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Lake horror games

Horror games set on and around lakes: a cabin by a forest jetty, a hotel on an island reached by rowboat, black water crossed on a maze of bridges. You row out, search the shore and solve what the place hides. The fear is in the water itself, still and dark, with no telling what lies at the bottom or what it has already taken.

The top 28 of 28 lake horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 28 best, 2026

  1. Paper Lily key art: Lacie, a blonde girl in a red scarf and white coat, holding a golden letter tangled in red threads PsychologicalPaper Lily - Chapter 1Part of the hidden world sits on a lake, with lantern-lit boardwalks and a pier under the moon. 99% on Steam (8,999 reviews)about 4 hFreePC, Mac, Linux
  2. Servant of the Lake key art: the silhouettes of a horse-drawn carriage and a servant holding a covered tray before a tall house, against green patterned wallpaper PsychologicalServant of the LakePart of the Rusty Lake series, with the Cave of the Lady of the Lake and Rusty Lake itself among its places 98% on Google Play (9,490 ratings)about 4.5 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Android
  3. Rusty Lake: Roots key art: a painted valley with a lake, mountains, a white palace on an island, a chapel and a windmill PsychologicalRusty Lake: RootsThe painted valley of Rusty Lake, its water, chapel and island palace, frames the house where the family lives 96% on Google Play (16,100 ratings)about 4 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Android
  4. Rusty Lake Hotel key art: the grey gothic hotel on a small island in a still green lake, with mountains and a cloudy sky behind PsychologicalRusty Lake HotelThe hotel stands on a small island in a still green lake, reached by rowboat. 96% on Google Play (20,600 ratings)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Android
  5. Rusty Lake Paradise art: a man in a mosquito mask with insect wings hovers in a bare grey forest above a white rabbit beside a hole PsychologicalRusty Lake ParadiseThe island sits in a misty mountain lake whose water turns red with blood in the first plague 96% on Google Play (10,400 ratings)about 3.5 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Android
  6. Cube Escape Collection key art: a white cube outline and the title on a purple starry background PsychologicalCube Escape CollectionThe Lake chapter has a wooden room with a doorway opening onto a lake and mountains. 94% on Google Play (64,100 ratings)about 7 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Android
  7. Wretched Depths key art: the title logo with a red fish hook, over dark water PS1Wretched DepthsEverything turns on Lake Imperium, where no one knows what lies at the bottom. 97% on Steam (577 reviews)about 30 minFreePC
  8. Lakeview Cabin 2 key art: two pixel-art children stand by a stone slab among standing stones in a green forest clearing SurvivalLakeview Cabin 2The first episode opens on a jetty by a rowing boat on a forest lake, at the family's lakeside summer house. 96% on Steam (592 reviews)14 h or morePaidPC, Mac
  9. Lake of Voices key art: a wooden bridge winding across a misty, dark lake between black trees PsychologicalLake of VoicesThe whole story is a crossing of Sinnlos, a cursed lake of black water spanned by a maze of bridges. 95% on Steam (645 reviews)about 4.5 hFreePC, Mac, Linux
  10. Buddy Simulator 1984 library art: a repeating pattern of grey pixel-art creatures, robots, animals and objects from the game on a near-black field PsychologicalBuddy Simulator 1984One scene shows a lakeside with a rowing boat and a fishing rod while a wide-eyed figure rises out of the water. 94% on Steam (3,196 reviews)about 5 hPaidPC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
  11. Midnight Scenes: The Nanny key art: a shadowy figure with tangled pale hair, glowing red eyes and bared teeth at the right of a dark banner 2D horrorMidnight Scenes: The NannyThe search leads to a jetty on a lake at dusk, where Tina tells Oliver to get in the rowing boat. 97% on Steam (235 reviews)about 30 minPaidPC
  12. Alan Wake 2 key art: Alan Wake's face looms over a red-lit forest where a small figure stands with a flashlight PsychologicalAlan Wake 2The Dark Place lies under Cauldron Lake, near Bright Falls, where Alan Wake vanished 13 years earlier. 92% on the PlayStation Store (68,381 ratings)16 h or morePaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  13. Lakeview Cabin Collection key art: three frightened green pixel-art faces, one bloodied under a blade, beside the yellow title 2D horrorLakeview Cabin CollectionThe camp cabin sits on a large lake you can swim in, and the cannibals' mansion of Episode IV lies across it. 94% on Steam (1,610 reviews)12 h or morePaidPC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  14. Dread X Collection 2 key art: a skeleton in sunglasses and bow tie plays a brass horn while a tentacle-faced giant looms over a dark forest under stars CosmicDread X Collection 2The Thing in the Lake is about something horrible hiding in a lake's murky depths 94% on Steam (696 reviews)about 8.5 hPaidPC
  15. GONE Fishing key art: a hooded angler in a boat holds up a large pike on a misty amber lake, with an Update 1.0 banner SurvivalGONE FishingThe whole game turns on a lake: you fish it every day to feed the ancient beast that lives in it. 92% on Steam (2,195 reviews)PaidPC
  16. [HERROR] Gas Station Case key art: a lit gas station with a parked car at the edge of a dark forest road at night Walking simulators[HERROR] Gas Station CaseYour friend Michael finds a mysterious case by the lake, and the screenshots show a boat on it and a shore at night. 95% on Steam (339 reviews)about 2 hPaidPC
  17. Feet In The Snow key art: a lone lamppost lighting a fork in a snowy path through dark pines at night, footprints in the snow, title in white pixel letters PsychologicalFeet In The SnowA pair of doors stands alone on the cracked ice of a frozen lake. 94% on itch.io (330 ratings)about 10 minFreePC
  18. Bad Faith title screen: a dark-haired girl clutching a book under a giant tree as four other girls walk past, with the gothic title above and the menu below PsychologicalBad FaithThe island community of the Haven lies in the middle of a lake, and the story never leaves its shores. 96% on itch.io (143 ratings)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux
  19. Para Eyes key art: a pale, bald figure with goggles and cables plugged into its head reaches out in front of a wall of glowing green monitors PsychologicalPara EyesOne camera map looks over a foggy lakeshore at night, with a dock, a kayak and rowboats. 96% on Steam (152 reviews)PaidPC
  20. Scanner Sombre key art: a green figure stands in a dark cave drawn in glowing orange, green and blue scan dots, with the title at top right PsychologicalScanner SombrePC Gamer describes a large underground lake level where dots fade on the water and you wade nearly blind. 89% on Steam (4,594 reviews)about 1.5 hPaidPC, Mac, VR
  21. The Visitor: the pink alien slug sits in a pool of blood at the foot of a blood-smeared tree by dark swamp water, a crow watching from a stump Body horrorThe VisitorThe first scene is the lake shore at night, with a fishing rod, a frog and the meteor 88% (165,000 ratings)about 10 minFreeBrowser
  22. Fears to Fathom - Woodbury Getaway key art: a snowy small-town street at night with a lit porch, a parked van, a utility pole and bare trees PsychologicalFears to Fathom - Woodbury GetawayFishing is a key feature, and you spend time at a snowy lakeshore with a rowboat and a boathouse 87% on Steam (3,684 reviews)about 2 hPaidPC
  23. Kona key art: the yellow KONA title on white snow, with the dark silhouette of a man's legs and his long shadow PsychologicalKonaThe whole game is set around Atamipek Lake in northern Canada, with houses and cabins along the frozen shore. 83% on the PlayStation Store (1,943 ratings)about 5.5 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  24. ONE DAY HIKE key art: twisted, cracked dark branches against a flat orange sky, with the title in large pale letters PsychologicalONE DAY HIKEYou are headed for the lake where the camp stood, where you washed clothes as a teen 96% on itch.io (42 ratings)about 30 minFreeBrowser
  25. Martha Is Dead key art: the upside-down face of a young woman with a pearl necklace, as if seen through dark water PsychologicalMartha Is DeadMartha is found drowned in the lake near the family villa, and you row across it by boat. 79% on Steam (3,986 reviews)about 6 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  26. Blank Dream key art: the original Japanese title 虚白ノ夢 (Kohaku no Yume) in white on dark blue beside a column of glowing lights, marked 2015 Teriyaki Tomato PsychologicalBlank DreamThe story opens as Mishiro throws herself into a lake, and she wakes somewhere dark and wet. 90% (50 ratings)about 3 hFreePC
  27. Incident at Grove Lake key art: a small figure floats in a huge white light over pine trees on a grassy hill, with the title at lower left Walking simulatorsIncident at Grove LakeThe tape follows a camping trip at Grove Lake in August 1997, with a campfire and a tent in the woods 84% on itch.io (265 ratings)about 22 minPay what you wantPC
  28. The Devil in Me key art: a terrified woman and a man holding an axe before a brick hotel, framed inside a skull over a faded old map Co-opThe Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in MeThe hotel stands on an island in Lake Michigan, and one store screenshot shows a foggy boathouse over black water 78% on the PlayStation Store (9,700 ratings)about 7 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox

Short enough for one evening

Done in an hour or so

Free to play

8 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
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