Horror game fans have a brief opportunity to add an indie title to their game catalog, completely free, courtesy of Noxus Games Studios Don't stay in Red Wood is available in a 100% off sale that runs until 10:14 PM ET on May 12, or 02:14 UTC on May 13. Don't stay in Red Wood originally released version 1.0 for PC on Steam and Itch.io in November 2025, and players can now grab an updated version 2.0 exclusively via the Itch.io game page for a limited time.
Although not as prolific or mainstream as Steam, Itch.io has been hailed as a key platform for independent game developers, especially those who want to provide their games for free and with minimal backend coding and PC processing requirements. Some of the biggest names that started on Itch.io include games like Doki Doki Literature Club, Vampire Survivor, Buckshot Roulette, Friday Night Funkin'and even an early version of Celeste. Horror games in particular have found continued success on Itch.io, and the latest free download of Don't stay in Red Wood looks set to help boost its visibility among indie game fans.
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Don't Stop in Red Wood delivers PS1-style survival horror
Created by solo developer Diego Victor, Don't stay in Red Wood mixes vintage PS1 graphics with modern game mechanics and hand-crafted cutscenes to create a survival horror experience that feels straight out of the 90s. The single-player experience, which features both optional retro tank controls and an FPS camera mode, drops players into a cold Red Wood forest where something sinister stirs in the stillness of the night. When the legend of a once-forgotten hunter seems to come back to life with a madman stalking innocents among the trees, players must think fast and rely on their survival instincts to make it out alive. The forest remembers every secret, and nothing remains buried forever.
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Check out the version 2.0 release trailer for Don't stay in Red Woodplayers can get an early look at some of the characters and gameplay of the indie survival horror game. When a young woman is forced to pull her car over to the side of the road, she runs after it from an unseen stalker. Unfortunately, she ends up in a small shack filled with bloody bodies and is quickly cornered by a masked killer. Glimpses of a subsequent police investigation hint at the main story the player will follow, as they take on the role of a young male protagonist who has his own violent run-in with the killer. A brief fight scene shows this protagonist having to dodge knife swings before landing a right uppercut, giving a peak to the tension that awaits.
Several reviews for Don't stay in Red Wood spoke positively about the story, puzzles, villain and classic graphics. Two older reviews noted issues with bugs, though the version 2.0 update, which combines Chapters 1 and 2 and was released in March, included fixes for mechanical inconsistencies and overall technical polish. Fans of retro-style horror games can grab Don't stay in Red Wood Version 2.0 free on Itch.io until 22:00 ET on May 12, or 02:14 UTC on May 13, and can stay tuned for more updates on free horror games and other indie releases.
