317 games

The best indie horror games

Small studios, big scares: indie horror that is often bolder and more original than the big names.

How to find games that really suit you: Select up to 5 games you have played and enjoyed. Playalike compares 36 traits such as combat, story and atmosphere and suggests games that hit exactly the same spot, even across genres.

  1. 1 Inside

    2016 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 22.99 € 97 % positive

    • Distinctive, stylised art style
    • Lavish presentation
    • Puzzles and brain teasers

    A wordless, oppressive puzzle-platformer in which a boy slips through a bleak dystopia, controlling bodies with his mind along the way. Masterful atmosphere and a disturbing finale make it unforgettable.

  2. 2 Outlast

    2013 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 14.79 € 96 % positive

    • Dread and tension
    • Lavish presentation
    • Sneaking and hiding

    As a defenseless journalist armed only with a night-vision camcorder, you creep through a nightmarish asylum where hiding and running are your only options. Relentless, unfiltered terror with no way to fight back.

  3. 3 Soma

    2015 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 28.99 € 96 % positive

    • Strong, story-driven narrative
    • Sci-fi setting
    • Dread and tension

    A harrowing combat-free horror journey through a ruined deep-sea research station that confronts you with unsettling questions about consciousness and identity. Its philosophical story lingers long after the credits roll.

1 Inside

Distinctive, stylised art style

2016 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 22.99 € 97 % positive

A wordless, oppressive puzzle-platformer in which a boy slips through a bleak dystopia, controlling bodies with his mind along the way. Masterful atmosphere and a disturbing finale make it unforgettable.

2 Outlast

Dread and tension

2013 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 14.79 € 96 % positive

As a defenseless journalist armed only with a night-vision camcorder, you creep through a nightmarish asylum where hiding and running are your only options. Relentless, unfiltered terror with no way to fight back.

3 Soma

Strong, story-driven narrative

2015 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 28.99 € 96 % positive

A harrowing combat-free horror journey through a ruined deep-sea research station that confronts you with unsettling questions about consciousness and identity. Its philosophical story lingers long after the credits roll.

4 Little Nightmares

Distinctive, stylised art style

2017 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 19.99 € 95 % positive

As tiny Six you sneak through the Maw, a nightmarish vessel full of grotesque giants, solving environmental puzzles while evading capture. Its dollhouse-like, unsettling art style and wordless storytelling make this short adventure unforgettable.

5 The Forest

Building and crafting

2018 PCPlayStationSteam Deck playable 16.79 € 96 % positive

After a plane crash you build shelters and traps in a dense forest while tribes of cannibals stalk and attack you. Creepy mutant-filled caves and the mystery of your missing son drive the exploration, and it's best played with friends in co-op.

6 Inscryption

Turn-based combat

2021 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable −60 % 19.99 € 7.99 € 2 days left 97 % positive

A creepy card game played against a shadowy figure in a dark cabin, mixing deckbuilding with escape-room puzzles while constantly breaking its own rules. Beneath the surface lies a surprising, fourth-wall-bending mystery.

7 Doki Doki Literature Club!

Strong, story-driven narrative

2017 PCSteam Deck playable free 96 % positive

What starts as a sugary anime dating sim about a school poetry club gradually turns into unsettling psychological horror that breaks the fourth wall and even toys with the game's own files.

8 Signalis

Distinctive, stylised art style

2022 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 19.99 € 97 % positive

A classic survival horror game with scarce resources, inventory puzzles and a cryptic, melancholic sci-fi story. Its blend of retro 3D aesthetics, anime-inspired bleakness and cosmic dread creates a dense, unsettling atmosphere.

9 The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Runs that play out differently every time

2014 PCPlayStationXboxSteam Deck verified 14.99 € 97 % positive

A frantic top-down roguelike shooter where Isaac fires tears through randomly generated basements. Hundreds of items stack into wild combinations, making every run different and grotesquely strange.

10 Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Dread and tension

2010 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 19.50 € 95 % positive

Defenseless in a gloomy Prussian castle, you hide from monsters, ration lamp oil and fight to keep your sanity instead of fighting back. A genre-defining horror classic built on physics-based puzzles and relentless dread.

11 Limbo

Distinctive, stylised art style

2010 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 11.49 € 93 % positive

A wordless puzzle-platformer rendered in stark black and white, following a boy through a hostile shadow world full of deadly traps learned through trial and error. Its oppressive atmosphere and minimalist art make it a haunting, memorable experience.

12 Mouthwashing

Strong, story-driven narrative

2024 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 12.79 € 96 % positive

A short, harrowing psychological horror story aboard a crippled space freighter, where the survivors unravel under guilt, despair and madness. Its fractured timeline, bleak humor and grimy low-poly look make it memorable.

13 Phasmophobia

Co-op or multiplayer

2020 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 18.99 € 96 % positive

You and your friends play ghost hunters, using EMF readers, spirit boxes and cameras to work out which kind of ghost haunts a location. Voice recognition and sudden hunts make for genuine panic and plenty of hilarious co-op moments.

14 The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

Strong, story-driven narrative

2023 PCSteam Deck verified 11.79 € 96 % positive

A dark, story-driven RPG Maker horror about two siblings starving in a quarantined apartment. Your choices lead to disturbing, macabre and often darkly funny turns across many endings.

15 Fran Bow

Distinctive, stylised art style

2015 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 14.99 € 97 % positive

A dark point-and-click adventure in which you play a young girl with a mental illness who shifts between a brutal reality and a disturbing alternate world. Nightmarish hand-drawn art and inventory puzzles carry a bleak, emotional story.

16 Darkwood

Dread and tension

2017 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 19.99 € 95 % positive

Darkwood is a bleak top-down survival horror where you scavenge a eerie, partly randomized forest by day and barricade your hideout against horrors by night. Its surreal atmosphere and deliberately cryptic story create constant dread.

17 Omori

Turn-based combat

2020 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 16.79 € 97 % positive

A surreal RPG that contrasts bright dreamlike worlds and childhood friendship with psychological horror and heavy themes. Its emotional story and memorable soundtrack stand out, and turn-based battles use emotions as a core mechanic.

18 Your Turn to Die: Death Game by Majority

Strong, story-driven narrative

2017 PCSteam Deck playable 16.49 € 99 % positive

A visual novel thriller where a group of strangers fights for survival in deadly games. Puzzles, logic and votes drive a dark, twist-filled story.

19 Grim Dawn

Strong character progression

2016 PCXboxSteam Deck playable 25.99 € 94 % positive

A grim hack-and-slash ARPG set in a world torn apart by otherworldly invaders, where combining two classes and chasing loot enables staggering build variety. Perfect for players who love endlessly theorycrafting their ideal character.

20 The Supper

Dread and tension

2020 PCSteam Deck playable free 99 % positive

A short pixel-art point-and-click horror adventure about the darkest depths of the human soul, following a kind woman whose life unravels when a mysterious voice begins speaking to her.

21 Rusty Lake: Roots

Puzzles and brain teasers

2016 PCSteam Deck verified 3.99 € 97 % positive

A dark point-and-click puzzle game where you grow the Vanderboom family tree across generations. Bizarre, macabre puzzles and an eerie atmosphere tell the story almost without words.

22 Buckshot Roulette

Turn-based combat

2023 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo Switch 2.99 € 96 % positive

A minimalist horror game where you play a round of shotgun Russian roulette against a sinister Dealer in a grimy nightclub. Odds, risk management and special items create tense, tactical decisions in short, nerve-wracking runs.

23 The Outlast Trials

Dread and tension

2024 PCPlayStationXboxSteam Deck verified 38.99 € 93 % positive

A co-op survival horror where you endure the cruel experiments of the Murkoff Corporation, alone or with up to three friends. You sneak, flee and complete objectives while sadistic stalkers hunt you down.

24 The Binding of Isaac

Runs that play out differently every time

2011 PCSteam Deck playable 4.99 € 95 % positive

A grotesque twin-stick roguelike set in randomly generated basements, where countless bizarre items transform Isaac in wildly different ways each run. Dark, religiously tinged humor meets huge replayability and a wealth of secrets to unlock.

25 The Cat Lady

Strong, story-driven narrative

2012 PCSteam Deck playable 8.79 € 94 % positive

A dark psychological horror adventure about a lonely, suicidal woman drawn into a fight against grotesque serial killers. With its gritty collage-like look, strong voice acting and heavy themes of depression and loss, it is an intense and emotional experience.

26 Mad Father

Strong, story-driven narrative

2012 PCNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified −50 % 8.19 € 4.09 € 2 days left 97 % positive

A short RPG Maker horror adventure in which you play Aya, uncovering the dark secrets of her mad doctor father inside a mansion. Puzzles, chase sequences and multiple endings deliver a macabre yet emotional story.

27 Project Zomboid

Open world

2013 PCSteam Deck verified 25.49 € 94 % positive

An unforgiving zombie survival sandbox where you loot, build, craft and train skills until your inevitable death. Its deep simulation and highly customisable rules turn every run into a personal survival story, solo or with friends.

28 Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk

Strong, story-driven narrative

2020 PCNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 1.49 € 97 % positive

A short, unsettling visual novel in which you help a girl with the seemingly mundane task of buying milk. Beneath the everyday setup lies a disturbing psychological drama.

29 Dusk

Action-packed real-time combat

2018 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 19.49 € 97 % positive

Dusk is a fast, 90s-style boomer shooter with eerie atmosphere and maze-like levels full of secrets. It focuses on fluid movement and punchy weapons against hordes of cultists and worse horrors.

30 Needy Streamer Overload

Choices with consequences

2022 PCPlayStationNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable −66 % 13.29 € 4.51 € 2 days left 95 % positive

You manage the daily life of streamer Ame, scheduling streams and time slots while trying to keep her fragile mental state in check. Behind the colorful internet-culture look lies a dark story about dependency, with many different endings.

31 Outlast II

Dread and tension

2017 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 19.50 € 91 % positive

As defenseless cameraman Blake, you flee through a remote Arizona village of religious zealots armed only with your camcorder's night vision. A disturbing, relentlessly intense horror trip that blurs reality and hallucination.

32 Slay the Princess

Strong, story-driven narrative

2023 PCSteam Deck verified −60 % 16.99 € 6.79 € 2 days left 97 % positive

A psychological horror visual novel where you are sent to slay a princess in a cabin while a cast of voices in your head keeps commenting. Every choice sends the story spiraling into new branches, and the hand-penciled art and superb voice acting make each loop eerie and surprising.

33 Ib

Distinctive, stylised art style

2022 PCPlayStationNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified −30 % 10.79 € 7.55 € 2 days left 98 % positive

Ib is a short, eerie adventure set in an art gallery where you solve puzzles and slowly uncover the world through paintings and notes. This remake adds new graphics, new puzzles and a new soundtrack to a cult classic of the genre.

34 Sally Face

Strong, story-driven narrative

2016 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 2.99 € 97 % positive

An episodic point-and-click adventure about a boy with a prosthetic face who investigates a murder series and supernatural secrets in a gloomy apartment building. Its distinctive comic-like low-poly look, 90s atmosphere and emotional story set it apart.

35 Tiny Bunny

Strong, story-driven narrative

2025 PCSteam Deck verified 10.79 € 96 % positive

A dark horror visual novel set in a remote Russian village and forest, where your decisions shape the story and its multiple endings. Its creeping dread and branching paths drive the tension.

36 Silver Pines

Dread and tension

2026 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 24.99 € 95 % positive

A classic-style survival horror set in a small American town, mixing scarce resources, puzzles and interconnected exploration into a grim mystery about redemption.

37 Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk

Distinctive, stylised art style

2021 PCNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 7.39 € 97 % positive

A short, unsettling pixel-art visual-novel-style adventure that returns to the surreal and oppressive world of its predecessor. You guide a girl through bizarre, bleak scenes while trying to make her a little happier.

38 Carrion

Action-packed real-time combat

2020 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 19.50 € 95 % positive

You play a shapeless alien creature breaking out of a research facility and hunting humans in a reverse horror twist. Its Metroidvania structure, fluid tentacle movement and unlockable abilities make growing and devouring everything in your path the core thrill.

39 Servant of the Lake

Distinctive, stylised art style

2026 PCSteam Deck verified −33 % 7.99 € 5.35 € 2 days left 98 % positive

A new point-and-click puzzle adventure in the Rusty Lake series, expected to deliver the franchise's dark, surreal atmosphere and intricately layered puzzles. As it is a new release, this rating relies mostly on the series' established style.

40 Look Outside

Dread and tension

2025 PCPlayStationNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 9.99 € 99 % positive

You are trapped in your apartment building while the world outside breaks down, fighting mutated neighbors in turn-based combat. Ammo, supplies and your sanity must be carefully managed in a dense pixel-art horror atmosphere.

41 Bramble: The Mountain King

Distinctive, stylised art style

2023 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 29.99 € 95 % positive

A grim adventure steeped in Nordic folklore and nightmarish creatures, in which a boy tries to rescue his sister. It blends puzzles, hiding and boss encounters with an oppressive, fairy-tale atmosphere.

42 Enigma of Fear

Dread and tension

2024 PCSteam Deck playable 24.50 € 97 % positive

As paranormal detective Mia, you search for your missing father in a pixel-art horror adventure. You gather clues, solve puzzles and fend off creepy monsters.

43 Raging Loop

Strong, story-driven narrative

2015 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 29.99 € 96 % positive

A grim visual novel set in a fog-bound Japanese village, where a werewolf-style game of suspicion, logic and betrayal plays out. Its intricate, looping plot thrives on deduction and shocking twists.

44 Dredge

Lots to discover

2023 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified −50 % 39.99 € 19.99 € 12 days left 96 % positive

An atmospheric fishing adventure where you haul catches and upgrade your trawler by day while Lovecraftian dread creeps in with the night fog. Inventory-packing puzzles and eerie island stories give it a unique hook.

45 Pathologic 2

Strong, story-driven narrative

2019 PCPlayStationXboxSteam Deck verified 33.99 € 92 % positive

As the healer Artemy Burakh, you struggle through a plague-ridden steppe town against hunger, relentless time pressure and scarce resources. Every decision leaves lasting consequences, and the bleak, surreal narrative never lets you rest.

46 Rusty Lake Paradise

Puzzles and brain teasers

2018 PCSteam Deck playable 3.99 € 95 % positive

An eerie point-and-click puzzle adventure on a remote island where the ten biblical plagues torment your family. Bizarre rituals, a dark atmosphere and surreal art make it classic Rusty Lake.

47 Rusty Lake Hotel

Puzzles and brain teasers

2015 PCSteam Deck verified 1.99 € 96 % positive

A macabre point-and-click puzzle game in which you play a hotel chef serving odd guests through clever, twisted puzzles. Its surreal, eerie atmosphere and cryptic Rusty Lake lore make it stand out.

48 Lobotomy Corporation

Dread and tension

2018 PCSteam Deck playable 22.99 € 94 % positive

You run a secret company that studies dangerous anomalies, balancing employees, energy and containment. Every mistake triggers a chain of disasters, while a deep and unsettling story unfolds behind the grim corporate routine.

49 Tormentum: Dark Sorrow

Distinctive, stylised art style

2015 PCSteam Deck verified −67 % 9.90 € 3.26 € 2 days left 94 % positive

A grim point-and-click adventure where you solve puzzles as a prisoner in a nightmarish castle. Its oppressive, surreal world draws heavily on the paintings of H.R. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński.

50 Distraint 2

Strong, story-driven narrative

2018 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 8.79 € 96 % positive

A short, grim 2D narrative adventure where you guide Price through oppressive environments, solving simple puzzles while confronting guilt and purpose. Mood and psychological storytelling take priority over challenge.

51 Kindergarten

Lots of humour

2017 PCSteam Deck playable 4.99 € 97 % positive

A darkly comic, adventure-style nightmare school where you play a kid solving tasks, combining items, and manipulating classmates and teachers to survive the day. Quirky characters and multiple paths through each day give it its charm.

52 Faith

Distinctive, stylised art style

2017 PCNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 12.99 € 95 % positive

A pixel-art horror game styled after early home computers, drawing on the 1980s Satanic Panic paranoia. Its stark retro visuals and bleak mood build a tense, creepy atmosphere.

53 Hrot

Action-packed real-time combat

2023 PCSteam Deck playable 19.50 € 97 % positive

A 90s-style retro FPS set in a grim, brutalist socialist Czechoslovakia in the 1980s. Fast gunplay, key hunting and an oppressive atmosphere define the experience.

54 Iron Lung

Dread and tension

2022 PCPlayStationNintendo SwitchSteam Deck playable 7.79 € 92 % positive

You pilot a cramped submarine blindly through an ocean of blood on an alien moon, relying on coordinates, maps and photos. Its claustrophobic, oppressive atmosphere makes this short game an intense horror experience.

55 Higurashi When They Cry Hou: Ch.5 Meakashi

Strong, story-driven narrative

2017 PCSteam Deck playable 7.99 € 98 % positive

You follow a visual novel where the village of Hinamizawa slides into dread, with music, backdrops and characters pulling you deep into the story. As the scenarios unfold, you piece together the mystery behind the events.

56 Five Nights at Freddy's 4

Dread and tension

2015 PC 93 % positive

A minimalist survival horror where you play a child defending your bedroom, doors and closet from animatronics using only sound cues and a flashlight. Precise timing and steady nerves decide whether you last until 6 AM.

57 Hello Charlotte Ep.3: Childhood's End

Strong, story-driven narrative

2018 PCSteam Deck verified 3.99 € 98 % positive

The concluding chapter of the Hello Charlotte series is a short, story-driven psychological horror adventure that wraps up its tale of childhood, trauma and farewell with emotional weight.

58 Sorry We're Closed

Distinctive, stylised art style

2024 PCPlayStationXboxNintendo SwitchSteam Deck verified 23.79 € 98 % positive

A stylish first-person survival horror game about Michelle's final days, where you hide in unsettling places and fight back with a demon gun. Rich lore and multiple endings encourage replays.

59 Barotrauma

Sci-fi setting

2023 PCSteam Deck playable 34.99 € 94 % positive

You crew a submarine with friends through the icy ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa. Every task, from reactor to weapons to hull leaks, matters, and small mistakes quickly spiral into chaotic survival.

60 Five Nights at Freddy's

Dread and tension

2014 PC 93 % positive

As a night guard at a pizzeria, you fend off murderous animatronics using only security cameras, doors and a dwindling power supply. Tense resource management, infamous jump scares and cryptic hidden lore made it a cult horror phenomenon.

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