Horror games are particularly popular on platforms such as Itch, especially in the indie game scene. However, there are also countless horror games available on Steam and GOG combined. Many of these horror games can be hit-and-miss, ranging from cheap walking simulators to full-blown immersive experiences.
With so many titles available, particularly for fans of lower-budget indie titles, it can be hard to find the diamonds in the rough. However, GOG alone has a broad variety of indie horror games for every kind of horror fan to sink their teeth into.
This old-school adventure is a remarkably unsettling horror game despite its tremendously retro visuals. The game’s minimalist art-direction is interspersed with moments of ambition, and its developer stretches the limitations ofFAITH’sstyle to their absolute limit.
Armed with a mere crucifix and horrendously slow movement speed, players are tasked with exorcising cultists and nasty demons. The player’s limited abilities and constant vulnerability ensureFAITH: The Unholy Trinityis a consistently tense experience, all in spite of its low-res graphics.
This dark and atmospheric survival horror game features a variety of nasty creatures and unique survival gameplay. However,Darkwoodalso stands out for itsdistinctive top-down perspective. While this perspective may not be for everyone, it provides a unique sense of dread.
Darkwood’sday/night cycle keeps the pace throughout, providing players with a clear-cut gameplay loop that has them exploring the world during the day and defending their base by night.Darkwoodis also tremendously replayable, thanks to itsgreat use of procedural generation.
World Of Horroris an incredibly uniqueindie horror gamewith a stark, black-and-white aesthetic and eerie pixel-art visuals. While certainly not the most terrifying game available on GOG,World Of Horror’sunique art-style, turn-based combat, and roguelite structure make it a particularly distinctive horror game.
World Of Horror’sunsettling urban environments and cast of strange characters make for a rich atmosphere, and the game’s excellent art direction only makes this more effective. Furthermore, the game features fourteen playable characters, offering a great deal of replay value.
5Stay Out Of The House
A Combination Of Immersive-Sim And Survival Horror Gameplay
This combination of immersive-sim gameplay and survival horror tropes tasks players with escaping from a serial killer.Stay Out Of The Housefeatures an old-school, low-budget aesthetic which, when combined with its gameplay, makes the entire experience feellike a low-budget slasher film.
Stay Out Of The Housefeatures harsh limitations on the player’s resources. In true survival horror fashion, this also includes a limit on the amount of times the player can even save their game.Stay Out Of The Houseencourages methodical stealth over action, with combat almost always ending badly for the player. This results in a consistently tense atmosphere that can lead to plenty of terrifying moments.
4Lone Survivor
A Side-Scrolling Survival Horror Game With Atmospheric Pixel Art
Lone Survivoris a side-scrolling survival horror game that manages to build a growing sense of dread despite its pixel-art visuals. Theunsettling atmosphere created by its psychological themesand supernatural horror also helps to makeLone Survivora memorable horror experience.
Lone Survivortakes clear influence from survival horror iconssuch asSilent Hill, focusing its story around psychological horror. Gameplay involves stealth mechanics, so players should expect a slower pace than more action-y survival horror games like recentResident Evilgames.Lone Survivoralso features multiple endings, encouraging multiple playthroughs to get the full scope of the unsettling narrative.
Featuring stylish visualsand a dark, unsettling atmosphere,Little Nightmaresexcels with its immersive environments and inventive, horrifying character designs.Little Nightmaresis a 3D side-scroller, featuring puzzle platformer gameplay through creepy environments.
AlthoughLittle Nightmaresis hardly a walking simulator, its greatest strengths are arguably its superb art direction and expert sense of atmosphere. For fans of lightweight horror games and immersive adventures such as Playdead’sINSIDE,Little Nightmaresis a guaranteed good time.
This first-person horror game providesa truly immersive experiencevia its dense atmosphere and dynamic monster, which stalks the player throughout the game.Amnesia: The Bunkeris the first game in theAmnesiaseries to give players a way to fight back, but this does very little to make the aforementioned monster any less terrifying.
Amnesia: The Bunkerisn’t the longest horror game, but this works in its favor, preventing the creature from becoming stale over time. The immersive atmosphere and rich soundscape of the WW1 bunker in which the game is set provides a frequently terrifying environment for the gameplay, and this is arguablyAmnesia: The Bunker’sgreatest strength.
Taking place during WW1, thispixelated survival horrorgame takes heaps of inspiration from the classics, predominantly the older titles intheResident Evilseries. Despite its old-school influences, however,Conscriptstands out on its own with its unique and gritty flavor of survival horror.
Similarly toResident Evil,Conscriptadds replay value through unlockables and extra difficulty settings. Furthermore,Conscriptalso features multiple endings that encourage repeat playthroughs to really immerse in the setting. For fans of pixelated visuals, WW1 settings, and survival horror,Conscriptis the best indie horror game to pick up on GOG.
