Reactions to Playing Scary/Horror/Survival Games

[Shaun Hastings]

So today I was roaming YouTube and was looking for scary video game moments because I was bored, when I came along this.


(Warning, by the way, he swears a lot. And yelps loudly.)

I couldn't believe the guy was screaming and freaking out like that (and appartently it was genuine). But then again, I've never really played any horror games and the only time I've been scared in my games were probably just a few pop ups in Uncharted (those goddamn monster things, I swear to God, were terrifying when I played it at first during night time).

So, this leads me to ask you Escapists out there - how badly do you react to video games when you play them for the first time?

 

[Julianking93]

Loss of 2 night's sleep after playing Silent Hill 2.

Screaming at the top of my lungs like a little girl during Dead Space.

And of course, this:

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

Resident Evil 2, Dino Crisis, and Parasite Eve were the games that frightened me enough to stick with me for long afterwards. Games now may chill me and frighten me, but they don't usually get into my head as badly. Maybe I don't reflect enough upon what's happening or maybe I just get caught up in trying to beat the game to really enjoy the ride.

I actually had to stop playing the three I mentioned out of fear.

I still consider Parasite Eve to be the scariest game that I've ever experienced. It may not be the most frightening, but it had the most impact on me. I had to stop playing multiple times in that game. Especially in the beginning. Everything from the burnt corpses to the opera cutscene to the rat mutation was done so well.

Resident Evil and Dino Crisis had me staring out windows for years. Whenever I would enter a dark room, my eyes would go straight for a window to make sure nothing was there.

 

[Chamale]

I generally let myself become as scared as I need to be in order to enjoy the game. In horror games, I let myself be frightened, even when it's not very scary. When I need to compete in order to finish a difficult segment, I just relax and I'm not scared at all.

Lately, I've been jumping a bit when grabbed by a Hunter in Left 4 Dead 2. It's a bad habit, and I'm trying to get back to normal so I can play without twitching once in a while.

 

[CrustyOatmeal]

i can say i have played a few horror games before but so far i have only had my heart race a little at best. i just beat dead space without even getting nervous, played some silent hill games but my heart only raced a few times, and i also played fear and thought that game wasnt even worth being called a horror game. i think part of the problem is that i play really tactically and check each corner before going around something and that makes me miss alot of scripted scenes. maybe i play too many FPS to play horror games and just barrel through the game

 

[Krion_Vark]

*SNIP*

What game is that? for some reason i want to play that game now and go completely insane

 

[Julianking93]

*SNIP*

What game is that? for some reason i want to play that game now and go completely insane

the Call of Cthulhu.

It's in the title of the video

And it's only for PC and original Xbox, just so you know.

 

[Judgement101]

Metro 2033 at 4 am was.......erm.....creepy

 

[Krion_Vark]

*SNIP*

What game is that? for some reason i want to play that game now and go completely insane

the Call of Cthulhu.

It's in the title of the video

And it's only for PC and original Xbox, just so you know.

Well I am on a Laptop so i can give it a shot there also i have an original Xbox down in my basement collecting dust.
*edit*
apparently the closest store to me is in Jersey that has it. Since there isn't one within 100 miles of my house and there are 4 within 50 miles of my college in NYC

 

[Erniesrubberduk]

First Resident Evil, I got eaten by a zombie because I couldn't see around the corner because of the damn camera, and out of shock I said "Holy SHIT!!!" Near my grandmother, and I was 8

 

[Tattaglia]

Now I don't get scared by video games often, and I never stay awake at night because of one, but this scene scared the crap out of me.

The fuck's that noise? I have to go down there?! Well... alright... *lights blow out* FUCK SHIT FUCK... just a light. Fear of the unknown and all, I guess. When I actually found out what was making that noise I immediately said, "Oh." and wasn't scared any more.

 

[Omikron009]

I can say with confidence that I've never been truly scared by a game. The most I've been scared is from the flood levels in Halo, but that was because I was around 10 when I first played them.

 

[Erniesrubberduk]

Now I don't get scared by video games often, and I never stay awake at night because of one, but this scene scared the crap out of me.

The fuck's that noise? I have to go down there?! Well... alright... *lights blow out* FUCK SHIT FUCK... just a light. Fear of the unknown and all, I guess. When I actually found out what was making that noise I immediately said, "Oh." and wasn't scared any more.

I didn't leave that one to chance, I just blew him the hell up

 

[masseyguy911]

When I play a good horror game, thats actually scary, then well... I might react like that guy. That being said, its been a long time since I played a good horror game.

 

[Shockolate]

Doom 3 was my very first horror game, as far as I can remember, and I have adopted the method I used to get me through that in all subsequent horror games: Tranquil Fury.

Any game that has even a remote sense of horror, I feel nothing but calm, controlled rage. It somewhat of a personal defense mechanism. I don't get scared, I get pissed off, and I'm just waiting for the opportunity to kill whatever it is that's attacking/scaring me.

I've said numerous time that Doom 3 was the only game to ever truly frighten me. That's because once I found a way to circumvent that fear nothing was scary anymore. And please, don't chew me out for being scared by it, I was 12 years old when I first played (and was traumatized by) it.

 

[Nouw]

Wow look at him...

I've only played AVP2 but man that had some pretty damn scary bits too. I yelled after a moment where the Predalien keeps screaming then BAM! it comes out.

"KILL IT WITH PLASMA! WITH PLASMA!" I spent all my energy on that thing and the aliens... too bad I didn't have more for those damn facehuggers...

Doom 3 was my very first horror game, as far as I can remember, and I have adopted the method I used to get me through that in all subsequent horror games: Tranquil Fury.

Any game that has even a remote sense of horror, I feel nothing but calm, controlled rage. It somewhat of a personal defense mechanism. I don't get scared, I get pissed off, and I'm just waiting for the opportunity to kill whatever it is that's attacking/scaring me.

After Doom 3, nothing was really scary anymore. And please, don't chew me out for being scared by it, I was 12 years old when I first played (and was traumatized by) it.

I'm close to that age and so I think it's a safe bet to wait a few more decades years...

 

[Shaun Hastings]

First Resident Evil, I got eaten by a zombie because I couldn't see around the corner because of the damn camera, and out of shock I said "Holy SHIT!!!" Near my grandmother, and I was 8

That's actually the funniest thing I've ever in like, the past week. Did you play that game when it first came out or something?

 

[Erniesrubberduk]

First Resident Evil, I got eaten by a zombie because I couldn't see around the corner because of the damn camera, and out of shock I said "Holy SHIT!!!" Near my grandmother, and I was 8

That's actually the funniest thing I've ever in like, the past week. Did you play that game when it first came out or something?

The REmake

 

[Okuu_Fusion]

I think Resident Evil was the first to scare me... Never played the original, played the gamecube version... those Crimsonhead zombies, it just jumped up off the ground and ran at me... That was scary...

 

[Shaun Hastings]

First Resident Evil, I got eaten by a zombie because I couldn't see around the corner because of the damn camera, and out of shock I said "Holy SHIT!!!" Near my grandmother, and I was 8

That's actually the funniest thing I've ever in like, the past week. Did you play that game when it first came out or something?

The REmake

Ohh, okay. Christ, that's such a great story. lol