11 Games Like Mad Father
Our list of games like Mad Father offers other mysterious and horror filled puzzle games where you’ll collect clues and solve a mystery with minimal combat requirements.
Mad Father is an indie horror adventure made by Sen in the Wolf RPG Editor who also created the equally popular Misao. In Mad Father players take on the role of young Aya a girl who lives alone with her father Alfred after her mother died of sickness some time ago. On the eve of your mother's death though the stroke of midnight brings a terrifying scream from your father’s laboratory where he conducts his work.
Corpses now wander the manor hallways you call home and it falls on Aya to survive and find her father. During the course of these events you’ll discover more about your family and ultimately explore several different endings. Mad Father uses similar gameplay to other popular indie horror RPGs and most notably does not feature game combat with a focus instead on Aya’s exploration and problem solving as you sneak from room to room uncovering clues.
The games like Mad Father collected here offer a similar adventure to Mad Father with a focus on exploration of a mysterious and horror setting, multiple endings and avoiding combat.
OneShot
OneShot is a dark and mysterious adventure which started as a simple free RPG Maker title and later expanded into a deeper paid journey for a range of computer and console platforms. Following the adventures of Niko OneShot guarantees to mess with your head as you explore a dark game world to explore with various challenges. With an emphasis on puzzles, exploration, permanent decisions and discovery can you lead the lost child Niko through a surreal journey? As the name implies players are inten...[Read Review]
Ib
Ib is psychological horror game released in 2012 by the Japanese artist kouri (and subsequently translated by vgperson). The game features a top-down perspective and is set in an eerie art museum with the main goal being escape. The game is named after the main protagonist Ib, a nine-year old girl who is brought to a museum with her parents. While wondering off on her own Ib comes across a painting that seems out of place and beyond understanding at which point a power outage abruptly occurs lea...[Read Review]
Corpse Party
Corpse Party was first released in 1996 and has seen a number of re-releases and sequels since the originals success. Like all classics though the original is the most acclaimed and also the best place to start. In 2021 a remastered version (Corpse Party (2021)) was released for modern platforms though which allows you to enjoy the original with significantly enhanced art, voice acting, audio and includes some additional chapters. Drawing from a unique alternate history where an elementary schoo...[Read Review]
Yume Nikki
Yume Nikki comes from the Japanese developer Kikiyama and is a horror adventure developed with RPG Maker 2003. While it has few actual RPG elements this software has long been a popular option for this indie genre with Yume Nikki offering a similar intriguing surrealistic adventure to others in the niche. The game follows a reclusive teen named Madotsuki as they travel through her strange dreams that are filled with all sorts of horrific and surreal scenes. From large monsters to strange alien l...[Read Review]
The Witch’s House
Offering a free to play horror adventure The Witch’s House released in 2012 and like similar Japanese horror creations was made in RPG Maker with an eventual English release. In 2018 a paid Windows version of the game was released (The Witch’s House MV) that significantly enhanced the graphical experience and was subsequently offered on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2022. Regardless of which version you play you’ll find the same core story experience with t...[Read Review]
To the Moon
To the Moon is an adventure game released in 2011 by Freebird Games and explores the story of two doctors on a mission to fulfil a dying man’s last wish. Having released several other games in this story driven RPG Maker niche players can expect to find a refined story telling process with To the Moon being one of the most well received of Freebird Game releases and containing dozens of hours of content. To the Moon uses a unique story premise that revolves around a technology that can cre...[Read Review]
Palette
Palette is one of the classic games in the freeware Japanese horror genre and was released in 2000 with the help of RPG Maker 95. The game was also awarded as part of the ASCII Entertainment Software Contest which led to a PlayStation Japanese version entitled Forget me not -Palette- which had a similar premise to the freeware version although had some notable differences and tweaks. Like many horror titles released from RPG Maker Palette is highly focused on creating an atmosphere through pacin...[Read Review]
Ao Oni
Ao Oni is a freeware horror game from Japan that has also been translated into English, centred around a large blue coloured monster the game has a number of different version releases that build on the original game release. Taking on the role of a young teen named Hiroshi players explore a haunted mansion that they entered with their friends. In typical horror fashion players don’t believe the house is haunted at the start but the tables quickly turn as the doors lock behind you and your...[Read Review]
Misao
Misao was created in 2011 with the Wolf RPG Editor by Sen and gives players a free to play horror experience with Japanese origins. Despite the basic game engine and the limitations that it brings Misao has a healthy cult following thanks to the story and atmosphere the game creates. While the original is in Japanese an English version is available through vgperson’s translations. Alternatively, a Definition Edition (paid) is available through Steam which extensively changes the original v...[Read Review]
Claire
Claire is a 2D horror indie adventure game produced by Hailstorm Games that explores a basic but also unique pixelated world with a range of elements for players to discover. Originally released in 2014 for Windows Claire was extended to PlayStation 4, PS Vita and Xbox One with an extended edition which featured the same core gameplay albeit a number of notable enhancements. Your adventure in Claire is one where you feel alone, lost and hunted by the world and those within the world that is over...[Read Review]
Phantasmagoria
Phantasmagoria is a game with an interesting mix of point and click adventure, horror and interactive movie that released back in 1995 during the early era of the video game industry. After achieving success on the market a controversial game sequel was released that was so horrifying it was banned in many countries and thus never saw the same light of day as the original Phantasmagoria. Phantasmagoria is also well known amongst interactive movie games and was at the forefront of technology at t...[Read Review]