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The spooky season is almost upon us once again, and like clockwork, the masses (maybe just us…) are itching to play a few horror games to get in the Halloween spirit. It doesn’t matter if there are zombies, ghosts, cosmic entities, or the crushing weight of existential dread, horror is a genre that never really dies.
Sticking to the mainstream will give you one heck of a spooky experience, but if you want to dabble in the truly bizarre, then indies are where it’s really at. This list is going to go over five of the weirdest games to get the hairs on the back of your neck doing handstands. Grab a blanket, you’re going to need it.
Note: It goes without saying, but most horror games thrive on suspense, mystery, and the nebulous nature of the unknown. We are going to keep things as vague as possible to keep things fresh when you get to scaring yourself silly. Oh, and most of these games have demos and all of them are cheap as chips to pick up. What are you waiting for?
Cruelty Squad
Cruelty Squad isn’t technically a horror game, but that doesn’t stop it from making this list. Why? Because Cruelty Squad is one of the most surreal games we’ve ever played. At its core, it’s an immersive sim (think Deus Ex or System Shock), but it’s one that refuses to play by the rules.
Rocking a graphical style that only a mother can love, sound effects that tear at your psyche, and a difficulty curve tighter than a noose, Cruelty Squad gets under your skin in a way that fits the bill for this list. Not only that, but its hideous visage hides a devilishly moreish and undeniably thrilling gameplay experience that anyone with an iron stomach should check out. Your divine light has been severed, and you must now live on a flesh automaton animated by neurotransmitters. Have fun.
Iron Lung
Imagine being welded into a small metal box and forced to explore the ocean. Now imagine that the ocean is not only on an alien planet but is also made of blood. Your goal is to piece together vague navigational clues, travel blindly through the abyss and take photographs of whatever it is that is down there.
All you have to guide you is a set of coordinates, a map, and a camera. You can’t see. You can’t hear. You can’t escape. Either you manage to complete your mission, or the tomb you have been forced into will collapse under the weight of unfathomable viscera, or you are discovered by something wholly unnatural. Iron Lung is a short horror experience that is unlike anything you’ve played before – claustrophobia has never been so accurately portrayed in a game.
Nightmare Of Decay
Classic Resident Evil is a vibe that has truly been lost in this age of remakes and remasters. As good as those re-jiggs are, there is nothing quite like exploring a crudely rendered mansion. Nightmare Of Decay, whilst not attempting to recreate Resident Evil, certainly draws from it in more ways than one.
Nightmare Of Decay takes mansion-based exploration and slow-paced zombie slaying back a few decades and thrusts the whole package into first-person. Chunky graphics, crushed sound effects, and a constant strain on your resources force Nightmare Of Decay to linger in your mind long after the credits roll.
FAITH: The Unholy Trinity
There is nothing like FAITH – not any more. FAITH tells the tale of a priest who has come face to face with all manner of demons, cultists, and his own shaken faith. It is highly reminiscent of 8-bit games and draws heavily from 80’s satanic panic in a way that no other game really has.
The less we say about FAITH the better, but rest assured, this is one the best horror games to come out in quite some time. Very few games scare us nowadays, but FAITH pulled it off effortlessly. With creepy visuals, a smidge of imagination, and a soundscape that had our blood running cold, we can’t recommend this game enough.
Squirrel Stapler
This list is one part horror and one part weird. If FAITH nails the horror, then Squirrel Stapler absolutely hammers home the bizarre. You play as a hunter who has moved to ‘The Grove’. Your wife has died (cause unknown) and you’ve strung her flayed corpse up in your bedroom.
Flies have gotten in and started eating away at her exposed flesh, and you want her to look pretty. The solution? Killing squirrels and stapling them to her corpse. The downside? Squirrels are divine, God is coming, and you only have five days before your sins are laid bare. Squirrel Stapler is a low-budget hunting simulator that has collided with a deeply disturbing take on classic edutainment. You’ll get through it in an hour, and it’s an hour you won’t regret.
That’s all we have for weird horror games for now. Be sure to check out our other lists for more horror-themed content.
