10 Indie Horror Games That Really Got Under My Skin

Indie Horror games are so incredibly unique that I figured it’d be about time I write about a bunch of more recent titles I’ve really enjoyed. Whereas AAA devs go for broad market fears and jumpscare-heavy or chase sequence-heavy titles, smaller independent teams chase the deeply personal, uncanny, and experimental stuff that actually lingers later that night.

These are titles that really got to me, particularly due to the specificity of the horror they aim for.

Slay the Princess

Slay the Princess is a game that turns the act of choosing itself into a pristine knife meant for one task and one task only.

I’m not sure I have ever seen a game that destabilised me this much, simply by making me realise that what I thought I understood about the game wasn’t real after all – not since Doki Doki Literature Club or Raging Loop, at least. The writing is unnerving. The performances are very intimate. The branching lands with a kind of existential weight rather than just more content.

I recommend playing Slay the Princess spoiler-free and without knowing much about the game, although I’d also like to issue a warning that the content warnings for the game are rather extensive and that the game can be quite depressing at times.

Harvest Festival 64

Harvest Festival 64 is a very short-lived blast from the past that is well worth experiencing!

PSX graphics paired with nostalgic N64-style music, cute animals and menial tasks make this one appear like safe comfort gaming… at least until subtle and less subtle changes make their way into the game. If you’re into analogue-ish horror and creepy pasta from the past, Harvest Festival 64 will definitely give you a different kind of nostalgia.

This game can be completed in a very short amount of time. I honestly would have loved for it to linger for a bit longer but I’m also glad it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Silly Polly Beast

Silly Polly Beast is an otherworldly, story-driven survival horror game with aggressive and terrifying monsters.

Armed with a skateboard and some guns, you’re tossed into an unforgiving world where you have to face a plethora of monsters and try and make it out alive. It’s a pretty difficult game (and I reckon that it might need some balance changes, actually) but I absolutely loved the atmosphere of it all and how the slow reveal of the protagonist’s backstory just filled me with more and more dread.

This is truly a very special kind of game. If you’re into more action-filled titles, I’d recommend Silly Polly Beast to you… as long as you don’t mind the difficulty, though.

BIRDHOUSE

This one proves that “Lovecraftian Horror” doesn’t need tentacles or racism.

BIRDHOUSE is a short, free narrative-driven horror game made in RPGMaker featuring hand-drawn graphics about a child named Wick who brings something home that they shouldn’t have brought home. You go about your day, completing various tasks and do your utmost to not upset your mother, but the rather cosy environment shifts drastically as something intrudes on your humble abode and corrupts the environment rather swiftly.

It’s a bit of a slow-burn horror for sure, but I’ve had a great time getting to multiple endings within an hour. I highly recommend this one to fans of the creepy and supernatural.

House of Necrosis

Mystery Dungeon meets Resident Evil!

If you’re a fan of old-school Japanese roguelikes, akin to Shiren the Wanderer, I think House of Necrosis might just offer you with a wonderfully twisted and unique experience. It nails the Mystery Dungeon like gameplay á la Chunsoft rather well and manages to package it into this retro-looking Resident Evil like aesthetic that oddly enough works wonders for the general vibe of the title.

While not necessarily all that scary, the tension of pushing for just one more floor rather than returning really got my blood pumping. Definitely one of my highlights this October! On another note, the developer of this game is also the same person who released Harvest Festival 64, which I find kinda fun.

petsitting

In this game, you take care of a pet… Dog.

“petsitting” is a short but terrifying experience, honestly, where you get to take care of a giant pet with a weird name, performing tasks for the owners who left the house over vacation, before eventually helping the pet out in a comedic and odd twist of fate.

It’s very unconventional and honestly quite funny, but I do also believe that the odd and peculiar design of it works wonders for a night spent playing scary games. A bit of a palette cleanser.

Fractured Blooms

Man, this one hit too close to home.

Fractured Blooms is a cosy life-sim in a horror time-loop, according to the developers over at Serenity Forge, but as much as that might sound like an odd mix of various genres and features, I do want to stress that it’s way more than just that. Fractured Blooms is a story about abuse and trauma. It’s a deeply disturbing experience, and I absolutely love the way in which farming, cooking, exploration, and time management blend together with the horror of things and your gameplay experience in general.

The demo for Fractured Blooms touched me. It shook me. It got to me… and it did so in a way that not many other titles have managed to do. I’m excited for the full release!

Chakana

This is a horror game built out of semiotics instead of cinematic threat.

Chakana starts out slow. Dinner, Hallucinations (?), Murder, Cleanup. You have to erase the evidence, throw out the trash and wash yourself up. Suddenly, a knock on the door! It’s the police. There was a noise complaint, and now you have to weasel your way through the conversation without raising suspicion in any way, shape or form. Depending on your choices, the police officer reacts differently, probing further or even holding you accountable.

The game’s demo page sold this one as a game about Tamagotchi, kind of, but it appears to be more of a slow-burn horror game with tasks, mysteries and a big focus on the peculiar. I like the idea a lot and the way the conversations shape out. I just wish the demo would have also touched on the later features that are being promised for the full release.

Menherarium

Care for a game of Yahtzee? Not that you have much of a choice.

In Menherarium, you’ve been abducted by a Menhera (メンヘラ) and are forced to play a deadly game of Yahtzee. Whether you win or lose your roll, she’ll suck your blood out, meaning you’ll have to carefully rig your dice, accumulate points to heal up in shops, and build up an arsenal of various modifiers that help you survive.

The demo seemed incredibly interesting, both in the core roguelike-deckbuilder-ish mechanics and the general idea of using your health as a resource. I do dislike the Menhera stereotype and how it sort of glorifies mental health issues a bit… but at the same time, beyond the setup and some dialogue, I haven’t really seen much of it in the game.

ANATOMY

I don’t know how much I can say about this one without ruining the experience.

ANATOMY is a pretty disturbing game that doesn’t utilize cheap jumpscares or chase sequences or anything of the sorts. Instead, the horror lies purely in the atmosphere and how the house correlates to one’s body. It’s a surreal experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome… and I find it incredibly well executed in not just the setup but also the conclusion.

Honestly, just don’t look anything up about the game and experience it for yourself. It’s a really great game!

I used to be really bad with horror games but over time, I really got to appreciate the amount of care that developers put into the atmospehre, the sound design and the general gameplay. There are a lot of weird and unique games out there and as much as I hate the feeling of getting scared, I really do love the buildup and tension up until that point.

I really hope that this list helps folks find some cool gems to enjoy as well. :)

This post was originally written by Dan Dicere from Indiecator.

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