Lor Gislason
2020 was a great year for horror games big and small. We had the Resident Evil 3 remake, the Lovecraftian Metroidvania Carrion, the followup to the highly successful Doom reboot, Doom Eternal, retro J-Horror inspired World of Horror…The list goes on and on! It’s a great time to be a fan of the genre, with seemingly no end in sight to grisly and monstrous tales to be told. So let’s take a look at some Horror Indie Games that have a release date in 2021! As always, dates can change or games delayed for many reasons so keep this in mind. If you like a game, consider adding it to your wishlist on Steam or following the developers!
Sunshine Manor
A prequel to the game Camp Sunshine, Sunshine Manor had a successful Kickstarter and plans to be bigger, better, and even more blood-soaked than its predecessor. Featuring puzzles, a retro-inspired soundtrack, and cat and mouse style gameplay while you evade demons in a haunted manor, it sounds like a great time! There’s also a Free to Play prologue for Manor available right now!
Sunshine Manor will be available in just in time for Halloween 2021.
Conscript
Unfortunately I missed out on backing this one on Kickstarter, but I’m happy it met the funding goal! You play as a French soldier in the trenches during WWI, fighting to survive against enemy units and ‘disturbing psychological manifestations’. In comparison to WWII, I think the so called Great War is an underutilized setting in horror games. I particularly like the original Fallout style of graphics and there’s apparently multiple scenarios to add a bit of replayability.
Conscript will be available in 2021.
Buddy Simulator 1984
Horror comes in every form, and that includes an old-school text based computer buddy! Meet Buddy Simulator 1984, the newest technology to meet all your fun filled needs. Tell him your favourite colour and he’ll be sure to remember it. Don’t you want to play a game with your Buddy? There’s a free demo right now if you want to get a taste for yourself before the full game drops.
Buddy Simulator 1984 will be available on January 14th, 2021.
Lamentum
Lamentum is a pixel arty survival horror set in the backdrop of 19th century New England. Travel to a mysterious manor to find a cure for your beloved and encounter all types of gruesome creatures. Inspired by classics of the genre and the Lovecraft mythos. Use guns and melee weapons like knives and axes to defend yourself or hide when the danger is too great. The bosses of each area, called Custodians, have some interesting designs and I’m looking forward to exploring this world.
Lamemtum will be available in 2021.
Dap
Perhaps a more lighthearted take on horror in comparison to the other entries on this list, but Dap still has an eerie feel to its gigantic forest. Collect ghostly critters called Daps to help you in your quest to thwart an alien infection to the woods, reminicint of Lemmings or Pikmin. There’s a dreamlike quality to it all–but maybe this dream is becoming a nightmare.
Dap will be available in March 2021.
Inscryption
From the creator of corrupted adventure horror Pony Island, Inscryption first came to life as part of a game jam and is now being expanded into a full game. Part deck builder, part escape room and psychological horror all rolled up into one beautifully disturbing package. The glowing eyes peering at you from across the table while you make literal life and death decisions in your card game…It’s going to be glorious.
Inscryption will be available in 2021.
Mundaun
I can’t say I know of many games, let along horror games, set in the Alps. Hand-penciled with a storybook sepia tone, Mundaun tasks you with finding out the dark secrets behind your grandfather’s death as you venture across meadows and snowy peaks. A fear system will hinder your movement if things get too scary, and there will be puzzles to solve and secrets to discover.
Mundaun will be available in Spring 2021.
Incantamentum
Say that 5 times fast! Incantamentum is a point and click folk horror adventure in Victorian England. After receiving a mysterious letter you arrive at a town that seems to hide even more mysterious secrets you’ll have to uncover. The pixel style here is stunning, with fluid animations and detailed backgrounds. Developers Cloak and Dagger Games have made several titles in this style that I need to check out as well!
Incantamentum will be available in Q1/Q2 2021.
Death Trash
Mad Max meets cosmic horror in Death Trash (I love that name). Created by a single dev over years, it’ll be combining old school style with modern gameplay and decision making in a messed up way, with locations like the ‘Puke Bar’ and abominations such as the ‘Fleshkraken’ being highlights. The drop in drop out co-op is intriguing, with separate stats and inventories but shared quest progress. Curious how this will turn out!
Death Trash will be available in 2021.
Source of Madness
The Lovecraft inspirations continue directly in Source of Madness, a rouge lite with monsters created by neural networks and machine learning AI. Magic based combat will be your solace against the harsh world outside, with the ability to upgrade spells and other abilities. I love these type of stories where humans are the minority, almost wiped out while the world turns to cosmic beings and other lifeforms instead.
Source of Madness will be available in 2021.
Are there any horror games you’re looking forward to in the upcoming months? Maybe one I missed? Let me know!
