So I had decided I'd do this earlier this year. Horror games are going through a second golden age right now, but one that likely won't be fully appreciated until years down the line when people can more look back at the scene rather than the ocean of games releasing almost daily it is right now. The indie horror boom has really done a lot for the horror genre, as horror games have been indie dominated since even before the boom occurred (and some of the first big indie boom games came in the form of horror or horror-ish games like LIMBO and Amnesia: the Dark Descent). I want to bring up what's been very popular, overlooked, and very enjoyable within this last year in the indie horror scene, with a cut-off date for September 26th the previous year (so indie horrors coming out in October will be counted for next year, for those curious). Measuring from September 26th, 2016 - September 25th, 2017, maybe giving you a catalog of titles to check just in time for Halloween or October.
This will be indie focused, for example Resident Evil 7 was obviously a pretty big deal and well received game earlier this year but I think most interested in horror already will know about it. Likewise, I am focused on the PC scene more than consoles. I'll mention any console exclusive horror games worth mentioning, but not if a port of a game that released previously on PC finally came to consoles (like SOMA is coming onto Xbox One soon, but first released in 2015). I may mention certain games again in the future if they got sizable updates to experience, came out of Early Access with something worth checking out, got a port/remaster which adds new stuff worth checking out, is an episodic game which released new episodes worth checking out, released a piece of DLC worth checking out, but those will be very specific exceptions. I will be excluding demos, as there's a high tendency for demos to never turn out finished games.
There are a few games I included which aren't technically indie but were definitely created with the indie spirit, such as The Silver Case and D: The Game, which are under the cult tab. They aren't technically indie but are cult classic games that were basically the most indie the industry got back when the indie scene wasn't a very big scene at all. Or things by Devolver Digital and smaller/niche things.
There are a variety of tastes represented here, this list isn't made to be liked by everyone, but every game on this list was recommended either by me, a fellow enthusiast, or tried to contain the most popular hits of the year and only games with a Positive Review Average or higher (not that we included every positively reviewed game, but we tried not to include anything with Mostly Positive Reviews or Below with one exception which is for a good reason, which means almost everything on this list has been rated positive by at least 80% of the people who've played it).
Without further to do, here's a list of horror games worth checking out in 2017, split into several different categories and put in alphabetical order in each category.
---The Popular Hits---
Indie horror games get their own popular hits which strike it big within communities who follow indie horror games, the popular indie horror hits of the last year have been.
Bendy and the Ink Machine
You play as Henry, someone who used to work at an old animation studio who is called back by staff who work there 30 years later. The studio seems in ruin, and soon you activate an ink machine which seems to be trying to bring their mascot cartoon character, Bendy, into the real world. Meanwhile, the animation staff have formed a cult and covered their bodies in ink and Bendy masks, mad as can be. This one really blew up earlier this year, it's an episodic game with the first episode free to play. Episode 2 is out now and Episode 3 is supposed to release before September is up.
Darkwood
An exploration survival horror game from a top-down perspective, it was in development for years and finally came out this year. With fantastic atmosphere and sound design, a quiet and slow burn psychological horror element, twisted monstrosities, and an intriguing story.
Detention
This was a pleasant surprise to see blow up this year. A sidescrolling Asian horror game from Taiwan about a small school in the mountains where two students get trapped in a school while hiding out from local martial law in the 1960s. The school begins to change in a way relevant to culture from Taiwan and China, and soon the two students need to find a way to escape the horrors of the supernatural, the horror of a country gripped by tyrant, and a miserable past not helped by their current living conditions.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
Love or hate the series, it definitely found its audience, and Sister Location is the most drastically different and ambitious entry since the original game. It also may be the last one in the foreseeable future, but it's a high note to end off on if you wanted something new but interesting from the series.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
By Ninja Theory, this higher budget indie action-horror game got some attention for its production values, mental-based story, and pretty engaging combat and world. It's gotten attention for a reason.
The Long Dark
A survival game set in frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster, you must now survive of the land. With a fantastic atmosphere and some real management to survive. It's not a straight horror game, but ends up with the tag for many for how tense and survival-based it can be in the wilderness. After years of development it finally came out of Early Access not that long ago.
>observer_
By the developers of Layers of Fear comes a cyberpunk horror game. You play as an Observer, a new front line of neural police, who go into the jaded minds of psychopaths to crack cases and obtain evidence. Things only go from there, with a lot of abstractness and mindfuckery.
Outlast 2
You and your wife are investigative journalists looking into a strange cult in the American South. And things begin to spiral into a non-stop nightmare as they seem to not want you here at all. It suffers from some lack of breathing room, some trial and error, and shock value, but there's still a lot to like in the twistedness of Outlast 2, with one of my favorite bits of it being its well realized setting.
Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion: HD Renovation
An remake of a previously freeware game which is now in full 3D, includes previous DLC releases, as well as an upcoming new campaign and build-a-mansion level creator. In Spooky's you must get through 1000 rooms of horror to find whatever lies at the end in this cute-horror parody/serious game.
Stories Untold
A unique take on text & point'n'click adventure horror games, as you play through four anthology 'vhs tapes' (episodes). As you interact with various UI elements and tools around, a story unfolds. Better going in knowing as little as possible.
Tattletail
Ever found Furbies creepy? This is basically a knock-off Furby line but in a horror game setting. In Christmas of 1998 the annoying buggers came out and hit the market like a storm. A kid opened his presents early before Christmas and now his Tattletail won't shut up or go back in the box, and for being a naughty boy Mama Tattletail is coming to get him... Keep your Tattletail quiet and try to survive until Christmas morning comes.
This will be indie focused, for example Resident Evil 7 was obviously a pretty big deal and well received game earlier this year but I think most interested in horror already will know about it. Likewise, I am focused on the PC scene more than consoles. I'll mention any console exclusive horror games worth mentioning, but not if a port of a game that released previously on PC finally came to consoles (like SOMA is coming onto Xbox One soon, but first released in 2015). I may mention certain games again in the future if they got sizable updates to experience, came out of Early Access with something worth checking out, got a port/remaster which adds new stuff worth checking out, is an episodic game which released new episodes worth checking out, released a piece of DLC worth checking out, but those will be very specific exceptions. I will be excluding demos, as there's a high tendency for demos to never turn out finished games.
There are a few games I included which aren't technically indie but were definitely created with the indie spirit, such as The Silver Case and D: The Game, which are under the cult tab. They aren't technically indie but are cult classic games that were basically the most indie the industry got back when the indie scene wasn't a very big scene at all. Or things by Devolver Digital and smaller/niche things.
There are a variety of tastes represented here, this list isn't made to be liked by everyone, but every game on this list was recommended either by me, a fellow enthusiast, or tried to contain the most popular hits of the year and only games with a Positive Review Average or higher (not that we included every positively reviewed game, but we tried not to include anything with Mostly Positive Reviews or Below with one exception which is for a good reason, which means almost everything on this list has been rated positive by at least 80% of the people who've played it).
Without further to do, here's a list of horror games worth checking out in 2017, split into several different categories and put in alphabetical order in each category.
---The Popular Hits---
Indie horror games get their own popular hits which strike it big within communities who follow indie horror games, the popular indie horror hits of the last year have been.
Bendy and the Ink Machine
You play as Henry, someone who used to work at an old animation studio who is called back by staff who work there 30 years later. The studio seems in ruin, and soon you activate an ink machine which seems to be trying to bring their mascot cartoon character, Bendy, into the real world. Meanwhile, the animation staff have formed a cult and covered their bodies in ink and Bendy masks, mad as can be. This one really blew up earlier this year, it's an episodic game with the first episode free to play. Episode 2 is out now and Episode 3 is supposed to release before September is up.
Darkwood
An exploration survival horror game from a top-down perspective, it was in development for years and finally came out this year. With fantastic atmosphere and sound design, a quiet and slow burn psychological horror element, twisted monstrosities, and an intriguing story.
Detention
This was a pleasant surprise to see blow up this year. A sidescrolling Asian horror game from Taiwan about a small school in the mountains where two students get trapped in a school while hiding out from local martial law in the 1960s. The school begins to change in a way relevant to culture from Taiwan and China, and soon the two students need to find a way to escape the horrors of the supernatural, the horror of a country gripped by tyrant, and a miserable past not helped by their current living conditions.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
Love or hate the series, it definitely found its audience, and Sister Location is the most drastically different and ambitious entry since the original game. It also may be the last one in the foreseeable future, but it's a high note to end off on if you wanted something new but interesting from the series.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
By Ninja Theory, this higher budget indie action-horror game got some attention for its production values, mental-based story, and pretty engaging combat and world. It's gotten attention for a reason.
The Long Dark
A survival game set in frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster, you must now survive of the land. With a fantastic atmosphere and some real management to survive. It's not a straight horror game, but ends up with the tag for many for how tense and survival-based it can be in the wilderness. After years of development it finally came out of Early Access not that long ago.
>observer_
By the developers of Layers of Fear comes a cyberpunk horror game. You play as an Observer, a new front line of neural police, who go into the jaded minds of psychopaths to crack cases and obtain evidence. Things only go from there, with a lot of abstractness and mindfuckery.
Outlast 2
You and your wife are investigative journalists looking into a strange cult in the American South. And things begin to spiral into a non-stop nightmare as they seem to not want you here at all. It suffers from some lack of breathing room, some trial and error, and shock value, but there's still a lot to like in the twistedness of Outlast 2, with one of my favorite bits of it being its well realized setting.
Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion: HD Renovation
An remake of a previously freeware game which is now in full 3D, includes previous DLC releases, as well as an upcoming new campaign and build-a-mansion level creator. In Spooky's you must get through 1000 rooms of horror to find whatever lies at the end in this cute-horror parody/serious game.
Stories Untold
A unique take on text & point'n'click adventure horror games, as you play through four anthology 'vhs tapes' (episodes). As you interact with various UI elements and tools around, a story unfolds. Better going in knowing as little as possible.
Tattletail
Ever found Furbies creepy? This is basically a knock-off Furby line but in a horror game setting. In Christmas of 1998 the annoying buggers came out and hit the market like a storm. A kid opened his presents early before Christmas and now his Tattletail won't shut up or go back in the box, and for being a naughty boy Mama Tattletail is coming to get him... Keep your Tattletail quiet and try to survive until Christmas morning comes.
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