10 Indie Games to Play This Halloween Season
Unleash your Halloween 2025 chills with these 10 indie horror and spooky-cozy games, delivering a mix of bone-rattling scares and autumnal vibes perfect for late-night gaming under a harvest moon.
October’s eerie embrace calls for indie gems that dive deep into the season’s spirit—whether it’s heart-stopping terror in cursed corridors or the unsettling rustle of fall leaves in haunted hamlets. This curated list of 2024–2025 releases unearths obscure treasures from the indie scene, blending pulse-pounding horror with just enough cozy charm to keep you hooked. From cosmic dread to folkloric frights, these games are built for Halloween marathons, offering fresh narratives and innovative gameplay that linger like a ghost’s whisper. Dim the lights and dive in.
Here’s the TL;DR...
Scream or Shiver: Six hardcore horror titles for thrill-seekers, four cozy-spooky picks for fall feels.
Hidden Gems: All 2024–2025 releases, spotlighting under-the-radar indies over mainstream hits.
Gameplay Range: Quick 2–5 hour terrors for one-night spooks, 10–15 hour sagas for deep dives.
Wallet-Friendly: Prices from free demos to $19.99, with Steam sales slashing costs for Halloween hauls.
Seasonal Scares: Themes of isolation, folklore, and cursed harvests tailored for All Hallows’ Eve.
1. Mouthwashing (2024) – Corporate Collapse in Cosmic Horror
Wrong Organ’s Mouthwashing traps you aboard the derelict Tulpar freighter, where a botched delivery spirals into body-horror madness. Play as five crew members navigating non-linear flashbacks, juggling dialogue choices, zero-gravity puzzles, and PS1-style exploration. The decaying ship’s flickering halls hide grotesque mutations, blending Dead Space’s dread with The Thing’s paranoia.
The plot skewers capitalist greed: a captain’s hubris triggers an eldritch unraveling, forcing survivors to face guilt-warped realities. At 3–5 hours, its branching paths demand replays. Priced at $12.99 on Steam with 96% positive reviews, it’s a 2024 Game of the Year contender. “A gut-punch of psychological terror,” raves dev Anya Martin. Perfect for Halloween’s claustrophobic chills.
2. Conscript (2024) – WWI Trenches Turn Nightmarish
Catchweight Studio’s Conscript is a pixelated survival horror set in 1916 Verdun’s blood-soaked trenches. As French soldier Pierre, scour for your lost brother amid fixed-camera terror: manage scarce ammo, solve bunker puzzles, and battle infected soldiers crawling from craters. It’s Resident Evil in a war-torn hellscape.
The story fuses historical trauma with supernatural dread—whispers of “the devil’s work” blur shellshock and curses, ending in a brutal brotherly reveal. 6–8 hours with multiple endings, it’s $14.99 on Steam (free demo available). “War’s horror amplified by the uncanny,” says lead dev Jordan Mochi. A Halloween must for grim, grounded scares.
3. We Harvest Shadows (2025) – Farming Sim Meets Folkloric Fear
Hollow Hound’s We Harvest Shadows twists Stardew Valley into Appalachian horror. By day, tend crops in Whispering Hollow; by night, evade forest spirits drawn to your lantern. Gameplay splits cozy farming—grow herbs, build wards—with stealthy dusk hunts against haints mimicking kin. It’s survival wrapped in autumnal fog.
The narrative unearths a family curse via journals and elder tales, with skinwalkers stalking your harvest. While it’s currently only available as a demo, it’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat throughout your entire farming journey.
4. Little Goody Two Shoes (2024) – Witchy Romance with Lethal Stakes
Astralis’ Little Goody Two Shoes is an RPG Maker gem where Elise, a 1700s villager, balances shoemaking and occult pacts. Gameplay mixes Persona-style social links—court suitors with gifts—and minigames for spell-crafting, set to chiptune folk. Moonlit woods hide beasts that punish sloppy choices.
The plot turns quaint village life into a Grimm nightmare: forbidden tomes spark witch hunts, with endings tied to betrayals. 8–12 hours, replayable for true endings, it’s $14.99 on Steam with 90% acclaim. “Charmingly cruel,” says director Lena Voss. Halloween’s blend of cozy and cutthroat.
5. The Lacerator (2024) – VHS Slasher in a Cursed Suburb
MoonBalls Studios’ The Lacerator is a PS1-inspired survival horror where you’re a camcorder-wielding teen exposing a masked killer in a ’90s suburb. Fixed-camera gameplay channels Silent Hill: scavenge film rolls for clues, solve tape-based puzzles, and evade the slasher through VHS-glitched alleys. Battery and health management heighten the dread.
The story unfolds via found footage: your quest to unmask the killer reveals a cursed prom night massacre, blending slasher tropes with cosmic horror. 5–7 hours with multiple endings, it’s $14.99 on Steam (free demo out). “Low-fi terror that cuts deep,” says dev Jamie Harrow. Halloween’s retro nightmare.
6. Heartworm (2025) – Childhood Trauma in Retro Philly
Vincent Adinolfi’s Heartworm transforms 1990s Philadelphia into a PS1-style horror maze. As teen Sam, chase spectral memories of abuse through rain-slicked alleys. Tank controls meet light crafting: scavenge relics for sanity, evade shape-shifting regrets, and solve memory puzzles. It’s raw, intimate dread.
The narrative digs into personal trauma, blending therapy sessions with hallucinatory chases. 5–7 hours with forgiving endings, it’s $14.99 on Steam (summer 2025). “Haunts you like a buried secret,” Adinolfi reflects. Halloween’s cathartic scare for brave souls.
7. Tiny Bookshop (2025) – Ghostly Reads in Coastal Cornwall
neoludic games’ Tiny Bookshop (published by Skystone Games) idles you as a cliff-perched curator, alphabetizing arcana that beckon phantom readers. Management loops shelve rarities and steep tisanes by day, unraveling inscription enigmas and exorcising fog-phantoms come eve—Unpacking’s calm laced with Oxenfree’s susurrus.Patron logs birth vignettes: mariner codices dredge submerged shades, spinster scrolls rouse rapping unrests. 12-15 hours bloom with tide-tied events; $14.99 on Steam, 96% positive post-August 7 launch. Devs evoke “tales that mist over you.” Cozy-spooky nook for rainy Halloween reads.
8. Crow Country (2024) – Abandoned Rides Hide Theme Park Terrors
SFB Games’ Crow Country dispatches you as Mara Forrest to her dad’s shuttered 1990s amusement empire, probing vanishings amid cotton-candy decay. Fixed-camera survival apes Resident Evil: tank through riddle-riddled attractions, keyhunt via mini-games, and skirmish sanitized horrors with sparse ammo.
Eerie idyll fractures into corporate occultism—mascot malfunctions unveil eldritch underbellies, unraveling paternal enigmas. 5–7 hours of nostalgic navigation; $19.99 on Steam, 97% Very Positive, with glowing reviews for its “cozy-yet-chilling retro homage.” As critics note, it’s survival horror reborn. Carnival carnage for Halloween’s twisted nostalgia.
9. Wytchwood (2022/2024 Expanded) – Crone’s Cauldron of Cursed Crafts
Alientrap’s Wytchwood, refreshed for 2024, casts you as a witch brewing potions in autumnal woods. Forage reagents, haggle with goblins, and curse crows in a sandbox of spellcraft and quests—sew mandrake screams or harvest giant toes. It’s cozy chaos with spooky whimsy.
Fables drive the story: curse bakers or hex rivals, all in hand-drawn fall splendor. 10–15 hours with an “eternal fall” mode, it’s $14.99 on Steam. “Witchcraft with heart,” says dev Alisa Murray. Halloween’s perfect brew of charm and chill.
10. FBC: Firebreak (2025) – Co-op Chaos in a Paranormal Agency
Remedy’s FBC: Firebreak is a three-player co-op shooter set in the Control universe, where you’re Federal Bureau of Control agents battling Hiss-infested labs. Fast-paced gunplay—blast possessed vending machines, wield telekinetic shields—meets randomized objectives for chaotic replays. It’s Left 4 Dead with supernatural swagger.
The narrative’s light but creepy: contain outbreaks in a shifting Oldest House, with lore logs hinting at director Jesse Faden’s fate. 8–10 hours, it’s $39.99 on Steam/PS5/Xbox. “A wild, weird ride,” says dev Sam Lake. Halloween’s co-op screamfest for squad scares.
These indies prove Halloween thrives in the shadows—obscure, innovative, and dripping with seasonal dread or delight. From cosmic cults to cursed harvests, they’re your ticket to unforgettable nights. Light a jack-o’-lantern and play; the dark’s calling.
Hat Tips
Best Indie Horror Games 2025 – https://www.techradar.com/best/best-indie-horror-games
27 Best Horror Games To Play In The Dark In 2025 – https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/best-horror-games/2900-4900/
15 Best New Indie Horror Games In 2024 – https://eip.gg/news/best-indie-horror-2024/
13 Cozy Games We’re Most Excited For Coming In 2025 – https://www.comfycozygaming.com/2024/12/31/13-cozy-games-2025/
Must-Play Indie Horror Games From PAX West 2024 – https://noisypixel.net/must-play-indie-horror-games-pax-west-2024/
FBC: Firebreak Preview – Control’s Co-op Chaos – https://www.ign.com/articles/fbc-firebreak-preview-controls-co-op-chaos
Best Horror Games of 2024/2025 – https://www.gamingdebugged.com/2025/07/23/best-horror-games-of-2024-2025/