There’s one thing particular about the very best indie horror video games, isn’t there? Whereas the massive names like Resident Evil and Useless By Daylight will at all times maintain a agency place within the hearts (and nightmares) of individuals all around 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, anyplace.
Whereas many of those terrifying titles make for excellent Halloween video games, our love for the finest 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, when you’re prepared for a fright, you’ll be able to relaxation assured that you simply’re in secure fingers.
Listed below are our prime picks for the very best indie horror video games on Change and cellular:
- The Bridge Curse: Highway 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: Highway to Salvation – Nintendo Change
I’ll admit, I wasn’t the most important fan of the Bridge Curse film – and, let’s face it, video games primarily based on motion pictures usually get a nasty rep. Nevertheless, once I first picked up The Bridge Curse: Highway 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: Highway to Salvation is a first-person atmospheric horror sport centered round six school children attending Tunghu College. As part of a braveness check, they file themselves difficult the well-known Bridge Curse legend, solely to unintentionally awaken a horrible curse.
From there, it’s as much as you to run, cover, and discover a approach 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, you should remedy puzzles and uncover the mysteries revolving round a collection of supernatural incidents which were haunting the campus for a number of many years.
The gameplay invokes a superb mixture of realism and B-movie-style horror, with some actually memorable sequences alongside the best way. It’s obtained some nice jumpscares, however the environment and surprisingly first rate character constructing are the place it actually shines.
The Bridge Curse: Highway to Salvation is on the market now on the Nintendo Change. It you determine to make the leap and discover that you simply take pleasure in this one as a lot as I did, try to be delighted to know that its sequel, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, can also be accessible 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 wish to strive before you purchase – simply remember the fact that Highway to Salvation’s demo has some wonky translations that aren’t current within the full sport, 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 singular first individual journey sport that sees you enterprise out into the deep, darkish woods, the place many unknown creatures roam.
Remedy 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, making an attempt 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 actually make it stand out. Plus, its attractive stylized artwork and distinctive character (and creature) designs give it an actual sense of id that you simply received’t quickly overlook.
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 charming folklore that impressed it, we additionally extremely advocate downloading the 12 months Stroll Companion app, which is on the market without spending a dime on the App Retailer.
Detention – Nintendo Change / Android / iOS
Detention is a type of horror video games that you simply 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. Nevertheless, their once-familiar college grounds have twisted in unsettling methods, and at the moment are haunted by evil creatures.
The sport masterfully weaves collectively several types of terror, drawing on historical legends and real-world evils to ensnare you in a uniquely claustrophobic surroundings. 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 sturdy narrative and deep, provocative subjects are the actual coronary heart of Detention, its 2D sidescrolling gameplay additionally incorporates a stable vary of puzzles and level and click on sport parts that hold you absolutely immersed all through. Plus, each the artwork fashion and sound design are actually masterful, portray the distinctive cultural references in a fantastically haunting manner.
Detention is on the market 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 sport that, because the title suggests, sweeps you away on its descent into insanity. Set within the Nineteen 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. Nevertheless, as you’d count on, issues will not be fairly as they appear. With the borders of actuality rising more and more blurry, it’s not lengthy earlier than you’re stricken by disembodied screams and whispers, battling horrifying headless apparitions, and crawling by means of creepy sewers in a determined try and piece collectively the mysteries that encompass Oliver and his previous colleagues.
Rendered in magically macabre 2.5D, this gorgeous pixel sport oozes environment and character, as you traipse forwards and backwards 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 tough restrictions on you, however total the most important problem is holding a grip in your sanity.
Vlad Circus: Descend Into Insanity is on the market now on Nintendo Change. Nevertheless, when you nonetheless want a bit extra information earlier than you decide to a purchase order, you’ll be able to take a look at our full Vlad Circus evaluate.
Maid of Sker – Nintendo Change & cellular
Now, I could also be somewhat 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 terms of sustaining a tense environment that retains you on the sting of your seat.
Maid of Sker is a primary individual psychological survival horror that attracts 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 usually missed 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 gadget, you should use stealth ways in an effort to survive as you navigate the suffocating halls, avoiding an premature loss of life by the hands of a cult of sound-based AI enemies. Do you suppose you could have what it takes to uncover the mysteries behind these partitions?
Whereas the sport is sort of quick and doesn’t carry something new to the desk when it comes to gameplay, it’s a stupendous love letter to its influences, and its story is bound to tantalize. Maid of Sker is on the market now on Nintendo Change, Android, and iOS. If you wish to study extra earlier than you dive in, be sure you take a look at our Maid of Sker evaluate.
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 sport that reimagines the long-lasting unique, Slender: The Eight Pages, respiratory a complete new breath of life into horrifying determine.
This sport will not be solely primarily based on the spine-chilling Slender Man creepypasta – it’s truly 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’re in (un)secure fingers, right here.
Slender: The Arrival sees you are taking management of Lauren, as you set out that can assist you childhood good friend Kate transfer home. Nevertheless, if 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, you should discover haunting homes, freaky fields, and menacing mines as you try and search out clues to Kate’s whereabouts. Nevertheless, 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 manner 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 a minimum of as soon as. It’s a traditional of the web horror style, and, whereas it won’t have aged too nicely over the past decade, there’s a purpose why it and its predecessor have remained on the minds of so many for therefore lengthy. And, with the sport accessible on Android and Nintendo Change, you’ll be able to relaxation assured that Slender Man is rarely far-off.
And people are our prime picks for the very best indie horror video games on cellular and Change. In order for you a distinct sort of story to sink your tooth into, be sure you take a look at our lists of the finest thriller video games or the finest visible novel video games – you may even discover some extra spooks. Or, to thrust back these heebie-jeebies, head over to our Coin Grasp free spins or free Monopoly Cube rolls guides to seize some goodies for the finest causal video games.
