Horror games let me confront my fears and test the boundaries of my mental endurance without risk of any actual physical harm. For instance, I have this little mental quirk about eyes [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/theroguewolf/Games/Obliv_MH_08.jpg] in [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/theroguewolf/Games/EEtD2.jpg] the [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/theroguewolf/Games/EEtD3.jpg] darkness [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/theroguewolf/Games/EEtD4.jpg], so games that put me in dark places while creatures [http://media.moddb.com/images/downloads/1/15/14439/Penumbra_2008-03-10_00-22-58-861.jpg] with glowing eyes [http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/7417/stalkershadowofchernobyam5.jpg] stalk me ceaselessly sort of get my hackles up. However, I've found that when I'm carrying an arsenal that would make any first-world country's military jealous, the horror aspect just sort of goes away. Where's the challenge when my primary reaction after the bad guy goes "boo" is to turn it into a red smear on the floor?
One of the things I both like and hate about Penumbra is that you are absolutely vulnerable. You get no guns, and using something like a hammer or pickaxe as a weapon is so clumsy that, unless you seriously stack the odds in your favor (unapproachable location, height advantage) you're probably going to die in a one-on-one fight with anything reasonably dangerous. I don't like feeling completely helpless; I'd like to know that, with a lot of caution and care, I can hunt and kill what is trying to hunt and kill me.
I also find that the horror is amplified when you're left to puzzle out much of the story yourself (through in-game clues) rather than have everything just told to you up-front.
One of the things I both like and hate about Penumbra is that you are absolutely vulnerable. You get no guns, and using something like a hammer or pickaxe as a weapon is so clumsy that, unless you seriously stack the odds in your favor (unapproachable location, height advantage) you're probably going to die in a one-on-one fight with anything reasonably dangerous. I don't like feeling completely helpless; I'd like to know that, with a lot of caution and care, I can hunt and kill what is trying to hunt and kill me.
I also find that the horror is amplified when you're left to puzzle out much of the story yourself (through in-game clues) rather than have everything just told to you up-front.
