External Discovery
122 indie games in this list, released 2012–2025, from developers such as Dynamic Pixels, kouri, Ivan Zanotti's MyMadnessWorks. Pick one to read our editorial note and jump to its store page.
These are editorial pages. The developers and publishers are not affiliated with The Gaming Nest unless explicitly stated.
By Dynamic Pixels · Russia
In the stealth horror game Hello Neighbor, players control Nicky Roth as he tries to sneak into the basement next door and uncover what his neighbor, Theodore Peterson, is hiding. The neighbor's AI adapts to earlier attempts, laying bear traps, bucket traps or cameras along routes the player has favoured. Russian studio Dynamic Pixels developed it with Unreal Engine 4, tinyBuild published it in 2017, and it grew into a wider franchise.
By kouri · Japan
Ib is an adventure horror game viewed from above, in which the title character is trapped inside an eldritch art gallery and joins forces with Garry and Mary to find a way back to the real world. It was the debut of Japanese creator kouri, first released in 2012 as freeware made in RPG Maker 2000. This commercial remake, rebuilt in RPG Maker MV with refreshed visuals, music and mechanics, came out through Playism in April 2022.
By Ivan Zanotti's MyMadnessWorks · Italy
IMSCARED is an independent horror game in which the player must outsmart two entities, White Face and HER, that reach beyond the game window to tamper with the computer itself, for example by creating files or crashing the program. It was made by Italian solo developer Ivan Zanotti using GameMaker. A tenth-anniversary remake arrived in 2022 with higher resolution, a better frame-rate and new content, and an Android port followed in 2024.
By We Create Stuff · Israel
In Sound Mind is a psychological horror game from We Create Stuff, a studio based in Israel, released on Windows in September 2021. Steam lists it under action and indie, and it belongs to the horror tradition of unsettling atmosphere and dread rather than straightforward combat. Its store publisher is Black Lantern Collective, and it holds a Metacritic score of 75. The available facts say little about its specific mechanics, so treat it as a horror title first and foremost.
By IMGN.PRO · Poland
Drawing on the real Dyatlov Pass incident of February 1959, Kholat has players retrace the route of nine students who vanished on the mountain Kholat Syakhl, a name meaning Dead Mountain in the Mansi language. It is a survival horror experience built in Unreal Engine 4 by Polish studio IMGN.PRO, which also published it. The Windows version launched in June 2015, with a Nintendo Switch release following in 2020.
By J. R. Hudepohl · New Zealand
Labyrinth of the Demon King is a survival horror game whose look deliberately recalls horror titles from the original PlayStation era. Critics highlighted its dense, eerie atmosphere, though some pointed to limits in its design. It was created by J. R. Hudepohl in New Zealand and published by Top Hat Studios in 2025. Steam lists action, adventure and role-playing elements, but its specific systems are not described in the available sources.
By Roope Tamminen · Finland
Lakeview Cabin Collection is a horror game created and self-published by Finnish developer Roope Tamminen. It follows on from his earlier free Flash title, Lakeview Cabin, released in 2013, expanding that project into a fuller commercial release. After a Steam Greenlight campaign, the collection arrived on Steam, Humble Bundle and itch.io in March 2015. Console versions for PlayStation and Xbox followed in July 2024.
By Zeekerss · United States
Lethal Company is a cooperative horror game in which players work as employees of a shadowy firm, scavenging scrap on abandoned industrial moons. Teams must avoid traps, hazards and hostile creatures while selling salvage to hit ever-rising profit targets, until an inevitable failure resets the run. It was made and self-published by Zeekerss, a developer from the United States, and entered early access on Steam in October 2023.
By KoukouStudios, Faber Interactive · Greece
Lethe – Episode One is a first-person survival horror game in which players follow Robert Dawn as he tries to recover missing pieces of his memory. Exploring an unsettling, atmospheric world drives the experience, with horror layered on top of adventure-style discovery. It was made by Greek indie developer KoukouStudios in Unreal Engine 3, published by Faber Interactive, and launched on Windows in August 2016 as the first planned chapter of a wider series.
By ProjectMoon · South Korea
Lobotomy Corporation is a horror management simulation with roguelike and strategy elements, set in a futuristic dystopia. Players oversee an energy company that extracts power from dangerous, strange entities called Abnormalities. It was developed and published by the South Korean studio Project Moon in 2018, and it later grew into a wider series that includes the deck-building sequel Library of Ruina and Limbus Company.
By Shiver Games · Finland
Lucius is a 2012 horror adventure from Finnish studio Shiver Games, released for Microsoft Windows. Players control Lucius, a six-year-old boy who is the son of Lucifer, using telekinesis and mind control to arrange fatal accidents for the residents of Dante Manor one by one. The game led to two sequels, Lucius II: The Prophecy in 2015 and Lucius III in 2018, extending the story of its unsettling young protagonist.
By Movie Games Lunarium · Poland
Movie Games Lunarium, a Polish developer, made Lust for Darkness as an erotic horror adventure first released in 2018 for Windows and macOS. Its story draws on the imagery of Giger and Beksiński as well as the writing of Lovecraft. Console versions for Switch and PlayStation 4 followed via publisher SimFabric in 2019 and 2020, and a sequel, Lust from Beyond, arrived in 2021.
By Movie Games Lunarium · Poland
Following on from Lust for Darkness, Lust from Beyond is a 2021 erotic horror game from Polish developer Movie Games Lunarium, published by Movie Games. Like its predecessor, it tells a sexually charged horror story shaped by the art of Beksiński and Giger and the fiction of Lovecraft. On Steam it is listed as an action-adventure title for Windows, and it continues the same unsettling world.
By sen · Japan
Mad Father is a survival horror game that blends role-playing and puzzle elements, following Aya, an 11-year-old who sneaks into her father's hidden laboratory to learn the terrible truth behind his research. Japanese developer Sen created it, with the original release arriving in December 2012 and a light novel adaptation in 2014. Built with Wolf RPG Editor, it reached Steam in September 2016 through Playism.
By BLOODIOUS GAMES · Argentina
MADiSON is a first-person horror game built around a cursed instant camera. Players follow Luca, a teenager who receives the camera for his sixteenth birthday, and use it to work through puzzles while piecing together the dark story behind it. Developed by the Argentine studio Bloodious Games, it began as a 2016 project with an early demo in 2017 and launched in July 2022, drawing praise for its puzzle quality and carefully balanced tension.
By sen · Japan
Misao is a horror puzzle game set inside a cursed school, where the goal is to track down six scattered pieces of a girl's body. Players explore the haunted building, solve puzzles and survive its threats while gathering each missing part. Made in Japan by Sen with Miscreant's Room, it began as freeware in 2011, reached Steam as a definitive edition in 2017 and received an HD remaster in 2024. It was built with Wolf RPG Editor and shares a universe with Mad Father.
By AIHASTO · Russia
MiSide starts out light-hearted: after installing a mobile game, the player spends time with an anime-styled virtual girlfriend through a series of mini-games. Before long, however, the story turns into a metafictional horror tale. The adventure was made by AIHASTO, a Russian indie development team, and released on Steam in December 2024 with publishing by IndieArk, and Steam also tags it with RPG and simulation.
By Wrong Organ · Sweden
Mouthwashing is a horror adventure set aboard the cargo ship Tulpar after a mysterious crash leaves its crew drifting in space with dwindling supplies. The captain survives, badly injured and unable to move or speak, and the others hold him responsible for wrecking the ship on purpose. Swedish studio Wrong Organ developed the game and Critical Reflex published it in 2024, and it earned wide praise for its storytelling and distinctive visual style.
By Hidden Fields · Switzerland
Mundaun is a first-person horror adventure in which the player works their way toward a mountain summit, solving puzzles and fending off hostile figures along the way. Its hand-drawn, sketchbook-style visuals won praise, though some puzzles were considered obscure, and most dialogue is spoken in Romansh. Swiss developer Hidden Fields created it, and it launched in March 2021 on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with a Metacritic score of 72.
By Zeenoh, 7 Seals · Philippines
Nightfall: Escape is a survival horror game from Zeenoh Inc., a Filipino company, released as a full game for Windows, macOS and Linux in 2016. You play Ara Cruz, a field journalist sent to look into an old mansion tied to a string of disappearances. Critics were mixed overall but singled out its storytelling and unusual monsters, and it received a Most Outstanding Narrative Story award at a 2015 event backed by the Philippines' Department of Information and Communications Technology.
By Marevo Collective · Ukraine
Released in 2020, No One Lives Under the Lighthouse offers a horror adventure made by Marevo Collective, a studio from Ukraine. It combines exploration-led adventure play with an unsettling, horror-driven tone. The Director's Cut edition is available on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux. Public sources say little about its specific mechanics, so it is best approached as a compact atmospheric adventure from the Ukrainian indie scene.
By Beeswax Games · Belgium
No Players Online is a short horror game with PS1-inspired visuals, originally made in 2019 for a Haunted PS1 Jam and later expanded into a full release on Steam and Itch.io in November 2025. The original version grew into an alternate reality game with cryptic messages and hidden passcodes, which players cracked together on Discord. It was created by Belgian developers Adam Pype and Tibau Van den Broeck with German sound designer Viktor Kraus, and critics praised its atmosphere and nostalgic tone.
By Trioskaz · Russia
During a solar catastrophe that has pushed humanity into a nocturnal existence, No, I'm Not a Human keeps players locked indoors by day and answering the door by night. Each person asking for shelter must be questioned to judge whether they are human or a hostile Visitor, with new detection methods revealed daily and several possible endings. Russian studio Trioskaz developed this first-person horror game, released by Critical Reflex in September 2025.
By OMOCAT, LLC · United States
OMORI follows Sunny, a withdrawn teenager, and Omori, his alter ego inside a strange dream world, with play alternating between Faraway Town and the dreamscape. Turn-based fights use emotion-driven status effects, and player choices steer toward one of several endings. Heavy themes of anxiety, depression and trauma give it a psychological horror edge. It was made by indie studio Omocat in the United States using RPG Maker MV and released in December 2020.