Horror games can be scary without loud jump scares, this indie game proves it

1 am. Lights off. Headphones on. This is how I usually play horror games and enjoy giving myself some genuine scares. From Resident Evil 7 to the recently launched Silent Hill, I have played many horror titles like this. But the one game that I couldn’t dare to play this way was The Mortuary Assistant. I had initially thought that the game would come with a few good scares, some creepy vibes, and maybe just one or two moments where I pause the game and stare at the wall to calm down. But, I was wrong. 

I was still in the tutorial, learning how to embalm a body, when my stomach dropped. Nothing jumped out at me and there was no loud noise or scripted scare. What was there was just a feeling that something was deeply wrong and that I was not safe even though everything seemed normal. 

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By the time the tutorial ended, I was already scared in a way that felt different. It was the kind of fear that follows you when you stand up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and swear you felt something strange. That is when I realised that this might be the scariest horror game I have ever played. And it didn’t even need any loud jump scares or oddly looking ghosts to make that happen.

A slow-burn indie horror that is now headed to the big screen

In a world full of some epic horror franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, The Mortuary Assistant has been quietly building a reputation as one of the most unsettling horror games of recent years, and now it is also getting a movie adaptation. The announcement has sparked genuine excitement, especially among horror fans who know how rare it is for an indie game to leave this kind of mark.

Part of its popularity also comes from YouTube. Countless creators have uploaded playthroughs, reaction videos, and breakdowns of its multiple endings. Watching someone else play it is terrifying in its own way, but playing it yourself is something else entirely. Yes, the game does have jump scares, but it never relies on them. It never floods you with loud noises every five minutes. Instead, it lets silence do most of the work, and that restraint is exactly why it works.

When ordinary tasks become dangerous

One of the most disturbing things about The Mortuary Assistant is how it turns mundane, almost boring tasks into sources of fear. You are not running from monsters or solving elaborate puzzles. You are doing your job which is also eerie in its own way. As part of your job, you are embalming bodies, checking paperwork, making entries on a computer and so on. The horror creeps in while you are focused on routine, when your guard is down. And that is far scarier than constant jump scares. Loud noises eventually lose their power but when a game teaches you that even normal actions are unsafe, your brain never relaxes. Every second becomes tense because danger feels possible at all times.

You cannot trust your own eyes or mind

The game also attacks something much more personal- your perception. You start questioning what you saw. Was that figure always there? Did the lights flicker or did you imagine it? Did something move behind you or are you just… tired?

This uncertainty is brutal and we all know that horror works best when it makes you doubt yourself. And The Mortuary Assistant does this relentlessly. The fear does not come from what the game shows you, but from what it makes you think might be there.

Sound and setting add to the fear

Apart from psychological horror elements, the setting and sound design of the game also plays a role. The mortuary where the game is set is isolated, cold, and lifeless. It feels wrong by design. Pair that with sound design that understands restraint, and the result is suffocating. 

There is no dramatic music telling you when to be scared. The game lets the environment speak, and that choice makes every sound feel important.

No weapons, no power, no safety

Perhaps the most important design choice of the game is that you cannot fight back, with weapons atleast. There are no weapons to give you confidence. No last-minute save through combat. The only way to get rid of a demon is to banish it by completing a long procedure. And during all of that you are alone, vulnerable, and painfully aware of it.

That lack of power changes everything. You are not a hero but  just a person trying to survive a night that refuses to end.

Thus, The Mortuary Assistant stays with you long after you shut the game down. It never relies on loud jump scares or cheap tricks to get a reaction. Instead, it builds fear through atmosphere, silence, and the deeply unsettling idea that something is wrong even during the most ordinary moments. The fact that all of this comes from an indie game developed by just one person makes it even more impressive. It proves that horror does not need massive budgets or constant noise to work. Sometimes, the most effective fear is the one that creeps in quietly and refuses to let go.

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