Best Indie Horror Games You Need to Play Right Now

The previous few months have seen the release of some excellent small-team horror games that are now getting the attention of critics, and there are still more on the way. Several unique, unsettling independent horror video games are available to keep you entertained. But we all enjoy a good scare now and then. Continue reading to explore the most exciting horror games. 

‍

Best Indie Horror Games to Try Right Now

For those of us who enjoy frightening stories or heart-pounding nighttime adventures, independent publishers have our darkest fantasies covered. Horror games have been coming up with unique methods to frighten us for decades, from survival horror to just eerie walking simulators, and indies are leading the way with new flavours of terror. The games on our list of the top independent horror games are not for the faint of heart.

‍

Insomnia | Horror Game

• Availability on Platforms: Android 5.0 and up and IOS

• Price: Free (On Google play store) 

• Developer: HumbleGames

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 28 July 2019

‍

If you are looking for a game to give you chills down your bone, here is the perfect choice for you! This indie horror game is filled with many jumpscares, all perfectly set up and executed to shock you! Hold your phone tightly while playing this game; you might drop it. 

The main character is a teenager suffering from Insomnia and can't sleep at night. Suddenly you wake up in your dark room and see an evil creature trying to enter your bedroom through a closet. You shout for help, but there is no one in your home.

Do you think that is a creature? Or just a hallucination? During this five-night challenge, you will have to survive the game. The background music is so great that you will feel as if you are in that room. The realistic graphics and gameplay might give you a nightmare. 

‍

Detention

• Availability on Platforms: Android 8.0 and up and IOS

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Red Candle Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 5th September-2019

‍

If you are bored by most of the unrealistic horror games in which you just have to shoot evil spirits, here is an awesome story-driven game indie horror game to shake your bones! The main story game takes place in Taiwan during the 1960s.

There are many Taiwanese mythology references in this game. The game's stunning graphics look like they are directly taken from a painting. You will play as a curious teenager who tries to uncover some mysterious things that are happening in his school backyard at night. The gameplay is very simple yet engaging.

The game's scary atmosphere will easily immerse you in it. You will have to solve some puzzles, and as you progress, you will slowly discover many secrets. The puzzles will test your thinking and detective skills too! 

‍

The Midnight Man

• Availability on Platforms: Android 2.3 and up and IOS

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: ZeoWorks

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 28 January 2016

‍

This game might become your favourite if you want an indie horror game with stunning graphics and intuitive gameplay! The story of the game is directly taken from pagan mythologies. In ancient times, when people broke the pagan law, an evil force called 'The Midnight Man' would come at night and punish them using cruel torturing methods.

As a history investigator, you accidentally do the ritual of summoning 'The Midnight Man. After being awoken hundreds of years, he is angry with you and wants to kill you. 

You have to avoid him until 3.33 AM, the sun rises at this time, and he becomes powerless. The game's gameplay mechanics might seem like playing simple hide and seek. But the scary background music, realistic sound effects, and dark HD graphics will scare you!

‍

True Fear: Forsaken Souls 1

• Availability on Platforms: Android and IOS

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: The Digital Lounge

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 20 December 2016

‍

This game is the first part of the True Fear trilogy. This game feels like an indie horror movie. Still, instead of watching the characters, you in this game can take decisions that will determine your survival. 

You will play as a pretty girl named Holly Stonehouse, whose mother died a few days ago because of paranormal activities in your house. Now, your little sister is trapped in the house, and you must rescue her using your tactics and quick-thinking skills. It is not recommended for people with weak hearts to play this game, as this game will make your heart go into supersonic mode. 

The realistic dark graphics and great sound effects make the atmosphere creepy enough to scare you. You will have to find little details in your house to complete more than 30 engaging puzzle levels. The game will test your patience and thinking skills. The lore of the game is also very rich. 

‍

Dead by Daylight Mobile

• Availability on Platforms: Android 7.0 and up and IOS, PC, XBOX

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Behaviour Interactive

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 15 April 2020

‍

Fighting evil forces alone can be scary sometimes, don't worry; you can play this game with your friends, but still, all of you will feel chills running down your spine. You and your friends can choose various iconic characters from your favourite horror movies. Most horror games are about survival, but in this one, you will have to sacrifice your friends for the greater good by killing them. 

The gameplay is 4V1 type, one friend of yours will become the monster, and the other four will try to survive. There are many large, scary maps and iconic locations from horror movies. You can play this game with random players, also. However, to win this game, you will need a lot of teamwork. 

The game's graphics are pretty gruesome, filled with blood and gore. There are also many perfectly executed jump scares. As the game progresses, you can unlock many iconic classic characters. 

‍

LIMBO

• Availability on Platforms: Android 4.4 and up

• Price: 4$ (on the google play store)  

• Developer: Playdead

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 11 February 2015

‍

This game won more than 100 awards soon after its release. And the price you pay for this game is worth it! The game's story will scare you, give you goosebumps, and make you emotional. This game is based on some disturbing themes, but it is a masterpiece. 

The difficulty level of this game is pretty high, but don't worry; you will easily grasp them if you pay a little attention to your surroundings and use your brain. The attention to detail of the game is on another level. The developers deserve applause for that! The game has more than 100 levels to play, but don't worry; you will not feel bored for even a second; the graphics and overall ambience are sensational.

Along with that, there are many hidden levels if you want to dive deep into the world. Death will try to crunch you from every direction as you run and try to survive. Sometimes those forces will even make gravity disappear! 

‍

Horror Tale 1: Kidnapper

• Availability on Platforms: Android 5.0 and up and IOS, Nintendo Switch 

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Euphoria Horror Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 07 July 2022

‍

Try not to scream with fear as you play this indie horror game! You live in a city called Lakewitch, where a mysterious evil force is kidnapping children. You are the 'chosen one' for saving them. You will go on a thrilling and exciting adventure through the creepy and scary premise of the game. 

You have to solve the puzzles and uncover the mysteries before time runs out. You will make friends who will help you along the journey. But don't think everyone is your friend; you will also have to deal with heartbreak and betrayal in your mission. 

You will have to protect your 'treehouse' headquarters as the evil force will come for you and your friends too! The game's world is grounded, and the stunning graphics make it more realistic.

‍

Death Park: Scary Clown Horror

• Availability on Platforms: Android 5.0 and up and IOS

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Euphoria Horror Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 05-Sept-2019

‍

Are you afraid of clowns? If not, this game will certainly make clowns come into your nightmares. You will play as a character trapped in an amusement park circus tent at night. A killer clown lives there and will try to kill you, also. You will have to escape the tent before the sunlight.

To do that, you will have to solve many mind-boggling puzzles and discover little details that will help you to solve them while the monster constantly tries to kill you. 

You will have to quickly find hiding spots and hold your breath while the clown comes close. You will also have to avoid making noises while you move through the large map. The clown will ensure you never feel lonely, no matter where you hide or how fast you run.

‍

Smiling-X: Horror & Scary Game

• Availability on Platforms: Android 5.1 and up IOS, XBOX 

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: IndieFist Horror Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 21 December 2019

‍

This game is one of the best horror indie games available on the internet, with a unique science fiction storyline. You work in a digital studio, and one day, while working on a night shift, you suddenly get transported to a scary virtual world. 

You will soon find out your teammates are also trapped there. You must use your wits to escape the world before it collapses. The game has two modes where you play as a Boss or a secretary. Both story modes are unique and quite interesting to play.

You and your teammates will have to work closely. This game will also sharpen your IQ with intuitive puzzles and tasks that require logical reasoning to pass. 

‍

Goosebumps Night of Scares

• Availability on Platforms: Android 4.4W and up

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Cosmic Forces

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 14-Oct-2015

‍

As the name suggests, this game will give you goosebumps and chills. This game is one of the most popular indie horror games, with more than 10 million active players. 

The story of the game is directly taken from the famous novel series Goosebumps which also has a widely popular Hollywood movie. You can play the characters in the movie. All the novel's iconic evil monsters have been upgraded, and they look scarier than ever!! 

This game also has a VR mode, be cautious using that because the game's graphics are so realistic that you will forget the difference between virtual and real even in the normal mode. Like other horror games, you will have to solve many difficult puzzles to uncover the world's mysterious and shocking secrets. 

‍

Doki Doki Literature Club!x

• Availability on Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X, and Series S, Linux, Macintosh

• Price: Free (On Steam)

• Developer: Dan Salvato LLC

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 22 September 2017

‍

If you want a game filled with romance, horror, and anime-styled graphics, here is this game to fulfil your desires. The unique feature of this game is it doesn't end after you get your dream girl, but the main scary twist starts after that.

You will be amazed how a romantic, lighthearted game will turn into one of the best scary stories you have ever seen. You will get goosebumps and feel butterflies in your stomach as you try to uncover the mysteries with your cute anime girlfriend. 

Many cute-looking girls in the game are filled with real emotions but don't get attached to them; some are evil. However, the graphics of the game are mostly 2D, but still, the emotions and jumpscares of the game work pretty well. Along with a great storyline and music, the game also has more than 30 beautiful anime waifus to keep you engaged for hours. 

‍

Five Nights at Freddy's

• Availability on Platforms: Android, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, Windows Phone

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Clickteam LLC, the USA

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 8 August 2014

‍

Dolls and Teddys have always been scary, right? So here is a game that will make you scared of your cute teddy bear on your bed. Freddy, a demon-possessed, has somehow got into your shop. You found it cute and kept it, but then the horrors followed! 

You are an employee who works the night shift in that pizza shop. You will have to use surveillance cameras, doors, bells, and even pizzas to defend yourself from the force of evil force. Many animatronic characters will turn hostile and try to kill you, but you have to destroy them first. 

The game's storyline is very engaging and will stay in your mind for a long time, even after you finish the game. As the title suggests, you will have to survive five scary nights in the game. 

‍

Firework

• Availability on Platforms: Microsoft Windows

• Price: Free

• Developer: Laumania ApS

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 17 December 2020

Firework is a Chinese horror puzzle game that has been translated into English. It is about an unintentional tragic fire at a funeral and the reopening of the cause-and-effect investigation. 

As Lin Lixun, a rookie police officer, the player progresses through the intricate investigation by completing difficult riddles to get more information. But more questions come up as you add more pieces to the puzzle. The grim watercolour illustrations give this narrative-driven book more of a psychological horror feel. 

Everyone has a role to perform, but everyone also thinks they are the protagonist of their own story. Most of the Steam reviews for this spooky 

‍

Omori

• Availability on Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS

• Price: Free

• Developer: MP2 Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 2 December 2020

‍

This Japanese role-playing game, based on the Omori webcomic series, concentrates on Sunny, a hikikomori youngster, and Omori, his dream-world alter ego. The actual world and the dream world are explored by Sunny and Omori, as well as a group of pals.

The player's decisions influence how the two interact and the plot's resolution. In the game, anxiety and despair are prominent themes, and overcoming Sunny and Omori's worries is the major objective of the exploration. 

As you work to preserve the emotional stability of the characters and advance the plot, it also has psychological horror components. Most reviews on Steam are good, and players have commented on their reactions to the game.

This game might not be appropriate for all audiences because it depicts Sadness, anxiety, and suicide. Additionally, it has flashing images that are so bright they could induce seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Consent from the viewer is advised.

Pony Island

• Availability on Platforms: Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS

• Price: Free

• Developer: Daniel Mullins Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 4 January 2016

‍

Pony Island is a first-person, arcade-style metafictional game with a cute-sounding name for a not-so-cute game. You take on the role of the unfortunate player who had the misfortune to launch what seemed to be a fun pony game. But you soon discover Lucifer has taken control of the game; no longer are ponies enjoying coconut water on the sand. 

One of the previous victims comes to your aid and enables you to access the game's underlying code to aid you in escaping while Lucifer seeks to claim your soul. Daniel Mullins, a Canadian independent game developer, created and released the video game Pony Island. 

The user interacts with what looks to be an outdated arcade cabinet game called "Pony Island" in this metafictional game. The player quickly learns that Lucifer, attempting to take possession of the player's soul, has tainted the game.

A former player's soul assists the player in gaining access to Pony Island's internal programming. They can avoid the traps set by Lucifer and save not only their souls but also the souls of countless other tormented players trapped within the game's code.

‍

Inscription

• Availability on Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, macOS

• Price: Free

• Developer: Daniel Mullins Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 5 December 2020

Players now have access to yet another original metafictional horror game from the makers of Pony Island. You are Luke Carder, a vlogger in this instance. You find coordinates that lead you to a floppy disk version of an uncommon game called Inscription.

After deciding to participate in the game, you quickly learn that the dealer has taken control and has imprisoned other players in the cabin where the card game is being played. Luke participates in card games, works out riddles around the cabin to free up the other cards, and hears the dealer tell tales. 

 While this is happening, Luke has to deal with a hostile representative from the game publisher who wants the game returned. You will likely like this one if you have previously liked Daniel Mullins Games' games. 

When the player meets with a strange dealer in a pitch-black cabin, they learn additional details about the mythical Inscription's past. The game was originally only a prototype that Daniel Mullins had produced for the "Sacrifices must be made" Ludum Dare game jam. Mullins first designed a card game whose main mechanic included giving up already played cards. 

After posting the prototype to itch.io and receiving great feedback, Mullins enhanced the game by enhancing the card game and including escape-the-room-style aspects. Players may play a version of the game that concentrates solely on the card game without the additional puzzle aspects, thanks to an official mod that was made available in March 2022.

Little Nightmare Series

• Availability on Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Namco Bandai

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 10 February 2021

‍

Solving puzzles is the adventure game Little Nightmares. The primary character is six, a nine-year-old girl dressed in a yellow raincoat. After having a nightmare, she awakens to see herself stranded inside the Maw, a sunken ship. She only has a lighter, so she searches the Maw for a way out. 

However, there are plenty of strange things to keep her company, such as a pair of enormous twins who butcher youngsters and a large number of poisonous leaches. Hug Nomes, scale massive furniture stacks, squeeze through vents, leap over chasms, and find any way to satiate your appetite. 

This artwork fits the game's theme perfectly, giving it the sensation of a child's nightmare. Players have no method to defend themselves from the individuals and objects that try to harm them since the environment is too large. Since audiences favourably received the game, Little Nightmares II, a prequel, was created.

Soma

• Availability on Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, macOS, Microsoft Windows

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Frictional Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 22 September 2015

A survival horror game called Soma has more of an emphasis on psychological dangers than on physical ones. Years after a serious vehicle accident, Simon Jarret, the playable character, awakens in an undersea research facility. The building seems run-down and lifeless.

Simon can communicate with someone on another site at the research centre, but to get there, he must overcome obstacles like rerouting power and opening doors. He must either help or avoid them as he encounters several robots that think they are humans along the route. The primary themes of this underwater game, about survival, lean more toward psychological horror. 

The main plot revolves around trying to reconcile how the player arrived at the facility with what occurred to the station and the outside world. You'll like this one if you consider what it means to be human.

‍

The Forest

• Availability on Platforms: PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows

• Price: Free

• Developer: Endnight Games

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 30 May 2014

‍

Here's a game lover of the film Wrong Turn will undoubtedly like. The main character of The Forest, Eric LeBlanc, is a professional survivalist. This is handy when a plane disaster leaves him and his kid stuck on a peninsula covered with forests. You'll use LeBlanc's survival manual during the day to look for food and water, erect a shelter, and forge weapons. 

You'll also need to look for your son, Timmy, who was abducted by a man in red practically soon after taking care of your necessities. You're not alone, though. The jungle is also home to a clan of cannibalistic mutants, and while not all interactions with them are risky, most of them are, especially at night.

This game's big open world makes it interesting. You must look for the hints to locate Timmy and solve the mystery of what occurred on the peninsula.

Dusk

• Availability on Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

• Price: Free

• Developer: New Blood Interactive

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 10 January 2018

‍

Players may find a fantastic fusion of horror elements in Dusk. Ancient but potent ruins are found in the small Pennsylvanian village of Dusk. The military and scientists naturally want to investigate the ruins and exploit their power, but they are all murdered in accidents or taken over by demons.

A huge wall surrounds the village to stop the spread of evil. However, that doesn't deter your protagonist, the treasure hunter! Complete each level of the game is the objective. Starting in the countryside, you must avoid demonic livestock.

You eventually make your way through the laboratories while attempting to evade possessed individuals brandishing weapons powered by minced humans. The idea is cool, and as players progress through the levels to find a way out, they feel really satisfied.

The player assumes the role of an anonymous treasure hunter who has heard whispers that the sealed town contains hidden treasure. The residents of the town capture the treasure hunter, take him to a remote farmhouse and impale him on a meathook.

‍

Darkwood

• Availability on Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

• Price: Free

• Developer: Acid Wizard Studio

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 24 July 2014

‍

A dark forest engulfs a sizable portion of the map in this top-down survival horror game and traps people inside. Additionally, anyone confined risks getting a plague that would transform them into a monster. The primarily military outsiders try to assist but are powerless against the impacts of the forest. 

The Doctor, who is trying his hardest to flee, is the first protagonist. In the woods, he finds the stranger unconscious. He imprisons and tortures the stranger for information after learning he has a key. Once the stranger manages to escape the Doctor, players will take on the role of the stranger who needs to find the Doctor to retrieve the key taken from him.

In the semi-open environment of Darkwood, your interactions with NPCs will affect how the game plays out. In addition to several other brief subplot endings for the other characters, which will be listed in text blocks at the conclusion, there are two dream-like main endings.

‍

The Medium

• Availability on Platforms: PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S, Amazon Luna

• Price: Free

• Developer: Bloober Team

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 28 January 2021

‍

A medium named Marianne is the subject of the psychological horror game The Medium. A man named Thomas gets in touch with Marianne and offers to tell her more about her capacity to speak with the spirit world and her recurrent nightmare. But he coerces her into visiting a deserted resort where a slaughter had occurred decades ago. 

Once there, Marianne encounters the ghost of a young woman named Sadness and discovers what led to the tragedy. This third-person mystery journey is rich in sorrow and the past. The Maw, an evil entity, serves as the game's primary opponent, but exploring the resort and discovering what transpired is what it emphasises most. 

The Medium is perfect for you if you like complex plots and the visually appealing capacity to exist in two worlds simultaneously. A third-person psychological horror game, The Medium, is played as Marianne, a medium with access to the spirit world.

Being able to live in both worlds helps solve puzzles. She may use spirit wells to contact energy places known as spirit wells to replenish her psychic skills, which players can use against hostile forces.

‍

Poppy Playtime

• Availability on Platforms: Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Mob Entertainment

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 12 October 2021

‍

Although the toys are alive, this is not a Toy Story. Players take on the role of a former worker in the Playtime Co. toy factory in Poppy Playtime. You go inside the factory to find out what happened to all the workers who vanished. After completing puzzles akin to those in an escape room to reach the factory, the electricity goes out.

After working out another challenge to reactivate the electricity, you discover a sizable toy has disappeared from the foyer. As homicidal toys hunt you through the vents and attempt to play killer games with you, you must now try to escape the factory.

In that there are obvious actions players must follow to continue, this game is more structured than many other survivalist horror games. Poppy must first be let free, and then you must rescue her after she has been abducted, all while watching VHS videos that provide clues to the mystery. You may keep yourself engaged with various jump scares and some of the creepiest living toys.

‍

Inside

• Availability on Platforms: iOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4,

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: Playdead

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 29 June 2016

‍

The protagonist of this puzzle-filled platformer is an anonymous youngster who travels through a largely silent and grey world. He must work out small puzzles to get through a rabid pig farm while being hunted by guards and their canines. 

He can control people who appear dead by wearing a mind-control helmet when entering a metropolis or a lab. The game's objectives are reaching the monster known as the Huddle and freeing it from its cage. Due to its violent depictions of deaths such as drowning, being devoured by dogs, and electrocution, Inside is rated Mature. 

Themes of experimentation and mind control are prevalent in this dystopian adventure game. Players who liked Limbo will undoubtedly appreciate this one since it is its successor. A platformer with puzzles is within. An unnamed youngster who plays the player character explores a bizarre, largely monochromatic landscape in this 2.5D platformer. 

Colour is utilized sparingly in the dark game to draw attention to the player and specific areas of the surroundings. Except for sporadic musical cues, the boy's voice, dogs barking, equipment, and sound effects, the game is likewise mostly silent. The player controls the youngster, who uses his walking, running, swimming, climbing, and object use to get around obstacles and advance throughout the game.

‍

Iron Lung

• Availability on Platforms: Microsoft Windows

• Price: Free (On Google play store)

• Developer: David Szymanski

• Release Year and Date of Launch: 10 March 2022

‍

An iron lung is a form of negative pressure ventilator (NPV). This mechanical respirator encloses most of the body and changes the air pressure inside the enclosed region to encourage breathing. Iron Lung, developed by the same group as Dusk, explores the ominous and eerie depths of an alien world's sea from within a rusty steampunk bathysphere.

A unique submarine simulator that combines the cramped and unknowable horror of the deep with an intricate control system that will have you flitting between pressure gauges and depth dials like a crazed engineer. In Iron Lung, People don't remember you venturing outside the metal box, unlike in games like Subnautica, where the world is your oyster. 

However, you might reconsider diving after seeing what's floating about down there. It would help if you searched for a mystery and other strange sights at the bottom of this ocean.

‍

Conclusion

There is no better way to relieve stress and anxiety than playing video games. Though the debate on the existence of supernatural forces will continue for a long time, you can experience them by playing the games on the list. The genre of horror is one of the oldest and most popular ones. Certainly, many games have been made on this topic, but finding the right ones might sometimes be difficult. The article will surely help you find the hidden gems of indie horror games.