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Puppet horror games

In these games the threat has strings, felt or a painted wooden face. You wind a music box to keep a marionette in its box, wake alone in a musty theatre after the puppet show, or hide from the puppets of a children's TV studio. What frightens is a toy made to look alive that moves when it should not, and the hand you cannot see working it.

The top 26 of 26 puppet horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 26 best, 2026

  1. Smile For Me key art: a dark figure in a top hat with glowing eyes and a wide glowing grin looms over silhouettes of the Habitat's residents amid swirling vines and flowers PsychologicalSmile For MeDoctor Habit appears in cutscenes as a live-action puppet, and the store promises alarming puppetry. 98% on Steam (1,887 reviews)about 4 hPaidPC, Mac, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
  2. Forgotten At Fredbear's key art: a bloodied, half-rotted Fredbear in a purple top hat and bow tie, with a shadowy rabbit animatronic behind him in the dark FNAFForgotten At Fredbear'sThe Puppet roams from the Prize Corner and is lured away by playing her lullaby on the cameras 98% on Game Jolt (1,323 ratings)about 1.5 hFreePC
  3. Hello Charlotte EP2 key art: a black-and-white drawing of a crying girl holding a small dripping figure, at the right edge of a black speckled background PsychologicalHello Charlotte EP2: Requiem Aeternam DeoThe store greets you as the new Puppeteer: Charlotte is a Puppet you control and are told to keep safe, or not. 97% on Steam (2,479 reviews)about 4 hFreePC
  4. The Glitched Attraction banner: a top-hatted animatronic bear stands in a dim storage room while a purple animatronic crawls on the floor and a white fox hangs from the ceiling FNAFThe Glitched AttractionNightmarionne, the tall puppet, floats over the bed in the Nightmares level 97% on Game Jolt (3,221 ratings)about 2 hFreePC
  5. Final Nights 4 key art: worn Spring Bonnie and top-hatted Fredbear animatronics in a dark party room by a purple curtain, above a glowing neon 4 with a purple hat FNAFFinal Nights 4: Fates EntwinedOn entering the diner Max is shown a puppet show by the Puppet Master, who watches over his investigation. 96% on Game Jolt (2,920 ratings)about 1.5 hFreePC
  6. The Return to Bloody Nights Classic key art: a worn yellow animatronic in a purple top hat stares beside the title on a purple starry background FNAFThe Return to Bloody NightsA white-masked jester puppet waits among the plush toys in the dark 96% on Game Jolt (2,688 ratings)about 1 hFreePC
  7. Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 key art: a cluster of animatronic heads with Funtime Freddy at the centre, Circus Baby and Ballora beside him and the Sun daycare attendant above FNAFFive Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2Funtime Freddy carries Bon-Bon, a blue bunny hand puppet, in the Sister Location levels. 95% on Steam (5,413 reviews)about 8 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, VR
  8. My Friendly Neighborhood key art: grinning puppets, among them a spiky-haired boy, a green-haired puppet with a hoop earring and a red-mouthed monster, peer between red curtains on a night street SurvivalMy Friendly NeighborhoodThe enemies are the felt puppets of a cancelled children's TV show, come alive in their studio. 95% on Steam (3,467 reviews)about 5.5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  9. Hello Charlotte EP1 key art: a smiling white-haired girl tied by red strings to yellow claw hands, under a one-eyed dark figure, on grey static PsychologicalHello Charlotte EP1: Junk Food, Gods and Teddy BearsYou are the Puppeteer, and Charlotte is the puppet you control and must keep safe, or not. 96% on itch.io (894 ratings)about 1 hFreePC
  10. Paper Bride 2 key art: a hooded figure in red hangs from a wooden frame in a lantern-lit forest under a huge red moon, beside a many-armed statue Puzzle horrorPaper Bride 2 Zangling VillageA puppet maker's workshop hangs wooden puppet hands on red strings, and the villagers move almost like puppets. 94% on Google Play (27,900 ratings)about 4 hPaidPC, iPhone, Android
  11. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 key art: a close-up of the battered brown Freddy Fazbear's face beside a red number 2 FNAFFive Nights at Freddy's 2The Puppet, a new character, is held back only by a music box that you wind through the camera feed. 94% on Google Play (121,000 ratings)about 1.5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone, Android
  12. Don't Toy With Me key art: the title over a dollhouse silhouette, between the pale clown Huxley with glowing eyes and a tearful Dahlia, on crimson AnimeDon't Toy With MeThe owner gives Dahlia a clown puppet named Huxley as a companion, and the story turns on the two of them. 96% on itch.io (347 ratings)about 45 minPay what you wantPC, Mac, Linux, Android
  13. One Night In 2D cover: the blocky pixel face of a brown bear animatronic with a black top hat staring out of red darkness FNAFOne Night In 2DIn the second game's office the Puppet rises out of a gift box beside the balloons. 90% on Google Play (8,270 ratings)about 8 minFreeBrowser, PC, Android
  14. Forgotten Hill First Steps key art: a clawed figure in a red military coat, a grinning top-hatted gambler and a beaked puppeteer with two marionettes, before a dark house under a red moon EscapeForgotten Hill First StepsThe middle act passes through the horrors of the Puppet Theater, where a clawed marionette dances on the stage and a bellhop puppet hangs in a booth. 92% on Google Play (204 ratings)about 4 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Android
  15. Hello Charlotte: Delirium key art: Charlotte smiling with a knife and fork among severed heads and raw meat, above a menu reading forget, remember, run away RPG MakerHello Charlotte: DeliriumIn this spin-off Puppeteers do not exist, so Charlotte acts with nobody pulling her strings. 92% on itch.io (313 ratings)about 30 minFreePC
  16. GRAIN ROT key art: the game's logo above three wooden puppet characters with goggles and glowing chest cores in a dark ruin Co-opGRAIN ROTYou are a Living Spark surviving inside fragile wooden vessels that splinter, collapse and catch fire. 88% on Steam (2,492 reviews)PaidPC
  17. Puppet House key art: the wooden puppet seen from behind, holding a knife, sitting in a pool of blood at the foot of the mansion's staircase EscapePuppet HouseThe killer is an old ventriloquist's puppet that a freak ritual brought to life as a demonic killer. 86% on the PlayStation Store (650 ratings)about 2.5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  18. THE PROTOTYPE cover: the puppet with an INFLATE HERE chest plate and outstretched hands in grainy, scan-lined footage above the title Visual novelsTHE PROTOTYPEThe Plaything Prototype is a pale jointed puppet with a fixed smile, seated in the dark with its hands held out 90% on itch.io (191 ratings)about 15 minFreePC, Mac, Linux
  19. The Coma 3: Bloodlines art: a wide-eyed girl in close-up beside a wall of organic growths, with black spiky shapes between them, in dark blue SurvivalThe Coma 3: BloodlinesHideous puppets hunt you through the Coma while you run and hide 86% on Steam (369 reviews)about 8 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  20. Crisol: Theater of Idols key art: a weeping, crowned statue of a woman with a skeletal ribcage, framed by blades, candles and iron gates in red and black SurvivalCrisol: Theater of IdolsThe living statues move like puppets, and one screenshot shows a bull-masked puppet crawling across a dockside yard. 85% on Steam (4,585 reviews)11 h or morePaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  21. Teeth of Glass key art: a pixel-art operating table with black blood stains on a black background, under the white title PsychologicalTeeth of GlassA marionette sits in the hallway in front of a wooden bowl you fill to get a key. 88% on itch.io (156 ratings)about 25 minFreeBrowser, PC
  22. Emily Wants to Play art: a ventriloquist dummy, Emily in a torn white dress, a pale black-haired doll and a grinning clown in a top hat in a dark corridor HauntedEmily Wants to PlayA ventriloquist dummy in a suit is one of the dolls. 80% on the App Store (6,248 ratings)about 1 hPaidPC, Mac, VR, iPhone, PlayStation, Xbox
  23. 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 DeadPuppet-theatre sequences, where you move marionettes in order, bring back Giulia's repressed memories. 79% on Steam (3,986 reviews)about 6 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  24. Ad Infinitum key art: a black-and-white screaming skeleton in a German steel helmet, barbed wire around its spine, against a pale grey background PsychologicalAd InfinitumThe store warns of hideous disjointed puppets that move in the dark. 78% on Steam (1,885 reviews)about 7 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  25. Dread X Collection 5 art: the painted neon entrance of the Outpost 3000 party venue at night, with a rocket ship statue and red shrubs beside the door PS1Dread X Collection 5Beyond the Curtain wakes a child alone in a musty theatre after a puppet show, among marionettes 81% on Steam (311 reviews)10 h or morePaidPC
  26. Hello Puppets! key art: a frightened stitched doll in a pink glow surrounded by puppet monsters, among them a top-hatted old man, a woman with a saw and a giant fanged dog EscapeHello Puppets! VRThe cast of a cancelled children's puppet show has come alive, and a sarcastic puppet named Scout is sewn onto your hand 79% on Steam (197 reviews)about 2 hPaidVR, PC

Short enough for one evening

Done in an hour or so

Free to play

11 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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