Are there any horror games that are actually scary without using jump scares?
- Thread starter King of the Sandbox
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Yeah, what I was going to say has already been said, but the Penumbra games are excellent, even for a person who, like you, never gets scared by anything. But wow, these got my heart pumping when I played them right. Then I accidentally ruined my experience of Overture >_< Damn my friends and their suggestions...
The Suffering. A survival horror game that taks place in a maximum security prison starring a main character who may or may not have murdered his wife and two young children. It was released as freeware.
http://the-suffering.en.softonic.com/
You wouldn't think an action game where the player can turn into an unstoppable monster at will could be scary but they managed to pull it off.
http://the-suffering.en.softonic.com/
You wouldn't think an action game where the player can turn into an unstoppable monster at will could be scary but they managed to pull it off.
I knew I would never make it through Amnesia (I'm not a big fan of horror movies either) so I watched a Let's Play of it, and even that had me crawling up a wall a couple times. It's got some awfully clever gameplay mechanics in it that had me shrieking "don't look! Don't looook!" at the screen on several occasions.KefkaCultist said:
Good call. Gotta love a game where if you leave your guy staring at a hung corpse he will gradually go insane.Greenhand said:
Also despite the up and down reviews, and slightly dodgy combat, Alan Wake is probably the most recent 'good' scare game.
Heres a link to Susan Arendt's review. She puts it across very well imo.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/7524-Review-Alan-Wake
haha I got about half way through it then watched the rest of the game through a lets play. It kind of ruined the scary factor though because the guy commenting the lets play was the youtuber Tobuscus who makes me laugh too hard to be scared lol.Evidencebased said:I knew I would never make it through Amnesia (I'm not a big fan of horror movies either) so I watched a Let's Play of it, and even that had me crawling up a wall a couple times. It's got some awfully clever gameplay mechanics in it that had me shrieking "don't look! Don't looook!" at the screen on several occasions.KefkaCultist said:
I'm the same with horror games. The Resident Evil series to me is like a comedy (I enjoy them though), Dead Space 1 and 2 failed to make me flinch and most modern horror movies fail to scare me even with jump scares.
I will say though, Amnesia is pretty intimidating for me, the horror elements are done incredibly well. If regular horrors ain't doing it for you, try Amnesia (Like everyone else has suggested)
I will say though, Amnesia is pretty intimidating for me, the horror elements are done incredibly well. If regular horrors ain't doing it for you, try Amnesia (Like everyone else has suggested)
System Shock 2 is one of those games that just slowly gets to you the longer you play. It doesn't seem too bad at first, I mean the game looks pretty crappy by todays standards for example and you've got guns to fight back. Not too bad!
Then you play it for awhile, and it just slowly creeps up on you till finally you've just gotta take a break. No place is ever truly safe, the enemies crying out for release, the constant pressure from the various menagerie of antagonist, limited ammo, faulty weapons, those DAMNED MONKEYS!! It never relents, it never slows down.
Then you play it for awhile, and it just slowly creeps up on you till finally you've just gotta take a break. No place is ever truly safe, the enemies crying out for release, the constant pressure from the various menagerie of antagonist, limited ammo, faulty weapons, those DAMNED MONKEYS!! It never relents, it never slows down.
Honestly? Minecraft.
I know, doesn't sound very scary. However, when you're digging down and suddenly discover a huge branching cavern filled with resources and horrible darkness, you're putting torches down every three steps and looking everywhere at once for fear of a creeper.
I know, doesn't sound very scary. However, when you're digging down and suddenly discover a huge branching cavern filled with resources and horrible darkness, you're putting torches down every three steps and looking everywhere at once for fear of a creeper.
Minecraft is the most frightening game i've ever played.
Survived the night walk out your house and oh piss a spider jumped out and ate your face.
Almost had a heart attack.
Survived the night walk out your house and oh piss a spider jumped out and ate your face.
Almost had a heart attack.
Which Silent Hill did you play? Try the first one if you can get over the graphics. It creeped the hell out of me right from the start. Play at night. Turn the lights off.
Silent Hill 2 also had its scary moments, but not as effective as SH1 IMHO.
Silent Hill 2 also had its scary moments, but not as effective as SH1 IMHO.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Yahtzee did a review on it and mentioned the kind of scare it gives you.
I was thinking about it the other day and why it is actually scary and I realized what it is.
The game takes you right out of your comfort zone. Generally we like being in well lit areas when there is a threat around. We also like to know what the threat is. The games sanity mechanic punishes you for indulging in these two comforts. You find yourself in situations where you have alerted a monster and are forced to hide right where it is heading. You can't look at it to gague how safe you are and the darkness slowly depletes you sanity all the while you're cowering in a corner and listening to something practically breathing down your neck (you'll want a good pair of headphones for the best experience).
Being forced out of your comfort zone coupled with the awesome sound design and immersive setting really starts to pick at your nerves after a while. I have found myself feeling physically drained after playing this game. Great stuff.
I was thinking about it the other day and why it is actually scary and I realized what it is.
The game takes you right out of your comfort zone. Generally we like being in well lit areas when there is a threat around. We also like to know what the threat is. The games sanity mechanic punishes you for indulging in these two comforts. You find yourself in situations where you have alerted a monster and are forced to hide right where it is heading. You can't look at it to gague how safe you are and the darkness slowly depletes you sanity all the while you're cowering in a corner and listening to something practically breathing down your neck (you'll want a good pair of headphones for the best experience).
Being forced out of your comfort zone coupled with the awesome sound design and immersive setting really starts to pick at your nerves after a while. I have found myself feeling physically drained after playing this game. Great stuff.
