety of static levels by interacting with different objects on the screen and clicking them in the right order.
Observe how the scene changes as a result of your actions and figure out the proper approach to the puzzles. After completing the level, you’ll be taken to the next one, where a new clicking challenge awaits. Get through all of them and you’ll be able to make the ultimate choice at the end.
The game’s not afraid of using blood and gore to intensify the immersive experience and make everything feel more realistic, so make sure you’re comfortable with this kind of stuff before proceeding further – it’s certainly not a title for the faint of heart.
Slendrina Series
There is a high possibility that you’ve heard about Slender Man creepypasta and the Slender game that was inspired by it, but have you heard about Slender Man’s more evil daughter, Slendrina?
The series started back in 2013 and it consists of several different titles that mostly share the gameplay loop. The core idea is to explore the surroundings while looking for hidden items, such as pages or books – only after collecting all of them one can be considered a winner.
Just keep in mind that being a winner does not necessarily mean that you’ll be able to live long enough to tell the story.
What makes the game scary is the fact that Slendrina will randomly pop up in various places you’d never expect her to be. Clearing a room doesn’t mean it’s safe – there are no safe places in Slendrina games.
Don’t Escape Series
The title of this one may sound intriguing at first since in horror games it’s usually about escaping – there’s even a special subgenre that revolves around this very idea, escape room.
So, why wouldn’t you want to escape in the Don’t Escape series? The thing is, you’re playing as a werewolf and it happens to be a full moon tonight – that’s when the cursed humans turn into their other, blood-driven selves.
As a seemingly responsible and compassionate being, you decide to lock yourself up in a secluded lodge, hoping that once all hell breaks loose, you won’t be able to leave the place and harm innocent people.
And that’s precisely your task in Don’t Escape – take all the necessary precautions to prevent bloodshed, pray for everything to go smoothly, fast-forward to midnight, and watch the results.
Lurking
Some games are truly innovative and Lurking is one of them. Imagine a game, where you must rely entirely on sounds to see the world around you. In Lurking, the only way to get a brief vision of the surrounding area is to make some noise.
As the sound hits the obstacles, they become temporarily visible. If you stay silent, there is nothing but darkness.
Walking makes a bit of noise on its own, but it’s hardly enough to be of much significance. Instead, you’ll have to mostly rely on throwable objects, such as boxes, cans, or bottles, to lift the veil of shadow around the targeted spot.
The visuals are updated only after being hit by the sound waves, which has an interesting side effect – if there’s a moving enemy, it will look like a slideshow or glitch movement, which can be very creepy and scary. The enemy may already be charging at you, and you’ll only see where it was half a second ago.
Pesadelo
Pesadelo is a Brazillian horror game that enjoys cult status among the gaming community not only in Brazil but worldwide. The game will task you with exploring the surroundings and solving simple puzzles in almost complete darkness. The flashlight is your best – and only – friend in here, so make good use of it.
Once you get closer to the final part of the game, you’ll have to face an additional layer of difficulty that makes things more tense. That is – time.
Limited time can cause more stress and anxiety, especially when you’re not sure what to do next. Each jump scare or suspicious sound will become even more impactful while you’re desperately trying to escape the haunted facility, causing you to make more mistakes and potentially fail the challenge if you can’t keep a cool head.
Lakeview Cabin
Lakeview Cabin is a 2D pixel-art game that offers a more open-ended experience, as opposed to most of the other titles on the list. You’ve got four characters to control and you can freely switch between them during play. The main goal here is to survive, which may be easier said than done.
The environment is highly interactive – part of the fun in Lakeview Cabin is to discover all the possibilities and make use of available items in a creative way to tip the scales in your favor and outsmart the serial killer that seems to be lurking around.
The game pays homage to classic horror slasher movies and uses a lot of common troupes in a funny way – it’s a horror mixed with light comedy, so if you prefer a more light-hearted adventure that is more entertaining than it is scary, this could be the game for you.
The Last Door
The Last Door is an episodic point-and-click adventure game that welcomes players with its charming pixel art style that adds a lot to the overall atmosphere.
The game tries to invoke fear without resorting to cheap tricks, such as jump scares, and instead focuses on building tension and suspense, keeping the player in the dark and slowly revealing the truth. The scariest thing about The Last Door is the great unknown and the psychological element.
It’s also worth mentioning that it’s not just a great horror game – it also features an interesting story with memorable, charismatic characters. Discovering the buried secrets feels rewarding and encourages players to push forward, towards the mystery hidden behind the last door.
Deep Sleep Series
For the last game, or rather a series, on the list, we’d recommend playing Deep Sleep – another solid option from a point-and-click horror genre with simplistic pixel art visuals.
The series focuses on the idea of lucid dreams and out-of-body experiences and will have you question reality as you go deeper down into the depths of the subconscious mind.
The puzzles in Deep Sleep games can be quite challenging and some require not only wits to know what items could be useful in what scenario, but also quick reflex to swiftly react to certain events that are happening in real-time. It’s not as scary as it is spooky and unsettling, but may still give you a fright if you play alone with lights turned off.
Conclusion
The golden era of browser games is no more, but to say that browser games are dead wouldn’t be fair either. Still, the market has its ups and downs but it’s pretty much safe to assume that browser games in their original form won’t be ever as popular as they were two decades ago.
Even if there may seem to be an increase in the overall market value, it doesn’t necessarily mean the quality of modern browser games is good – a large portion of the value of the market is driven by the simple live service pay-to-win games that seem to be popular for no apparent reason.
Keep in mind that most of the best browser games of the golden era were completely free.
Thankfully, most of the old games can still be found around the internet and you are just a few clicks away from taking a trip back to the 2000s. If you want to relive the past and get a solid dose of nostalgia, give one of the browser horror games from our list a try.