The Rise of Horror Games: A Crowded Indie Horror Market

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Horror Games,Indie Games,Gaming Industry

The number of horror games has significantly increased in recent years, with various speculations on the reasons behind this trend. Some suggest that horror games are more affordable to develop, making them attractive to smaller developers. Others believe it is a response to the overwhelming popularity of mainstream games, offering a darker and more intense gaming experience. Regardless of the reasons, the indie horror market is becoming increasingly competitive, with new releases appearing on platforms like Steam every week.

We can speculate about why there are a lot of horror games nowadays, versus barely none at all about 10 years ago. Maybe horror games are less expensive to make and thus more viable for smaller developers, especially when the unheimlich effect of early 3D graphics is so suited to the genre, not to mention the benefits that darkness and repetitive labyrinthine interiors may have on smaller development budgets.

Withering Rooms messes with the screwed-up mansion formula just enough to interest me, though. Protagonist Nightingale has fallen afoul of an especially nasty phenomenon affecting the mansion, namely, she's become stuck in a dream. It's not a nice dream: it re-imagines the mansion as a stomping ground for all manner of accursed wraiths and psychos. Add to that surreal premise a wry take on 19th century period drama severity, and Withering Rooms' tone is appealingly askew.

The cyclical nature bolsters the concept of reliving the same horrendous dream over and over again, while gradually discovering a way to break the cycle. Evidence abounds that maybe therea way to break the cycle, as Mostyn House is populated by various sickly long termers who have been imprisoned in the dream for aeons. In this way, its structure is closer to Deathloop, but on a moment-to-moment basis it feels more akin to post-Dark Souls metroidvanias like Salt and Sacrifice or Ender Lilies.

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