Best Horror RPG Maker Games

When the time comes to make a game, there are many available tools. Unity, Source, Twine, and other engines allow designers to craft all manner of virtual worlds, from the most welcoming to the most inhospitable. Horror can mean blood and gore rendered with the highest fidelity or psychological thrills with barely anything graphic.

Since the original's debut in 1992, RPG Maker has served as the catalyst for many games. Indie developers of all stripes have leveraged its user-friendly toolset to craft stories of terror and revulsion. Indeed, it is this very toolset that has made some of the horror genre's greatest and most intriguing achievements possible. This is even more impressive, given how this engine was originally made to help developers create RPGs with turn-based combat, only for developers to take some wild turns with this engine over time.

Updated February 13, 2026, by Mark Sammut: RPG Maker MZ is currently free to use/try until February 16, so this is a good opportunity to give it a go if you have always been interested in trying the tool out. Need inspiration? Then check out the following horror games as they all showcase RPG Maker at its best.

1 Look Outside

A Survival Horror Mystery With Art That Is Gorgeous And Horrifying

We have received so many RPG Maker horror games over the years that any new release really needs to deliver something special to stand out among the hundreds of options on Steam. Well, Look Outside definitely managed to raise its head above the crowd, and it is arguably one of the scariest pixel art games of all time. This type of animation is surprisingly apt at creating a creepy and intense atmosphere, even though the isometric angle does not lend itself particularly well to straight-up frights.

Loot Outside casts you as seemingly the only human in an apartment block who has yet to be turned into a nightmarish being, and everyone outside his window is the definition of cosmic horror. The gameplay loop revolves around exploring the building while using your apartment as a home base, and survival elements are implemented through resource management.

2 Alicemare

A Great Combination Of Psychological Horror And Surrealism

Focusing on a boy named Allen who has lost his memory and finds himself in an orphanage, Alicemare blends surrealism and psychological horror perfectly to deliver an eerie experience. Despite being warned not to wander into the world of stories, Allen is trapped in the bizarre and dangerous realm.

Alicemare dives into complex topics, such as trauma and loss, and explores the fine line between what's real and what isn't. As the game progresses, players will discover more and more about Allen's past and the darkness behind it.

3 Chloé’s Requiem

Players Will Learn Chloe's Dark Past As The Game Progresses

• Release Year: 2013 (original), 2023 (remaster)
• Developer: buriki clock

With a dark, Gothic-style art, Chloé's Requiem is centered on a girl bearing the same name. Players will progress through the game as Michael, a boy who finds himself in the middle of a dangerous supernatural world immediately after meeting Chloé. To reveal the mysteries behind her past, both of them will have to explore a world full of eerie elements and dark secrets.

With puzzles and a narrative revolving around grief, guilt, and sacrifice, players will have a fun yet spine-chilling time progressing through the game and discovering all the secrets inside it.

4 LISA: The Painful

A Game That Pushes RPG Maker To Its Limit And Unveils Horrors As The Story Progresses

LISA: The Painful is a video game that pushes the RPG Maker engine to its limits and shows what's possible with this tool with a lot of creativity. The sheer amount of love present in the game makes it clear why so many people are huge fans of this title, with the drab and bleak nature of the world juxtaposed with moments of dark comedy in a title that boasts excellent writing chops.

LISA's engaging combat and fun story make it a worthy title to check out, with players finding Brad to be a pretty multifaceted character as he embarks on an adventure to save Buddy from her kidnappers. Along the way, he'll find a wealth of eclectic characters and some nerve-wracking moments when the game's muted horror roots reveal their fangs.

5 Fear & Hunger 2: Termina

This Title Builds On Its Predecessor And Improves Upon It Greatly

Fear & Hunger is a game that has come out of nowhere and shows just how malleable the RPG Maker engine is in the right hands. The first game was a test of the player's patience and zeal to explore a game that genuinely hated them, featuring pulse-pounding combat where every encounter could spell doom for the player if they ended up biting off more than they could chew. The second game ended up working on the strengths of its predecessor, expanding on everything from the combat to this series' tantalizing lore.

The result is one of the best sequels of all time that also tones down the difficulty... Albeit just a smidge. The game is still devilishly hard and will brutally test players to their very limits, with every save feeling like a breath of fresh air for players who have genuinely struggled for what feels like ages!

6 The Witch's House

A Young Girl's Quest To Escape A Creepy House Filled With Multiple Horrors

The Witch's House features a young girl named Viola who finds herself trapped in a mysterious forest, hiding in a house that is filled to the brim with ghastly occurrences and scary moments. As she tries to escape, she encounters a variety of horrific creatures and must solve puzzles to progress through the game.

The story is filled with twists and turns, and its eerie soundtrack adds to its unsettling atmosphere despite the visuals looking "cute," for lack of a better term. However, the biggest gut punch delivered by this game comes at the ending, and players who have yet to check out The Witch's House should make it a point to play through this masterpiece if they love how the horror genre shines through the medium of video games.

7 Fear & Hunger

Players Love The Game, But The Game Hates Them

Fear & Hunger is a horror-themed role-playing game that is easily one of the hardest and most unfair experiences anyone can put themselves through. The game makes no effort to hide the fact that it actively hates the player, with death present at every corner and hounding the player at every step of the way.

Fear & Hunger features a variety of enemies, including grotesque monsters and twisted versions of familiar creatures. Combat is turn-based and requires strategic thinking, with limb dismemberment being critical to render enemies ineffective. Of course, the player's limbs are also free real estate and can be hacked off at a moment's notice, severely inhibiting their effectiveness in battle. That being said, a content warning is required here — Fear & Hunger depicts graphic and sexual violence in a disturbing manner that can be hard to stomach, so player discretion is advised.

8 Pocket Mirror

A Heavily Ambiguous Game That Works Well With Its Narrative

Created using RPG MAKER VX ACE, Pocket Mirror is a horror game in which symbolism is paramount. Because of this, those looking for a straightforward game with a simple A-to-B plot should look elsewhere. For everyone else, Pocket Mirror is a nightmare in the best way.

Almost everything within is subject to interpretation. In some games, ambiguity is the result of laziness, of game designers not knowing what end result they're trying to achieve, but in this game, delving into symbols for their true meaning is half the point. With original artwork, an original soundtrack, and visual novel elements, Pocket Mirror goes above and beyond most RPG Maker titles.

The original Pocket Mirror from 2016 is fairly difficult to find, although not impossible. However, Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum is a remaster that is available on Steam.

9 Yume Nikki

Disturbing Events From A Child's Imagination

The imagination can be a terrible thing, and when the imagination is that of a child, it can be as confusing as it is sinister. Yume Nikki is a surreal exploration into the titular character's head, beginning when the player goes to sleep and snapping back to reality whenever they pinch themselves awake.

The excellent sound design beautifully complements the game's avant-garde style, and this is certainly not an indie game that takes a long time to beat. Rather than compromise itself by leaning upon a convoluted plot, Yume Nikki leaves much to the player's interpretation. Just as it should be with dreams and nightmares, sometimes it is better not to analyze.

10 The Crooked Man

A Tennant's Quest To Uncover The Truth Behind A Haunted Apartment

Moving into a new home is a beloved horror trope, and The Crooked Man wields it to beautiful effect. David Hoover moves into his new apartment only to discover that the building may be haunted. Not the type to let an apparition go uninvestigated, David sets out to solve the mystery, setting himself up for a series of escalating scares.

His repeated encounters with the Crooked Man himself do not dissuade him, even as the situation grows bleaker. The Crooked Man is the first installment of The Strange Men Anthology, a four-game collection, and is arguably the best of the lot, though The Sandman, The Boogie Man, and The Hanged Man are all worth a play, even if they are not major indie success stories.