Best Survival Horror Indie Games

Horror games are some of the most popular games on Steam, with games such as Amnesia, The Evil Within, and the recent Resident Evil remakes being just a few examples. Survival horror, in particular, has proven a popular genre among horror fans.

However, larger studios seem to have held the torch for many years, with most games in the survival-horror genre being household names for many horror fans. With game development becoming more accessible and indie games becoming more mainstream, more developers are exploring genres such as survival horror.

7 Endoparasitic

Steam User Rating: 93%

Endoparasitic is a somewhat minimalist indie game that takes the classic formula of survival-horror games and adds a truly unique twist to its standard gameplay loop. In Endoparasitic, players must solve simple puzzles, fight dangerous monsters, and manage limited resources all while attempting to stave off a deadly parasite.

This parasite acts as a ticking timer for the player, forcing them to seek out antidotes and inject themselves to slow it down. However, this parasite isn’t Endoparasitic’s only twist, nor is it the biggest; in the game, players take on the role of a character whose only remaining limb is a single arm. This forces the player to use their mouse to drag themselves around, meaning they can’t move when they’re using a weapon. Combined with manual reloading and a handful of intricacies this brings to the gameplay, Endoparasitic makes for a genuinely distinct survival-horror experience.

6 Nightmare Of Decay

Steam User Rating: 96%

• Platform(s): PC
• Released: 2022
• Developer(s): Checkmaty
• Genre: Survival Horror

Despite its low-budget appearance, Nightmare Of Decay is a surprisingly competent survival-horror indie game. Although it’s a perfectly serviceable game in and of itself, Nightmare Of Decay frequently pays homage and makes reference to notable games in the genre, paying service to fans of survival horror.

Similarly to the original Resident Evil, Nightmare Of Decay has players exploring a large manor packed with deadly zombies. Nightmare Of Decay also leans into its old-school influences with relatively hardcore survival-horror gameplay in which managing resources is key to success.

5 Stay Out Of The House

Steam User Rating: 95%

• Platform(s): PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch
• Released: 2022
• Developer(s): Puppet Combo
• Genre: Survival Horror

A limited inventory and an equally limited number of saves make Stay Out Of The House a particularly hardcore, old-school survival-horror game. However, it seems to combine these influences with immersive sims such as Deus Ex and first-person horror games like Amnesia.

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Stay Out Of The House features a dense, eerie atmosphere facilitated by its old-school aesthetic and unsettling character designs. The game’s immersive sim gameplay allows the player to use their limited resources in creative ways, and players will need to do this if they’re to be successful. This creates a uniquely engaging survival-horror experience in which the player needs to frequently think for themselves in order to succeed.

4 Project Zomboid

Steam User Rating: 94%

This survival-horror rogue-like features permanent death and a deeply hostile, unforgiving post-apocalyptic world. Project Zomboid is full of intricacies and complex mechanics, facilitated by its attention to detail and commitment to a deeply simulated experience.

Project Zomboid is reminiscent of hardcore, classic rogue-likes such as Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead, but offers a more streamlined and modernized approach to its systems. Like any good survival-horror experience, Project Zomboid is a game about managing resources and fighting off dangerous enemies, though it lacks the puzzles that linear survival-horror games are often associated with.

3 Crow Country

Steam User Rating: 98%

Crow Country is a love letter to early survival-horror games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, filled to the brim with old-school charm and crafted with close attention to detail. Although Crow Country is a decidedly old-school experience, it does feature a handful of modernizations that help to make it more palatable for modern audiences. The most notable of these modernizations is its entirely optional tank controls.

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Among Crow Country’s greatest strengths are its intuitive controls, dense atmosphere, and overwhelming sense of retro style. While it may not be the scariest game on the market, Crow Country is a consistently atmospheric game with classic survival horror mechanics that are sure to satiate any fan of older horror titles such as Silent Hill.

2 Darkwood

Steam User Rating: 94%

This top-down survival-horror game features a unique aesthetic and a consistently unsettling atmosphere that blends perfectly with its visuals. Darkwood is a game of resource management, exploration, and slow, methodical combat.

Darkwood’s gameplay loop hinges around a day/night cycle. In the daytime, players explore the open world and gather resources before returning to their shelter and preparing for the night. This includes everything from unlocking new skills and perks to setting up deadly traps. During the night, however, players are forced to defend their shelter from all manner of nasty creatures.

1 Signalis

Steam User Rating: 96%

Signalis is a streamlined indie title with an extensive amount of visual flair, predominantly thanks to its stylized aesthetic. Gameplay-wise, Signalis keeps close to the classic survival-horror experience, with a few subtle twists that allow it to stand out.

Signalis is most notable for its intriguing, well-written narrative and immersive, unsettling atmosphere. However, its gameplay is almost as polished as its visuals. As with any good survival-horror game, Signalis has players managing a finite number of resources as they explore claustrophobic environments, solve puzzles, and take down dangerous foes. Signalis is arguably one of the best survival horror games of recent years, offering an experience that stays true to the genre while simultaneously offering its own ideas.

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