Female protagonists in horror games may not always be action heroes. Still, they're definitely survivors, being placed in dangerous or horrifying circumstances but facing them with determination and bravery, and using their wits instead of their fists to get out of them. These days, protagonists in indie horror games are more likely to be female than male.

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There is an array of chilling indie horror games with brave, smart, or just plain interesting female protagonists. These leading ladies may have a distinct personality, or serve as a self-insert for the player, trying their best to stay alive in their respective worlds.

10 Little Misfortune

Steam Score: 9/10

Created by the same studio behind Fran Bow, Little Misfortune is an interactive 'choices matter' game with similar themes about the loss of innocence and childish curiosity. Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez lives in Sweden with her abusive parents. She is guided by a voice in her head she has nicknamed 'Mr. Voice.'

Mr. Voice tempts Misfortune to play a game to win 'Eternal Happiness' for her mom, and they both venture out into the woods. Despite all the horrific things Misfortune sees and goes through, she has a dark sense of humor about it all and never fails to pick herself back up.

9 Children Of Silentown

Steam Score: 9/10

Children of Silentown is a point-and-click, hand-drawn adventure game about a girl named Lucy. She lives in a mysterious town where people speak in whispers to avoid attracting the monsters in the forest nearby. Being a curious child, Lucy decides to investigate the mysteries of both the forest and Silentown.

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The game involves learning three-note songs to progress. The player can control Lucy to collect musical notes and solve puzzles. Along with multiple endings, a gorgeous soundtrack, and a beautiful, Tim Burton-inspired hand-drawn art style, Children of Silentown is a fun, spooky adventure that manages to be cute and creepy at the same time.

8 Tales Of The Black Forest

Steam Score: 10/10

• Platform(s): Windows
• Release Date: 26 September 2019
• Developer: SakuraGame
• Genre: Adventure, Psychological Horror

Tales of the Black Forest is an adventure horror game with pixel graphics. The heroine is a high school student named Kihara Kashin, and she can see spirits. The game starts when she wakes up on a bench in a forest, and she gains the power to rewind time after touching an old loudspeaker.

The story is separated into three chapters, and they all focus on a different person, meaning the game's narration is non-linear. Like a lot of pixel adventure games, the gameplay of Tales of the Black Forest involves talking to people and solving puzzles, and its narrative style is perfect for fans of visual novels.

7 Othercide

Steam Score: 9/10

Othercide is a turn-based role-playing game where players control a group of female warriors called The Daughters. In a dimension known as the Inner Void, The Daughters are summoned to battle the Suffering, a monstrous entity.

As a tactical strategy game, there are no healing items and no 'Game Over' in combat. When all the Daughters in a run die, the player gets to start over with new items called 'Remembrances.' Failure is an essential part of the gameplay. Othercide is pretty challenging to master, and impatient players may not like the roguelike combat system.

6 Fran Bow

Steam Score: 10/10

Fran Bow is a point-and-click adventure game that delves into the psychological horror genre. After witnessing the murder of her parents, a ten-year-old girl named Fran gets admitted to an asylum. She is administered a drug named Duotine, which opens up a more twisted version of the normal world. With these pills in hand, Fran aims to find her cat, Mr. Midnight, and her only living relative, Aunt Grace.

The game has a gorgeous hand-drawn art style and can easily be viewed as a more twisted version of Alice in Wonderland. Most of the gameplay involves using the Duotine pills to switch back and forth between the normal world and the horrific parallel world to solve puzzles.

5 Oxenfree

Steam Score: 9/10

Inspired by 80s teen films, Oxenfree is a 2.5D adventure game following a group of friends who travel to an island for a party. After exploring some mysterious caves, the protagonist, a teenage girl named Alex, accidentally opens a ghostly rift. The player controls Alex as she and her friends uncover the mysteries of Edwards Island.

The game is dialog-heavy, and players can choose Alex's dialog options, which will impact the story and her relationships. Oxenfree has been nominated for several awards and even has a TV series adaptation in the works.

4 Little Nightmares

Steam Score: 9/10

Little Nightmares is a puzzle platformer set in a mysterious vessel full of monstrous beings looking for their next meal. Players guide a nine-year-old girl named Six as she tries to escape the Maw and avoid being eaten by its creatures.

The game has similar puzzle mechanics to its spiritual predecessors Limbo and Inside, where the protagonist must use their environment to proceed. Six never speaks or shows her face, but her actions speak for themselves. Little Nightmares has inspired a sequel, comic books, and a TV series in the works.

3 Ib

Steam Score: 10/10

• Platform(s): Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
• Release Date: February 27, 2012
• Developer: kouri
• Genre: Adventure, Horror

Ib is a 2D adventure game where players control the titular girl, Ib. During a visit to an art gallery, Ib loses her parents and finds herself trapped and alone. Using her surroundings, she must navigate the gallery and find her way out.

Ib is considered a cult classic in the indie horror game world, being influential on other hit RPGMaker games like The Witch's House MV. The game was remade with better graphics and mechanics in 2022 for Windows, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch, and 2024 for PlayStation 4 and 5.

2 The Witch's House MV

Steam Score: 9/10

• Platform(s): Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Release Date: 3 October 2012
• Developer: Fummy
• Genre: Survival Horror

The Witch's House MV is a Japanese puzzle RPG created using the RPGMaker MV engine. A young girl named Viola enters a house possessed by the spirit of a witch and is trapped inside. The house is filled with traps and puzzles and the player must guide Viola to escape the witch's house.

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A black cat often appears as the save point throughout the game. Much like any other RPG, the player is expected to explore and open everything they can to find clues, hints, and anything else they can use to escape. The game even inspired a two-volume manga series.

1 Detention

Steam Score: 10/10

Detention is a Taiwanese point-and-click horror game set during the White Terror period in Taiwan. The player initially guides a male student named Wei Chung-ting but the focus shifts to a female student named Fang Ray-Xin soon enough. Fang has to navigate her cursed high school crawling with monsters known as 'The Lingered.'

As players progress through the game's puzzles and avoid the Lingered, they discover more about the school as well as Fang's backstory. Detention heavily references Chinese, Taoist, and Buddhist mythology and was adapted into a film in 2019 and a Netflix series in 2020.

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