Looking for a scary good time that won’t cost you a cent? Steam has no shortage of free multiplayer horror games that will have you and your friends screaming through the night. I’ve played through my fair share of them, and here are 6 of the best free multiplayer horror games on Steam that I highly recommend.
Let’s start off with something more lighthearted before we dive into the truly terrifying.
1. Killer Party
Killer Party is a goofy, couch co-op multiplayer murder mystery party game for up to 8 players. If you’ve ever played the classic board game Clue (or Cluedo for my non-American friends), it has a very similar vibe.
In Killer Party, you and your friends take on the roles of various party guests who have all been invited to a dinner party at a swanky mansion. But surprise, surprise – there’s a killer on the loose! One of the guests is actually a murderer, and the rest of you need to figure out who done it before you all end up dead.
As you explore the mansion, you’ll find clues, tools, and weapons that will help you detect the killer before they get you. The graphics have a fun, cartoony style and the gameplay has a humorous charm to it. Killer Party is much more about goofy fun than hardcore scares.
If you’re looking to get a group together for some free online multiplayer fun without traumatizing anyone, Killer Party on Steam hits the spot perfectly. The mini-games and activities you unlock as you play like dance battles, present exchanges, and more will have you and your crew in stitches.
2. The Hidden
If you want to kick up both the tension and the fun with your friends, The Hidden is a great pick. This asymmetric multiplayer shooter pits a team of heavily armed government agents against a lone monster simply known as The Hidden.
One player takes on the role of the mutant monster, who is completely invisible except for brief moments of vulnerability when attacking. The Hidden has superhuman abilities like incredible speed, jumping power, and the ability to climb walls and ceilings. Meanwhile, the highly trained special forces operatives try to hunt down and eliminate the invisible threat.
As one of the special agents, the paranoia and tension runs high as you work with your teammates to listen for clues to The Hidden’s location while watching each other’s backs, fearful that at any moment he could pick one of you off when you least expect it.
The Hidden is kind of like playing a tense game of cat and mouse or deadly hide and seek. Matches are short, but the dark atmosphere and jump scares keep you on the edge of your seat. Extra modes allow a single player to go up against a team of NPCs or make multiple monsters fight the special agents for absolute chaos. This one is definitely a pulse-pounding good time.
3. Cry of Fear
If you grew up loving classic survival horror games like Silent Hill and the early Resident Evil and Clock Tower games, Cry of Fear delivers a fantastic homage to the great horror games of the late 90’s. Best of all, this indie fan-made Half Life mod released back in 2012 offers 4-player online co-op so you and your friends can endure the nightmare together.
You play as Simon Henriksson, a young man who finds himself lost and bewildered in a grim, dangerous city haunted by monstrous creatures. The visuals and audio design are incredibly impressive for a free mod, with dark, creepy environments and a killer soundtrack that will keep you feeling uneasy.
Cry of Fear employs every classic survival horror mechanic and trope you know and love like resource management, puzzle solving, creepy documents and lore that uncover the story, safe rooms, and hideous monster encounters galore. This is survival horror done right, and being able to play alongside 3 other friends takes it to another level.
So gather your fellow fans of grim and gritty 90’s horror and brace yourselves for one hell of a scare. Cry of Fear is a must-play for diehard horror fans.
4. SCP: Secret Laboratory
If you’re a fan of the SCP mythos full of supernatural artifacts, locations, and creatures studied and contained by the secretive SCP Foundation to protect mankind, then SCP: Secret Laboratory should satisfy your appetite for horror.
This intense multiplayer game built in the Source engine pits various character classes against one another in a fight for survival. You can choose to join the Foundation’s elite MTF security force, the scrappy rebel insurgents known as the Chaos Insurgency, or sign up to play as one of the many SCP anomalies with special abilities.
No matter which side you choose, life is short and brutal in Secret Laboratory. MTF and security forces try desperately to contain escaped SCP creatures and renegade classes, ordering lockdowns, helicopter extractions under fire, and more as facility staff succumb to the horrors. Meanwhile, SCP beasts like the infamous statue SCP-173 that snaps necks when not watched or the nigh-indestructible lizard SCP-682 seek to slaughter all human life.
With so many iconic monsters and factions from SCP lore to choose from, no round of Secret Laboratory plays the same. It’s dark, gritty, and action-packed, like a violent match of cat and mouse between various forces, each trying to use the containment breach chaos to further their own agenda. If you dig the SCP mythos, put together a squad and try to survive the horrors of Secret Lab.
5. Slendrina: The Cellar
Slendrina: The Cellar brings the terrifying Slendrina horror game series to multiplayer realms. Based on the creepy supernatural mythos of the demonic Slendrina known for kidnapping and murdering her victims, The Cellar has you and up to 3 other players trying to escape her murder house.
You’ll have to work together cleverly leveraging each of your character’s unique skills and tools. Search for keys, tools, clues, and weapons to help unlock new areas of the creepy house while avoiding Slendrina at all costs.
This indie horror game utilizes stationary cameras and fixed camera angles, deliberately obscuring your view to ratchet up the tension. The visuals use a very clean, simple style which makes the moments when Slendrina screws with cameras and appears on screen even more terrifying.
With randomly generated maps and item placement each time you play, you’ll never know where to turn or where Slendrina will pop up next. If you dig escape room-style horror games and want to solve puzzles and uncover a creepy story with friends, Slendrina: The Cellar is a solid pick, especially since it won’t cost you a penny!
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6. FAITH
FAITH is an impressive looking retro-style psychological horror game drawing heavy inspiration from classic games like Prince of Persia. This creepy game has you trying to guide a priest named John Ward out of a cursed house with up to 4 player online co-op.
The sprite-based graphics look beautifully rendered and the movement reminds me of fluid classics like Another World or Flashback. But make no mistake, this house is filled with sinister traps and entities waiting around every corner.
Using an overhead camera perspective, up to 4 players must guide John Ward to safely make his way through each room, activating levers and switches to unlock exits, revealing hidden passages, and more. A handy marker system allows players to ping locations and interactable objects to coordinate with teammates.
The atmosphere is laden with dread and foreboding as you discover disturbing details about the residence through notes and environments. You’ll have to tread carefully, keep John Ward safe from harm by deadly traps while avoiding the haunted forces within. If you love crisp 2D visuals and fantastic, fluid animation, FAITH brings all of that to the table alongside friends in this gorgeous gothic horror quest.
Final Thoughts
Well, those are 6 of my personal picks for the best free multiplayer horror games currently lurking within Steam’s expansive catalog. From the goofy party hijinks of Killer Party to the edge-of-your-seat thrills facing off against iconic monsters in SCP: Secret Laboratory, there’s something here to appeal to virtually any horror fan.
Maybe you want to feel vulnerable exploring an atmospheric haunted house with friends in Slendrina or FAITH. Or perhaps you’d rather gear up for frantic FPS zombie action mag-dumping the undead hordes in Left 4 Dead 2. Either way, it’s awesome that Steam offers this many high quality multiplayer horror options completely free of charge.
So grab some brave friends, maybe change some underwear on standby, and get ready for a scary game night battling supernatural forces of evil. Just try not to piss yourself or scream loud enough to alarm your neighbors! Let me know in the comments which of these free Steam horror games end up being your multiplayer fright fest favorite.