‘Tis the season for horror video game showcases. And for indie developers, 靄Moya Horror and HauntedPS1’s EEK3 2023 was the place to be, showing off new and upcoming titles from the smaller but incredibly passionate crowd. Here’s a sampling of the games that made an appearance during the two-hour event.
Wrong Organ’s Mouthwashing is a narrative driven first-person horror game following the dying crew of a shipwrecked space freighter Tulpar. Slated for release on Steam later this year, the game has you living out the remaining time of the five-person crew. The ship will run out of power within six months, but food rations are running even lower. With no chance of rescue, the only hope lies in the cargo hold, as the contents could mean a prolonged chance of survival. However, the crew is prohibited from going in there under company orders…
Tower of Tears by xena-spectrale is currently in development via the team’s Patreon, and feels like a weird take on Animal Crossing with its graphics. Only instead of being in a village, you’re ascending a tower that’s filled with bizarre creatures and a pervasive feeling of unease, thanks to the music and eerie surroundings.
Out now on Steam, PuKo’s Canine is pretty simple in its premise: You are a boy who’s looking for his dog Tomy, who’s been kidnapped by an evil corporation that runs experiments with pets. Armed only with Tomy’s ball, you must rely on stealth to avoid the humanoid dog creature that pursues you. Or, better yet, use the ball to distract the creature. Fans of Alien: Isolation and Silent Hill should check this one out.
Fresh from their appearance on the latest episode of The Horror Game Awards’ “Talking Horror” podcast, Malformation Game’ Ground Zero is a Survival Horror title that sees players fight through post-apocalyptic Busan, South Korea. You’ve been sent to investigate what happened after a meteor struck the city two months earlier, and while you’re there, you’ll be having to fight off the mutated creatures that have resulted from the disaster. Ground Zero also includes puzzle-solving, as well as an upgrade system for your gear. The better at fighting, the more points you earn to trade in for better equipment.
You’re a fan of Iron Lung, but want more of a shooting aspect to the gameplay? Then Agelvik’s Death in Abyss will scratch that itch. You must pilot your ship and destroy the cosmic horrors in the underwater deep. The game can currently be wishlisted on Steam.
Refugium Games’ The Greyhill Incident also made an appearance during the event. Despite being out for several months now on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, it’s still one of our go-to games when it comes to battling back an alien invasion. You can also pick up a physical edition of the game on the PS5, if you’re a connoisseur of the physical media type.
Strange Shift Studio’s trailer for their upcoming title Chasing The Unseen gives off Shadow of the Colossus vibes, in that you’ll be climbing up huge otherworldly creatures. It’s not as focused on scares, but more on exploration of a surreal world and its inhabitants, as you play as a boy who must find what he is seeking. Vague? Sure. An excuse to check out the demo on Steam? Definitely.
While Tower of Tears only had a passing resemblance to Animal Crossing Harvest Festival 64 by Warkus leans fully into the concept. Initially created for the 52nd Ludum Dare Game Jam, Harvest Festival 64 is currently available on itch.io, and sees you joining a village to help out the locals in time for the local festival. It only gets creepier from there as the days go by.
Another title by Warkus is Spiritrest, which is also out on itch.io. A throwback to the 3D platformers from your younger days, the game has you exploring massive worlds and collecting spirits as an undead woman who’s able to move pretty well for someone who is clearly dead. There’s little in the way of music, and coupled with the otherworldly environments, gives the game a very unsettling feel.
Warkus is also dipping their toes into the turn-based RPG realm with House of Necrosis on Steam. You’ve been sent in to discover what happened to a special forces team went missing while investigating bizarre murder cases in an old mansion. House of Necrosis carries that vibe of classic 32-bit turned-based RPGs with its graphics and UI, except with an obvious horror leaning. The game also features a mechanic where the halls of the mansion that change every time you enter.
Hamelin’s Journey by xena-spectrale is obviously inspired by the likes of Monster Rancher. The game (which you can snag now on itch.io) tasks you with exploring a mysterious world, capturing and training the spirits that inhabit the realm, and seeking the timeless creature that lurks in the depth of the underground. The game will also be heading to Steam later this year.
Another 3D RPG that showed up at EEK3 is Analgesic Productions’ Angeline Era. Feeling very much like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the game sees you hunting down Sinners in the land of Era. Featuring a nonlinear overworld filled with dungeons and boss battles, the game takes a cue from the classic Ys games, where you bump into creatures and bosses to attack. It also touts itself as being easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Angeline Era comes to Steam in 2024.
Fernando Tittz’s The Lacerator sounds like something that might come from Puppet Combo. Inspired by classic survival horror and trash movies, you are an 80s porn actor named Max (seriously) who must survive and escape from the hideout of the eponymous psycho killer, who has kidnapped your crew. If you end up encountering The Lacerator, you will lose a part of your body in real time. The results of this may change your plans of escape, and the course of the game.
Atama by Team Zutsuu is inspired by the likes of Junji Ito and Forbidden Siren, so you know we’re in for a treat. Out now on Steam, Atama is a stealth horror game set in an isolated Japanese village of Kisaragi. You are Kaede, whose eccentric Aunt Noriko lives outside of the city with no phone or internet. After her regular letters to Kaede stopped coming, Kaede decides to head out to Kisaragi to investigate.
DreadXP also jumped on board with a new trailer for Dread Delusion, which is still in Early Access on Steam. The new trailer showcases the new improvements developer Lovely Hellplace has been making for the dark fantasy RPG since its launch last year. That also includes the recent “Cadaver Keep” update that added several new quests and addressed several bug fixes.
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