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Candlelit horror games

In these games a candle is often the only light you have. You carry one through dark halls and dungeons, ration the few you find, or blow them out to save wax, and the dark past the flame is where things wait. Elsewhere candles ring a pentagram or a summoning circle, and lighting the last one is what calls something into the room.

The top 18 of 18 candlelit horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 18 best, 2026

  1. Sucker for Love: Prelude key art: the pink title on a green heart beside Ln'eta, green-skinned with pink eyes and wrapped in tentacles AnimeSucker for Love: PreludeRitual candles and a summoning circle light the bedroom where you meet Ln'eta. 96% on Steam (532 reviews)about 24 minFreePC
  2. Flicker of Hope key art: the little candle Jean Wick, with a face and a bright flame, on a cracked stone slab by a dark stone wall ShortFlicker of HopeYou play Jean Wick, a living candle whose height is his health and who lights candelabras as checkpoints. 93% on Steam (1,068 reviews)about 35 minFreePC, Mac
  3. Play With Me key art: close-up of a clown's drooling grin with a red nose and orange hair, the title carved into its yellowed teeth EscapePlay With MeYou must find four birthday candles that unlock the front door and let you escape. 94% on Game Jolt (543 ratings)about 10 minFreePC, VR
  4. The Count Lucanor key art: Hans holding a candle beside a fanged blue jester-like kobold, with a castle silhouette against a purple night sky PsychologicalThe Count LucanorHans places candles on the ground to light up his way, and only has as many as he finds in chests. 93% on Steam (3,012 reviews)about 3.5 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  5. Inversed key art: Sheol, a pale dark-haired woman in a frilled dark dress, writes with a quill by candlelight among golden flowers, handwritten script behind her PsychologicalInversedThe whole night is spent at Sheol's desk, where she writes with a quill by the light of two candles. 94% on itch.io (327 ratings)about 15 minFreeBrowser, PC, Mac, Linux, Android
  6. The Building 71 Incident key art: a VHS PLAY screen with the title over a dark corridor lined with candles, in a red frame Walking simulatorsThe Building 71 IncidentCorridors are lined with burning candles along both walls. 92% on itch.io (474 ratings)about 30 minPay what you wantPC
  7. PRICE key art: two blond siblings face to face on black, one upside down, with an accordion, a violin and outlined leaves around them PsychologicalPRICEIvry searches his sister's dark room with only a candle to light his way, as the screenshots show. 89% on Steam (1,335 reviews)about 1.5 hFreePC
  8. Feather Of Praying key art: a black-haired girl in a blue dress prays with closed eyes, her hair blowing, as a glowing white feather drifts down in the dark PsychologicalFeather Of Praying (羽翼的祈愿)You save your game at candles placed around the rooms, and a candle that appears after you read a note raises your mental pollution. 94% on Steam (321 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC
  9. Funerama key art: a black-and-white dithered banner with the blackletter title, a pine forest on a hill and a blurred pale face, with the words a game by Thibault Rivera PsychologicalFuneramaCandelabra and guttering candles light the dark rooms full of her books. 98% on itch.io (63 ratings)about 30 minFreeBrowser
  10. The Fear Business key art: a goat-headed figure in a bloody robe holds a dagger, flanked by four hooded skull-faced cultists, with two candles lit in the dark SurvivalThe Fear BusinessYou save by blowing out the candles of devil shrines, and the manor gets darker each time you do. 93% on Steam (122 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux
  11. Make-A-Friend key art in Game Boy greens: the jagged title arched over a wide-eyed, slit-eyed cat on a checkerboard background 2D horrorMake-A-FriendThe ritual Nathan is given asks for candles, which he has to find in his own room. 94% on itch.io (60 ratings)about 15 minPay what you wantBrowser, PC, Mac, Linux
  12. Exorcize Me key art: a pale young man with long blond hair and closed eyes clasps a wooden cross before a purple stained-glass rose window, the title above PsychologicalExorcize MeA small minigame has you light candles until Clarence says that should be all of them. 92% on itch.io (53 ratings)about 30 minPay what you wantBrowser, PC, Mac, Android
  13. Weekend Ritual key art: a sketchy drawing of a grinning grey demon with a red horn, glowing red eyes and a red hand, beside the red gothic title Multiple endingsWeekend RitualCandles stand around the pentagram, and a figure materialises in their light once they are lit. 94% on itch.io (33 ratings)about 15 minPay what you wantBrowser, PC
  14. Dungeon Nightmares key art: a red-irised eye in the dark beside a lit candle and the title in red letters SurvivalDungeon NightmaresCandles are scarce; you press C to light one and B to blow it out to save it. 80%10 h or moreFreePC, Mac, Switch
  15. Dungeon Nightmares II key art: the red title over a large numeral II and a dark corridor lit by a few faint lamps PsychologicalDungeon Nightmares II : The MemoryYour only light is a few candles you light and blow out with a key, and a spark when they run out 78% on Steam (247 reviews)10 h or morePaidPC, Mac, Switch
  16. Slumber key art: a charcoal drawing of a gaunt, shaggy monster with closed eyes and a mouth of thin teeth, a second wrinkled face at the right, and the title slumber 2D horrorSlumberInside the prison a guard sits at a table lit by a single candle in an otherwise black room. 88% on itch.io (28 ratings)about 30 minPay what you wantBrowser, PC
  17. Neverending Nightmares key art: a frightened man holds a red candle while a pale woman with bleeding red eyes reaches for him, in black and white ink PsychologicalNeverending NightmaresThomas carries a red candle through dark halls, and its small circle of light is often all he can see by. 76% on Steam (3,051 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Switch, iPhone
  18. Glitter key art: a faceless blonde woman seen from behind in a pale gown among painted autumn leaves and flowers, with the title GLITTER across her Multiple endingsGlitterIn one screenshot Ember lights a candle inside a dark corridor of the mansion. 98% on itch.io (7 ratings)about 1 hFreeBrowser, PC, Mac, Linux

Short enough for one evening

Done in an hour or so

Free to play

13 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