What is the "Golden Rule" of any good horror game?
The unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. In other words, fear. While some try to avoid it, others seek it out. Horror games have become the go to source, because it puts the players in the setting of the main character, making the danger all the more real.
Sadly, a number of big name game developers have dropped the ball in the horror department, releasing games that had more shooting than horror. That is when the little guys, the indie games stepped up to deliver on our darkest fears. Some horrifying jewels have gone unnoticed by the masses. Here is a list twenty-one indie horror games you may not have heard of.
1. Fran Bow
Enjoy a delicious tea party.
Take your medicine and reveal the twisted world.
Delve into the psychosis of the mentally disturbed in Fran Bow
Fran is a young girl who has recently been placed in the Oswald Asylum after she witnessed the gruesome dismemberment of her parents. Vivid dreams about her beloved cat, Mr. Midnight, drives her to escape from the asylum to go find him.
Take on the role of Fran Bow in this creepy point-and-click style psychological horror adventure game. The beautiful 2D-Style art and original soundtrack plunges players in a creepy world filled with unique characters and challenging puzzles. Administer medication to reveal a horrifying, hidden world to collect objects to help find Mr. Midnight and learn the truth about her parents’ deaths.
Gameplay:
2. Kholat
Beautiful scenery on the haunted mountain pass.
A gnarled tree is a classic horror trope
Try not to freeze to death in Kholat
Inspired by the real events of Dyatlov Pass Incident from 1959 where nine Russian students were found dead under mysterious circumstances after vanishing in the Kholat mountain pass. Over fifty years later, a nameless adventure follows the path these students took to uncover the mystery behind the incident.
In this beautifully designed open world, players become the adventurer, scouring the mountain pass at their own pace. To make the exploration all the more real, only a map, compass, and flashlight to guide their way through the winter storms. Find clues that uncover the truth behind the incident while struggling to survive against the same forces.
It is also worth noting that the narration is done by famous English Actor, Sean Bean.
Gameplay:
3. Monstrum
A fiery monster is waiting for you on the other side of the door
Turn and run, or be ready to die
Race to escape in Monstrum
Monsters have taken over the ship. The crew has vanished, and the only person aboard is you. All alone with these foul creatures, you must abandon ship!
The game allows for multiple methods to escape this boat of nightmares, giving the players multiple endings, each with scaling difficulty to complete. Several monsters are onboard the boat, each one with their unique means to tracking and hunting. Players must hurry, but also not rile attention or else be relentlessly pursued. At each startup of the game, the monster attacking is randomly assigned, forcing the player to be on their toes at all times.
Recently the game has been getting minor updates to help perfect any small errors. One of the biggest steps is the compatibility with the Oculus Rift headset.
Gameplay:
4. Emily Wants to Play
The doll likes to play peek-a-boo
Emily does not like to be alone
A terrifying game in Emily Wants to Play
A pizza man fights through the storm, up to the front door. It is the final house on his route before ending his shift. The lights are on and the front door is open. Entering, the door slams shut. It will not open.
Emily has trapped the player inside the house, forcing them to play with her and her friends for the night. Split up into hour-based checkpoints, the players must face the different doll enemies, each with their own way to jump scare you into a game over. Every passing hour increases the difficulty, and the player must adapt if they plan on surviving Emily’s twisted game.
Gameplay:
5. Among the Sleep
Mother is here to hold you
What was once a tender playground can become twisted in a toddler’s mind
See the world through an infant’s eyes in Among the Sleep
It’s a birthday for a toddler. A mysterious gift arrives at the front door. Mom brings it in, and it turns out to be a sentient teddy bear named Teddy who wants to friends. That night, the child is woken from his sleep to find Teddy and his mother gone.
Walk through the stumpy legs of this toddler in this first-person exploration game. Mobility is limited, running is impossible when the dark creatures of the night are after you. Simply opening doors becomes an obstacle in itself. Fear also plays a big role in the game, making it all the more terrifying for the player. When monsters are in the vicinity, the toddler’s vision starts to blur, making the already intense situation all the scarier.
Along with the normal gameplay there is additional downloadable content for players to further explore the home including a spooky romp down to the basement.
Gameplay:
6. SOMA
Explore the underwater facility of PATHOS-II
The machines have gone insane
Struggle with the meaning of humanity in SOMA
It is the year 2015, Simon Jarret goes in for an experimental brain scan. Blacking out, he comes to in the distant year of 2104 on board PATHOS-II, a seemingly abandoned underwater research center. Although he may not be alone.
Dive down deep into the unsettling Sci-Fi horror game that forces the player to face the idea what it means to be human. Explore a beautiful and expansive underwater facility called PATHOS-II. Many obstacles and puzzles are in the way, making the player use their wit while trying to uncover how and why they ended up one hundred years in the future. Danger lurks around every corner. Twisted creatures are after Simon, but he has no means of fighting back. So it is either you run, or you die.
The creators of SOMA are also the same creators for creating such amazing horror games like the Amnesia and Penumbra series.
Gameplay:
7. 7 Days to Die
Build an awesome fortress
Fight off hordes of zombies with an axe
Craft to survive in 7 Days to Die.
The world has become infested by an unknown virus that turns people into hordes of flesh eating zombies. With most of the population now nothing more than undead monsters, the few humans left must fight to survive.
It is World War Z meets Minecraft in this survival horror game. Fall into the immersive world of undead where the player must explore, loot, and craft their way to live. Its huge, rich environment provides an unlimited way to play and allow players to choose a survival style that best fits them. Loot for items to help craft weapons, clothes, and armor to better your chance of survival. Take refuge in an abandoned building or build from scratch, turning the Arizona hell scape into your fortress of zombie-slaying. One of the most theoretically realistic zombie apocalypse games out there.
And the game is just not limited to The Grand Canyon State. By teaming up with friends, jump into a randomly generated zone. Or you can join one of the other 1.5 million others who have copies of the game.
Gameplay:
8. Wounded
There is someone there to visit you
Venture through the nightmarish landscape
Face your fears in Wounded
On a fall evening, a family sits down and has a wonderful dinner with their relatives. Hours of fun fade away as the hour draws near, and so the family departs for home. The drive home is cut short when the main character suffers a headache, and is forced to stay a motel for the night. The nightmares begin!
Taking place in an old, abandoned world, the nameless character hunts for their daughter, Lisa. Players must search for clues in this first-person ho rror game, and discover secrets to discover their way through the nightmarish landscape. Disturbing creatures are on the hunt for you, but you have no way to fend for yourself. It will take stealth and wit to escape the nightmare and rescue Lisa.
Along with the eerie visuals is an amazing soundtrack that puts the pulse-pounding fear into the players. The same people who produced the sounds for famous games like Outlast, Watch Dogs, and Assassin’s Creed bring the scare to Wounded.
Currently, Wounded is a free-to-play demo for gamers to play and help the developers improve on this terrifying gem of a game.
Gameplay:
9. The Joy of Creation: Reborn
Avoid Bonnie at all costs
Freddy Fazbear found you
Monsters are lurking down the halls in The Joy of Creation: Reborn
Inspired by Scott Cawthon’s Five Nights at Freddy’s games, players are pitted against withered version of Freddy Fazbear and the other horrifying animatronics.
The four fearsome animatronics are back in an all new setting as they freely roam the halls to hunt down the player. Armed with only a flashlight, you must use stealth to outwit these mechanical monsters as they wander about the map.
Each individual animatronic is set in its own unique map, with different methods of hunting the player down. Try to avoid them while searching for hidden items throughout the map within the allotted time limit to win the game. If spotted by Freddy or his pals, run! With terrifying speed these robotic monstrosities will catch you before you have a chance to scream.
At the moment the game is free-to-play and it is still in beta testing. While still in the early stages, the game proves to be already entertainingly scary.
Gameplay:
10. Neverending Nightmare
Eyeless dolls see the weight of your sins
Horrific monsters lurk in your nightmares
Just try to wake up from this Neverending Nightmare
Thomas wakes up from a nightmare where he had stabbed his younger sister Gabby in the stomach. Wandering from his bedroom, he realizes that the nightmare is far from over.
The magnificent, yet simplistic 2D-art style gives off an unsettling feel to this side scrolling horror game. Gamers fall into the shoes of Thomas as he wanders through his nightmares, as he commits gruesome acts of self-harm. Every action, every path in the game leads to a changes the gameplay and inevitable fate for Thomas. With three very different endings, the players must navigate through to learn what is waiting for them.
By the same developers is another horror game currently in development called Devastating Dreams.
Gameplay:
11. Black Rose
The spirits have something to tell you
Myrtle is coming after you.
Even death will not free you in Black Rose
Linda decides to go into an abandoned funeral home at night, even after hearing it is haunted. The last people who worked there mysteriously vanished, but it is rumored that they were all murdered.
Plunged into the darkness of the ghost filled funeral home, the players must adapt to the limited visibility while struggling to find a way out. Evil spirits call this place their home, and search for the players to make this your final resting place. Many secrets are hidden in the walls including the mystery behind the deaths of all who worked there.
Gameplay:
12. Outlast
Try and hide, but they will find you
The night vision reveals a horrible sight
Hold onto your sanity in Outlast
In the remote mountains of Colorado stands Mount Massive Asylum, a once abandoned home for the mentally ill. It has been re-opened by the Murkoff Corporation who has done most of their operations in secrecy. That is until journalist Miles Upshur breaks into Mount Massive and discovers its untold horrors.
Become an investigative journalist as players search through the asylum for a way out while uncovering the truth of what Murkoff is doing. You are a reporter, meaning fighting is not an option against the denizens of Mount Massive. Amazing graphics breathes life into the terrifying world and all the warped creatures that are after you. With only a camera that has limited night vision, Miles must conserve battery power to use, often forced to wander in pitch black, unsure if there is someone else there with him. In order to make the inhabitants of the asylum terrifyingly realistic, game developers drew inspiration from real world cases of criminal insanity.
There is also download content available, an expansive secondary game called Outlast: Whistleblower that takes place at the same time Miles is venturing through the asylum. Coming this fall is the second installment to the series Outlast 2.
Gameplay:
13. Limbo
Journey through the dreary world of Limbo
Giant spiders see you as a snack
Journey to the underworld in Limbo
A nameless boy wakes up in the middle of a blackened forest on the edge of hell. He must journey through it on order to find his missing sister.
Becoming the boy in this 2D-style platform horror game. Presented in a greyscale of graphics hide nefarious obstacles in the landscape as well as monsters like giant spiders. Minimalist sounds craft a creepy ambience that keeps the players on edge. The forest is filled with puzzles meant to stump the players. Death is certain in this world, as developers have pleasantly dubbed the gameplay as a “trial by death” for players to figure out how to navigate safely. This of course does not stop the deaths from being graphic from impalement to decapitation.
Gameplay:
14. Slender: The Arrival
Do not look directly at Slender Man or go insane
It seems your friend has become another victim
Slender Man is after you in Slender: The Arrival
Lauren decides to go visit her friend. She finds the house left open, but her friend is nowhere to be found. Drawings and scratches decorate the walls, telling of a horrific creature known only as Slender Man.
Inspired by the horrifying internet meme created by Eric “Victor Surge” Knudson, the game expands the lore of the popular supernatural create known to many as Slender Man. Play as Lauren in a first-person perspective as she tries to find the whereabouts of her friend in this chapter-based horror game. Covering an expansive world, players must solve different puzzles to progress through the story, often collecting specific items. Slender Man is after you, and knows where to find you. There is no hiding. Only a flashlight guides you in this world, limiting it to only what the light shines upon it. It can provide safety, but it can attract entities other than the faceless monster.
Recent updates have made the game compatible with the Oculus Rift, giving the players a real first-person perspective as they try and flee from Slender Man.
Gameplay:
15. Don’t Starve
Run or fight enemies for items to craft
Better hurry and grab something to eat
Fight off hunger in Don’t Starve
Wilson is an intrepid scientist who has been captured by a demon and transported to a mysterious, wilderness world. He must make use of his new environment if he ever wishes to find his way back home.
In this survival horror game, the player is dropped into the thick of things without any instructions or tutorials. They must quickly learn the rules on their own to gather supplies and craft items in order to save Wilson. At the same time, it also grants the players the ability to develop their own style of gameplay. The dark visuals and 2D-style characters inhabiting a massive 3D-world creates a creepy atmosphere. Never the same, the world is randomly generated each time the player restarts their game, giving no advantage to their survival.
Due to the popularity of the concept there have been many expansions to the game, including a brand new multiplayer game called Don’t Starve Together.
Gameplay:
16. Terror Lab
The doctor will see you now
Even the lab monkey is out to get you
Run for your life in Terror Lab
You wake up in an abandoned laboratory with no recollection as to how you got there. Wondering around you come to the realization that you are not alone.
Graphics and ambient sounds give off a creepy atmosphere in this survival horror game. From the start the game throws the players directly into the action, forcing them to quickly adjust to this high octane game of hide and seek. There are monsters after you, and all you have in the way of combat are flashbang grenades, but they can only slow them down. It will take stealth and wits to avoid becoming their next meal. If monsters are not scary enough, the lab only has a limited supply of oxygen, making every move important.
The game developers want to make this game better so they enlist the help of the players, continuously adding updates based on their feedback.
Gameplay:
17. Night Blights
There is a gremlin in my toilet
That is not Santa Clause coming down your chimney
Check under the bed in Night Blights
In the dead of night, a child wakes up from their slumber. Their parents are fast asleep, but there is someone, or something lurking in the darkness. The house has become infested with little monsters.
Time to go hunting throughout the house for gremlin-like beasts that are scattered from the bedroom to the kitchen. Each night survived means the following will only be more difficult. Manage your time at different parts of the home, as the blights are eager to come out and attack, some more aggressive than the others. The darkness of the home and minimalistic sounds helps creates tension, which builds up to a game-ending jump scare that will leave the player screaming.
Surviving the week does not mean your safe with a number of different game modes available. There are Easter Eggs and secrets scattered through the house. And then there is the ultimate test in survival mode which is put on a leader board for the whole world to see. Survive the longest and earn the coveted title of King of the Blights!
Gameplay:
18. Dungeon Nightmares
Find the artifact, find the exit!
There are sick and twisted monsters lurking in the dungeon
Terrible things await in Dungeon Nightmares
Every night when you close your eyes, you find yourself in a dungeon. Littered in the darkened halls are items that must be collected to escape. But beware, you are not alone.
Trapped in a pitch black dungeon, the player must find a way to the exit and survive the night. The eerie silence will cause the heart to beat faster and ever little noise will put the player on edge. Every little sound will cause the cause the heart to skip a beat, but there is true terror lurking in the darkness. The only means of light are candles littered throughout the dungeons, but they only have a limited lifespan, so they must be used wisely.
From the success of the first game, the developers have created a sequel with Dungeon Nightmares II.
Gameplay:
19. Five Nights at Freddy’s
Hurry and lock the doors
When they get inside, your life is over
Join the fun at Five Nights at Freddy’s
Take on the role of a night security guard just starting their job at the family restaurant, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The first night, you get a phone call and soon learn that Freddy Fazbear and his pals tend to behave strangely at night. And they are coming after you.
The creepy static imagery of the security cameras, the unsettling hum of the office’s lights builds tension from the start in this survival horror game. Power is limited in the restaurant, meaning that the game mechanics like the electronically locked doors and cameras must be used sparingly. Players have to think quickly each passing night. The shift grows longer, the power depletes quicker, and the mechanical monstrosities become smarter. Subtle sounds coming from the animatronics movement sends goosebumps across the body as all the fear builds up to a heart-stopping jump scare.
Following the success of the first game, three additional sequels continue the horror of Freddy Fazbear with all new mechanics and terrifying animatronics. And coming this fall is the fifth installment of the franchise, based on the “sister” location of the popular family restaurant.
Gameplay:
20. Layers of Fear
Beautiful Victorian-era architecture
Horrifying monsters lurk in the madness of the artist
Create your masterpiece in Layers of Fear
An artist stands alone in front of an empty canvas. Suddenly he is struck with inspiration. “It is so obvious,” he thinks. “Truly it will be a masterpiece for the ages.”
Become the disturbed artist as he begins his descent into madness. Journey through his Victorian-era mansion. The house seems alive as the rooms are ever changing, meaning there is nowhere to escape. Its psychedelic horror style makes the scares in the game unpredictable. Even the slightest movement of view can change the world, making what seems normal and change into a disturbing nightmare in the blink of an eye. Ominous music keeps the players on edge throughout their journey in the house, only amplifying the fear. Explore the home, and discover his tragic past and the dark fate that befell his wife and child.
Gameplay:
21. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Not even doors will stop these abominations
Wonder aimlessly about the halls of the Prussian Brennesburg Castle
Try and forget the horrors of Amnesia: The Dark Descent
A young man from London named Daniel wakes up in the halls of the Prussian Brennesburg Castle. He has no memories of how he got there, or who he is. All that he remembers is that something is hunting him.
In this first-person horror game, fall into the shoes of Daniel as he explores the castle and recovers clues of his forgotten memories. The castle is filled with physic-based puzzles to proceed further into the abandoned home. You are not alone. Monsters lurk around every corner, and there is no way of defeating them. Players have to use their brains and stealth to avoid from becoming a corpse. Along with a health meter, you must have to maintain a sanity meter. If Daniel loses his mind, it will cause hallucinations, and the monsters will become more aware of his disturbed mind.
Free, downloadable content is available for players including another story called Amnesia: Justine. The developers have also provided tools to allow fans to create their own levels, and even full fledge games. Some of the more well-designed custom stories are Penumbra: Necrologue and In Lucy’s Eyes.
Gameplay:
Fear. That is the main objective of every horror game available, create fear. That heart pounding, primal terror that keeps us up at night, that makes us hesitate to turn the lights off. While these games may not have had the big budgets other developers have, there is fear. And they have it in spades. Play at your own risk, for screams are plentiful in these indie horror games.
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