IGF Sale Watch: 10 Steam Scream Fest Bargains

Steam Scream Fest 2022 is upon us with digital deals crawling down our chimneys, climbing through our windows and seeping under our doors. Here are 10 chillingly good horror tinged indie games that’ll scare your pants off for a reasonable price. Behold the terror of the Steam sale cycle, offer up your wallet and accept your disposable incomes’ fate!

1. V Rising

Stunlock Studio’s V Rising came screaming onto Steam back in May, shifting a million copies in a week pursued by a tide of positive reviews. Liam had a blast with it and the developers are seeking to bring a new wave of play this October by making it free to play over Halloween weekend. Try it, its an open world survival game to die for and at 20% off is an absolute steal, even for an Early Access title.

2. Age of Darkness

Indie RTS Age of Darkness tasks you with defending settlements against massive hordes of monsters pouring out from a nightmarish fog of war called ‘the veil’. Think of it as trying to keep a guttering candle lit as its surrounded by a darkness trying to snuff it out. Taking its creative leads from They Are Billions and the army of the dead from Game of Thrones, Australian studio Playside has delivered a promising Early Access game that at 25% off is absolutely worth taking a look at for new and old RTS player alike. For hardcore RTS fans there’s also a Discord where you can drop feedback to the devs on how to help the game shape up ahead of full release.

3. Gloomwood

From Dusk devs David Szymanski and Dillon Rogers comes a stealth action game that drops players into a cursed Victorian city armed with your wits and an arsenal of ‘eccentric’ weapons. Visually harking back to the horror games and immersive sims of the late 90s and early 2000s this Early Access title’s most recent reviews hold the coveted ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ rating on Steam and the developers promise that the most recent update is ‘going to hurt you’. And for 15% off you’re getting a healthy discount on that promise.

4. MADiSON

Created by the appropriately named BLOODIOUS GAMES based in Argentina, MADiSON is a horror game with a hideously effective central loop. Take photos, develop them, solve puzzles, survive. Its an atmospheric, indie nail biter that overwhelms its flaws by creating a rarely punctured sense of dread that had thousands of players on the edge of their seats when it released back in July. Bag it for 20% off before it bags you.

5. Cult of the Lamb

A dungeon crawling hack and slash indie with colony management and a tentacular dose of Lovecraftian horror mixed in, Cult of the Lamb casts players as faithful servants of The One Who Waits – an eldritch god who needs your help to remake the world in his image. We had a great time with it as you can read here and watch here and think you will too, especially at 20% off.

6. GTFO

Asymetrical multiplayer horror games don’t come much better than GTFO. 10 Chambers’ co-op FPS drops you and 3 friends (or bots) into an underground prison where you’ll be doing jobs for a mysterious character known as the ‘Warden’. Be aware its hard by design, you need well executed stealth, timing and co-ordination to avoid waking up hordes of horrors as you creep towards your objectives and you’ll need teamwork to get out once things inevitably go south. In the words of Steam user SmexyNeko its a ‘Very fun game to play with your “friends”.‘ GTFO is 25% off for Scream Fest and comes with a free in-game cosmetic and Steam Point Shop bundle.

7. Project Zomboid

9 years of Early Access has been extremely kind to Project Zomboid, turning it into one of the most comprehensively modded games on Steam. PZ’s open ended sandbox is crawling with zombies and its up to you to survive as long as possible in the knowledge that every decision you make is ultimately leading to your final one; ‘how will you die?’ And with the help of Steamworks and a vibrant modding community your choices are almost endless! Its completely worth it at full price but is even more of a steal at 33% off for Scream Fest. Would you like to know more? Watch Phil’s review of it here.

8. Darkest Dungeon

Want a Gothic roguelike where adventure itself is the horror? Red Hook studios have you covered. Recruit your team of flawed characters and battle hideous monters, disease, the ever encroaching dark and the psychological stresses of keeping it (and your team) together. With a sequel scheduled for release in February 2023 and with the first instalment currently going for 85% off, its the perfect time jump in a try it out it you haven’t already.

9. Dusk

David Szymanski is back on this list again with a retro shooter that lets you deflect incoming projectives with a pair of sickles and twirl shotguns between shooting them for no other reason than to style on your enemies. And its all set to a bone crushing metal soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult who went on to compose the music for Doom: Eternal’s 2 expansions The Ancient Gods parts 1 and 2. Its 60% off for Scream Fest and is a feverish, hell for leather FPS that scratches an itch that few others can.

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10. The Mortuary Assistant

Darkstone Digital’s Mortuary Assistant is pure nightmare fuel. You’ll have to keep demonic occult forces at bay while completing tasks around a mortuary in the dead of night. You’ll be draining, embalming and performing rituals to identify the insidious spirits assaulting you at every turn. On top of everything else every playthrough is different so if you think that one run through means you know what’s coming for the second, you dont. Its 15% off, spend your money if you dare!