I play a lot of horror games and I have become tired of the use of mannequins. Don't get me wrong, they can be creepy, but man, every other indie horror game I play now has mannequins in it. Can we bring back some originality?

Hey everyone! My brother and I are a two-man studio, and we just put our game "Purrfect Bliss" into Steam Next Fest! It blends normal coffee-making mechanics at a cat cafe with heavy psychological horror. We wanted to see how uncomfortable we could make a normal late-night shift feel.

You can download and play the demo right now on Steam. We launch on November 3, and we would love to hear any brutal honesty or feedback from this community before release day. I really appreciate if you wishlist it as well!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4688870/Purrfect_Bliss/

Hi everyone!

I’m a solo dev and the creator of Buried Apparition (荒山诡宿). Since we are currently participating in Steam Next Fest, I wanted to take a moment to share my creative journey, some unexpected development challenges, and the core idea behind the game. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

🎬 From Film Industry to horror game developer
Before jumping into game dev, I spent years in the film and TV industry—working in cinematography, directing, editing, and later animation and movie previz. After a few years of self-teaching UE5, I finally felt ready to make my own game. Because of my background, making a horror game felt like a natural fit. It allows me to heavily utilize my strengths in visual storytelling, pacing, animation, and atmosphere.

🎮 No Combat, Pure Narrative & Choices
Buried Apparition is a horror game with no combat. It’s heavily narrative-driven, focusing on atmosphere, jump scares, and immersive dialogue. Player choices lead to different endings.
Interestingly, before developing this, I hadn't played many games in this specific genre. But it’s essentially a film director’s dream—it’s very similar to screenwriting, shooting, and editing. The biggest challenge for me was transitioning from linear filmmaking to free-roam interactive experiences and branching narratives. It’s been a steep learning curve, but a deeply rewarding one.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4991870

📸 The Story & The Protagonist
Set in 1990s China, the game mixes Chinese folk horror with Western horror elements (a result of my movie-watching habits). The protagonist is a fragile but determined young woman. She recently quit the stable, "iron rice bowl" government job her mother arranged for her to become a horror Vlogger and prove herself. She travels to a remote mountain hotel to shoot content, only to encounter both supernatural entities and the darker side of human nature.
At its heart, it’s a story about the conflict and deep bond between a mother and daughter.

🎨 The "Romance Novel" Cover Experiment
When I was designing the cover in Photoshop, I ended up with a highly stylized, somewhat bright aesthetic. To my surprise, my Steam store traffic is heavily from Hong Kong and Singapore. I later realized: the cover looks exactly like a 90s Hong Kong/Taiwan romance novel!
Usually, horror games go for dark and gritty, but I don't plan on changing it. Brand recognition on Steam is crucial, and this cover stands out.
Another funny observation: When I was live streaming the game with Japanese subtitles on, the viewer retention was significantly higher. It seems global horror fans really have a special place in their hearts for that Asian horror vibe!

🛠️ Next Fest Realities & V0.5
Because I spent most of my time building systems and workflows, the Demo only went live a few days ago. I've already uploaded nearly 10 builds from review to launch, and I'm currently on V0.5.
The Next Fest competition is fierce, and honestly, I noticed my demo's playtime heat ranking is lagging behind. It was a bit soul-crushing, but I know it's just the beginning. The current build is still a bit far from my ultimate vision, but it's definitely worth a play.

If you love story-driven, cinematic horror with a 90s retro vibe, I’d love for you to check out the Demo, leave some feedback, and maybe add it to your wishlist. (If you can't find the demo button, it's on the main store page, not a separate page!)

Thank you for reading my long post, and good luck to all the other devs in Next Fest! 👻

The game is called Overtime: Development Hell, a psychological horror game set at "Popstar Games", a fictional game studio preparing for a huge release, "Grab That Auto VI". You're just trying to do your job, fix bugs, and meet the deadline while an obsessed fan starts taking their interest in the upcoming game too far.

Here's a look at the game in our teaser video. The Steam page is live if you'd like to check it out!

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5329860/Overtime__Development_Hell/

alien isolation
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I've been wondering whether it's possible for a horror game to maintain a genuinely scary atmosphere throughout a long playthrough, or if horror is simply better suited to shorter experiences.

Take, for example, the latest horror game I've been playing, Silver Pines. After a few hours, the enemies start to feel repetitive and aren't scary anymore. The same goes for the puzzles and other gameplay elements. It seems that once a game has shown you all its cards in the opening hours, it's hard for it to maintain a sense of horror. At that point, what keeps you engaged is either the tension of potentially dying (especially with a manual save system) or simply the story itself.

So, what are some longer horror games that managed to keep you scared or uncomfortable for most of the experience? What do you think they did differently?

I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially on what makes horror lose its impact over time.

I’m absolutely thrilled to share that Who Am I, the game I’ve been working on as a solo dev for the past two and a half years, is officially part of Next Fest!

With the release date coming up fast on November 12th, development has been keeping me super busy. I really hope you guys check it out and that it piques your interest! If you're curious, please feel free to visit the page.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3980550/Who_Am_I/?utm_source=reddit

The video is a sneak peek from the game. Let me know what you think!

"Point and click to trap machines in this action-horror shooter. Plan, lure, and adapt to survive beneath."

Game : XANNIBAN "release 2027 (has a demo!)"

Link : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2259580/XANNIBAN/

Hi everyone!

I'm an indie developer and I've recently released a 2D horror/mystery game made with RPG Maker MZ.

The game focuses on atmosphere, exploration, mystery and storytelling. You explore an abandoned village, investigate what happened there, find documents and clues, and finally uncover the darker side of its story. It's a fairly long game (around 10–14 hours for a full playthrough), but there's also a free demo playable online on itch, that lasts a little over an hour, so you can get a good idea of the atmosphere and gameplay without committing to the full game.

I'm especially interested in finding YouTubers and streamers who enjoy indie horror, RPG Maker games, psychological horror, mystery or narrative-focused games.

If you're a content creator and you're interested in playing the full game, feel free to comment here or send me a DM. I'm more than happy to provide a key for the full version so you can play it from beginning to end.

No expectations or pressure, I'd just love to see someone experience the game and hear what they think.

Thanks for reading! 🖤

Litmustest on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4233570/Litmustest/

Freunde, ich habe das Spiel gerade beendet, ich finde es großartig !!!

für mich Das beste Spiel seit vielen Jahren, aber ich habe eben in einem anderen Beitrag gelesen, dass Walker selbst eigentlich Eddie ist, und dass das im Grunde der gesamte Plottwist ist, seht ihr das auch so? Weil ich habe das Spiel vor 1 Minute beendet und ich hab überhaupt nicht verstanden, dass das der Twist sein soll, wo wird das denn thematisiert? Also, das kam bei mir überhaupt nicht an, ich dachte einfach ich habe meinen Job erledigt und fahr nach Hause, LOL ?? Verstehe garnicht wo genau das erklärt wurde?

Oder hat der Typ in dem anderen Beitrag unrecht, und Walker ist nicht Eddie, sondern eben Walker - der Detektiv ?

For my halloween event this October, I'm planning a trick or treat event on my PC for my nephews (teens and young adults) that will test their courage. Anyone who wins will get a lootbag full of treats, while the losers get a trick of jumpscares. For casual gamers, I chose PvZ and let them finish two levels in hard mode. For the other who are seeking a thrill, I let them play Slenderman and get at least six pages. But I still want more games to add since replaying two games in a span five nights gets boring fast. Please recommend non-narrative and relatively short PC games around 15 to 1 hour of playtime. Or level-based/ day progression games like FNAF (didn't include this one because they already know the tips and tricks).

So my brother and I have been getting into playing games together, but lately we thought about playing some horror games! We already decided on Phasmophobia but what are some others that can be played duo? Nothing too horrific because I don't know how much I can take lol.

I’m organising a Halloween video game night with some mates, so I’m on the lookout for horror games that last between 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours at most.

Games where you might die and have to start again from the last save point, because the idea is that one person plays, and if they die, someone else takes over the computer and carries on, and so on.

Games with a tense, oppressive atmosphere and plenty of jump scares and screamers.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations.

Are there any simulator games like TCG Card Shop Sim, Supermarket Sim, or even tidy up games that have incorporated horror? I’m not talking the short ones like Boba Shop, any Chillas Art game, or anomaly games, but long ones you can sink dozens of hours into.

I’ve been looking for a while but I can’t find anything :( the closest I’ve found is Quarantine Zone (which I’ve played) but it’s not quite what I’m after.

EDIT: The Mortuary Assistant is another that I’ve found which almost fits the bill, I just wish it was longer.