Indie Horrors of 2014

To all of you reading, Happy New Year! I hope it has started out in the best - and scariest (in a fun media-related sense!) - possible ways for every single one of you. I decided that you were probably all far too happy and needed bringing back down. The only way I could see to do that was to create a list of some of the most promising indie horror games that will reduce most likely you to tears over the next 12 months.

*At the time of writing, I am under the impression that all of these games will be released in 2014. Some may end up being delayed, and some may not even be due this year, but I'm extremely tired and will happily cross that troll-infested bridge when I come to it. I hope you enjoy a little horror indulgence to start the year.

Among the Sleep

Krillbite Studio’s Among the Sleep was actually my very first preview on Noble Gaming, and so it certainly deserves to be on this list. Playing as a toddler is scary enough – I hear they tend to defecate all over themselves – but when your parents disappear and something akin to the boogeyman is skulking around the house, it’s just that bit more frightening. The demo alone had me hiding in cupboards and under tables, both in-game and real life, so Among the Sleep is likely to reduce many of us to the foetal position later this year.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

I’ll be honest, I actually haven’t heard much about The Astronaut’s game, yet it keeps coming back to me. For that reason alone, it will be under my watchful eyes in 2014. Here’s what I know so far: you play as a detective with supernatural abilities, able to visualise what happened at a crime scene as if it were still happening. He’s searching for a missing child, and it leads him to an idyllic mountain town – or something. If nothing else, the one trailer I’ve seen, where autumn leaves fall around an old guy and a crow, looks pretty nice.

Asylum

Asylum is the first game from the indie studio, Senscape, brought together by Augustin Cordes. Similar to Cordes’ first game, Scratches, which I happened to review and grab an interview with the mastermind behind the horror, Asylum is a first-person point-and-click adventure which is likely to be every bit as atmospheric as its predecessor. Always looking out for the best indie horrors, I have already uploaded a preview of Asylum, which you may feel inclined to check out. If you don’t, I’ll have you committed to an asylum like this, just so you know.

The Forest

The Forest http://survivetheforest.com/ only showed up on my radar a couple of days ago, when I thought I’d found what seemed like a beautifully realistic survival game. A few skulls and hostile aborigines later, and it was an indie horror that I couldn’t forget about. Imagine if Tomb Raider was a first-person game in which there were less guns, and more head-crushing rocks, and you’re starting to get the gory picture.

Stasis

Stasis first caught my attention on Kickstarter, where it soon became a fully-funded indie horror. Since then, I have managed to play the game for myself, which birthed a preview and an interview with Chris Bischoff, the developer behind what is set to be an tense point-and-click horror with a serious Dead Space vibe.

Neverending Nightmares

This unusual horror comes from the mind of Matt Gilgenbach – with a hint of disturbing author and artist, Gorey – and aims to express the inner turmoil of someone with a mental illness such as depression. Not only is it interesting because of its deeper reason for existing, but Neverending Nightmares is scary in its own right. Gore contrasts heavily with the black and white settings, and gamers can expect gruesomely confusing scenes that will make them question their sanity. What’s left of it anyway. A full preview of my time with Neverending Nightmares also exists here.

Daylight

Daylight, despite its name, is actually extremely dark, as you’ve come to expect from the horror genre. What you haven’t come to expect however, is that Zombie Studios' game is procedurally generated and will build itself anew each time you play it, scaring you in different ways from start to finish, no matter how many times you play it. All you’ll need to know is that it’s set in a mental asylum – it’s the cool place that horrors like to hang out nowadays – it's coming to PS4, and something supernatural haunts the halls.

Outlast

Red Barrels’ horror game, which is said to be one of the scariest games of 2013, may be old news to a lot of you. To those like me, however, who are waiting to play this asylum-bound experience through the next-gen beauty of the Playstation 4, 2014 is an exciting time. Early this year, Outlast is set to come to the Playstation Store as part of Playstation Plus’ Instant Collection, meaning that you’ll be scared into a straight-jacket for free – kind of. Since praise is still ringing in my ears for this game, it’s most definitely one of my most anticipated scares set for this Spring.


That's all from me for now, but are there any indie horrors that you think I've missed? If something amazingly terrifying is missing from this list, leave a comment telling me about it! Or tweet it to me over on Twitter. I aim to be the best, and if you're holding back crucial horror information, I have the right to know. Hand it over!


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