There are some incredible horror games on the Switch. There's something cozy about playing a psychological horror game, handheld, curled up under a blanket on a cold night, especially with headphones in. Bonus points for playing with the lights out, too.
If players are looking for something other than the obvious big hitters (Alien: Isolation, Resident Evil 4, and the Amnesia games, for example), there are some interesting indie titles that explore all things dark and twisted instead. From time-looping coming-of-age stories to strange, surreal, dream-like experiences, here are six quirky horror games that are excellent at getting under the players' skin.
6 Boreal Tenebrae
An atmospheric and beautiful game, Boreal Tenebrae doesn't follow a linear timeline. This means the story can be difficult to unpack, and some elements are left open for the player to interpret as they wish. While the story's message (involving Bree, the main character, and the search for her missing sister Sarah) may be difficult to interpret, the overall feeling the player is left with is a sense of overwhelming dread.
The visuals are stunning but oppressive. Strange characters lurk suspiciously, and the unusual locations are daunting to explore. The writing is strange, poignant, and sometimes incredibly bleak. But what makes Boreal Tenebrae particularly creepy is the sound: play with headphones to experience the full effect. It's a difficult game to pin down into a neat category, but that makes it all the more compelling.
5 Paratopic
Another game that is excellent when played with headphones, Paratopic is an experimental 32-bit-style indie game, with an overwhelmingly oppressive soundtrack. It's a surreal experience, with the game abruptly jumping from one scene to the next. The plot centers around forbidden videotapes, an underground smuggling network, and a mysterious paranormal creature.
Paratopic is the kind of game players can just sit back and experience, rather than work out. It's incredibly atmospheric, building an incredible amount of tension, and the graphics are incredibly reminiscent of the PlayStation/N64 era. It's short but sweet, and worth trying if players are looking for a surreal experience. Just don't expect to understand what's going on all the time.
4 Inside
Inside is a puzzle platformer, and a follow-on game from the incredibly popular Limbo. It's a tricky game to categorize - it's eerie, rather than horrific, but if players are looking for something unsettling, this is definitely one to try. It's incredibly moody, and atmospheric, and the sound design is excellently creepy. It has a sense of underlying tension, a constant feeling of some kind of presence, ready to appear at any given moment.
The player controls a boy on the run, dodging enemies in a race to escape. The game has two endings depending on whether the player collects everything, and both of these endings have been interpreted differently. There's a lot to ruminate on in this story, but the creepy atmosphere makes it a must-play for alternative horror fans.
3 Oxenfree
Oxenfree is a coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist. Released on the Switch in 2017, it follows the main character, Alex, as she visits Edwards Island with her friends. Things begin to go wrong when Alex uses her radio to tune into a strange shape floating in a cave. This begins a surreal, time-looping quest to escape the island unscathed.
It has an interesting and touching story with some dark moments, and Edwards Island is a fascinating (and sometimes scary) environment to explore. There's something brilliant, and frustrating, about trying to reach another character, only to suddenly be warped backward in time. It works brilliantly on the Switch, and with Oxenfree 2 in development, now is a great time to pick it up.
2 Stories Untold
Stories Untold is a collection of short, linked games, each one a different experience than the last: from a spooky text-adventure game, to a series of experiments on a strange artifact, to a series of tricky puzzles at a monitoring station in Greenland. While they're all different in terms of gameplay, they all have a haunting, tense atmosphere with unexpected twists and turns.
The narrative linking all four games is excellent, and the final conclusion is brutal and well worth experiencing spoiler-free. It's also incredibly nostalgic with an authentic 80s vibe. It's the perfect experience to curl up with on the Switch on a dark night and a brilliant example of a genre-defying game that feels completely new and unexpected.
1 Iron Lung
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Iron Lung is a strange, eerie little game in which the player takes on the role of a convict, exploring an ocean of blood on an alien planet. Using coordinates, players must navigate to certain spots on the map to take photographs. The problem (other than the strange experience of exploring in a sea of blood) is that the player is definitely not alone down there.
Only around an hour long, Iron Lung manages to build an incredible amount of tension in a short space of time, and it's unsettling enough to keep the player on the edge of their seat. The PS1-style graphics are nostalgic, and the sound design is incredibly atmospheric. The ending is excellent, too.
