Horror adventure games are popular amongst both communities, particularly those that enjoy a good scare without twitchy reflexes. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter have had a good number successfully funded, and several have already been released. Unfortunately, there are still a handful unaccounted for. Let’s take a look at titles I’m still excited about and can’t wait to see the light of day. Some have been in development for years, and some have just recently seen success.
Asylum
Of the horror adventures I’m most excited about, Asylum takes the distinction of being both the one I’m most looking forward to and possibly the one in production the longest. I’m a fan of Lovecraftian style horror, and once I saw this one on Kickstarter I had to back it. I can’t remember if it was through a shout-out by Achtung! Cthulhu (or possibly the other way around), but I instantly fell in love with the idea of a creepy abandoned mental institute.
Asylum also has the honor of having perhaps the craziest comments section in Kickstarter history. Check out the weirdness yourself if you don’t believe me. Anyway, over the three-and-a-half years I’ve gotten to know Agustin Cordes pretty well. He’s the kind of guy that won’t release a game until it’s ready. I’ve enjoyed both of Senscape’s previous outings (Scratches and Serena), and I believe this one will be of the same high quality I’ve come to expect.
Gibbous
Who says horror has to be serious? Certainly not the people behind Gibbous. I love a good comedy as much as any other, and to pair it up with a Lovecraft theme makes me even more excited to play it. Having taken the demo for a spin back during the recent Kickstarter, I instantly fell in love with both the supernatural tropes and the insane humor expected from such a title.
Gibbous is already looking like a great addition to horror comedy. Stuck in Attic has done a good job in keeping backers in the loop and showing off some great work. Most recently, they teased us with a brief look at the opening cinematic. Between what we’ve seen so far, I can’t wait to see more of the final game.
The Miskatonic
Yes, the top three upcoming horror adventure games I’m most excited about are all Lovecraftian themed. Two of them are even comedies. The Miskatonic has been plagued with some setbacks, but I’m still as excited for this one as I am for the others mentioned in this list. Over a year ago, backers got the chance to try out a very rough early build. I enjoyed what I saw, but it’s also been a while since we’ve seen much on the development end.
A recent backer-only update from a couple months ago revealed that development on The Miskatonic is now a one-man team, but that hasn’t stopped other games from being released from such a small staff. I really would love to see how this affects the overall experience, so hopefully another short build will be going out to backers soon that have paid for this access.
Tokyo Dark
Not every horror adventure needs to be supernatural or paranormal in subject matter. Sometimes a good experience comes from psychological horror. In the case of Tokyo Dark, the use of a sanity system that’s not tied into some indescribable eldritch horror is worthy of inclusion on this list. I’m a fan of stories dealing with encroaching madness, and this one certainly fit the bill.
I backed Tokyo Dark purely on the unique sanity system in an adventure/visual novel hybrid. Unfortunately, I didn’t give enough to get more insider access to the development of this one, but they have kept everyone in the loop on a monthly basis. Bits and pieces of the artwork has been shown off, and anyone who loves a good anime style should enjoy the visuals on this one. I can’t wait to finally see something playable, even if it’s just a gameplay video.
Delaware St. John: Asylum of the Lost
I’ll be honest here. I almost forgot about Delaware St. John: Asylum of the Lost. Until the Kickstarter campaigns, I didn’t even know this series existed. However, after playing through the first three games in this series I became instantly hooked on the paranormal aspects of this horror series. The story of a psychic paranormal investigator as he goes around haunted places was something I couldn’t pass up.
Despite there being not a whole lot revealed during the three years it’s been in development, I’m still excited to hopefully see the fourth installment of the Delaware St. John series. Unfortunately, it sounds like things have slowed down considerably. I hope to see some assets shown off soon, as I really would love to see how far into development this one is.
I’ve been patiently waiting for all five of the above horror adventure games, and I do hope to see some of the older titles release soon. Of course, a rushed game isn’t worth playing if it isn’t quality. Thankfully, I’ve gotten to know some of the developers and they’re dedicated to getting these out come hell or high water.
Whether they’re supernatural, paranormal, or psychological I’ve enjoyed plenty of horror adventure games. It also doesn’t matter if they’re straight up horror or combined with another genre like comedy or science fiction. What matters is that there’s a gripping story that has you on the edge of your seat. All of the above listed titles seem to fall squarely in this category. For this, these are five games I’m still quite excited about.
There are other horror games still in development I’m excited about, but these five are at the top of my list. Did yours make the list? What did I miss?