Play Arachnophobia Online

Game Overview

Okay, so Arachnophobia is one of those weird little DOS games that somehow sticks with you—mostly because it’s equal parts ridiculous and unsettling. You start off armed with… a slingshot? Or sometimes a shoe? (Depends on the version, apparently.) Either way, you’re immediately swarmed by spiders—tiny ones skittering around, big hairy ones dropping from the ceiling, all while this grainy, B-movie soundtrack amps up the panic.

It’s janky in that classic early-’90s way—hit detection is questionable, the controls take a second to get used to, and the spiders move in these weird, jerky patterns that somehow make them creepier. But that’s part of the charm. It’s like someone took a campy horror flick and turned it into a chaotic shooter where you’re just some guy flailing around a basement. The sound design alone—those skittering noises, the muffled screams—is low-budget gold.

Not gonna lie, it’s more fun if you lean into the absurdity. Play it late at night with the lights off if you dare, but maybe keep a shoe handy IRL, just in case.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".