Ready to face the Barotrauma Cthulhu in the Indie horror, Barotrauma? Indie games are a crucial cornerstone of modern gaming, and the batch we're presenting to you in January 2020 is no different. Untethered from major publishers - for better or worse - it's indies that often innovate the most. That's precisely why there are so many of them that are worth our time! There are caveats that come with not having corporate looming over your head, and with little concrete funding, but for many of us, gaming is about experimentation. Indies rule in this regard.

For that reason, we've hand-picked three awesome indie games you can play right this instant. As the title might've given away, we're in a horror mood this month. Namely, we're featuring Barotrauma, Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, and - less predictably - Felix The Reaper. Chances are that you haven't heard much about these nuggets, and we'd like to change that.

Strap in, because it's about to get really, really eldritch.

Barotrauma Cthulhu - why Ocean Depths are scary

Oh, wow, look. Deep underwater exploration. Who would've thought this could be terrifying, right? Barotrauma is a cooperative horror management/strategy game, odd as that might sound. Taking cues from Faster Than Light and Space Station 13, this unlikely hybrid of genres is in a category of its own. Players are tasked with exploring the unhospitable oceans of Jupiter's Europa. Expectedly, the water is absolutely brimming with horrors of all shapes and sizes. That alone ought to give you an idea of why this is one of the best indie games January 2020.

As we said, management is actually a key portion of Barotrauma's gameplay. Players must work together for their submarines to keep tracking along. Some will man the weaponry, while others fiddle with the engines. Others might be busy with repairing hull leaks, and some might also be busy with trying to keep monsters off the engineers' back. There are brooms to wield, too, we bet!

It's difficult to overstate just how horrific Barotrauma can get when push comes to shove. Most of the time, you'll be adrift and busy with merely staying alive and running. Danger, however, comes unannounced in this game, and you never know if that ridge you just passed over is actually the fin of a titanic sea monstrosity. Thrilling!

Good news for fans of solo play: Barotrauma does, in fact, support singleplayer. Do prepare for lots of micromanagement and switching between characters, however. Another thing to keep in mind is that this game offers full mod support across the board. Players can (and do) produce their own sea monsters, submarines, and everything in-between. Just check out the game's Workshop for a taste of what's waiting for you in Barotrauma. Good lord, are those Xenomorphs?

Pets!

More good news, if you're looking for some creature companions during your scary underwater explorations, then you'll be pleased to know that there are unique pets to be found and tamed! Pets generally don't interact much, although they do require some looking after. Instead, they wander aimlessly occasionally making idle noises.

Fortunately, these unique pets don't require air to breathe or get crushed by high pressure when deep underwater. However, they are fragile and are easily killed. Pets generally also flee when severely injured. Very rarely, you can also find Mechanics Pets, generally in wrecks, and occasionally making idle noises, or they can be laid by their respective Pet. If not laid by their respective Pet, Mechanics Pets can also be purchased in-store.

Cthulhu Barotrauma

If you're looking for a Halloween Pet, the Cthulhu holds a Jack-o'-Lantern Trick-or-Treat basket in its arm and is pretty darn spooky! It possesses an octopus-like head whose face is a mass of feelers, though its body is of a dragon with a pair of wings and a tail. A flying creature, this is the only Pet that floats by flapping its wings instead of undulating along the ground like other Pets' sluggish movement, and unlike other Pets, the Cthulhu flying creature is mute, making no sounds whatsoever as it has no audio.

• Get Barotrauma HERE

Indie Games January 2020 -

Cthulhu has awoken, but that was only the start. That's the central premise of Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, and we love it. It's easy to think of Lovecraft's lovechild universe as something that just ends when its most famous deity wakes up, but that's not actually how it works. Instead, the universe keeps trucking, and humans keep surviving. Kind of. Here, you get to see how that might go!

Stygian affords you a unique trip through post-apocalyptic Arkham as reality itself gets redefined. After all, it's not human sensibilities that the post-apocalypse caters to! This is a sort-of-isometric role-playing game that takes cues from virtually all of Lovecraft's works, making it a special treat for fans of this genre of horror.

It's a given that your expedition into the unknown is doomed from the start, of course. Stygian is about your downfall, in fact, and it's up to you to discover how that might happen. Will you have created a useless character at the start? Or will their sanity break mid-run? It's this sort of joy that awaits in Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones, but with a central narrative to tie it all together.

Players can also enlist other characters to become their companions if they really wish to roll the dice. If that last Mi-Go doesn't steal your brain, perhaps your pal Outsider will. Everyone goes mad in Stygian, after all! You've never played a post-apocalyptic RPG like this before, believe us.

• Get Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones HERE

If Felix The Reaper dances in your general direction, run away

At first glance, Felix The Reaper is at odds with the games we showcased above. Both Barotrauma and Stygian are overtly oppressive, whereas Felix is very much not. The premise of the game, however, is quite appropriate! Make sure people die. Simple, no? This wacky horror-puzzler puts you in the shoes of a dancing Reaper who has to manipulate his surroundings in order to make people deader than dead.

Basically, the titular Reaper can manipulate shadows in order to make it to their target. Since light is the domain of life, you're going to want to avoid that, and manipulating the various items strewn across the level accomplished this task. A mere death-themed puzzler might not sound special at first, but the developers have built a wonderful mythos around this premise. There's lots of comedy to be found here, and Felix The Reaper's storytelling is nothing to scoff at.

Of course, if it's straight terror you're looking for, either Stygian or Barotrauma will be more your speed, but we found ourselves having quite a lot of fun with Felix The Reaper. Puzzle fans are going to have a great time with this oddly whimsical death-simulator!

• Get Felix The Reaper HERE

Any other Indie Games to check out in January 2020?

If you're yearning for more awesome indies to play, let us point you towards our Best Early Access Games coming out in 2020 article.  Featuring a number of additional indies, that's the next thing you're going to want to check out if none of the above tickles your fancy.

There's lots more coming your way on the topic of indies, so stay tuned, and happy gaming!