Welcome to our new weekend indie segment, where we showcase a handful of recently released and/or upcoming Japanese indie games that share a specific theme.
The pilot theme for this weekend is horror titles that have you play as animals or prominently feature animals, because there’s no amount of horror that a cute pet cannot remedy (or intensify).
Still It Runs
Set in a rundown house in rural Japan, Still It Runs is a first-person exploration game that tasks you with collecting the fragmented memories of those who once lived there. Only by collecting all of the memories will you – a normal house cat – be able to uncover the house’s mysteries and escape.
Blocking your progress is a faceless man in a business suit, who stalks the halls of the house. Sound is your enemy, as every creak, step, and dropped object can betray your position. As with many combat-less horror games, your only methods of survival when caught are to run and hide.
Still It Runs was written by Sesuji, a Japanese author known for the novel About a Place in the Kinki Region and its film adaptation. Developed by Kadokawa and Nayug, the game was released on October 27, 2025 for PC (Steam).
Tsugunohi -The Cat Ghost-
Part of ImCyan and Vaka Game Magazine’s Tsugunohi series of horror walking sims, The Cat Ghost is a short tale about a cat who goes on a stroll through the city streets. While the scares are rather tame in the beginning (a cockroach jumping at you is never a fun time), they eventually become more supernatural in nature.
Tsugunohi is available for PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.
Umigari
Umigari is the first title on this list that doesn’t feature an animal protagonist, but that doesn’t stop the game’s fish from taking center stage. Developed by Chilla’s Art, the Japanese indie studio that created hits like The Convenience Store and Shinkansen 0, you play as a fisherman who makes a living by harpooning sea creatures off Japan’s waters.
Much like the Black Salt Games’ indie hit Dredge, Umigari gets stranger the further you venture off the coast. The fishmongers all have eerily fish-like faces, and a two-legged fish can even be spotted in the demo trailer.
Umigari is currently in development for Windows (Steam). A playable demo is already available on the platform.
Slitterhead
Slitterhead marks Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama’s return to the horror genre after nearly 16 years. As the bodiless entity “Hyoki,” you must possess others to eradicate brain-devouring parasites known as Slitterheads. On your journey, you may end up inhabiting the body of a doggo, which can be seen at the end of the official gameplay trailer.
While Slitterhead’s combat can get absolutely bloody when possessing human beings (it is classified as a horror, action-adventure title), there is no battle or bloodshed involving animals in the game, so rest assured.
Slitterhead is available for the PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as Xbox Series X|S. A playable demo is available on all platforms.
Those were four horror titles that either have playable animals or prominently feature them. Though Halloween has long passed, there’s always room for a little scare in our lives. Tune in next time, when we look at (hopefully) less scary games with a different theme!
