Psychological horror Short horror PS1 horror

The Shopping List

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New town, new apartment, one shopping list. Don't go shopping at night.

Platforms: PC
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.5 of 5 from 627 ratings on itch.io; fourth on Game Rant's list of the best horror games set in stores
Length: about an hour
Players: 1
Controls: WASD to walk, Shift to sprint, E to interact, F for the flashlight, Tab to check the shopping list, Space to auto-play dialogue
Made by: JordiBoi (Jordan Lindgren)
Released: 2022

What frightens You have just moved to a new town and only need to finish your shopping list before going home, but the townsfolk are rude and hiding something, missing-person posters cover the walls, and you cannot shake the feeling that someone is watching you from the shadows. The maker calls it a mystery-psychological horror game of unsettling scenarios and intense characters.

The Shopping List is a free first-person psychological horror game by JordiBoi. You have just moved to a new town and need to finish your shopping list before you can get back to your apartment, but the locals are rude, people have gone missing and something seems to be watching you. It takes about an hour and has a retro, low-resolution look.

About The Shopping List

The Shopping List is by JordiBoi, the solo developer Jordan Lindgren, who made it at the age of 15 in Unreal Engine. It came out on itch.io in 2022 as a free, pay-what-you-want download for Windows, and its maker added more to the ending soon after, when players asked about it. Game Rant reports that the idea came from the developer's mother's fear of being stalked while shopping.

You play someone who has left an old life behind to start over in a new town. Before you can settle into your new apartment, you have one evening errand: finish the shopping list. You walk lamp-lit streets and dim shops at night, talk to the locals, solve a few small puzzles and tick off each item, with a flashlight for the darker corners.

The fear builds from small things. The shopkeepers are curt and seem to know more than they say, missing-person posters crowd the walls, strangers offer you rides, and the feeling of being watched never goes away. Flashbacks to the protagonist's past break in along the way. The grainy, pixelated retro look and the empty night streets make an ordinary errand feel unsafe.

It suits players who like slow, story-led first-person horror about everyday places at night, in the vein of the Fears to Fathom episodes or JordiBoi's own later Broken Through, and who want something they can finish in an evening.

How to play The Shopping List

Download The Shopping List from itch.io (name your own price, free is fine) and unzip it on Windows.
Walk with WASD, sprint with Shift and turn on the flashlight with F where it is dark.
Press Tab to check which items are still on your shopping list.
Talk to the townsfolk and interact with objects with E; Space plays dialogue automatically.
Visit the shops around town, solve what blocks your way and finish the list to get home.

Screenshots

The Shopping List cover: a paper shopping list with a bloody handprint and the words Dont go shopping at night

The Shopping List screenshot: missing-person posters pinned to a wooden wall under a bare bulb

The Shopping List screenshot: a dark storeroom of wooden crates and a box of cat food

The Shopping List screenshot: a dark street at night with a car and the question Will you accept the ride?

The Shopping List art: the shopping list with a bloody handprint against a purple brick wall

Tips

Read the posters and notes around town: they tell you a lot about what is going on.
Check your list often so you know where to go next.
Think before you agree to anything a stranger offers.
Play in the dark with headphones; most of the dread is in the sound and the empty streets.

Questions

Is The Shopping List free?

Yes. It is a name-your-own-price download on itch.io, so you can get it for nothing or pay what you like.

How long is The Shopping List?

About an hour, by the average session its itch.io page gives.

Is The Shopping List on Steam?

No. It is a Windows download on itch.io.

Is The Shopping List scary?

It is a slow-building, story-led game: the fear comes from a strange town at night, secretive locals and the sense of being watched, more than from constant jump scares.