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Basement horror games

In these games the worst part of the house is under it. You go down narrow stairs or a ladder into a dark cellar of stone walls, pipes and locked doors, looking for a key, a way out or something that lives there. The light is poor, the way back up is the only exit, and whatever waits below hears you coming.

The top 30 of 72 basement horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 30 best, 2026

  1. Sally Face store header: Sal with blue pigtails and his white prosthetic face, between a long-haired teen and a figure in bloody bandages PsychologicalSally FaceLarry hears strange noises in the apartment block's basement, and the boys go down to find out what makes them. 97% on Steam (30,172 reviews)about 9 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone, Android
  2. The Joy of Creation: Story Mode key art: burned animatronic bears with glowing eyes peer through two dark windows beside the game's title FNAFThe Joy of Creation: Story ModeA free-roaming basement level of sneaking past endoskeletons, burning items in a furnace and cracking codes 97% on Game Jolt (17,336 ratings)about 50 minFreePC
  3. Slay the Princess key art: a pencil-drawn princess kneels in chains on the floor of a dim stone basement under a barred window PsychologicalSlay the Princess: The Pristine CutThe princess waits in the cabin's stone basement, chained by her neck and wrists under a barred window. 97% on Steam (34,835 reviews)about 3.5 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  4. Mad Father key art: Aya, a black-haired girl with a red bow, cowers as a pale, blood-stained hand reaches for her 2D horrorMad FatherHer father's secret laboratory is in the mansion's basement, the place she was always told not to enter 97% on Steam (6,879 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, Switch
  5. Nightmare of Decay key art: three bloodied, low-poly zombies with pale eyes and open mouths against a dark red background SurvivalNightmare of DecayGameGrin describes the route leading down from the mansion into the basement, where the chainsaw psycho waits. 96% on Steam (4,467 reviews)about 2 hPaidPC
  6. Nightmare House: The Original Mod key art, the title over a dark three-gabled house among pine trees under a moonlit sky Action horrorNightmare House: The Original ModOne screenshot shows you with an axe in a burning basement as undead workers close in. 96% on Steam (2,802 reviews)about 2 hFreePC
  7. CARIMARA key art: a heron stands in a moonlit pond at the end of an overgrown garden path, with a stone frog and red water lilies in the foreground MysteryCARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbsThe ghost you are sent to deal with has settled in the old woman's basement, below the house you explore. 96% on Steam (3,072 reviews)about 1 hPaidPC, Mac
  8. Angels of Death key art: blonde Ray in a white jacket and striped top beside bandaged Zack in a bloodstained hooded coat, grinning and waving in a dark corridor PsychologicalAngels of DeathRay wakes in a concrete room on the lowest basement floor and climbs up through floors B3, B2 and B1 95% on Steam (5,441 reviews)about 7 hPaidPC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
  9. Tattletail key art: the purple, furry Tattletail toy with big blue eyes and a heart-shaped nose beside its red box, in front of a lit Christmas tree, with a large figure with glowing red eyes behind Multiple endingsTattletailEarly tasks send you down the stairs to the basement to find Tattletail's friend. 95% on Steam (5,089 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC, Mac
  10. IMSCARED art: a dark figure with long hair, outlined in white, standing in front of a huge faint pixelated face on black PsychologicalIMSCAREDA hidden entrance leads down a ladder into a dark basement with a hallway of doors. 95% on Steam (4,028 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC, Android
  11. Project Zomboid art: Spiffo, the game's raccoon mascot, holds a weapon in the rain with zombies reaching up behind him SurvivalProject ZomboidBuild 42 added basements and multi-level buildings that can be a fortress or a trap. 94% on Steam (489,804 reviews)PaidPC, Mac, Linux
  12. Liquidators key art: a cyan radiation badge with a red drop and Greek letters on a dark red background, beside the title in English and Russian SurvivalLiquidatorsYou navigate an interconnected basement under the reactor, littered with hazardous material. 95% on Steam (1,235 reviews)FreePC
  13. Exmortis 2 key art: a grey stone church with a cross on its tower under a blood-red sky, the title in dripping letters Puzzle horrorExmortis 2You unlock the ranch's cellar and read the pile of books left down there. 94% on Newgrounds (2,503 ratings)about 1 hFreeBrowser
  14. Crimson Snow key art: a pale red-haired woman with blood running from a wide smile, beside a snowbound house at night PsychologicalCrimson SnowA store screenshot shows a dark brick basement with a body wrapped in Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. 94% on Steam (1,273 reviews)about 4 hPaidPC
  15. It's Not Me, It's My Basement key art: the pale-haired child in a bloodstained apron and bunny slippers hugs themselves before a closed lavender door, beside the title PsychologicalIt's Not Me, It's My BasementThe monsters that took Embry's parents are padlocked in the basement, and you have to keep them fed so they stay down there. 94% on itch.io (834 ratings)about 45 minPay what you wantPC, Mac, Linux
  16. Lumina Veil key art: a silhouetted figure with a baseball bat in a dark, foggy tiled corridor with a wheelchair and a ceiling strip light PsychologicalLumina VeilScreenshots show grimy tiled basements and stairwells, streaked with blood and piled with biohazard bags. 97% on Steam (334 reviews)about 3.5 hFreePC
  17. Deppart Prototype key art: a bloodied hand aims a pistol down a foggy green-doored corridor at a dark red-eyed figure beneath a lamp Action horrorDeppart PrototypeThe maker's screenshots and players' comments place you in a grimy basement of green-doored corridors and bare concrete rooms. 94% on itch.io (691 ratings)about 10 minFreePC
  18. Fausts Alptraum key art: an orange-haired girl in a green dress holds a candle against black crayon scribbles, beside a red-coated figure with long lilac hair standing in water PsychologicalFausts AlptraumThe nightmare begins when she follows the cat down to her father's basement and darkness claims her sight. 93% on Steam (1,268 reviews)about 5 hFreePC
  19. Death Park art: a clown with a split, fang-filled face and clawed hands lunges toward the viewer EscapeDeath Park: Scary Horror ClownThe Google Play page lists dark basements among the locations. 92% on Google Play (251,000 ratings)about 1 hFree to playiPhone, Android, PC, Xbox, Switch
  20. Exmortis art: a derelict two-storey house behind bare trees under a pale full moon, in dark brown and black tones Puzzle horrorExmortisThe way on is through the cellar, whose door slams and locks behind you once you go down. 92% on Newgrounds (4,170 ratings)about 30 minFreeBrowser
  21. The Lacerator key art: a bloodied Max with a smoking revolver and a muscular figure raising a pickaxe, beside the dripping red title SurvivalThe LaceratorMax is locked up in the cellar of the masked killer and must find his way out of the grimy rooms below 99% on Steam (164 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC
  22. ITYH: A Horror Otome cover: pale, white-haired Osgoode in a skull shirt and blonde Camille in a pink dress, with bloody hands holding a rose and a heart, beside the title PsychologicalITYH: A Horror OtomeOnce Osgoode notices her, Camille wakes up chained in his basement, where the story holds her. 98% on itch.io (324 ratings)about 2.5 hPay what you wantPC, Mac, Linux
  23. A Day in the Office cover art: the clock-headed boss in a blue suit and white gloves raising a finger to his face for silence, on black 2D horrorA Day in the OfficeThe elevator takes you down to the basement, where the last puzzle is solved on the damaged equipment 94% on itch.io (408 ratings)about 15 minPay what you wantBrowser, PC
  24. ARD: Anomalous Research Department cover: dark teal pixel-art letters ARD over olive shapes, with the full title in pale yellow below ShortARD: Anomalous Research Department (Demo)The computer sits forgotten in the basement of a local community college 96% on itch.io (242 ratings)about 25 minFreeBrowser
  25. The Body Monstrous cover: three pixelated bare arms with open and clawed hands reaching across a dark background PsychologicalThe Body MonstrousSomething lives in the basement of your house; you have to go down and feed it, and it shakes the house when it wants. 94% on itch.io (370 ratings)about 15 minFreeBrowser
  26. my father's long, long legs cover: worn stone steps lead down into a dark basement under the title in typewriter letters Psychologicalmy father's long, long legsThe father digs a hole in the dirt floor of the family's basement, and the story ends down there 96% on itch.io (194 ratings)about 21 minFreeBrowser
  27. Alternate Watch screenshot: black-and-white camera view of an empty kitchen at 00:02 AM, a checkered table with candles in front, threat level vague PsychologicalAlternate WatchOne camera looks into a cluttered basement of shelves and boxes where a shadow figure with white eyes can sit. 92% on itch.io (517 ratings)about 30 minFreePC
  28. HR: Human Remains key art: a giant red tentacled demon with a fanged maw looms over stacks of paper in a dark office, with the title in red below Multiple endingsHR: Human RemainsTo restore the power you go down into a pitch-dark basement with only a lidar scanner while a monster closes in by sound. 99% on Steam (124 reviews)about 4 hPaidPC
  29. Bonnie's Bakery key art: Bonnie, a smiling girl with a red bow, pink top and green skirt, beside the pastel title on a chocolate drip, on pink EscapeBonnie's BakeryThe second half is a night in Bonnie's basement, where you sneak around collecting clues for the keycode out 90% on itch.io (543 ratings)about 30 minFreeBrowser, PC, Mac, Linux
  30. ROAM0120.exe key art: the pixelated title over a flash-lit night lawn with a lone garden lamp and dark trees PsychologicalROAM0120.exeThe itch.io page's one-line pitch is to roam around the basement, and the game leads you down to it. 92% on itch.io (369 ratings)about 1.5 hPay what you wantPC

To play with friends

7 games

Short enough for one evening

Done in an hour or so

Free to play

35 games

Every game of the kind

More picks

Scores are those players and critics give on the stores and sites named; each game's page says where.

More kinds of horror

  1. Short horror games621
  2. Psychological horror games530
  3. Horror games with multiple endings417
  4. Horror puzzle games341
  5. Survival horror games259
  6. 2D horror games254
  7. PS1 horror games233
  8. Stealth horror games180
  9. Horror escape games164
  10. Surreal horror games145
  11. Horror visual novels137
  12. Anime horror games132
  13. Haunted house games131
  14. Mystery and detective horror games127
Every genre

Where you play

  1. Steam horror games1009
  2. Epic horror games97
  3. GOG horror games270
  4. itch.io horror games592
  5. PC horror games1337
  6. Mac horror games391
  7. Linux horror games261
  8. PlayStation horror games404
  9. Xbox horror games367
  10. Switch horror games317
  11. Mobile horror games188
  12. VR horror games69
  13. Browser horror games236
  1. Scary games1456
  2. Free horror games561
Every game, A to Z