This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used or thoroughly reviewed! Learn more on my Privacy Policy page.
Scary games to play are perfect for long school days
Have you ever sat alone on the steps in the school hallway so early that most students hadn’t arrived yet? As lights hum and flicker and hallways stretch on, every shadow seems like a lurking figure looming over you from behind. I remember this eerie feeling, and it isn’t just in your head.
Indie horror games, especially school-based horror games, capture this feeling perfectly. They turn familiar corridors into scenes of suspense and mystery. That’s why I curated a list of scary games to play, and another to play with friends, which transform mundane school settings into landscapes of terror, ensuring you’ll never look at an empty hallway the same way again.
Let’s gear up and venture into my Top 11 Scary Games to Play for Back to School.
1. Detention

Platform: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch
Setting: 1960s Taiwanese High School
Gameplay: Detention brings an atmospheric and 2D experience to the indie horror genre horror. Set during Taiwan’s White Terror period, it is a point-and-click adventure that doesn’t rely on jump scares. Instead, it builds tension through its oppressive atmosphere and psychological horror elements.
Players control two students trapped in a nightmarish version of their high school, where they must outmaneuver ghostly entities by holding their breath and they must solve puzzles. The game uniquely blends Taiwanese mythology and history, making it a horror experience and a cultural exploration.
2. Oxenfree

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
Setting: Abandoned Island with a Military and School History
Gameplay: Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller where you play as Alex, a teenager who accidentally opens a ghostly rift during a late-night party on an abandoned island. A part of the game takes you through abnormal, derelict school buildings that once served military purposes.
The game’s dialogue-driven narrative, with voiceovers and an eerie tone, makes it a standout in the indie horror, which allotted it a sequel.
3. School Labyrinth

Platform: PC
Setting: Modern School at Night
Gameplay: School Labyrinth is a multiplayer horror game in which you and up to three friends navigate a procedurally generated school at night. The goal is to escape from a malevolent presence that haunts the halls. Of this malevolent presence are anatomy mannequins.
The school’s ever-changing layout keeps the game fresh and unpredictable. Sanity is a feature in the game that adds an extra layer to the challenge, but escape is much more complicated if sanity gets too low.
4. Forgotten School

Platform: PC
Setting: Abandoned Japanese School
Gameplay: Forgotten School is a short experience among indie horror games inspired by Japanese VHS-style horror films. Set in an abandoned school, the game is drenched in an eerie atmosphere filled with unsettling mysteries. You use a camera to see the other side of the school that suggests a dark past.
The game’s retro aesthetic and minimalistic gameplay make it a hauntingly unique experience.
5. Kimodameshi School VR

Platform: VR (PC)
Setting: Haunted School
Gameplay: Kimodameshi School VR plunges you into a haunted school where solving puzzles is your key to survival. This VR experience amplifies the horror, making every eerie encounter feel unnervingly close.
The game mixes traditional Japanese horror elements with immersive VR mechanics, making it a must-try for VR horror enthusiasts.
6. Misao: Definitive Edition

Platform: PC
Setting: Cursed Educational Institution
Gameplay: Misao: Definitive Edition takes you into the eerie hallways of a haunted school, where horror intertwines with mystery. While uncovering the mystery of a vanishing classmate’s fate, you must navigate spectral threats and cryptic puzzles.
The school setting is familiar ground turned nightmarish, where each classroom and corridor might hold the key to solving the disappearance or unleashing further horrors. Fans of games like Corpse Party will find this blend of adventure and horror compelling as the educational environment transforms into a playground for the supernatural.
7. After School

Platform: PC
Setting: Deserted School
Gameplay: In After School, by SirCartaux, you find yourself alone in a seemingly empty school. The game’s atmosphere is thick with tension as you explore the deserted halls, uncovering why everyone has disappeared.
The minimalist, old-gaming-style design and psychological horror elements make it a deeply unsettling experience.
8. The Coma: Recut

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Setting: Korean High School
Gameplay: The Coma: Recut is a survival horror game set in a twisted version of a Korean high school. You must avoid a relentless killer as they navigate the darkened halls, solving puzzles and finding items to survive.
The game’s hand-drawn art style and tense atmosphere have made it a cult favorite among horror fans and sickeningly great for a back to school gaming session.
9. The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters

Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Setting: Haunted Korean School
Gameplay: Continuing the story from the first game, The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters deepens the lore and heightens the terror. The game introduces new locations within the school, monstrous entities, and a more intricate storyline.
The game’s blend of survival mechanics and psychological horror in a back to school setting keeps you on edge from start to finish.
10. Corpse Party

Platform: PC, PSP, PS Vita, 3DS, iOS
Setting: Haunted School
Gameplay: Corpse Party is a story-driven horror game where a group of students performs a ritual that goes terribly wrong, trapping them in a nightmarish alternate dimension of their school.
With multiple endings and a gripping narrative, Corpse Party is a cornerstone of school-based horror games, blending graphic horror with emotional storytelling.
11. White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

Platform: PC, PS4
Setting: Yeondu High School, formerly a hospital with a dark history tied to the Korean War.
Gameplay: White Day: a Labyrinth Named School, as a first-person survival horror game delves into the terrifying night spent in Yeondu High School by Lee Hui-min. With no weapons to defend himself, Lee must navigate through ghost-infested hallways, solve complex puzzles, and avoid a deadly janitor to survive until morning.
The game is renowned for its atmospheric tension and multiple endings influenced by player choices, making it a gripping experience on every playthrough.
Closing Thoughts
These scary games to play offer a diverse range of horror experiences, all centered around the familiar yet frightening setting of schools. Whether you’re into psychological horror, supernatural thrillers, or survival horror, there’s something on this list to make your back to school season a bit scarier.
So, what’s the scariest experience you’ve ever had in a school, be it in real-life or in a game? What the scariest indie horror game you’ve play not on this list? Share your thoughts and comments below, all are welcome!

Nero lives in the United States, delving into indie horror to mainstream games. Armed with a psych degree and a passion for storytelling, he wrote stories and essays published online and in museum catalogs. Besides writing, he also likes sketching and tuning into rock music. Catch his latest posts or follow him across social media.