As an avid enjoyer of the horror game persuasion; I invite you to read about our interest in these next five indie horror games. My years of YouTube gameplay watching have concluded to pick Fran Brow, Outlast, Five Night’s at Freddy’s, Fears to Fathom, and Mortuary Assistant as my favorites.
Each game packs a punch when it comes to giving you an experience to get your heart rate up, while also each being creative and storytelling in their own unique ways. Indie horror provides a safe space for game fanatics who don’t want to let go of the personality and background of a game just for a quick jump-scare.
By combining the two components, these games are hard to forget- and it’s probably why they each have become cult classics for the indie horror genre in their own ways. Counting down from the most recent, to the oldest.
Mortuary Assistant (2022)
Starting off strong with the newest game in our list,
Developed by Darkstone Digital, The Mortuary Assistant is a game where you simulate playing exactly what the title entails. Your name is Rebecca, and you are hired to help assist at the River Field Mortuary.
Although you work as an assistant, you are alone in the embalming of bodies, and there is a sinister twist.
One of the bodies you are given is actually a demon! While playing and carrying out your duties of taking care of the physical bodies, you are tortured throughout the game with paranormal acts bestowed upon you.
To find out if your body is possessed, you must play close attention to markings such as scratches or rashes, listen to clues such as what the ghosts surrounding your body may say, and even face distorted realities that tell stories of where your demon may have come from.
The game mechanics make it unique. Having to multitask between doing your job and surviving demon possessed bodies, the farther you go into the game, the harder it becomes. The jump scares are also different than what you would expect.
The game plays a lot on the paranoia of the player, having entities appear in the corner of the room, but just barely on your computer screen makes it easy to not notice them appear until you’re looking straight at them.
Having lights turn off between the main room and the morgue just for nothing to happen when you turn it on. The constant rain outside makes for a loud ambient noise when your hearing senses are heightened.
Mortuary Assistant made its rounds around YouTube quickly and many people revisit it whenever the is an update. It quickly became popular due to the different route the developer took for a horror game.
There is a movie in development for this game! It is set to release in 2026 and seems to follow the game plot.
Fears to Fathom (2021)
Fears to Fathom is a game made off real life experiences people have sent in emails to the developers; Rayll. There are multiple episodes in this series, such as Carson House and Ironbark Lookout.
What starts as a somewhat comfortable, aesthetic, dark story game slowly becomes a realistic nightmare. In Ironbark Lookout for example, you play as someone with a newly found job guarding a forest. When you’re left alone, strange cultish scenarios and rituals start to play out along with themes of being stalked and hunted. How you play influences your overall outcome. The realness of the game itself and knowing it’s based on a story sent from a viewer makes it even more disturbing.
The low poly quality of the game adds to the horror aspect creating a contrast to other games who strive to have high resolution games. The sound design in the game also contributes
Fran Bow (2015)
Indie Horror but make it totally adorable is the vibe Killmonday games were going for with this now decade old indie horror classic.
Fran Bow is a ten-year-old girl figuring out what’s going on after she went through the intense murder of both of her parents. You are the player piece together the story through a point and click style mechanic. After being sent to a mental asylum, Fran gets transported to a different universe each time she pops one of her pills.
A game transcending through themes of childhood trauma and mental illness you would think could never be so cute as it is grotesque. The art style combined with the overall story as you play makes it not only addicting, but you see the effort given from the developers. You help Fran and become frightened by her visuals.
Outlast (2013)
Outlast is classic survival horror that will make you jump, scream, and challenge you more than you might ever have been by a standard indie horror. Some might not even consider this game as indie as it was thought to be when it originally came out, because it became such a watched and played game.
Made from the developers at Red Barrel, you play as Miles Upshur who is an investigative journalist that arrives at the Mount Massive asylum looking for answers, only to be met with deranged patients of the asylum.
Murkoff Corporations is the game based company Upshur is fighting against, and is the same company that is dealt with in the sequels.
Upshur only has a night vision camcorder and the ability to run and hide, you feel helpless and frightened as you are on constant watch for the next deranged patient or disturbing enemy to attack. While you’re at your most vulnerable, you get to discover and keep track of the unethical experiments that were done in this never-ending hell hole of a mental hospital.
And to be more immersed in the game, it is in first person.
The sequels came out not in chronological order to the story line, however they all connected in some way.
Outlast 2 follows Blake Langermann and his wife Lynn who investigate the murder of a Jane Doe. This plot is taking place after the events of Outlast one.
Outlast:Whistleblower follows the person who told Miles Upshur about the experiments at the asylum, Waylon Park. He is then found and tortured for discovering it. The plot takes place before and during Outlast one.
Outlast:Trinity was a combination of the previous three, just put into a bundle.
Outlast:Trials a multiplayer version of the game, you and your friends try to escape the Murkoff Corporations as you see first hand the experiments they conduct. The plot serves as a prequel to the first one, and to whistleblower, as this game is set during the Cold War.
There is confirmation from Red Barrel of a third Outlast game in development, though the release date is unknown.
Outlast often gets referred to as the one of the scariest games, alongside Amnesia and Resident Evil 7.
Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014)
Coming in at #1 for indie horror, we have the insanely iconic classic, a name that’s been heard by everyone since its release, Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Ever thought large children’s animatronics were a bit creepy and off-putting? No need to think again about this game bringing that fear to life.
Every gaming YouTuber has at some point played the first one or played through all of them. This popular game is going on its 12th game of the series, ignoring the fan made games that look identical to the original.
Play as nighttime security at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, in the place mimicking a real-life Chuck E Cheese. As a player you must strategically survive five nights- all while staying away from the iconic animatronic mascots Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. With massive lore, a giant fanbase, and more games and spinoffs coming out, as well as two movies- FNAF as a franchise is one of the largest of its kind.
The first movie started the adaptations of horror games, with Bendy and Ink Machine and Poppy Playtime following suit. It made $297 million in the box office. The games themselves have generated $100 million, making the company valued at $1 billion in 2021. It ranks in the top 5 highest grossing horror games, next to The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and Resident Evil.
