There’s one thing particular about the most effective 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 wonderful horror indies on cellular and Swap, and on this information we compile our absolute favorites, so you possibly can savor the spooks any time, anywhere.
Whereas many of those terrifying titles make for excellent Halloween video games, our love for the most effective horror video games survives year-round, as you possibly can see from our in depth protection of the FNAF video games, Roblox horror video games, and all of the Poppy Playtime characters. So, in case you’re prepared for a fright, you possibly can relaxation assured that you just’re in secure fingers.
Listed here are our prime picks for the most effective indie horror video games on Swap and cellular:
- The Bridge Curse: Highway to Salvation – Nintendo Swap
- 12 months Stroll – iOS
- Detention – Nintendo Swap / Android / iOS
- Vlad Circus: Descend Into Insanity – Nintendo Swap
- Maid of Sker – Nintendo Swap / Android / iOS
- Slender: The Arrival – Nintendo Swap / Android
The Bridge Curse: Highway to Salvation – Nintendo Swap
I’ll admit, I wasn’t the most important fan of the Bridge Curse film – and, let’s face it, video games based mostly on films usually get a foul rep. Nevertheless, after I first picked up The Bridge Curse: Highway to Salvation, I spotted simply how silly I’d been to miss it for thus 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 recreation centered round six school youngsters attending Tunghu College. As part of a braveness check, they document 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 solution 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 way in which, you should remedy puzzles and uncover the mysteries revolving round a sequence of supernatural incidents which were haunting the campus for a number of a long time.
The gameplay invokes a superb mixture of realism and B-movie-style horror, with some actually memorable sequences alongside the way in which. It’s bought some nice jumpscares, however the environment and surprisingly respectable character constructing are the place it actually shines.
The Bridge Curse: Highway to Salvation is out there now on the Nintendo Swap. It you resolve to make the leap and discover that you just take pleasure in this one as a lot as I did, you have to be delighted to know that its sequel, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication, can be out there on Nintendo Swap, stepping up the horror and otherworldly parts to an entire 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 take into account that Highway 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 identify, 12 months Stroll is a novel first particular person journey recreation that sees you enterprise out into the deep, darkish woods, the place many unfamiliar beings roam.
Resolve puzzles, uncover clues, and uncover otherworldly mysteries as you decide 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 traces 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 just received’t quickly overlook.
You should purchase 12 months Stroll in 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 concerning the charming folklore that impressed it, we additionally extremely advocate downloading the 12 months Stroll Companion app, which is out there free of charge on the App Retailer.
Detention – Nintendo Swap / Android / iOS
Detention is a kind of horror video games that you just simply can’t shake off. Primarily based on Sixties Taiwan underneath martial regulation, 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 various kinds of terror, drawing on historic legends and real-world evils to ensnare you in a uniquely claustrophobic surroundings. Regardless of the place you flip, there’s at all times one thing watching you from the shadows, and I completely like it.
Whereas the sturdy narrative and deep, provocative subjects are the true coronary heart of Detention, its 2D sidescrolling gameplay additionally encompasses a strong vary of puzzles and level and click on recreation 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 superbly haunting means.
Detention is out there to buy on Nintendo Swap, Android, and iOS. There’s even a free demo on Swap if you wish to strive it out first.
Vlad Circus: Descend into Insanity – Nintendo Swap
Vlad Circus: Descend into Insanity is a deliciously darkish indie horror recreation that, because the identify 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 identify 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 usually are not 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 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 making an attempt to maintain the darkness at bay. It dabbles with survival mechanics and locations some difficult restrictions on you, however general the most important problem is protecting a grip in your sanity.
Vlad Circus: Descend Into Insanity is out there now on Nintendo Swap. Nevertheless, in case you nonetheless want a bit extra information earlier than you decide to a purchase order, you possibly can take a look at our full Vlad Circus evaluate.
Maid of Sker – Nintendo Swap & cellular
Now, I could also be just a little 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 possibly can count on no showers of blood and guts or nerve-jangling jumpscares, however this fabulously freaky little gem is extremely profitable with regards to sustaining a tense environment that retains you on the sting of your seat.
Maid of Sker is a primary particular person psychological survival horror that attracts inspiration from a number of locations, most notably RD Blackmore’s nineteenth c. novel trilogy of the identical identify, the very actual Sker Home in Bridgend, and the usually neglected however extremely wealthy world of Welsh folklore. Set in 1898 in opposition to the eerie backdrop of Sker Lodge, it revolves round a troubling story of a household empire pushed by torture, slavery, and piracy, together with a supernatural thriller that haunts the resort 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 dying by the hands of a cult of sound-based AI enemies. Do you suppose you have got what it takes to uncover the mysteries behind these partitions?
Whereas the sport is sort of quick and doesn’t convey something new to the desk by way of gameplay, it’s a ravishing love letter to its influences, and its story is bound to tantalize. Maid of Sker is out there now on Nintendo Swap, Android, and iOS. If you wish to study extra earlier than you dive in, make sure to take a look at our Maid of Sker evaluate.
Slender: The Arrival – Nintendo Swap & 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 enduring unique, Slender: The Eight Pages, respiration an entire new breath of life into scary determine.
This recreation isn’t solely based mostly 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 thus 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 pal 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 to seek 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 means 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 kind of video games that each horror fan ought to strive not less than as soon as. It’s a traditional of the web horror style, and, whereas it won’t have aged too nicely during the last decade, there’s a purpose why it and its predecessor have remained on the minds of so many for thus lengthy. And, with the sport out there on Android and Nintendo Swap, you possibly can relaxation assured that Slender Man is rarely distant.
And people are our prime picks for the most effective indie horror video games on cellular and Swap. If you would like a special sort of story to sink your enamel into, make sure to take a look at our lists of the most effective thriller video games or the most effective 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 most effective causal video games.
