If you’re searching for a game that will give you chills down your spine, keep reading for our list of the top ten Indie Horror games you need to play. Plenty of amazing indie horror games and triple-A horror games deserve love, but these games are exceptional, have a lot of love put into them, and are sure to leave you uneasy.
Slay the Princess
Image Credit: Black Tabby Games.
In a visual novel where you are tasked with slaying the Princess, you face many different endings and choices. A narrator walks you through the game, and you can talk straight back to them. You meet the Princess, chained up in a basement, and from there, you have to decide whether she must die.
This game has many twists and turns, so be ready and on your guard for your meeting with the Princess.
Platforms: PC
The Mortuary Assistant
Image Credit: DreadXP.
The Mortuary Assistant looks like a simple game on the surface, designed to make you uncomfortable. However, the more endings you unlock, the more unsettling it becomes as you unveil your character’s backstory.
Tasked with getting corpses ready for their funerals, some of them are not quite what they seem and seem to be under possession. It is up to you to figure out which body it is and make sure to cremate it so it can’t harm anyone else. Be prepared for lots of jumpscares and a very unsettling atmosphere.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC
Ad Infinitum
Image Credit: Nacon.
In an innovative survival horror game about surviving the atrocities of World War I, players take control of a German soldier who comes to terms with the trench warfare that they have endured. There are plenty of puzzles to be solved and monsters to run and hide from throughout the eerie atmosphere of the game.
This game takes place in a first-person perspective, with checkpoints throughout. Should you die to a monster, you return to a checkpoint. It has such immersive imagery and sound design that Ad Infinitum will leave you unsettled to your core.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, PC, Xbox Series X|S
Dredge
Image Credit: Team17.
Not the most typical of horror games, Dredge is a Lovecraftian horror that explores the depths of the oceans beneath you, with sinister monsters lying below the waters. Complete quests, catch new types of fish, and dredge the waters to find long-lost secrets and uncover the truth of the world around you.
While the game doesn’t have the typical jumpscares, Dredge carries a thick atmosphere and will leave you wanting more as you explore and uncover new information.
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox X|S
Layers of Fear (2023)
Image Credit: Bloober Team SA.
A remastered version of both Layers of Fear 1 and 2, this game has even more horrifying tales, including a brand new DLC for Layers of Fear 2. The experience is deeply disturbing and gut-wrenching at the best of times and will leave you feeling very uncomfortable.
If you like a walking simulator, this is a game for you. There are puzzles to solve along the way, beautiful and haunting architecture to admire, and a tragic, multi-ending story.
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Ravenous Devils
Image Credit: Bad Vices Games.
A bit more of a comedic horror game, Ravenous Devils reinvents the cooking simulator genre with something a bit more grotesque: cannibalism. On the surface, you run a tailoring shop, but underneath, you run a cooking business where your products are made from corpses.
Not only is it a cooking simulator, but it’s a management simulator, too, as you can improve your recipes, expand your stores, and, above all else, make the customers happy.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Xbox Series X|S
Visage
Image Credit: SadSquare Studios.
Visage pays great homage to what P.T. could have been, with a deeply haunting psychological horror experience. There are multiple stories to play through, each with incredible depth and despair. There are a lot of triggering themes throughout this game, so make sure that it is right for you before you delve into the eerie world of Visage.
Some of the stories may even have you tearing up as they tug on the heartstrings. SadSquare Studio had made a very special indie horror game.
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Little Nightmares 2
Image Credit: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment.
The sequel to the equally amazing Little Nightmares, Little Nightmares 2, brings a whole new level of horror to the scene. Playing as Mono, a little boy stuck in a world distorted by evil transmission, it is up to you to help him discover the source, which has a horrifying story behind it.
Uncover secrets, meet terrifying enemies as you explore the world with Mono and Six, and prepare for an unsettling experience.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, PC
Escape the Backrooms
Image Credit: Fancy Games.
What started as somewhat of a meme has now become a well-loved indie horror game developed by Fancy Games. This game can be played single-player or co-op with up to three others. Surrounded by nothing but liminal space, you have to try and escape the backrooms while avoiding strange creatures lurking in the dark.
Escape the Backrooms is incredibly eerie and will leave you unsettled the entire time.
Platforms: PC
The Outlast Trials
Image Credit: Red Barrels.
An entertaining game inspired by the realms of Outlast 1 and 2, Red Barrels brings a new game to the mix, allowing players to either play single-player or multiplayer. Band together to complete trials that will make you uncomfortable but want more from the game.
This game can jump between a barrel of laughs and unending screams and terror as you try to survive the trials while completing the missions.
Platforms: PC
