Horror in games

[Nigh Invulnerable]

The Silent Hill franchise (through the 3rd game anyway) scared me. The 4th was just kind of so-so. I rented the 1st one, beat it, and was creeped out by it. Then I bought the 2nd one on my PS2 and the upgrade in graphics really heightened the creepy atmosphere. The slow pacing at the beginning and the fact that you're basically ineffective in combat helped make it even more frightening. SH3 continued the tradition of useless combat and freaky monsters, which meant I enjoyed it too.

Very few other games have made me feel such a constant sense of uneasiness. Most games that are "scary" just have a few jump-out moments but don't make me feel any genuine horror. Surprisingly, the haunted mansion level of Timesplitters 3 manages to kind of be creepy, despite also being a goof on the RE franchise.

 

[JokerGrin]

i think games today should stop focusing on shocking gore and focus more on psychological horro. For example, check out some Asian horror, that stuff really gets into your head. And sometimes you dont see a drop of blood!

Amen.
May I recommend the film/movie "Audition" to the masses? Alright there is a bit of blood eventually but not much. I love Asian horror and this is probably the king if you ask me. The anime Perfect Blue is pretty shocking aswell.

 

[RavingLibDem]

mate, I have to say on first playthrough the general aura of bioshock is fucking terrifying, it may be system shock, but i Just find it even more scary!

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Ugh, I really don't understand why Bioshock is so scary! I kinda wish it was for me...

 

[peterwolfe]

i think games today should stop focusing on shocking gore and focus more on psychological horro. For example, check out some Asian horror, that stuff really gets into your head. And sometimes you dont see a drop of blood!

Amen.
May I recommend the film/movie "Audition" to the masses? Alright there is a bit of blood eventually but not much. I love Asian horror and this is probably the king if you ask me. The anime Perfect Blue is pretty shocking aswell.

Perfect Blue just got confusing as hell after a while. Then suddenly she's being raped in a strip club and you don't know wtf going on.

Resident Evil 4 had the right mix of thrills and chills for me. Still sometimes freak out over the sewer chase scene.

 

[peterwolfe]

Ugh, I really don't understand why Bioshock is so scary! I kinda wish it was for me...

It had a woman pushing a revolver around in a baby carriage! And decomposing bodies were everywhere, and you got to hear recording diaries of all kinds of weird shit wherever you went...the lady who talks about her daughter becoming a little sister (spoiler) is the worst.

 

[Lyiat]

Bioshock wasn't horribly scary, but it had a few things that made you uncomfortable. Like when I first shot one of those statues and blood went everywhere. I was like "... Oh. Oh fuck. Dude thats creepy!"

 

[JingleheimerShmidt]

Anyone remember the shalebridge cradle in thief deadly shadows? It was quite amazing without constantly throwing gore or bad guys at you.

This. This right here is what all games should aspire to when trying to incite true, unadulterated fear in a player.

I find that the best "horror" games are those that are not labeled as such. Case in point, Thief. It's not a survival horror game, it's a stealth game. You don't go into it expecting to be terrified, even if you are aware that you're basically dead if caught by anyone. So when Shalebridge Cradle final rolls around, you have no idea what to expect. I recall a quote that went something like this: "If Silent Hill were only a half hour game, it would be the scariest game ever conceived." Namely, the longer the fear is drawn out, the less of an impact it has. You come to expect the terror, and embrace the familiarity of it. Not so with the Cradle. Nothing can prepare you for it.

As the level starts, the burnt out husk of the mansion looms over you; a dominant, overpowering force that exerts its will subtly over your consciousness as you delve deeper into its confines and its secrets. It is up to you to find the clues to uncover the mysteries of the Cradle, much like the video logs one finds in games like Bioshock. But, of course, there isn't even a voice to comfort you. Just the crumpling of paper as you read forgotten notes covered with the dust of the ages. Fear mounts as you travel through the opening area, wondering what might jump out at you. But there is nothing. Nothing but worn furniture, blackened walls, and the sound of your footsteps on the floorboards. Slowly, the noises of the building begin to rise. The groaning of ancient wood and mournful winds, and what sound like faint whispers of laughter. A child's laughter. Yet still there is nothing to hide from, nothing to attack. Yet there is a presence all the same, a feeling that you are being studied or scrutinized. Eventually you come to realize that the greatest terror are not the shambling remains of the former inhabitants of Shalebridge, but the aura of the building itself. It toys with you, leads you on, provides you with glimpses of hope before wrenching them away. It toys with you like a cat with a mouse.

And it does not want you to leave.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Anyone remember the shalebridge cradle in thief deadly shadows? It was quite amazing without constantly throwing gore or bad guys at you.

This. This right here is what all games should aspire to when trying to incite true, unadulterated fear in a player.

I find that the best "horror" games are those that are not labeled as such. Case in point, Thief. It's not a survival horror game, it's a stealth game. You don't go into it expecting to be terrified, even if you are aware that you're basically dead if caught by anyone. So when Shalebridge Cradle final rolls around, you have no idea what to expect. I recall a quote that went something like this: "If Silent Hill were only a half hour game, it would be the scariest game ever conceived." Namely, the longer the fear is drawn out, the less of an impact it has. You come to expect the terror, and embrace the familiarity of it. Not so with the Cradle. Nothing can prepare you for it.

As the level starts, the burnt out husk of the mansion looms over you; a dominant, overpowering force that exerts its will subtly over your consciousness as you delve deeper into its confines and its secrets. It is up to you to find the clues to uncover the mysteries of the Cradle, much like the video logs one finds in games like Bioshock. But, of course, there isn't even a voice to comfort you. Just the crumpling of paper as you read forgotten notes covered with the dust of the ages. Fear mounts as you travel through the opening area, wondering what might jump out at you. But there is nothing. Nothing but worn furniture, blackened walls, and the sound of your footsteps on the floorboards. Slowly, the noises of the building begin to rise. The groaning of ancient wood and mournful winds, and what sound like faint whispers of laughter. A child's laughter. Yet still there is nothing to hide from, nothing to attack. Yet there is a presence all the same, a feeling that you are being studied or scrutinized. Eventually you come to realize that the greatest terror are not the shambling remains of the former inhabitants of Shalebridge, but the aura of the building itself. It toys with you, leads you on, provides you with glimpses of hope before wrenching them away. It toys with you like a cat with a mouse.

And it does not want you to leave.

Eloquently written and I'll let you all know that this is the one game I stopped playing because I was too frightened to continue. I just couldn't do it. I had my brother play the beginning part, where you must find out where either the laughter or the knocking on the door is coming from, I can't remember which it was. But when you got closer and closer it got louder and louder and when you finally got to the door...it stopped completely. That scared me to no end, I had to save and quit right there. I needed someone to watch me play after that. I finally opened the door and then all hell broke loose after that in the Cradle.

I loved that game...just a shame I couldn't grow the gonads to keep going.

 

[JingleheimerShmidt]

Heh, I must admit that I did the same thing. I made it a bit farther along, to the point where there were actual enemies to watch out for. Didn't last much longer after that, especially once I started reading about the various former inmates and why they were incarcerated. I still kick myself for not continuing with it, particularly now that I do not have access to a PC.

 

[Knonsense]

From this obscure point & click called The Last Half of Darkness: (it's shareware)

Basically you go around this obviously haunted house looking for stuff. I don't remember the story too well I was young. The whole game basically is dark blue and black. There is almost no motion, and the only sound is caused by the players action and the voice of the PC's aunt, beckoning the player into the house. Anyway you come to a hallway with three doors, two of which is closed. The one on the left is open. Instinct somehow compelled me to go through the open door.

Through the door was a basic bedroom, again everything blue and black, with a door to the right, presumably a walk in closet or a bathroom or something. The difference, here, was two blond twins playing patty cake, looking at each other with no notice of the player. This was really, really creepy to me. My next instinct was to go back the way I came.

Doing so, or attempting to attack the girls or access the door on the side, will result in the girl right in your face holding a bloody knife, while a mourning bass line plays in midi in the normally silent background. The game describes the girls saying that no adults are allowed, before stabbing you over and over until you died.

This scared the crap out of me, possibly because I was young. I think another factor was that the game seemed to break its own rules. This was a dos, point & click game, which had previously demonstrated no ability to animate something like girls playing patty cake. It used vivid colors where the entire house mostly consisted of two at a time. It only broke out the sound to demonstrate the creak of a door being opened (with no animation) or a faucet being turned on, and then suddenly you're dead and there's midi music seemingly booming from your computer.

Clock Tower: The First Fear was also something that creeped me out to some extent. I can't help but wonder if low tech has the capacity to produce horror.

 

[axia777]

I just got done playing Dead Space and I have to say it was one of the better horror games I have played in quite a while. I will say that it is not "Survival Horror" and is more "Sci-Fi Action Horror". To me that was perfectly ok. As horror goes though it had a lot of good elements that freaked me out whilst playing it late at night alone in the dark. All of the demonic sounding whispering, distant screams, metallic clanging, and other atmospheric noises made for a very psychologically scary environment. They could have pushed it farther, but I found it to be a satisfying horror experience none the less.

As for old school games Silent Hill 1/2, Resident Evil 1-3 and Clock Tower were all pretty horrific games.

 

[peterwolfe]

Anyone remember the shalebridge cradle in thief deadly shadows? It was quite amazing without constantly throwing gore or bad guys at you.

This. This right here is what all games should aspire to when trying to incite true, unadulterated fear in a player.

I find that the best "horror" games are those that are not labeled as such. Case in point, Thief. It's not a survival horror game, it's a stealth game. You don't go into it expecting to be terrified, even if you are aware that you're basically dead if caught by anyone. So when Shalebridge Cradle final rolls around, you have no idea what to expect. I recall a quote that went something like this: "If Silent Hill were only a half hour game, it would be the scariest game ever conceived." Namely, the longer the fear is drawn out, the less of an impact it has. You come to expect the terror, and embrace the familiarity of it. Not so with the Cradle. Nothing can prepare you for it.

As the level starts, the burnt out husk of the mansion looms over you; a dominant, overpowering force that exerts its will subtly over your consciousness as you delve deeper into its confines and its secrets. It is up to you to find the clues to uncover the mysteries of the Cradle, much like the video logs one finds in games like Bioshock. But, of course, there isn't even a voice to comfort you. Just the crumpling of paper as you read forgotten notes covered with the dust of the ages. Fear mounts as you travel through the opening area, wondering what might jump out at you. But there is nothing. Nothing but worn furniture, blackened walls, and the sound of your footsteps on the floorboards. Slowly, the noises of the building begin to rise. The groaning of ancient wood and mournful winds, and what sound like faint whispers of laughter. A child's laughter. Yet still there is nothing to hide from, nothing to attack. Yet there is a presence all the same, a feeling that you are being studied or scrutinized. Eventually you come to realize that the greatest terror are not the shambling remains of the former inhabitants of Shalebridge, but the aura of the building itself. It toys with you, leads you on, provides you with glimpses of hope before wrenching them away. It toys with you like a cat with a mouse.

And it does not want you to leave.

You pretty much made me miss, like, an hour of studying looking up clips from that level online, I'll have you know. Jerk.
...
But damn was it creeeeepyyy...

 

[MattKirby]

Condemned was pretty good example of gritty fear.


But hands down the best horror game I ever played Was Call of Cthulu Dark Corners of The Earth. It was horrifying but it sacrificed game play slightly but still made up with it by true horror.

 

[s-l-u-g]

i think games today should stop focusing on shocking gore and focus more on psychological horro. For example, check out some Asian horror, that stuff really gets into your head. And sometimes you dont see a drop of blood!

Amen.
May I recommend the film/movie "Audition" to the masses? Alright there is a bit of blood eventually but not much. I love Asian horror and this is probably the king if you ask me. The anime Perfect Blue is pretty shocking aswell.

I've been dying to see audition... Takashi Miike's work was it?

 

[Audemas]

Dead Space

 

[Marv21]

Dead Space had started the formula,
F.E.A.R. Started the formula

Formula for a good horror game

1.Add creepy unsespecting graphic deaths, like Clock Tower 3 Corrodor was it?
2.Insanity is ever apparent
3.You are never safe I.E. Dead Space,
4.Meager weapons
5. Gothic Gearhead look(I just like Gothic Gearhead)
6. Saw Torture-esque stomach grinding moments.

 

[oni565]

I know it's sad, but DOOM 3 Scared me at the beginning

 

[Raptoricus]

I'm going to have to go with the Silent Hill series (well up till 3 :|), I remember playing those games in the dark on my own, the oppressive atmosphere that they built up was immense. In my opinion the reason why the games where really scary was definately the feeling of helplessness, like you where being slowly dropped deeper into some circle of hell, armed with a plank of wood.

I also reckon that proper fear comes from familiar things being twisted into something that doesn't feel right, like it's already been said F.E.A.R., Resident Evil, etc never did any of these things so well, and as much as I enjoyed the games, I wouldn't say that they ever really freaked me out (except maybe the odd jump or too).

 

[The_Deleted]

i think games today should stop focusing on shocking gore and focus more on psychological horro. For example, check out some Asian horror, that stuff really gets into your head. And sometimes you dont see a drop of blood!

Amen.
May I recommend the film/movie "Audition" to the masses? Alright there is a bit of blood eventually but not much. I love Asian horror and this is probably the king if you ask me. The anime Perfect Blue is pretty shocking aswell.

I've been dying to see audition... Takashi Miike's work was it?

Yep. It's slow as hell. But keep with it.
The sack, man, the sack!