How Do You Play Horror Games?

[jw1410]

So I picked up the Dead Space games off Steam and started playing them through again (picked both up for 360 when released). Mentioned this to a friend and they asked if I was playing it "properly" or not, what he meant was lights off, sound up etc. For me this is a no brainer for playing horror games but I thought I'd throw it to my fellow escapists. So. Do you all play them as intended? Or perhaps put yourselves in a less terrifying environment?

 

[NewYork_Comedian]

I rarely really get in the mood for it. I had hoped to pick up Amnesia, but I never got around to actually buying it. Although the Ravenholm level in Half-Life 2 remains vivid in my mind...

 

[Kingme18]

Sound up, lights off, and my mind prepared to make fun of everything that would otherwise scare the tits outta me. Same goes for scary movies. The only way I can cope is to try and laugh through it.

 

[jw1410]

Dead Rising is a horror game?

EDITED because I meant Dead Space. Oops. Thanks for that

 

[DustyDrB]

Sound up, lights off, and my mind prepared to make fun of everything that would otherwise scare the tits outta me. Same goes for scary movies. The only way I can cope is to try and laugh through it.

It's been a while since I even tried to play a horror game (three years at least), but back then my method was the opposite of yours. Lights on, only in the day, sound low (with something like She and Him [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BSAT1VSKsY] playing at least equally as loud as the game), and taking breaks often so I don't get too immersed.

And it still scared the shit out of me. And the game was BioShock.

 

[King of Wei]

Lights off, no external noise and a great pair of headphones. Love that "helpless" feeling you get with horror games so I try to get as much into the experience as humanly possible.

 

[Nouw]

Maybe I should do this more often. If I didn't live under someone else's roof that is. I did play Condemned with the lights off though, very fun.

 

[FalloutJack]

The only preparation I make is to put myself in the proper mindset. On the outside, I am dangerously genre savvy and insane. My character is neither of these. I am seeing the world through the character's eyes alone.

*Plays Extermination*

[HEADING=1]THE WALLS ARE EATING PEOPLE!!!!![/HEADING]

 

[Fleetfiend]

I think that a horror game is 10x better if played "properly", as you put it. To me, a horror game is meant to be completely immersed in, so the more you try to connect yourself to the game that way, the better.

Thank you, Amnesia, for a truckload of ruined panties.

 

[LilithSlave]

Well, in games such as Fatal Frame, my favourite survival horror franchise, I like to explore around as much as possible and enjoy the Japanese scenery.:>

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I either don't play them at all, or I play the first 10 minutes and swear profusely at everything that pops out at me and never play again.

...I don't handle horror games well.

If I did play them more often though I'd probably choose to do it in a fully lighted environment in the daytime. I suppose I'm just easily terrified.

 

[uzo]

Woot for horror games !!

I've been hooked since System Shock 2 -- goddamn Shodan gets me everytime. I still remember unloading a clip of carefully carefully conserved ammunition in a panic when I saw a 'ghost' of a crew member.

Then moved on to Biohazard (which is woefully un-horror now).

From there to Alien vs Predator - the marine campaign was terrifying.

Then to Zero (Fatal Frame), which I still think is the scariest I've played next to Amnesia.

Also enjoyed FEAR ... mostly because of Alma and her lovely little 'SURPRISE!!' moments.


Usually play in the dark with headphones on PC - I have my stereo hooked up to my PC but the ratings on it go up to 100 - I've never played a game with the volume above '5', though because I will probably be arrested.

 

[Ectoplasmicz]

Only way to play them! Middle of the night, in the darkness, with a great pair of headphones (or speakers, I prefer headphones) for maximum immersion. Thats how a horror game will scare you, if you are totally immersed and have that sense of actually being the chracter in the game, feeling like youre in their shoes.

 

[LilithSlave]

I would say that stuff, too. But that how I play most video games. Unless my headphones start hurting my ears. Even my $20 Sennheisers start hurting my ears after a few hours.

 

[TehCookie]

I play with the lights off, but I never turn the sound up. Though the best place to play horror games would be my grandma's basement. First of all being a basement it has that chill to it. Second, even though she lived in that house all my life, it still has that unfamiliar feel compared to me sitting at home playing it in my safe and cozy room.

Not to mention it has a slight bug problem that made me shit my pants on one of the least scariest horror games. I was playing Resident Evil 4 in her chilly dark basement and if you've played that game you'd know it's not scary. Well at least not until I got to the part with the giant bugs nest. I was having a fun time shooting the bugs that were flying towards me. Then another bug flies towards me and I aim and realize it's not in the game and it's heading straight towards my face. I dropped the controller and threw off my glasses that it landed on and dived behind the chair hyperventilating. My hands were shaking so bad I couldn't even play the game afterwards.

 

[AnotherAvatar]

Lights off, surround sound up, sometimes with my studio headphones on if I really want to get absorbed.

What I really want for this though is that Sony 3D Headset. I'll have to pick that up sometime this year when they either make it cheaper or make a new updated model.

I can't even imagine how that will feel for a really fucked up horror game! If only there were a way to play Silent Hill 2 in first person mode...

 

[Scars Unseen]

I hate to admit it, but I am a complete pansy when it comes to horror games. Movies are fine, but 20 years of role playing has made it too easy to put myself into complete immersion mode, especially since lights off, headphones on is my standard method of playing. I've played several, with my favorite being System Shock 2, but I've never beaten a single one, not even FEAR. One of these days I'm going to have to force myself to complete a playthrough of something, but it's going to be a nerve wracking experience.

 

[York_Beckett]

When I play a horror game, I always need to set the right mood. Silent Hill 2 has given me many a sleepless night.
Siren 2 has also been a good source for scares, as well as Condemned, Call of Cthulhu and Haunting Ground. And a few others. Quite a few others actually. I love horror games... Rule of Rose is next on the wishlist.

 

[Cyfu]

hmm.. How i play Horror games.. I walk around and if something moves I Scream like a little girl and then turn the game off. i can't handle horror games, like at all. one example is when i was playing Amnesia:The Dark Decent. at one point your vision gets blurry and bugs appear on the floor. you may be thinking "hmm.. that doesn't seem very scary". i had kind of a different approach to this. i screamed like a 10 year old girl and pressed esc. i screamed so loud that my brother who was at the other side of my house came into my room and asked wtf is happening. and the worst part is i play with the lights on...