By My Nguyen
When you think of Indie horror games the first thing that comes to your mind would be Five Nights at Freddy (Fnaf), Doki Doki Literature Club, Little Nightmare, Bendy in the Ink Machine and many more. To me, some of the games that were mentioned (especially Fnaf!) were the foundation that exposed me to the Indie horror game genre. However, when I first got introduced to them I was a bit hesitant to play since some of them were literally scary to me. Like no joke, Fnaf literally traumatized me and now I have trust issues with teddy bear plushies… But as I grew older I acquired some “taste” for the genre and I think I’m qualified enough to recommend my top 3 games for the beginner who’s a bit scared of horror games but still wants to tackle it!
Among the Sleep is my first recommendation since it is an interesting game that you can complete in one day. Among the Sleep is a first-person, psychological horror game where the player plays as a two-year-old child. It’s developed and published by Krillbite Studio.
The story follows you being suddenly awakened one night and finding the house completely dark and empty. As you start searching for your mother, you find a teddy bear that warns you that everyone is not all right and that it is you who must investigate what is going on. In my opinion, it is a fun little game that you can play in a few hours when you're bored; it’s really engaging and you can explore the area around you and search for the lost “memories”. Furthermore, the ending was interesting as you were able to understand the whole story and the conflict of the game Among the Sleep. Therefore, I highly recommend playing the game as it is interesting and keeps you highly entertained!
Children of Silentown:
Singing a different tune is my second recommendation since it does have a spooky element to the gameplay and style, but for me, it is not that scary to be terrified of it. The game is a story-driven, point-and-click adventure game developed by Elf Games and Luna2 Studio and published by Daedalic Entertainment. The story follows Lucy, one of the wide-eyed children who live in Silentown, a village nestled within a forest inhabited by monsters. Lucy's curiosity led her to learn more about the monster of the forest and unravel the truth behind Silentstown’s frequent disappearances. Personally, the highlight of the game is truly the storytelling aspect as it is engaging and you truly become excited for every chapter. Additionally, the puzzle part of the game was interesting and challenging but suitable for everyone to play. So then, you should definitely give this game a try during your Halloween night.
Finally, the game that I would recommend for some people who are looking for a medium challenge is Amanda the Adventurer. To be honest I’m still kind of scared of Amanda but it is still a good game that everyone should try. Amanda the Adventurer story follows Riley, who is tasked with visiting her late Aunt’s attic after she sends a mysterious letter. When she arrived she found a set of old VHS tapes of a cartoon show named “Amanda the Adventurer '', which then she watched and discovered a mystery behind Aunt Kate’s disappearance and weird stuff seen on the tape. Amanda the Adventurer is a first-person horror from Dread XP, developed by MANGLEDmaw Games. So, it was scary, to be honest, the game gave me this unsettling feeling every time I started watching a new old tape. Like something unsettling would happen instantly but also it was an interesting game that I would recommend playing the game. However, there will be jumpscare and some scary scenes in the game, but I still highly recommend playing it!
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