Like their predecessors and inspirations of Outlast, Silent Hill and more, here are some upcoming indie games that are sure to scare up a good time upon release.
The Outlast Trials
The long-awaited fourth installment in the Outlast series, Outlast Trials, revives the truly terrifying games that – per developer Red Barrel’s motto – “leave the player’s blood running cold.” But unlike previous games in the saga, this one has co-op options.
Trials is set in the Cold War, with players being experimented on to test new methods of mind control with the same characteristically haunting visuals, soundtrack and first-person POV. Instead of facing sledgehammer-wielding enemies alone, now the player can work with friends to discover the facility’s secrets and, hopefully, live to tell the tale.
Heartworm
Heartworm is a love letter to its psychological, story-driven horror game predecessors like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Sam, the protagonist, finds her friend’s abandoned tape and is taken to an eerie world full of retro graphics and a creepy soundtrack. As she explores this fixed-camera-angle world, she has a lot to uncover. For anyone searching for a throwback horror game, this is the answer.
Signalis
Also inspired by Silent Hill, Signalis is a survivor-horror game that blends dreams with reality. Join the protagonist as she searches for her crew, crash-landed on a strange planet, and experiences surreal flashbacks to a past that she doesn’t remember. To advance and uncover the mystery, the player has to crack codes and complete puzzles.
While there are combat elements, ammunition is scarce – choosing to fight terrifying enemies or run from them adds another engaging element to this game.
Choo Choo Charles
What better way to fight a demonic spider-train than with a souped-up, machine gun-clad train of one’s own? Choo Choo Charles is a survival indie game set on an island terrorized by Charles – a cross between Thomas the Tank Engine and Pennywise. On this quest to eliminate him, stock up on supplies and outfit a train with the help of friendly villagers.
This game is a perfect mix of strategy, skill and scares – to master it and explore the island, just remember: “Charles is hungry. Don’t be his next meal.”
Sons of the Forest
Sons of the Forest is the sequel to Endnight Studio’s The Forest. Both are horror games that take the survival, building and mining aspects of Minecraft and add formidable foes. Not only are the graphics stunning and realistic, but the carefully crafted shadows make the environment even spookier. When the enemies finally do reveal themselves, they’re frightening, to say the least. While the first game was terrifying on its own, Sons of the Forest promises to take it up another notch.
Matthew has been a lifelong lover of video games since he could first hold a controller, and among his favorites are narrative-heavy, singleplayer games like; Divinity: Original Sin 2, Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Hollow Knight. Matthew also plays tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and Call of Cthulu. He graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s in Sociology and minored in English.
