Roughly 10 years ago, a surge of RPG Maker games were released. They shot to popularity with the help of YouTube, and now, several recently received remakes. If you’re looking for a memorable journey, here are the best RPG Maker horror games, from Mad Father to Ib.
The Best RPG Maker Horror Games, Including Mad Father and Ib
Misao
Misao gives you a task that seems simple on the surface: find your missing classmate. However, this isn’t easy with supernatural phenomena plaguing your school. Also, your classmate isn’t whole anymore, so you need to find all six pieces of her. As you piece together Misao and the events that led to her fate, you’re treated to a disturbing story that sticks with you long after the end screen.
The Witch’s House
When a location has a reputation for having a witch living there, it’s not a good idea to go exploring. But that’s what happens to Viola. She wakes up near a strange house in the forest, with every path away from the house blocked off by roses. Viola explores the house and finds the diary of Ellen, who lives there. Viola discovers that Ellen is a witch who made a contract with a demon in exchange for a cure for her illness. The real horror is why Viola is trapped, but I won’t spoil it for you here.
The Crooked Man
The Crooked Man is the beginning of a series called Strange Men. There are some Silent Hill 4 vibes here, where you play as David, a man who has moved into a new apartment. Strange occurrences keep waking him up, so David decides to search for the person who rented the apartment before him in an attempt to find answers. However, his search for answers only results in more questions and meeting an entity that’s known as the Crooked Man.
Ib
Ib was originally released in 2012, but it recently received a remake. Plus, it has two more endings that have been added since the release of the original version. Here, you step into the role of Ib, a nine-year-old girl who’s visiting an art museum with her parents. While it sounds like the beginning of a typical family outing, Ib decides to wander off alone, turning a family outing into a journey through an entirely different world. Trapped in a mystical art gallery, Ib has to solve puzzles and face enemies to have any hope of escaping. Although she gets help from Gary and Mary, her assistants aren’t what they seem, either.
Omori
Omori follows a group of friends, centering on Omori and Sunny. The game takes place in both the real world and places called White Space and Headspace. Omori isn’t a horror title in the usual sense. You spend a huge portion of the game feeling that unsettling sense that something is off, but it’s not clear what’s wrong. As you unravel events and piece together the group’s past, you start to understand what went wrong in the real world and resulted in the creation of Omori’s White Space.
Mad Father
Aya just wants to spend the anniversary of her mom’s death with her dad, but he kicks her out of his lab, having her go to bed. That’s just the beginning of a night that challenges everything Aya knows about her dad. In the middle of the night, Aya hears her dad screaming and leaves her room to check on him, only to find that the dead are roaming her house. Mad Father is full of twists, and like Ib, it recently received a remake.
From Mad Father to Ib, these might be some of the best RPG Maker horror games, but they’re far from the only ones worth checking out. It feels easy to overlook and forget about these games, but a few of them have gained a good bit of popularity over the years. With some even receiving remakes, it’s the perfect time to check them out. Or, if you’re looking for something a little different in the genre, check out the 10 best liminal space horror games.
