From wandering yokai to haunted houses and paranormal plots, Steam closed out April with the release of several unique indie horror games. Among them were Noroi Kago: the Grudged Domain, What Lies Frozen and Haunted House Renovator. Though they differ in tone and style, all three leverage dark imagery and themes to draw players in. Despite some rough edges, all three are worth a glance for those seeking the freshest horror games Steam has to offer.
NOROI KAGO: the Grudged Domain
Skeletons loom over a Japanese village, their giant bones ashen behind a grainy filter. It's enough to put a player on edge, even before the crab things scuttle down the halls. Fans of Devour and similar co-op horror games will know what they're in for. Survival means running and hiding from wandering yokai by whatever means possible. Hop in a locker? Use a friend as bait? Absolutely.
While it doesn't have the deepest mechanics, Noroi Kago delivers big on the unsettling vibes. Grainy filters tend to be a love-it-or-hate-it design choice, but in Noroi Kago, they work. The designs of the vengeful spirits themselves are also excellent. It's a shame they sometimes only get used for cheap jump scares, because there's plenty of horror potential here. The creepy atmosphere of Moadra and similar games shows how effective subtler world-building can be.
What Lies Frozen
What Lies Frozen is a simple but gripping horror story about a husband and wife in an isolated cabin. With only the snow and shadows for company, the atmosphere is strong. Easily the game's biggest selling point is its painterly art style. Although the game sometimes feels more like a test build than a finished product, it nails that eerie tone. Strong sound design and lighting also help turn the cabin into something much more sinister.
What Lies Frozen is essentially a creepy walking sim with some light puzzling. For fans of quiet horror without a flood of jump scares and action sequences, it's an excellent fit. The mysterious radio sequences are great as well, and it would be nice to see developer Ryphil expand on the setting in future projects. 2025 has room for plenty of exciting horror games. For now, What Lies Frozen is a scary story worth unthawing.
Haunted House Renovator
Interior design is hard enough without being haunted by the restless dead. Haunted House Renovator tasks players with cleansing spirits, decorating rooms, and nailing furniture placement. Like Luigi's Mansion and other spooky cozy games, however, the emphasis is on fun, not fear. For fans of games like House Flipper and Crime Scene Cleaner, Haunted House Renovator will scratch a similar itch.
Unfortunately, ghosts and ghoulies aren't the only ones haunting these halls. The game is also home to plenty of bugs, at least for now. Post-launch patches are common, of course, and Haunted House Renovator just needs polish. From adoptable hauntings to branching Nice and Mean solutions, there's a lot to like about the core gameplay. It'd just be nice if the ghosts were scarier than the glitches.