Lilacmages Top 5 Indie Horror Games

Indie Horror titles are just as thrilling as their popular mainstream counterparts. Strap in for some horrific content.

Horror games have always been an exciting genre for me. I am one of the biggest scaredy cats to grace planet earth, but I love everything spooky. Halloween is like my Christmas as it is a whole month event for me. Therefore, it was only natural this spilled into my gaming interests as well. Join me as I count down my top 5 Indie Horror games. I recommend this list with my whole being, each game I have spent countless playthroughs or hours on.

5.Darkwood

Darkwood was released in July 2014, and it is a top-down survival horror game by Acid Wizard Studio. This hauntingly atmospheric gem takes place in “The Polish People’s Republic”. The game features a plagued and diseased wood named Darkwood. The Darkwood plague is claiming victims left, right, and center, and as a result of this, the area has been contained and quarantined. Now the player must traverse the wood and explore the horrors within.

This games art style, music choice, and atmosphere makes it a cut above the rest of Indie horror games. The gameplay is exciting and filled with puzzles and terrifying encounters. The game features a survival playstyle that players must adapt to after being thrust into the woods. Face off with foes and try and uncover the secret of the plague. Check out the trailer for Darkwood below and prepare for an impending sensing of doom and dread.

4. The Forest

The Forest makes its way onto the list as an open-world, survival horror game. The Forest takes place after an airplane crash which witnesses your son being dragged away by tribespeople. It then follows the father destined to find his son on this harsh and unforgiving island. The player must battle horrifying mutant tribespeople with grotesque character design, find reliable food and water sources, and spelunk and weasel through caves to solve mysteries. The Forest was exciting from start to finish and the story was surprisingly in-depth and fun to follow. Combat could be clunky at times but, like all survival games, once you grind and put work in before you know it you are a master against the harsh world. Check out the trailer below and try to convince a friend to join you in this interesting indie horror.

3. Yuppie Psycho

Yuppie Psycho was a completely random purchase of mine a couple of months ago. Set in the ’90s, join Brian Pasternack in a dystopian evil company: Sintracorp. Brian gets the job as a complete fluke and feels totally unprepared. However, it’s not the workload Brian needs to be wary of. Early into the game, Sintracorp is exposed for having several problems: murderous employees, paranormal occurrences, and straight-up sinister writing with blood as the ink. The gameplay is exciting and boasts a problem-solving, point-and-click mystery. Jump scares are plenty and leave the player with a sense of dread and panic. Perfect for a horror game. Yuppie Psycho also has the replay ability factor with six different endings. Check out the trailer below for more on this sinister and scary title.

2. Poppy Playtime

This furry creature with teeth that rival things conjured in your worst nightmares is one of Poppy Playtimes’ flagship antagonists Huggy Wuggy. Poppy playtime takes place in a derelict toy factory. There’s something sinister and fear-provoking when something targeted at kids turns out to be nightmare fuel. This is exactly what Poppy Playtime delivers.

Currently in early access, the game started with a first chapter which had the player dipping their toes into the world. Pursued by Fuzzy Wuggy, players must navigate the factory using a handy tool. The tool is a set of gloves that allows the player to propel themselves or high five doors to gain access. Being pursued adds to that level of fear that is almost an innate primal fear. The game is being released episodically and is sure to have more terror to come. Check out the terrifying ordeal below.

1. Outlast

I had my reservations about how mainstream this game has become in recent years. To me, this is prime horror. Our story follows a journalist trying to uncover secrets about a corporation that may be hiding something in the local psychiatric asylum. Terrifying chase scenes, unsettling jump scares, and an intriguing story combines to create an ongoing series that has fans returning each time.

The game features a lot of scenes completely in the dark. As a result of this, the game is usually viewed through a video camera that has night vision installed. However, this only adds to the terror as pictured above, the only sign of enemies is usually a flicker of white or green eyes. Additionally, the setting of the game in a psychiatric asylum leaves players with a sense of dread as they try and document as much as they can. If you have been living under a rock the last couple of years and not experienced outlast check it out in the trailer below. Furthermore, Outlast can be purchased on steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/238320/Outlast/ and most other platforms.

THANK YOU

As always, thanks for joining us here at VIBE for one of my opinion pieces. Furthermore, I would like to redirect you to my earliest top five. https://vibethenook.com/lilacmages-top-5-hidden-gems/ A stark change of pace from the horror genre.