Best Indie Horror Games To Scare You Senseless

The finest indie horror titles are those that take our deepest, darkest anxieties and transform them into something concrete, reflecting our neuroses back at us. Some of the greatest horror games ever made weren’t developed under triple-A circumstances, but instead emerged from a small indie studio testing the limits.

Numerous titles offer a wealth of experiences, some fantastic narrative games featuring heart-wrenching or disturbing tales, some enigmas that delve deep into our spirits, and some adrenaline-pumping thrillers that maintain us in a constant state of anxiety. We’ve also noted whether the game includes jump scares, as this might influence your decision regarding any specific title. Begin to explore any of these remarkable indie horror games, and it’s likely you’ll uncover a rich universe of theories, lore, and unexpected delights awaiting you. Not to mention authentic, heart-racing terrors.

• Developer: Rose-engine games
• Release Date: October 27, 2022
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox Series X
• Jumpscares: None

We could bestow praise upon Signalis as one of the most exceptional modern horror games, which also boasts one of the finest gay romance arcs, along with a twisting narrative that has inspired countless theories and analyses: this indie horror title is a recognized classic.

Signalis unfolds in a dystopian future, yet allows you to assemble the lore as you navigate the environment, deciphering the horrifying locales and technology enveloping you. Each fragment of the narrative is a puzzle awaiting resolution. You awaken alone in a deserted facility on a peculiar planet, aware only that you’ve made a promise to your partner that must not be broken. As the game advances, you’ll go to any lengths and endure unimaginable terrors to uphold that promise and locate her again. If you require assistance getting started, refer to our Signalis guides for solutions to some of the more challenging puzzles.

• Developer: Hidden Fields
• Release Date: March 16, 2021
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
• Jumpscares: Just one

Mundaun is a hand-illustrated horror narrative, set within a tranquil Alpine hamlet where perspective isn’t always predictable. Aesthetically appealing and effortlessly eerie, Mundaun’s monochrome portrayal of a remote village introduces unspeakable terrors and enticing enigmas that propel you onward despite your desire to retreat to safety. In classic survival horror style, you’ll face puzzles, inventory management challenges, and ample fleeing.

The game is simultaneously beautiful and horrifying, oscillating between myth and reality and distorting the way we perceive the world and the conclusions we draw. Quick thinking and a knack for navigating hostile conditions will primarily enhance your survival, combating your fear as your character slows down the more frightened they become. Although this village has an array of unusual residents, you won’t be able to communicate with them through ordinary means, and bizarre creatures will frequently startle you as you ascend the mountain and attempt to evade the surreal terror of the trail.

• Developer: SFB Games
• Release Date: May 9, 2024
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
• Jumpscares: Minor, although you can disable combat which alleviates some tension

Crow Country serves both as an homage to–and a caution against–nostalgia. Utilizing blocky retro aesthetics and slightly discordant sounds, the game explores our most subconscious childhood fears and immerses us in an eerie enigma set within an abandoned amusement park. Crow Country is a clever combination of combat, atmospheric exploration, and puzzle-solving, to the extent that you can completely disable combat and still gain an incredibly haunting experience.

Part of what renders Crow Country so frightening is the allusions to innocence, placing you in a whimsical amusement park where everything feels just slightly… off. Beneath the slightly-uncanny park, you’ll discover a network of mines, where something dreadful is occurring. The survival components harken back to titles like Silent Hill or Resident Evil, where you stock up on scarce resources and manage your inventory as you proceed–sometimes it’s preferable to evade rather than to shoot.

• Developer: Wrong Organ
• Release Date: September 26, 2024
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
• Jumpscares: Minor

Mouthwashing stood out as one of the most unsettling games of 2024, housing several of the most shocking demises in gaming, but it’s not solely about blood and brutality. Some of the most profound themes in Mouthwashing arise from reading between the lines, as the narrative’s unreliable narrator strives desperately to mend everything and evade accountability at any cost.

The crew of a shipwrecked space freighter has no means to return home and must either reconcile with their looming demise or cling to a futile hope for escape. Each character carries their own demons and intricate relationships with other crew members, and resources are critically low. No one remains composed, no one is secure. Mouthwashing presents a surreal, nightmarish apocalyptic scenario where a happy ending seems unattainable–what could be more horror-themed than that?

• Creator: Frictional Games
• Launch Date: September 21, 2015
• System: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Shock Factors: Atmospheric only (flashing lights etc)

The horror of Soma appears to arise from numerous sources. It’s deliberate and eerie, with stealthy segments and frantic, tense moments interspersed. Instances of visual repulsion occur alongside scenes where the most profound terror is what you envision in your mind’s eye. The storyline and major revelation are frequently described as one of the most significant surprises in indie titles, crafting a simultaneously heartrending and terrifying conclusion that you’ll never be adequately prepared for. Soma is a game that will challenge your mind.

In our Soma review, we awarded it a 9/10 for its intellectually stimulating narrative, death-laden environment, and incredibly immersive audio design. We won’t reveal too much here, as the unfolding events are best experienced as surprises, but Soma undeniably ranks among the top indie horror games to emerge in the 2010s and will keep you speculating until the very last moment.

• Creator: Endnight Games
• Launch Date: May 30, 2014
• System: PC, PS4
• Shock Factors: None, but adversaries can surprise you

The Forest is genuinely a spine-chilling horror experience, yet also surprisingly a soothing survival simulator simultaneously. It may even satisfy the craving for games reminiscent of Minecraft, provided you’re okay with the occasional mutant cannibal or the imminent danger posed to your abducted son. Aside from that, you can relax and construct your ideal base.

After a harrowing plane crash over a dense forest island, your character embarks on a quest to locate his son, whom he perceived being taken away right before he fell unconscious. Everyone else has perished, you are left with only the resources you can gather from luggage or the woods, and your objective is to endure for as long as possible. There’s ample combat and a straightforward narrative leading you to explore a concealed base on the island, but our favourite aspect is the extensive construction catalog that facilitates building survival gear, living spaces, and even adorable home decor.

• Creator: Ice-Pick Lodge
• Launch Date: May 23, 2019
• System: PC, PS4, Xbox One
• Shock Factors: None

Pathologic 2 isn’t for everyone. Set in a convoluted town on the edge of the Russian steppe, residents venerate great bulls, are born from the earth, and find remedy in herbs. Towering structures rise in impossible shapes above, and inhabitants communicate in cryptic whispers. Folk demons roam the streets—or perhaps just innocent women being persecuted. The town pulses with life, and you’re expected to adhere to its customs. Supply chains have been severed, and citizens barter thimbles for nuts. You must refrain from killing anyone and if a conflict arises, they will likely eliminate you first. Avoid the plague. Avoid mutilating corpses.

The simplest action in Pathologic 2 is dying. This is a difficult game. It may be among the most challenging video games we’ve encountered. The aim isn’t necessarily to triumph, but to undergo the complete experience of despair and the insidious dread of an inexorable plague that indiscriminately annihilates the townspeople. You assume the role of one of the town’s few doctors, a hereditary surgeon struggling to balance honoring ancestral traditions with embracing contemporary medicine. However, contemporary medicine has very little to offer against a mythical plague born of arrogance.

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• Creator: A La Mode Games
• Launch Date: October 19, 2023
• System: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
• Shock Factors: None

Faux-retro horror has become a trend recently, and Sorry We’re Closed effectively employs PS1-era survival horror aesthetics better than anything else we’ve observed. Everything is delightfully low-fidelity yet almost unimaginably stunning—except for the overtly gruesome sequences. The game exudes flair but delivers a substantial gameplay impact, utilizing fixed-camera exploration and represented dialogue sections to provide moments of reprieve amid frenetic arcade-style shooting and gripping puzzle-solving. This may not only be one of the leading indie horror games but also one of the coolest.

Sorry We’re Closed manages to check off every possible box if vintage survival horror is your preference. It features puzzles, combat, inventory management, stunning visuals, an incredible soundtrack, and ample gore. There’s no shortage of storytelling either; Sorry We’re Closed presents a diverse and genuinely intriguing ensemble of characters with a brilliant narrative leading to various endings based on your decisions.

• Creator: Garage Heathen
• Launch Date: February 23, 2022
• System: PC
• Shock Factors: Depending on your decisions, two or three

I can almost guarantee that you’ve never experienced anything like Who’s Lila. It’s an indie horror point-and-click mystery where instead of selecting dialogue options, you manually control facial expressions and observe how those around you react. You must manipulate every aspect of the face to display a full expression—eyes, eyebrows, lips, teeth—but sometimes you are racing against time and your own facial muscles to maintain steadiness.

You assume the role of William, the last individual to see Tanya Kennedy before her disappearance. The authorities and your friends are eager to learn what you know regarding her vanishing, and it’s entirely up to you how much you reveal, and how much you conceal. Various expressions—and even accidentally misfiring the one you intended to convey—elicit different responses from the other characters, signifying you are in complete control over how this chilling, surreal narrative unfolds.

• Creator: Red Candle Games
• Launch Date: January 12, 2017
• Device: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, mobile
• Surprises: A few

Red Candle Games’ Detention somehow turns high school into an even more frightening ordeal than it was in reality. From its inky 2D ambiance, where shadows appear to quiver and shift, to its devastatingly poignant narrative, if you appreciate a gradual horror that sneaks up on you and taps you gently on the shoulder, Detention is an excellent indie horror title to incorporate into your collection.

Situated in 1960s Taiwan under martial law, the game is filled with spiritual symbolism, otherworldly menaces, and a considerable serving of deep-seated cultural trauma. Detention keeps you uncertain as each door opens, drawing you in through claustrophobic survival gameplay and a yearning to attempt to save just one individual.

• Creator: Wormwood Studios
• Launch Date: May 25, 2021
• Device: PC
• Surprises: None

Strangeland is a point-and-click adventure title published by Wadjet Eye Games (always a hallmark of quality) and developed by the small team behind Primordia. This eerie, compact, carnival-themed indie horror places you alone against a nightmarish realm where despair seems to be your only avenue.

Another title that tosses you into an odd location without context, Strangeland’s tale initiates with a woman leaping into a well at the center of a deteriorating, floating carnival, and it’s all your fault. You embark on a mission to try and rescue her—and yourself—encountering surreal characters and solving intricate puzzles, all while the entire setting seems to mock your futile attempts. The game’s design has been compared to the work of H.R. Giger, and the writing to David Lynch, making Strangeland a cult classic essential for enthusiasts of either creator.

• Creator: Kikiyama
• Launch Date: June 26, 2004
• Device: PC, mobile
• Surprises: Minor, if any

Yume Nikki is among the older games in this selection, but its impact on the realm of indie horror RPGs is significant. It’s also entirely free to engage with. Inspiring titles as varied as Undertale and Doki Doki Literature Club, Yume Nikki was crafted on RPG Maker back in 2003 and has very little in terms of linear narrative or direction. You simply fall into a variety of dream realms and attempt to piece the story together in your mind.

Years of devoted fans have generated countless theories about the game, so playing it anew after all these years means there is an abundance of resources to explore and communities to join. If tackling it solo is more your preference, the game has hardly aged at all. Depending on your decisions and which door you choose, you might experience jarring and violent visual storytelling… or have a rather leisurely time.

• Creator: Sam Barlow, Half Mermaid
• Launch Date: August 30, 2022
• Device: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, mobile
• Surprises: None

Part interactive film, part detective narrative, Immortality is a genuine masterpiece and a delight to engage with, despite being unquestionably terrifying in sections. From the minds behind Her Story, it has a similar essence where found footage is employed to narrate interconnected stories revolving around one central enigma: what transpired to the rising movie starlet Marissa Marcel?

Marissa starred in three films, none of which ever saw the light of day, yet footage of each has been discovered. Your task is to edit your way through her narrative all the way to the harrowing truth. The experience resembles falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole at 2am, ardently believing you might uncover the answer to something that nobody else has managed to identify. Before you realize it, you’ll be compulsively flipping back and forth between scenes and pieces of footage, eager for clues and formulating your own theories. Check out our Immortality review to see why we remain captivated by this immersive enigma.

• Creator: Vertical Reach
• Launch Date: May 31, 2023
• Device: Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox Series X
• Surprises: None

The Tartarus Key is a moody faux-retro puzzle game that immerses the player directly into a mansion brimming with lethal traps. Throughout development, the team sought ways to terrify the player without relying on jumpscares, combat, or chase sequences, resulting in a game that feels contemplative and unsettling, all while maintaining elevated tension.

If you appreciate escape rooms and mystery games, you’ll gain much from The Tartarus Key, even if you don’t typically consider yourself a horror enthusiast. The mansion is teeming with unforeseen traps and a disquieting number of cameras observing you and the other captives. None of you comprehend why you’re present or how to survive. With The Tartarus Key’s blocky PS1 aesthetic paving the way for a unique take on puzzle design, there’s plenty of head-scratching amid the frights.

• Creator: Trioskaz
• Launch Date: September 15, 2025
• Device: PC
• Surprises: A few, but not a primary element

If you’ve been anywhere near Twitch in recent times, you will have noticed numerous channels streaming the indie horror success No, I’m Not A Human. It’s a quintessential body horror rooted in the rich tradition of folk narratives about skinwalkers, questioning whether you can genuinely trust individuals who claim to be human but still evoke your uncanny valley response.

Set in a post-apocalyptic near future, where the sun is toxic to humans, Visitors have begun to emerge. These nearly-human beings lurk during the night hours when people are permitted to leave their homes, snatching them from thin air and preying on an already terrified populace. The gameplay transpires within a house where it’s your responsibility to determine whom to assist, and whom to reject. Visitors will attempt to deceive you, appearing so visually similar to humans that it’s upon you to identify the subtle signs that set them apart from us before calamity ensues.

• Creator: Kinotrope
• Launch Date: (Remaster) July 7, 2022
• Device: Nintendo Switch, PC, mobile
• Surprises: None

Garage: Bad Dream Adventure initially debuted in 1999 as a little-known PC adventure game. Since then, it has been the focus of meticulous fan translations and niche YouTube let’s plays, but fortunately for fans (and newcomers), an officially upgraded and accessible edition was re-released in 2022. The game is challenging to categorize—though predominantly showcasing a deeply melancholic atmosphere with an undercurrent of anxiety, there’s also something enchanting and whimsical about the realm of Garage.

A surrealist point-and-click adventure with an eerie soundtrack and a frog-collecting minigame, Garage: Bad Dream Adventure takes place within the psyche of Yang, a man restrained in an experimental therapy device in the exterior realm. His inner world is filled with disturbing concepts and biomechanical body horror, yet there exists also a nameless yearning and a profound depth of pain, which his subconscious conveys through a cramped, decaying city inhabited by apathetic and fearful fish-like residents. You can exit Garage, but first, you must find your shadow.