Every October, Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo run Halloween discounts on horror games, and a handful of excellent scary games cost nothing at all. This guide covers eight paid classics that reliably get marked down during these events and four free games you can download tonight. Each pick includes an honest scare profile, so you can match the game to your nerve and your plans.
A note on prices before you shop
This article does not list sale prices or percentages. During a Halloween event, prices change by storefront, by region and sometimes by the hour. Flash deals end, publishers add titles midweek, and a number that is right on Tuesday can be wrong by Thursday. The store page is the only reliable source, so check it at checkout and treat this guide as a shortlist of games worth hunting for.
Because the free picks are permanently free, you can ignore the sale calendar for those entirely.
How the Halloween sales usually work on each platform
Steam. Valve runs Steam Scream Fest, and in recent years it has started in the last week of October and run into early November. Valve posts the dates in advance on its sales and events schedule, so check that page instead of trusting forum rumours. Wishlist the games below now and Steam will email you when they drop.
PlayStation Store. Sony’s Halloween promotion usually overlaps Steam’s window. PlayStation Plus subscribers sometimes get extra discounts on top. If you own a PS5, check whether a game includes a free PS4-to-PS5 upgrade before you buy the cheaper last-gen version.
Xbox. Microsoft’s store runs its own spooky sale, and Game Pass rotates horror titles in and out around October. Check the Game Pass library before you buy anything, because the game you want might already be included in a subscription you pay for.
Nintendo eShop. Nintendo’s Halloween discounts are usually smaller and shorter, but Switch ports of older horror games often sit at their lowest prices of the year. Several picks below run well on Switch, which makes them good portable scares.
Epic Games Store and GOG. Epic gives away free-to-keep games weekly, and horror titles have often appeared around Halloween. GOG runs its own seasonal sale with DRM-free copies, which matters if you want to own the installer outright.
The shortlist at a glance
| Title | Year | Subgenre | Scare level | Where to play | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil 7 biohazard | 2017 | First-person survival horror | 4/5 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox | Paid |
| Resident Evil 2 | 2019 | Third-person survival horror | 3/5 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox | Paid |
| Dead Space | 2023 | Sci-fi action horror | 3/5 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Paid |
| Alien: Isolation | 2014 | Stealth horror | 5/5 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | Paid |
| SOMA | 2015 | Narrative sci-fi horror | 3/5 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox | Paid |
| Signalis | 2022 | Retro survival horror | 3/5 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | Paid |
| Outlast | 2013 | Found-footage chase horror | 5/5 | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch | Paid |
| Phasmophobia | 2020 | Co-op ghost hunting | 3/5 | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Paid |
| Doki Doki Literature Club | 2017 | Psychological visual novel | 3/5 | PC | Free |
| Cry of Fear | 2013 | Psychological survival horror | 4/5 | PC | Free |
| SCP: Secret Laboratory | 2017 | Multiplayer horror | 2/5 | PC | Free |
| Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion | 2014 | Roguelike jump-scare gauntlet | 2/5 | PC | Free |
Resident Evil 7 biohazard
Capcom’s 2017 reboot of its own formula moved the series into first person and dropped you into the Baker family’s rotting Louisiana farmhouse. The first few hours are some of the most oppressive in any big-budget horror game. You hide, you listen and you pray the floorboards stay quiet.
Capcom discounts its back catalogue in almost every major storefront sale, so RE7 is one of the safest bets on this list. Buy the Gold Edition if it is close in price, because the DLC episodes are strong. If you have VR on PlayStation, the original PS VR mode on PS4 is brutal.
Resident Evil 2
This is the 2019 remake, not the 1998 PlayStation original, and it is the best place to start if you have never played survival horror. The Raccoon City Police Department is a perfect puzzle box. Leon and Claire’s separate campaigns give you two routes through one terrible night.
The scare level sits at a 3 for most of the game, but Mr. X stalking the halls pushes it higher. If you have already played it, look for the Resident Evil 3 remake (2020) in the same sale. It is shorter, but cheap bundles of both games turn up often.
Dead Space
Motive Studio’s 2023 remake of the 2008 EA Redwood Shores original (the studio later renamed Visceral Games) rebuilt the USG Ishimura as one seamless ship. It kept the limb-cutting combat that made Isaac Clarke famous. This game is for you if you want horror with a fighting chance, because you are armed and the necromorphs still win plenty of fights.
The PS5 and Xbox Series versions are current-gen only, so check that your hardware matches before you buy on console. EA has discounted this remake heavily in past seasonal sales.
Alien: Isolation
Creative Assembly’s 2014 stealth game is still the scariest licensed horror game ever made, and it is old enough to cost very little in a sale. You play Amanda Ripley aboard Sevastopol Station, hunted by a single xenomorph whose AI never follows a script. It appears when you least expect it, and you cannot kill it.
The game runs long and the tension rarely lets up, which is exactly why it earns a 5. The Switch port is excellent if you want to suffer in bed. Pair it with a viewing of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film for the full effect.
SOMA
Frictional Games made Amnesia: The Dark Descent, then spent 2015 making the most thoughtful horror game in its catalogue. SOMA takes place in an underwater facility called PATHOS-II. The monsters matter less than the questions the game asks you about identity and consciousness.
Frictional later added a Safe Mode in which the creatures do not attack. That makes SOMA the best pick here if you can’t handle being chased but still want to feel unsettled. It turns up in Frictional’s bundles often, sometimes alongside the Amnesia games.
Signalis
The two-person studio rose-engine released Signalis in 2022 through Humble Games and PLAYISM. It is a love letter to the PS1 Resident Evil and Silent Hill era. Expect limited inventory, locked doors and save rooms, plus a cryptic sci-fi story about a replika named Elster searching a frozen facility.
The scares come from atmosphere and dread rather than shocks. The lo-fi visuals hide more than they show, which makes your imagination do the work. If you love horror survival games with old-school rules, put this near the top of your wishlist.
Outlast
Red Barrels’ 2013 debut gives you a camcorder, no weapons and an asylum full of people who want you dead. You run, you hide in lockers and you watch your night-vision battery drain. It is short, cruel and relentless.
Outlast is often bundled with its Whistleblower DLC and the 2017 sequel. That bundle is where the real value sits if you want the whole set. Skip this one if graphic violence and body horror bother you, because the game gets extremely nasty.
Phasmophobia
Kinetic Games launched Phasmophobia in early access in 2020, and it has since reached PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Your team investigates haunted locations with EMF readers, spirit boxes and thermometers, identifies the ghost type and tries to leave alive. Voice chat matters, because the ghost can hear you say its name.
Played solo, the scare level jumps to a 4. With friends, the screaming turns into laughter within seconds, which makes it the obvious pick for a Halloween party. For more group picks, our list of cooperative survival horror games has a dozen more.
Doki Doki Literature Club (free)
Team Salvato’s 2017 visual novel looks like a cheerful anime dating sim about a high school poetry club. Say nothing more to yourself than that, and download it. The free version on Steam is the original game. The paid Plus edition adds side stories and is the version sold on consoles.
The game opens with its own content warning. It deals with self-harm and suicide, and it is not suitable for children or for anyone in a fragile place. Take that warning seriously.
Cry of Fear (free)
Team Psykskallar built Cry of Fear as a Half-Life mod, then released it as a free standalone game on Steam in 2013. You play Simon, a teenager lost in a nightmarish Swedish town. The single-player campaign runs longer than many paid games and includes multiple endings.
The engine is old and the combat is clunky. Even so, the atmosphere is thick, and the separate co-op campaign makes a strong free night with friends. Like Doki Doki, it deals heavily with depression and suicide.
SCP: Secret Laboratory (free)
Northwood Studios’ free multiplayer game drops players into a containment breach at an SCP Foundation facility. Some players are escaping D-Class personnel, some are scientists or guards, and some are the monsters themselves. Rounds are chaotic and short, and proximity voice chat leads to some memorable betrayals.
It is more funny than frightening once you learn the map. Still, being hunted by SCP-173 in a dark corridor gets your heart going every time. It is a good low-stakes way to bring non-horror friends into the genre.
Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion (free)
Lag Studios’ 2014 game starts with cardboard cutout jump scares so goofy they feel like a joke. Then you go deeper into the mansion’s 1,000 rooms, the cute pop-ups give way to real monsters, and the joke stops being funny.
The free original is fine on most PCs. The paid HD Renovation is the version to buy if you finish it and want more. It is a great pick for a Halloween stream, and it pairs well with the heavier choices in our roundup of scary games to play on Halloween.
How to tell if a Halloween deal is actually good
Not every red price tag is a bargain. Before you buy, check these three things:
- Price history. Steam shows recent discounts on some store pages, and third-party price trackers log historical lows. If the Halloween price matches last summer’s sale, nothing is lost by waiting.
- Edition creep. Gold, Complete and Deluxe editions are often barely more expensive than the base game on sale. Compare all of them side by side.
- Subscriptions first. Check Game Pass and PlayStation Plus before you pay for anything, because rotating catalogues often add horror titles in October.
If your PC is older, check minimum specs too. Our guide to PC horror games flags which titles run on modest hardware.
If you liked this
Amnesia: The Bunker (2023) keeps Frictional’s dread and adds a real stalker to dodge. Lethal Company (2023) is a cheap co-op horror comedy if Phasmophobia clicked. Silent Hill 2 (2024 remake) is Bloober Team’s faithful take on the 2001 classic and a strong sale target.
FAQ
When does the Steam Halloween sale start?
Valve’s Steam Scream Fest has started in the last week of October in recent years and run into early November. Valve confirms exact dates on its published sales calendar, so check there rather than relying on leaks or forum posts.
Are there any good horror games that are completely free?
Yes. Doki Doki Literature Club, Cry of Fear, SCP: Secret Laboratory and Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion are all free on Steam permanently. The Epic Games Store also gives away free-to-keep games weekly, and horror titles often appear around Halloween.
What is the best horror game to buy on sale if I have never played one?
Resident Evil 2 (2019) is the friendliest start. It is scary without being punishing, has plenty of save points and teaches you survival horror rules quickly. If being chased sounds like too much, SOMA with Safe Mode switched on is the gentler choice.
Which sale pick is best for a group on Halloween night?
Phasmophobia is the clear winner for up to four players, and Cry of Fear’s free co-op campaign is the budget alternative. Build the rest of the evening around them with our Halloween movie marathon plan.