From ‘Corpse Party’ to ‘Ib’ and ‘Paranoiac,’ video games that will spook your socks off
A still from 'Mad Father' video game.
If you’re of the ilk that loves a good scare, there are different ways to experience spine-chilling terror without actually putting yourself in danger. Watching horror films, for one, or reading a scary novel or for a more visceral experience, playing a terrifying video game.
Sometimes it’s best to go back to the basics; make no mistake, 8-bit pixels are perfectly capable of being as frightening as games with realistic graphics. Here’s a list of RPG horror games that are completely free, your wallet will thank you. While a lot of them now have revamped paid editions, you just can’t beat the originals.
Developer: Kenix Soft
This game is the originator of the RPG survival horror genre. Telling scary stories in school after a cultural festival should sound like harmless fun. Too bad that supernatural forces have thrown a wrench in the works by transporting you into a cursed, abandoned schoolhouse in an alternate dimension. Can you make sure everyone makes it out alive? This is a party that does not promise a fun time.
Originally released in 1996 for the NEC PC-9801, this game has numerous remakes on various platforms. Corpse Party has spawned an anime, live-action films, light novels and a manga series. While these remakes dial the gruesome factor to a 100, there’s just something more terrifying about the original, no-frills edition.
Developer: noprops
Hiroshi and his friends decide to explore a supposedly haunted mansion on the outskirts of town. Curiosity has been known to kill cats before, but this time it might settle for something less feline. The good news is that the mansion is not haunted! The bad news is that instead of a ghost, it’s a giant blue demon that wants to play hide and seek. Keep your friends close because if the Ao Oni catches them, they’ll also transform into demons.
Ao Oni has the most memorable antagonist and chase sequences in RPG Maker horror games. The game has both, scripted and random chase sequences which will keep you on your toes. This game was very popular back in 2013, gaining a cult fan following. The fan games that exist as a result of Ao Oni range from hilarious to horrifying.
Developer: kouri
In the early afternoon, under a gray sky, a little girl named Ib visits an art gallery. But soon, she realizes something is deeply amiss. Everyone has disappeared and she’s trapped. To make matters worse, it looks like the exhibits in the gallery have a mind of their own.
This surreal and subtle horror game is rightly hailed as an RPG Maker classic. A completely unpredictable game, as every decision you make leads to a different ending.
Developer: Umami Mazu
Two amnesiacs wake up in an abandoned facility. Their resumes indicate that one is a homicidal maniac and the other is a genius psychiatrist. Handcuffed and with no choice but to work together, they navigate the building, unraveling the mysterious disease known as Zeno, and why they seem to be the only ones left alive… or are they? If nothing is as it seems and you can’t trust your mind, what or who can you really trust?
Be warned, this psychological horror game is not for the fainthearted as it comes with a whole list of trigger warnings. Like Ib, Zeno Remake has multiple endings that are influenced by the choices made by the protagonists.
Developer: Uri
Failed romance novelist Miki Takamura moves into her late aunt’s house. With pressure from her overbearing mother, her sanity tethering by a thread and her overwhelming depression, Miki believes that a change of scene will do her some good. When things go awry after her first night, Miki realizes that she may not be as alone in the house as she initially thought. Is it all in her head or is this monster real? You must be the judge.
Developer: Uri
There was once a crooked man who walked a crooked mile… When it rains, it pours. David moves into his new apartment during the all-time low of his life. Plagued by strange sounds that keep him up at night, he finds that the previous owner has left him a cryptic note. David sets off on a quest for answers… but he may not end up liking what he discovers.
This is the first of four instalments of The Strange Men series by Uri. With its eerie sound design and jump scares, you will never look at this children’s rhyme the same again.
Developer: Kona5
Rural towns with strange superstitions go together with the horror genre as well as strawberries and cream. In an unnamed rural Japanese village, the local deity Ou lends its protection in exchange for daily offerings. If a villager does not adhere to the rule either by not bringing an offering or worse, eating it, the village will be doomed. Shimoda Shimoko, a cynic, dismissing the notion, gives into her hunger and eats the offering instead. Revenge, Shimoda soon discovers is a dish best served cold. Bon appetit!
Developer: Kelven
Aaron wakes up to a world that has been ravaged by a deadly disease known as The Rot. He has no idea how he ended up in this predicament and all he has is a blank book with the seven deadly sins written on the last page. The more Aaron investigates and tries to make sense of this strange new world, the more shockingly horrifying are the discoveries he makes. This unnerving survival horror game is sure to test the limits of your psyche.
Developer: Kelven
Sandra Richmont discovers what happens to insolent teenage girls when they test their parents’ patience. Abandoned at an empty gas station, Sandra finds herself in the town of Dusty Creek. With no way of contacting her parents to apologize, she decides to spend the night in town and look for them in the morning. But Dusty Creek and its residents harbor a sinister secret.
Developer: Sen (Miscreant’s Room)
Eleven-year-old Aya Drevis lives in a remote mansion in Northern Germany with her father Alfred and his assistant Maria. On the eve of her mother’s death, at midnight, Aya hears a scream emanating from her father’s laboratory. The house, she soon discovers, is infested with zombies! Uncovering the dark truth behind her father’s experiments, Aya has some very tough decisions to make.
Developer: Buriki Clock
Ange and Bernd get lost in the forest when they go hunting. Deciding to seek shelter for the night in an old house they used to play in as children, they discover that they’re trapped inside. Angie doesn’t consider this a major problem as the house and its inhabitants seem sweet; Bernd, however, has a different idea. As the days pass by, it seems there’s something strange going on. Playing from both the characters’ perspectives, you soon discover that sometimes the sweetest cakes have the most insidious aftertaste.
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