16 Indie Horror Games To Pick Up During The Steam Halloween Sale
4) Lobotomy Corporation: Monster Management Simulation – $16.74
Lobotomy Corporation is the final act of The Cabin in the Woods in videogame form. Or if you prefer, it’s an SCP simulator. Either way, Lobotomy Corporation is a management simulator for horror fans. It mixes the ghastly task of containing horrific monsters with the mundanity of an office job. Your task is to contain these horrible creatures. You’ll have to research and experiment with different methods of containment to find the right fit. But be wary, as any kind of fuck-up can quickly cascade into a tidal wave of violence. It’s wonderfully tense and chaotic, and wildly different from other horror games.
3) The Town of Light – $2.84
I’m pretty well on the record about not liking artsy games about mental disorders just because they are artsy games about mental disorders. I’m okay with minimal gameplay, but if that’s the case the game has to really impress me. The Town of Light is a game I thought I would hate. When you play as a lost girl walking through the ruins of an abandoned mental asylum, you know what you’re going to get. However, The Town of Light has no monsters or spirits stalking the halls. The horror is left to real recreations of practices and conditions in a 1930’s mental institution. For that alone, it’s something special. By the end of The Town of Light, I was in tears. It’s a game that reminds us that you don’t need to invent monsters to scare you. You don’t even need to look very far.
2) Fran Bow – $7.49
I actually wasn’t going to include Fran Bow on the list, as it made the rounds a while back as being one of those “indie game must-haves.” In my brain, everyone has already heard about, bought, played through, loved, and written a 3-5 page article on Fran Bow. But I guess I live in a bubble, as I found that none of the people in the coffee shop I forced to be part of my focus group had heard of it. Fran Bow is one of those adventure games that’s not only good, it manages to shift conversation about the genre. People thought it would be the start of a great new era of adventure games. And it kind of did. Except great isn’t the word I’d use for it. Fran Bow still serves as a shining example of what you can make with sheer imagination and a fantastic artist.
1) Penumbra: Collectors Pack – $1.49
At this point, everyone in the world has heard of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. But little did you know, they actually had a whole series of games before that. Penumbra was a series way ahead of its time. It pioneered the click-and-drag interactivity that has now become a hallmark of the horror genre. Sure, it’s rough around the edges. Swinging your pickax to fight spiders feels pretty lame. But the actual story and world more than make up for it. The collectors pack comes with three games (it looks like two, but the Requiem expansion is basically episode 3), and you can also download fan-made Penumbra: Necrologue for even more content. It’s pretty dated now, but a wonderful example of how a great idea can shine through a low budget and technical limitations. For $1.49, it’s hard to find a better deal.
And with that, my list has come to a close. That’s 16 great games for just $94.99. That’s less than the cost of a $100 bill. I think, I didn’t verify that claim with the bank. I wish I could go forever, but I am just one man and you have but two eyes to read my content with. So what did you think? any of your favorites make the list? Did I miss your favorite game? Let me know in the comments!
