Hunters landWith popular characters like Pennywise from Stephen King's It and the Joker from DC's Batman comics, it's no surprise that many people now have coulrophobia, a fear of clowns. Though clowns have existed since ancient civilizations, the recent characterizations, exaggerated proportions, and events such as the 2016 clown sightings have partially changed the archetype from levity to terror.
Because of this new trend, clowns now have prominent roles in many horror stories, movies, and even video games. Even if the player doesn't have coulrophobia, these games may still make them look at clowns differently.
Haunted Hell House
Released in 2021, Haunted Hell House is a short and free action-adventure game that's filled with some dark humor. Since Hunters' Land, the newly-built amusement park, is now open, four high school students named Hiroshi, Miyuki, Toru, and Yumi decide to visit together during their summer vacation.
But when they visit the attraction called "Haunted Hell House" that's run by an evil clown, they all get separated and quickly discover that everything within the building is trying to kill them. To escape, the player will need to dodge various objects, avoid traps, and defeat the killer clown. Though the game has some violent imagery, gore, and jump scares, it's mostly silly with all the random objects flying at the player and the ending seemingly being sung by Hatsune Miku.
Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life
Beginning with the introduction of her ancestor Princess Athena in the 1986 arcade platformer Athena and her own introduction in the 1987 sequel Psycho Soldier, Athena Asamiya has remained one of the most popular characters in SNK history. Besides being a consistent playable character in The King of Fighters series, she has also appeared in multiple side games. One of these games, which is one of the many great Japan-only horror game titles, is the 1999 PS1 game Athena: Awakening from the Ordinary Life.
This adventure game follows Athena, a seemingly normal high school student who discovers that she has psychic powers and may be part of an ancient race of people that an evil company wants to use. Throughout the three discs, she encounters one of the main antagonists, a clown named Astraios, who wants to fully awaken her powers for his master.
Death Park
Death Park is a 2019 adventure game that was originally released for mobile devices. After waking up in a children's room and walking out the door, the player finds themself in a surreal abandoned amusement park. To escape, the player will have to solve puzzles and avoid the murderous clown that patrols the area.
Similar to the Granny games, the player needs to accomplish multiple elaborate inventory puzzles while the clown moves around the map. In 2021, the game received a sequel simply titled Death Park 2.
Clown House
Another short freeware game is the 2015 film noir-esque title Clown House, which is one of the best monochromatic games. For some unknown reason, the player is trapped inside a fancy house filled with possibly deadly clowns. As the player searches for the key, they have to watch out for at least one of the clowns trying to attack them.
Although the player has a gun, they can't use it on all the clowns because some of them may be innocent, and the player will automatically lose if they kill an innocent clown. During each playthrough, the location of the key and which clowns are murderous are randomized.
Exhibit of Sorrows
Adding to the list of the best horror games available on Itch.io, Exhibit of Sorrows is a short in-browser free puzzle game that released in April this year. After finding themself in a circus-themed museum, the player must progress through each of the installations by interacting with them, solving their puzzles, and obtaining keys.
But as the game continues, it's eventually revealed that the exhibits are actually people who are now trapped in this pocket dimension by an evil clown. In order to escape, the player may have to torture these poor souls so that they can obtain all the keys.
CarnEvil
During its lifespan, the American video game developer and publisher Midway produced multiple light gun arcade games, but one of their most successful examples was the 1998 rail shooter CarnEvil. While on a hayride tour through the fictional town of Greely Valley, Iowa, the unnamed protagonist spots the gravestone of Ludwig von Tökkentäkker. According to an urban legend, putting a gold token in the mouth of the jester's skull on top of the gravestone will make the undead carnival appear.
Noticing a gold token in the slot, the protagonist puts the coin in the jester's mouth and summons the carnival. Now, the protagonist and Betty, another person from the tour, must shoot through hordes of clowns, zombies, elves, and more using the shotguns found at the shooting range.
Clown in a House
Although most horror games feature clowns as the antagonist, the 2021 retro-inspired adventure game Clown in a House has the player control the titular clown instead. After waking up in a large house that exists in the middle of a void, an omnipresent voice named Kirk welcomes the player, who is a clown, to their home.
As the player explores the house, solves puzzles, and avoids the strange inhabitants lurking within its walls, the clown tries to uncover the meaning behind its existence. After reading all of Kirk's witty dialogue and achieving the game's 20 endings, the player may understand themself a bit more. The traditional role of clowns is to tap into and explore the human condition, after all.
Buggerworld
Released in 2019, the surreal two-hour-long experience Buggerworld is one of the many great RPG Maker horror games available on Itch.io. Taking on the role of a talking dog, the player must stop Funnyman and his army of clowns from Clownworld from destroying Buggerworld.
Similar to the iconic game Off, the dog explores a surreal world and fights in turn-based battles in order to "purify" the dog's paradise, which has been ruined by the thing the dog hates the most: clowns. Unlike Off, however, the game is more of a comedy than a horror.
The Happyhills Homicide
Released in early access in 2020 on GameJolt, The Happyhills Homicide is an '80s slasher movie simulator where the player is a murderous clown. During each level, the serial killer clown must find a way to murder individuals in different scenarios without getting caught.
Because each level takes place in a different setting, players will have to explore the maps and find the items that are necessary to kill the victim, which can range from typical kitchen knives to lawnmowers. Since the victims will also be doing different things, players will have to solve the unique scenarios. Currently, the game has 10 levels to beat.
Evil Clowns
Inspired by CarnEvil, Pac-Man, and possibly Dark Deception, Evil Clowns is a 2019 survival horror first-person shooter from the famous indie horror developer Puppet Combo that can only be downloaded from their Patreon page. After falling asleep during a fair, protagonist Jean must escape the funhouse, which is now filled with murderous clowns. As the player runs across the maps, they must find weapons, shoot the various clowns, and collect all the coins.
Two of the game's clown enemies, Billy and Bongo, are originally from Puppet Combo's previous titles Feed Me Billy and Nun Massacre. In 2020, the developers made a reboot titled Night of the Clowns, which is a stealth game rather than an arcade experience.