If you’re one to keep up with all the biggest horror games and you’re looking for something a bit more under-the-radar, here’s a rundown of some choice indie horror games I’ve enjoyed this year. They didn’t wait till spooky season to debut, but if you’ve not played them yet, they’ll still make great picks for when the sun goes down.
Luto[1] finally debuted and arguably out-Kojima-ed[2] his own similar work, P.T., giving players a strange haunted house story that goes places you can’t possibly see coming.
Pigface[3] is a grimy horror-action hybrid akin to Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade that will leave you feeling yucky, but uncomfortably satisfied.
No, I’m Not a Human[4] imagines something like Papers, Please in a world of creepy monsters disguised as humans, and it’s up to you not to give the impostors entry. As if a knock on my door wasn’t unnerving enough as it is.
Heartworm[5] is a love letter to PS1-style horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Where many retro-style horror games look to the PS2 era, Heartworm went back even further and built out a killer soundtrack to keep you there in spirit.
White Knuckle[6] is a game I previewed earlier this year. Like Pigface, it’s far from a traditional horror game. Instead, it’s essentially a climbing sim, only you’re trapped in a dystopian facility that would seem to want you dead.
Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days[7] is basically 2.5D State of Decay. For some who may feel like I do, that’s enough said. This is a tough and immersive zombie sim that expects you to die.
The Night Shift[8] is an isolating horror story that drops you into a department store alone in a storm with entities that move only when you’re not looking at them. It taps into one of horror gaming’s most effective feelings: that someone, or something, is right on your heels.
Dead Take[9] is a partially live-action horror story about being an actor, and if that doesn’t seem like you could relate, it does well to put you into the mind of its main character, thanks to some terrific acting and a harrowing story.
Eclipsium[10] is a cosmic horror with a retro look that left me chewing on what it all meant. It plays like a fever dream, and though it’s not scary in the traditional sense, the short but trippy game is evocative and nightmarish.
Of course, we couldn’t leave off the many notable Lethal Company[11]-likes that have debuted in 2025. This year has seen a slew of co-op horror games that send you to explore creepy places together, all stemming from the late-2024 rise of Lethal Company. Your favorite may depend on your preferred setting, visual style, or maybe just where your pals gravitate. Darkwater[12] sends you and your buddies to operate and repair a submarine; R.E.P.O.[13] sends you into haunted houses to collect scrap to sell; The Headliners[14] casts you as a photojournalist during a Cloverfield-like alien attack.
Each of these is a ton of fun, and you really can’t go wrong playing any of them. For my money, R.E.P.O. is the best of them, but they all scratch slightly different itches, and I find myself returning to all of them (and Lethal Company) at different times.
References
- ^ Luto (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ out-Kojima-ed (www.youtube.com)
- ^ Pigface (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ No, I’m Not a Human (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ Heartworm (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ White Knuckle (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ Into The Dead: Our Darkest Days (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ The Night Shift (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ Dead Take (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ Eclipsium (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ Lethal Company (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ Darkwater (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ R.E.P.O. (store.steampowered.com)
- ^ The Headliners (store.steampowered.com)