There is something enjoyable about a good scare that does not cross into harsh horror. Many families look for games that can offer a small chill, a few surprises, or a spooky atmosphere without going too far. Parents might want something safe for kids. Teens may want something that feels eerie but still friendly. Younger players often enjoy ghost stories, cartoon monsters, or strange worlds that feel mysterious instead of violent. That balance is exactly why family-friendly scary games are great.
10 Underrated Family-Friendly Games That Are Perfect From Start To Finish
These cute, colorful, and cartoonish games are fun for younger players or everyone in the family to enjoy.
This list is made up of both multiplayer and single-player games. Families can sit together on the couch and watch one person explore a haunted room. Older kids and adults can take turns during tricky parts. Every game here was chosen for being safe, fun, and welcoming to a wide range of ages.
Five Nights At Freddy's
Night‑Watch Survival In A Haunted Pizzeria
- Players manage security cameras to keep creepy animatronics from reaching them, creating tense but safe scares.
- Jump scares are more about timing and strategy than gore, making it suitable for kids.
In Five Nights at Freddy's, players find themselves in the shoes of a night security guard at a pizza & entertainment venue called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, working a late‑night shift in a creepy setting. The threats aren’t monsters in the traditional sense but homicidal animatronic mascots that roam the restaurant after hours. Through stealth, vigilance, and quick reactions, players have to prevent the animatronics from entering the security office until their shift ends.
Despite the tense premise, the horror remains largely superficial and imaginative rather than graphic. There’s no gore, and the fear primarily builds through sound design, shadows, and unexpected jump scares when an animatronic suddenly appears up close. Because players cannot fight (only observe and respond), the scares are more about anticipation and timing than explicit violence. For a family game night, the game can serve as a spooky but manageable scare for older kids.
Bendy And The Ink Machine
Creepy Cartoon Studio Mystery
- A spooky, cartoon-style horror where players solve puzzles and explore an abandoned animation studio.
- Creepy but whimsical visuals make the game scary in a fun, non-traumatizing way for family play.
In Bendy and the Ink Machine, players step into an old animation studio that once made cheerful cartoons, only to discover it’s now filled with darkness, ink, and nightmares. For a family evening with older kids, this can feel like a spooky cartoon-turned-mystery rather than a horror designed to shock. It's a bit unsettling, atmospheric, and rich in tension, but not graphically violent or excessively terrifying.
Scary Games All About Exploration
It's not just horror games that can deliver spooky and unsettling exploration, and this diverse game selection proves it.
The horror in Bendy and the Ink Machine comes from the environmental storytelling, strange audio cues, and the gradual realization that the cartoon characters are no longer safe. Between solving puzzles and exploration, players will discover hidden secrets and darker truths behind the studio's decline.
Little Misfortune
Follow A Little Girl On A Dark And Whimsical Adventure
- Follows a charming but slightly dark story of a girl on a quest, balancing cute and eerie moments.
- Quirky dialogue and puzzles keep the tension mild, so scares are more about suspense than horror.
A little girl’s adventure begins like a bedtime story in Little Misfortune, but that’s only until reality bends and things get weird. As an imaginative 8‑year-old on a quest to find “eternal happiness,” players will have to listen to a mysterious voice on a pair of headphones and wander through forests, towns, and strange landscapes.
Little Misfortune is a good fit for teens or older kids who enjoy a sad or eerie story with a sense of melancholy. There’s depth and emotional weight juxtaposed with moments of joy, curiosity, and innocence, but there’s also that sense of fear that comes from odd noises, distorted memories, and haunting imagery.
Corpse Party 3DS (2015)
Haunted School Mystery With Creepy Spirits
- Players explore a haunted school filled with ghosts, solving mysteries to escape.
- Horror elements are spooky and story-driven, with cartoon-like visuals making it less intense.
Corpse Party begins with what seems like a silly ghost story set in a school, but it turns into something a bit scarier. A group of high school students stay late at school after an event. They tell ghost stories. They play a sort of prank using an old legend about a cursed school that used to exist where their current school stands. What they don’t know is that the prank will awaken something dark. Suddenly, they find themselves trapped in a broken, haunted version of their school, filled with ghosts and lost spirits.
Players control one of the students (or switch among several) and try to survive. There are no weapons, so the danger comes from spirits, creepy halls, sudden noises, and wrong choices. The game uses reading notes, exploring old classrooms, shifting halls, and spooky ambient sounds to build tension. Even without gore, the mood is heavy. Players will get a strong sense of dread, worry about the characters, and genuinely fear what’s around the next corner. The 3DS version of the game is also called Corpse Party Blood Covered, and it has an extra chapter that’s not in the PSP and iOS versions.
Little Nightmares 3
Guide Two Children Through A Strange World
- Features atmospheric exploration in a mildly creepy world.
- Scares are more about tension and creepy creatures than explicit violence.
Little Nightmares 3 is another game that’s spooky enough to feel thrilling, but safe enough to avoid trauma. It’s basically about two kids (Low and Alone) who find themselves in a strange, twisted place called the Spiral, and all they have to do is escape. Players can go through this nightmare alone (with a helper AI playing as the other kid) or team up online with a friend.
Cooperation is important in Little Nightmares 3. Sometimes one player has to hold a rope while the other sneaks past a trap; other times one must distract a monster while the other slips by. Because it encourages collaboration (you can play with a friend or sibling), it becomes a shared experience. That mutual tension can make it a fun and memorable game night if everyone’s okay with creepy atmospheres.
MediEvil (2019 Remake)
A Skeleton Knight Battling Spooky Monsters And Haunted Lands
- A playful action-adventure where a skeleton hero fights monsters.
- Combines lighthearted humor with adventure, making “scary” moments fun and approachable for kids.
MediEvil is a remake, so the original story doesn’t change, but the graphics, controls, and audio are much improved. Players are still in control of Sir Daniel Fortesque, a once‑brave knight now returned from death as a skeleton to fight evil in a spooky land filled with monsters, ghosts, and danger. The setting is gothic, but playful.
8 Iconic Skeletons In Video Games
Skeletons are creepy things that appear in several games, but only a few hold the title of being some of the most iconic skeletons in video games
When it comes to combat in MediEvil, players swing swords, use magical weapons, and face skeletons, ghouls, and other spooky creatures, but the style stays far away from realistic horror. Because of that mix of a spooky setting, fantasy combat, and stylized visuals, MediEvil works well for families. Kids who enjoy a bit of fright but don’t want disturbing horror can enjoy it. There’s action, adventure, a hero to root for, and fun without traumatic scenes.
Costume Quest
Use Magical Halloween Costumes To Solve Puzzles And Battle Monsters
- Players explore a whimsical Halloween world, battling monsters in turn-based combat.
- Cute costumes and playful monsters provide light scares without intense horror, perfect for family fun.
Costume Quest is a game that gives off more of a Halloween party than a horror vibe. There are monsters and spooky things, but everything feels imaginative and fun. It plays with the idea of tricks, treats, costumes, and magic. Younger kids can enjoy this one easily. It’s safe, playful, and gives a light thrill without any real scariness.
In this game, a pair of siblings goes trick‑or‑treating. Suddenly, one is kidnapped by monsters, so the other has to chase after them in a world where costumes give real powers. A kid wearing a knight costume becomes a knight, a robot costume turns them into a robot, and a monster costume makes them into a monster.
Luigi's Mansion Remake
Ghost Catching Adventure
- Players guide Luigi through a haunted mansion, capturing mischievous ghosts in a charming, cartoonish way.
- Creepy settings and puzzles create suspense, but the tone is friendly and family-appropriate.
The Luigi’s Mansion remake keeps the original ghost‑hunting adventure but adds some nice new touches. For one, Luigi doesn’t have to go alone. A second player can join in as a ghostly version of Luigi called Gooigi. Together they can explore, solve puzzles, and catch ghosts.
The ghosts in Luigi's Mansion are spooky, but they mostly look cartoony, and not frightening in a dark, realistic horror way. The haunted house vibe is more akin to a playful ghost story than horror movie. Luigi might jump when a ghost appears, but the game keeps its light, fun tone throughout. It has a sense of suspense, but without heavy horror, which makes it a great pick for a gentle, spooky game night.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered
Join The Ghostbusters On A Fun Mission To Catch Mischievous Spirits
- Players join the Ghostbusters team, catching ghosts around the city using proton packs and traps.
- The story is fun and light, with humor, familiar characters, and spooky-but-friendly ghosts suitable for teens.
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered is another good family pick for a spooky but fun game night. It provides action and light scares, and as a remaster, the graphics look cleaner, and the controls feel smoother. Also, the original voice actors return, which makes the game feel familiar for fans of the movies.
In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, players take the role of a new recruit who joins the Ghostbusters team, and they send the recruit on missions around the city. The recruit learns ghost hunting, works with the team, and faces strange new spirits.
The Darkside Detective
Solve Weird And Creepy Cases With Detective McQueen
- Mixes mild scares with humor, quirky pixel art, and safe supernatural mysteries for families.
- Players solve short, weird, and funny supernatural cases using puzzles, clues, and exploration.
The beautiful thing about The Darkside Detective is how it turns strange mysteries into short, funny adventures players can actually relax with. It’s about Detective Francis McQueen, who somehow ends up handling all the odd cases that the regular police avoid. His city looks normal at first, but strange things hide in dark corners. Even though the game deals with ghosts, curses, and odd creatures, the mood stays light, and the pixel art makes scary things feel soft and harmless.
The Darkside Detective uses a point-and-click style. Players tap or click on anything that looks interesting. A door, a shelf, a book, a loose brick; something usually holds a clue. Most cases follow a simple flow: look around, talk to people, pick up items, try combinations, and unlock the next area. The puzzles feel playful rather than stressful, and ghosts might demand something funny or unexpected. Because the game keeps its sense of humor throughout, the process never feels tense or frightening.
