Let’s chat about the annoying tropes in indie horror games that make you roll your eyes. Could be story stuff, gameplay elements, visuals, audio, or UI that bug you.
Here’s my list of pet peeves:
Weak plot twists: Like finding out you’re the villain or it’s all in your head. Yawn.
Useless flashlights: You turn it on once and forget about it. Maybe it flickers during a scripted bit. Big deal.
Too dark to see: A bit of darkness is spooky, but not being able to see anything gets old fast.
Mental health as a lazy explanation: Oh, you have trauma so you see monsters? How original.
Super obvious linear paths: Unlocking color-coded doors one after another. Snooze fest.
What clichés drive you up the wall? Share your thoughts!
Audio logs and notes scattered everywhere. It’s like devs can’t think of any other way to tell a story. I get it, you’re building lore, but c’mon. Mix it up a bit. Maybe let us actually talk to characters or something.
Ugh, those generic abandoned hospitals and asylums. Feels like every other indie horror uses that setting. Give me something fresh! A creepy grocery store or a twisted amusement park would be way cooler. Let’s move beyond the same old rundown buildings.
The constant ‘run and hide’ gameplay loop drives me nuts. Sure, it’s scary at first, but after a while it just feels repetitive. I’d love to see more games give you ways to fight back or outsmart enemies. Even simple puzzles or traps you can set would make it way more engaging than just ducking behind boxes for the millionth time.