Bring out the pumpkins and the skeletons because the spooky season is yet again upon us. Truth be told, there's no better time throughout the year to play horror games than October, because that's when the heebie-jeebies are in the air, and every scary game becomes just a tad more terrifying because of the season.

We've just seen some fantastic survival horror games the past couple of months, with games like Cronos: The New Dawn and Silent Hill F leading the charge in AAA horror games. However, sometimes it's the indie horror experiences that can give you more bang for your buck. How? Simple — you get plenty of varied horror experiences for the price of maybe one or two AAA titles, ranging from classic survival-horror to something new you'd never heard of. That being said, here are some incredible indie horror titles you might want to keep on your Steam wishlist for when Halloween rolls around.

House of Necrosis ($11)

A spiritual return to Spencer Mansion

If House of Necrosis reminds you of the claustrophobic horrors of the Spencer Mansion from the first Resident Evil game, every bit of that nostalgia is deliberate. House of Necrosis drops you into a decaying mansion, complete with pre-rendered backgrounds. The game has fixed camera angles and deliberate tank controls — a throwback to the PS1-era horror games.

This is one of the most atmospheric indie horror games you could play, with its chunky visuals, tight corridors, and unsettling sound design leading the charge and the charm here. Plus, the combat in the game is turn-based, making for yet another interesting addition to this survival horror game's mechanics.

Dredge ($25)

A solid fishing game with a touch of Lovecraft terror

Dredge is one of those indie games that take a calm, familiar idea — fishing — and then morphs it into something deeply unsettling. You set out on tranquil waters with nothing but a small fishing boat, reeling in catches and slowly turning in profits to upgrade your boat. Par for the course for any fishing game, right?

That's only until you realize that you've stumbled into unfamiliar territory, and said territory isn't just uncharted waters... it's Lovecraftian waters. The eerie atmosphere in Dredge is subtle and wonderfully done, and sure, I can't say that it will outright scare you as you play it, but it's definitely one of the best twists on Lovecraftian horror gaming that you can play this Spooktober.

It Has My Face ($9)

'Playing with yourself can be dangerous'

One of the most disturbing concepts in indie horror this year, It Has My Face explores identity theft in the most literal way possible. You play as someone who discovers that their own face is being worn by someone... or something else. From there, everything spirals into psychological torment.

You're going to have to hunt down your clone to survive, and It Has My Face is short, sharp, and intensely creepy. The pixelated art style does an incredible job of getting under your skin, and it plays with your paranoia until you start doubting your own reflection. The best part? It's also got one of the best demos, so you could try out a slice of the game before going ahead with a purchase, which, in all honesty, is going to be rather easy once you're done with the demo.

Mundaun ($8)

A terrifying hand-drawn tale steeped in Swiss folklore

There's just something incredible about a hand-drawn adventure in gaming — it's an immensely unique art style that could never go out of, well, style. Mundaun is one of the most unique horror experiences out there that you could have. It's inspired by Swiss folklore, and tells a slow-burn story rife with mystery, dread, and, above all, surreal beauty.

The pencil-shaded art style really gives it a warm vibe, but the story unfolding in the game is the absolute opposite, creating a dissonance that never lets you be at ease. Creepy and personal, Mundaun is the kind of horror that delivers the goosebumps through atmospheric storytelling, and not through shock value alone.

SCP: Fragmented Minds ($8)

Another gem from the SCP universe

The SCP universe has always been one of the most popular horror franchises, and Fragmented Minds taps into the same fertile horror playground. It starts off as pretty much the usual SCP adventure — you're in a derelict facility filled with all sorts of creatures and anomalies that this universe is known for.

Blending survival mechanics with psychological tension, Fragmented Minds makes every encounter a calculated risk.

The Inn-Sanity ($6)

Stuck in a hotel at varying levels of insanity

An absolute gem of psychological horror, The Inn-Sanity puts you in an inn, and overnight, the city outside goes to hell. Everyone is turning into monsters, and as you navigate the corridors and rooms of this hotel, you meet and interact with all sorts of people — clients, patrons, and service staff, all of them at varying degrees of insanity.

As the player, it is your job to figure out who you can trust and who you must avoid, all while being aware that people you end up trusting might not return the favor. With multiple endings and exits that may or may not exist, The Inn-Sanity is an absolute must-play indie horror title that I simply cannot recommend enough.

Crow Country ($20)

PS1-era Resident Evil resuscitated

Crow Country is a love letter to the PS1 era, much like House of Necrosis. It's set in an amusement park, which is always a bad idea, honestly. A brilliant homage to classic survival horror, this game is a low-poly gem with blocky visuals and fixed cameras, and it practically screams Resident Evil 1 and 2.

Playing the game, you'll find that it is unusually quiet, with its sound design being the textbook definition of eerie and creepy. Both a throwback and reimagining, Crow Country is proof that a good scare will always find a way to your nerves, regardless of budget or graphics.

Saturnalia ($30)

A Sandrian horror adventure you won't seen forget

Another hand-drawn masterclass in visual horror, Saturnalia is a fever dream inspired by Sardinian folklore. The game presents you with multiple playable characters, with a looping structure that forces you to relive one single terrifying night over and over again, with something different in each loop. A commentary on ritual, memory, and survival, Saturnalia will stay with you long after the credits roll, especially because of its brilliant art design.

Terrifying, eerie, and liminal, too, Saturnalia captures the feeling of being lost and hunted quite remarkably. I've found this to be the best game for backseat gamers, so if you've got a loved one watching from the couch, Saturnalia might be the first game you'd want to boot up.

Backrooms: Escape Together ($10)

Inarguably the most polished Backrooms co-op horror game

Beyond all the memes, the creepypasta, and the found footage aesthetic, very few Backrooms games manage to offer players too much. Backrooms: Escape Together, however, is a refreshing change of pace. There's no denying that the original Escape the Backrooms is the quintessential Backrooms experience, but this one is a solo-dev game built on Unreal Engine 5. Despite the engine's infamy, the game actually runs incredibly well, thanks to its smart design and brilliant optimization.

You can either play alone or with friends in this co-op horror game where you will explore some of the most infamous liminal spaces from Backrooms lore that has enthralled the internet for years now. The randomness of each level makes it impossible to predict what's around the corner, and splitting up with your friends is never a good idea. It's the perfect game for Halloween nights with friends, as long you're all okay with losing sleep afterward.

The Sinking City Remastered ($10)

The best Lovecraftian gaming experience you can have

If you have a thing for Lovecraftian horror (which, honestly, who wouldn't?), The Sinking City is one of the greatest games in the genre. Remastered in stunning detail, this improved version isn't just a visual overhaul or a lazy remaster. Instead, it even tightens up the original game's clunky mechanics while doubling down on its eerie, waterlogged, noir-soaked atmosphere.

The flooded city of Oakmont is one of the most unforgettable settings in all gaming, where every street, house, and conversation hides something very unsettling right underneath the surface. You'll find horror in the places you least expect, and I know that The Sinking City is more of a AA game rather than a fully-indie game, but it's selling at an incredibly-discounted rate, so, why not?

Indie horror will always be the beating heart of the genre

Indie horror is truly one of a kind. It's where creativity truly thrives without any sort of restraint, because it isn't confined to AAA-level art styles or fidelity, leaving room wide-open for imagination to thrive in design, mechanics, and storytelling.

This Halloween, if you're looking to be truly unsettled and looking for something a little different from your run-of-the-mill AAA title, then you can skip the predictable blockbusters and dive right into these smaller nightmares instead. By the time Halloween rolls around, you'll discover why indie horror will always be the beating heart of the genre.