Most horror games revel in their short, sweet playtimes as players embark on a rollercoaster ride full of scares and eerie vibes before finally being let off. However, some of the titles in this genre didn’t get the memo, and keep players embroiled for a much longer time.
This means that some players can spend upwards of a hundred hours in these horror games if they want the full experience. It’s a testament to the quality of these titles that fans are willing to unnerve themselves just so they can master the gameplay loop over the course of the game’s run.
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8 Project Zomboid
Mastering The Mechanics Can Take Ages
Project Zomboid is one of the best survival horror games around, and fans can’t wait for the 1.0 release to blow their minds. Players must get through a steep learning curve to make the most of the game’s Sims-like system of gaining skills, while also trying to come to grips with the game’s unforgiving survival mechanics.
Most will argue that players must spend at least 20 hours or more before they finally get a grasp of how the game mechanics work. Following this are attempts to survive for numerous days in every run, and the continuous patches for the game mean that players can always drop into the title at a later date and find something else to sink their teeth into.
7 Inscryption
Kaycee’s Mod Will Single-Handedly Bump Up One’s Play Time

Inscryption
- Released
- October 19, 2021
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Strong Language, Violence
Inscryption is one of the best video games that horror fans can get their hands on. The horror aesthetic of this roguelike deckbuilding game is off the charts, and players will have a ton of fun with this game across its three arcs.
Players who love the game can take on the challenge from Kaycee’s Mod, which can be a brutal experience early on. Players will have to spend the time they took going through the entire game just to surpass the first few challenges before things become uber-hard. Players must rely on perfect RNG and immaculate strategies to get by.
6 7 Days To Die
Players Will Struggle To Survive At The End Of Every Week

7 Days to Die
- Released
- December 13, 2013
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Violence
As one of the toughest survival games players can get their hands on, 7 Days to Die is not for impatient players. The first week is bound to lead to a game over a few times before players finally figure out the best way to deal with the relentless zombie assault that serves as the game’s biggest gimmick.

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Eventually, players will be able to tackle these challenges and come out relatively unscathed, but that takes a lot of time. In fact, this is just the beginning, with players being encouraged to survive week after week as the assaults become deadlier and harder to manage.
5 Bloodborne
Getting All The Endings Requires Multiple Playthroughs

- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
Players are kidding themselves if they don’t consider Bloodborne a horror game, with the oppressive gothic and Lovecraftian elements of this title being clear as day. The Hunter must navigate a world ravaged by beasts and take on several powerful bosses in the process.
As is the case with most FromSoftware games, Bloodborne is meant to be played on New Game+ for players who want to unlock the alternate endings or main weapons they only found at the end of the game. Weapons like the Burial Blade and the Rakuyo alone justify a second (and third) playthrough, causing the playtime to shoot well above a hundred hours.
4 Darkest Dungeon
Takes Ages To Complete Everything

- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Darkest Dungeon is an indie RPG that’s no joke and will force players to be conservative in combat. Failing to do so will lead to the strongest heroes falling in battle because players were too greedy.
As frustrating as these losses may be, they serve as learning experiences that force players to get better at the game and understand when to back out. It’s only after this learning experience that players can tackle numerous dungeons in the game, which makes for a time-consuming affair if players want to complete everything in sight.
3 Pathologic
Getting Every Ending Takes A Long Time

Pathologic takes the term “all the world’s a stage” a bit too literally, but this is a huge part of the game’s charm. Players control one of three characters who must figure out the source of a plague that’s ravaging a bleak town.
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These games offer little to no hand-holding, trusting players to figure things out for themselves, making progress all the more rewarding.
The game is very challenging and will make players pay for their mistakes time and time again. Players who want to seek out all endings, play as every character, and complete everything possible will see their playtime expand considerably.
2 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart Of Chornobyl
Takes Ages If Players Want To Do Everything Possible

- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood, Use Of Drugs And Alcohol, Language, Crude Humor
The original Legends of the Zone trilogy turned STALKER into an underrated open-world franchise that more and more people got into over time. This is why many fans were eagerly anticipating STALKER 2, which turned out to be a fantastic experience despite the many bugs that hampered a playthrough at launch. Die-hard fans didn’t mind calling them anomalies and rolling with it.
This game is a massive expansion over its predecessors and can comfortably take players upwards of a hundred hours to complete if they want to explore everything in sight and accomplish any challenge that the game throws their way.
1 World Of Horror
Embark On Endless Playthroughs To Get Everything Right

World of Horror
- Released
- December 8, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Use of Alchohol and Tobacco, Violence
It’s easy for a roguelike to boast a lengthy playtime, especially one as challenging as World of Horror. Most players are recommended to try this game on the Easy difficulty before moving their way up to Normal.
Death can arrive at a moment’s notice, forcing players to be very smart about their moves so that their run isn’t wasted. Losing on Normal over and over again can be infuriating, but this serves as a learning experience that compels players to spend enough time in the game until they manage to complete a playthrough on Hard difficulty, too.
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