Two PC freebies are the perfect weekend night spooks to complete in one night

If World Cup fever isn't your bag and you're looking to bury yourself in something that doesn't have a scary Norwegian viking on the screen, well, we have a duo of other spooks that might tickle your fancy for absolutely free.

So far, 2026 has been quite meh in terms of game releases.

And it's all Grand Theft Auto's fault as it hogs the limelight and casts an expensive shadow over the year, especially around spooky season.

With autumn and winter jam-packed with huge, pricey game releases, summer has become a ghost town where nobody wants to spend a penny.

So let's flip the script. Let's host Halloween in the golden dusk of July and get our gaming spook on with two free titles that make for the perfect weekend combination.

That's where indie dev Crux Game Studios comes into play.

Just as they plan to release their latest horror game, Drift, the team has decided to offer up its previous two titles as free appetisers, both of which can be completed in a single night and boast strong narratives.

Both Within and Decrypt are totally free for this weekend only (offer ending July 13), and with 'bite-sized' completion times, they're worth checking out.

Within

The first of the two games is Within, which comes as a very quick hit with a serious thrill.

The thirty-minute title puts you in the shoes of a big sister who has to combat her inner demons and some seriously ghoulish foes to help save her younger brother.

"When Maya gets a disturbing phone call from her estranged younger brother Nikil ("Nik"), it sets in motion a series of horrific events that stirs the past and threatens to destroy all she holds dear," the description reads.

Decrypt

Similarly, Decrypt is a game that can be completed in just an hour and is a masterful story with solid exploration elements despite its speedy finish time.

This time, you'll be cast into a sci-fi survival-horror, where you will fight for your life amid a mysterious threat on board your cargo freight

"When a freight ship goes missing and is later found abandoned, you are sent to investigate it to solve the mystery of its missing crew," this description says.

"The ISS Travan is found at a fringe system thousands of klicks off its original course. The GiS Trade Federation believes that its crew has abandoned the ship to evade crippling trade fines in a brutal interstellar economy. You are a Data Forensics officer assigned to investigate the vessel.

"What you will uncover on the Travan is a far more insidious and horrifying truth."

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Both games can be downloaded directly from Itch.io - an alternative PC games site to Steam and Epic Games Store - or found on the developers' website, and will be free to keep if you ever want to relive the mystery.