There’s one thing particular about one of the best indie horror video games, isn’t there? Whereas the large names like Resident Evil and Useless By Daylight will at all times maintain a agency place within the hearts (and nightmares) of individuals everywhere in the world, there’s no denying {that a} good hidden gem simply hits totally different. Fortunately, there are heaps of fantastic horror indies on cellular and Change, and on this information we compile our absolute favorites, so you’ll be able to savor the spooks any time, anywhere.
Whereas many of those terrifying titles make for excellent Halloween video games, our love for one of the best horror video games survives year-round, as you’ll be able to see from our intensive protection of the FNAF video games, Roblox horror video games, and all of the Poppy Playtime characters. So, in the event you’re prepared for a fright, you’ll be able to relaxation assured that you just’re in secure fingers.
Listed here are our high picks for one of the best indie horror video games on Change and cellular:
- The Bridge Curse: Street to Salvation – Nintendo Change
- 12 months Stroll – iOS
- Detention – Nintendo Change / Android / iOS
- Vlad Circus: Descend Into Insanity – Nintendo Change
- Maid of Sker – Nintendo Change / Android / iOS
- Slender: The Arrival – Nintendo Change / Android
The Bridge Curse: Street to Salvation – Nintendo Change
I’ll admit, I wasn’t the largest fan of the Bridge Curse film – and, let’s face it, video games based mostly on films typically get a nasty rep. Nonetheless, after I first picked up The Bridge Curse: Street to Salvation, I spotted simply how silly I’d been to miss it for therefore lengthy.
Drawing on parts from each the horror movie and conventional Taiwanese city legends, The Bridge Curse: Street to Salvation is a first-person atmospheric horror recreation centered round six faculty children attending Tunghu College. As part of a braveness take a look at, they report themselves difficult the well-known Bridge Curse legend, solely to by accident awaken a horrible curse.
From there, it’s as much as you to run, cover, and discover a technique to escape, as you turn between the six college students and see the horrors of the evening unfold from their totally different views. Alongside the best way, it’s essential to clear up puzzles and uncover the mysteries revolving round a collection of supernatural incidents which were haunting the campus for a number of a long time.
The gameplay invokes an excellent mixture of realism and B-movie-style horror, with some really memorable sequences alongside the best way. It’s bought some nice jumpscares, however the environment and surprisingly first rate character constructing are the place it really shines.
The Bridge Curse: Street to Salvation is obtainable now on the Nintendo Change. It you resolve to make the leap and discover that you just get pleasure from this one as a lot as I did, you need to be delighted to know that its sequel, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, can be obtainable on Nintendo Change, stepping up the horror and otherworldly parts to a complete new realm. Plus, each video games are Steam Deck verified and supply decent-length demos in case you need to strive before you purchase – simply take into account that Street to Salvation’s demo has some wonky translations that aren’t current within the full recreation, so don’t let that put you off!
12 months Stroll – iOS
Impressed by the traditional Swedish phenomena of the identical title, 12 months Stroll is a novel first individual journey recreation that sees you enterprise out into the deep, darkish woods, the place many unknown creatures roam.
Clear up puzzles, uncover clues, and uncover otherworldly mysteries as you choose on the borders of actuality and fiction on this haunting model of nineteenth c. Sweden, trying to piece collectively the occasions that led you right here.
Blurring the strains between actuality and the supernatural, 12 months Stroll isn’t your typical fright-fest, however its somber environment and haunting designs really make it stand out. Plus, its beautiful stylized artwork and distinctive character (and creature) designs give it an actual sense of identification that you just gained’t quickly neglect.
You should buy 12 months Stroll on your iPhone or iPad by means of the App Retailer. And, whether or not you’re hoping to benefit from the full 12 months Stroll expertise otherwise you’re merely curious in regards to the fascinating folklore that impressed it, we additionally extremely suggest downloading the 12 months Stroll Companion app, which is obtainable without cost on the App Retailer.
Detention – Nintendo Change / Android / iOS
Detention is a type of horror video games that you just simply can’t shake off. Primarily based on Sixties Taiwan underneath martial legislation, it sees you are taking management of two college students who discover themselves trapped within the distant and remoted Greenwood highschool. Nonetheless, their once-familiar college grounds have twisted in unsettling methods, and are actually haunted by evil creatures.
The sport masterfully weaves collectively various kinds of terror, drawing on historic legends and real-world evils to ensnare you in a uniquely claustrophobic atmosphere. Irrespective of the place you flip, there’s at all times one thing watching you from the shadows, and I completely find it irresistible.
Whereas the robust narrative and deep, provocative subjects are the actual coronary heart of Detention, its 2D sidescrolling gameplay additionally encompasses a stable vary of puzzles and level and click on recreation parts that maintain you absolutely immersed all through. Plus, each the artwork type and sound design are really masterful, portray the distinctive cultural references in a fantastically haunting approach.
Detention is obtainable to buy on Nintendo Change, Android, and iOS. There’s even a free demo on Change if you wish to strive it out first.
Vlad Circus: Descend into Insanity – Nintendo Change
Vlad Circus: Descend into Insanity is a deliciously darkish indie horror recreation that, because the title suggests, sweeps you away on its descent into insanity. Set within the Twenties, it follows the story of the deeply troubled Oliver Mills, a former clown who beforehand carried out with the well-known Vlad Circus underneath the title Lazy Ollie.
Years after a devastating fireplace that tore the circus aside, Oliver and the remainder of the surviving members of Vlad Circus obtain an invitation to reunite at a distant mansion. Nonetheless, as you’d count on, issues are usually not fairly as they appear. With the borders of actuality rising more and more blurry, it’s not lengthy earlier than you’re suffering from disembodied screams and whispers, battling horrifying headless apparitions, and crawling by means of creepy sewers in a determined try to piece collectively the mysteries that encompass Oliver and his previous colleagues.
Rendered in magically macabre 2.5D, this beautiful pixel recreation oozes environment and character, as you traipse backwards and forwards throughout the haunting mansion grounds, fixing puzzles, slaying monsters, and attempting to maintain the darkness at bay. It dabbles with survival mechanics and locations some difficult restrictions on you, however total the largest problem is maintaining a grip in your sanity.
Vlad Circus: Descend Into Insanity is obtainable now on Nintendo Change. Nonetheless, in the event you nonetheless want a bit extra information earlier than you decide to a purchase order, you’ll be able to try our full Vlad Circus assessment.
Maid of Sker – Nintendo Change & cellular
Now, I could also be a bit biased contemplating I used to be born and raised in Wales, however there’s one thing fairly particular about Maid of Sker. As soon as once more, you’ll be able to count on no showers of blood and guts or nerve-jangling jumpscares, however this fabulously freaky little gem is extremely profitable in relation to sustaining a tense environment that retains you on the sting of your seat.
Maid of Sker is a primary individual psychological survival horror that pulls inspiration from a number of locations, most notably RD Blackmore’s nineteenth c. novel trilogy of the identical title, the very actual Sker Home in Bridgend, and the customarily ignored however extremely wealthy world of Welsh folklore. Set in 1898 towards the eerie backdrop of Sker Resort, it revolves round a troubling story of a household empire pushed by torture, slavery, and piracy, together with a supernatural thriller that haunts the lodge grounds.
Armed with solely a defensive sound system, it’s essential to use stealth techniques with the intention to survive as you navigate the suffocating halls, avoiding an premature dying by the hands of a cult of sound-based AI enemies. Do you suppose you’ve gotten what it takes to uncover the mysteries behind these partitions?
Whereas the sport is sort of quick and doesn’t deliver something new to the desk when it comes to gameplay, it’s a lovely love letter to its influences, and its story is certain to tantalize. Maid of Sker is obtainable now on Nintendo Change, Android, and iOS. If you wish to be taught extra earlier than you dive in, you’ll want to try our Maid of Sker assessment.
Slender: The Arrival – Nintendo Change & Android
Let’s face it, Slender: The Arrival is a contemporary traditional. Making its preliminary debut again on March 26, 2013, it’s a first-person survival horror recreation that reimagines the long-lasting authentic, Slender: The Eight Pages, respiration a complete new breath of life into horrifying determine.
This recreation will not be solely based mostly on the spine-chilling Slender Man creepypasta – it’s really developed in collaboration with Eric “Victor Surge” Knudsen, the unique creator of the paranormal phenomenon that’s been haunting us all for therefore lengthy, so you already know you’re in (un)secure fingers, right here.
Slender: The Arrival sees you are taking management of Lauren, as you set out that will help you childhood good friend Kate transfer home. Nonetheless, while you discover the door to Kate’s residence unlocked, her home ransacked, and ominous scratchings throughout her room, you head out to seek for her.
With solely a flashlight in hand, it’s essential to discover haunting homes, freaky fields, and menacing mines as you try to seek out clues to Kate’s whereabouts. Nonetheless, you’re not the one one on the hunt. You quickly start to catch glimpses of mysterious figures stalking you at each flip – and the one approach so that you can survive is to run from each menace, leaving you feeling extremely helpless.
Atmospheric, tense, and deliciously darkish, Slender: The Arrival is a type of video games that each horror fan ought to strive no less than as soon as. It’s a traditional of the web horror style, and, whereas it won’t have aged too effectively during the last decade, there’s a motive why it and its predecessor have remained on the minds of so many for therefore lengthy. And, with the sport obtainable on Android and Nintendo Change, you’ll be able to relaxation assured that Slender Man isn’t distant.
And people are our high picks for one of the best indie horror video games on cellular and Change. If you’d like a special kind of story to sink your enamel into, you’ll want to try our lists of one of the best thriller video games or one of the best visible novel video games – you may even discover some extra spooks. Or, to push back these heebie-jeebies, head over to our Coin Grasp free spins or free Monopoly Cube rolls guides to seize some goodies for one of the best causal video games.