Top 5 Best Scary Indie Games to Play This Halloween

SOMA

Set deep beneath the waves of the Atlantic ocean, SOMA takes places to an underwater facility in search of finding out what really went on down there. Oh, and did we mention you’re not alone in this poorly-lit hellhole deep below the waves?

That’s right, not only will you have the facility’s AI making things a lot more difficult for you, but there’s also messed up humans, freakish creatures, and bloodthirsty robots to take care of. However, what makes SOMA so scary is that each encounter with an enemy can’t be resolved simply by hitting buttons and hoping for the best. You have no weapon, and you must outsmart your enemies in order to survive. Well, that, or you go sprinting in the opposite direction and hide.

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Animatronics, depending on how you look at them, are either cute or unnervingly terrifying. Unfortunately, your experience with the furry robots in Five Nights at Freddy’s is one that resonates more with the latter instead. Working as a late-night technician, you’ll have to deal with the animatronics at Freddy’s pizzeria as they try and creep up on you to brutally murder you. At least, that’s the premise of the first game in the series.

There’s a whole bunch of games later on in the series if the survival horror game takes your fancy. Each game is full of jump scares and that uncomfortable feeling you get when you’re just waiting for it to come. If you’re new to the series, you should check out the first one. However, for those long-time fans of the series, the latest title, Sister Location, sees the horror continue at a new location.

Slender

One of the few scary indie games to really break out in recent years was Slender, a game about collecting eight pages in a dark forest area with nothing but a flashlight to help you on your way. Unfortunately for you, Slenderman is watching, and each page you pick up from around the forest will only make him hunt you down more aggressively.

Slender isn’t just a game about jump scares, it’s one where you’re being hunted down by an AI with unworldly powers and the ability to terrify you by just staring at you from the shadowy distance. Oh, and you’ll need to conserve the batteries in your flashlight too. They’ll run out pretty quickly and that’s the last thing you want when the chase really begins to pick up. If you’re looking for a fun horror game to play with your friends then Slender is definitely worth checking out.

Penumbra: Overture

Though its visuals may look a little dated nine years following its release, Penumbra: Overture remains one of the scariest indie games you can play to date. Rather than over the top violence and gore, Overture instead tasks players with surviving in a hostile world and problem solving to keep them out of the way of danger.

The action focuses largely on physics-based puzzles and environmental interaction as you make your way through an abandoned mine in the uninhabited area of northern Greenland. It’s a lonely venture down into the depths of the mine, and it holds plenty of secrets to make things even worse. It’s not your typical horror experience, but it’s definitely one to consider if you’re looking for something different from the norm.

Amnesia: Dark Descent

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a chilling experience that delves into the genre of psychological horror. You awaken having forgotten all of your memories except for the underlying feeling of being hunted. Following this instinct, you’ll have to navigate narrow corridors and the fears both around you and within your character.

Much like SOMA, The Dark Descent doesn’t simply hand players the means of defeating the monsters that lurk in wait for you to show up. Instead, players must hide, run away, or outsmart their enemies in order to ensure they reach the end of the story alive. However, in order to make things even more difficult, staying in the darkness for too long will see you losing your sanity. You’ll have to find the right balance of having to hide in the dark with maintaining your sanity or you won’t escape the nightmare.

What are your favorite indie horror games? Share them down in the comments below.