Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
From psychological terrors to pixelated nightmares, these indie horror games prove you donโt need a AAA budget to scare someone senseless. Here are five of the best horror indies that deserve a permanent spot in your dark gaming rotation.
โYouโre not playing a game. Youโre surviving a waking nightmare.โ
Darkwood throws you into a surreal Eastern European forest filled with shifting horrors and twisted creatures. This top-down survival horror game ditches cheap jump scares for a creeping sense of dread that builds over time. You scavenge by day and barricade by night โ every choice feels permanent, and death is never far.
๐น๏ธ Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
๐ธ Estimated Budget: ~$150,000
๐ฐ Revenue: Over 500,000 copies sold
๐ Release: May 17, 2019

โMinimalist pixel art. Maximum demonic terror.โ
Faith uses Apple II-style graphics and audio, but donโt let the retro look fool you โ this is one of the most disturbing games youโll ever play. Inspired by 80s Satanic Panic, you play as a priest trying to survive and uncover a demonic conspiracy. The lo-fi presentation only adds to its chilling atmosphere.
๐น๏ธ Platforms: PC
๐ธ Estimated Budget: < $100,000
๐ฐ Revenue: 100k+ units sold
๐ Release: October 21, 2022

โA hand-penciled horror tale set in the eerie Alps.โ
Every frame of Mundaun is drawn by hand โ yes, literally sketched on paper. That gives the game a uniquely disturbing aesthetic. You play a man returning to his grandfatherโs mysterious village in the Swiss Alps, only to encounter ancient forces and haunting folklore. A slow-burn story meets puzzle-solving and survival horror.
๐น๏ธ Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
๐ธ Estimated Budget: ~$200,000
๐ฐ Revenue: N/A, but received critical acclaim
๐ Release: March 16, 2021

โYouโre in a one-man submarine. You canโt leave. You canโt see. And somethingโs out there.โ
In Iron Lung, you’re trapped inside a tiny submarine exploring a blood ocean on a desolate moon. Thereโs no window. You must navigate using coordinates and sonar โ the only clues to the horror stalking you. Short but bone-chilling, this game proves atmosphere > graphics any day.
๐น๏ธ Platforms: PC, Switch
๐ธ Estimated Budget: Under $10,000
๐ฐ Revenue: Massive success โ now being made into a film
๐ Release: March 10, 2022

โEvery photograph tells a terrifying story.โ
Madison is a first-person psychological horror game in the vein of PT and Visage. You wake up in a blood-stained room and must use a possessed camera to connect the world of the living and the dead. Solving puzzles by developing photos is a unique mechanic, and the scares are intense and unrelenting.
๐น๏ธ Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
๐ธ Estimated Budget: ~$300,000
๐ฐ Revenue: Estimated 250,000+ copies sold
๐ Release: July 8, 2022
