S.T.A.L.K.E.R - How scary is it?

[Jaqen Hghar]

I am one of those who just cannot play scary games. The only scary game I have almost beaten was F.E.A.R. I would have beaten it, but my computer crapped out on me and I lost all my saves. But the time I used to almost beat it was atrocious. If I played it like a normal person I could have beaten it three times in the same time.
But it was awesome, so I endured. The same with the scary levels in Half-Life 2. Man, I hate those Zombine levels in Ep. 2...

Anyway, I think S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (which I will write as Stalker from now on) looks awesome. I love the realism it seems to have, and everything about it just screams "PLAY ME NOW". Except the scary parts. And from what I have read and seen, it can be pretty scary. Especially at night.
So I ask you, my fellow Escapists. Is the game to scary for me?

To make a reference point of what is to scary:
-I played only ten minutes of Doom 3 before giving up.
-As I said I almost beat F.E.A.R.
-I loved Eternal Darkness (it was more psychological horror instead of jump scares)
I played the Penumbra demo (the first proof of concept version) nervously and bad up to where you are attacked, I then turned of and never played it again.

 

[DividedUnity]

There are a few scary parts but they are not that bad in terms of scariness. Just dont go exploring if your playing at night

 

[Johnny Cain]

Given the list of your previous experiences?
If you plan on playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R , do make sure to have a change of pants and the pause button ready.
The underground sections are terrifying to no end, and being in the middle of nowhere when the dead of pitch black night -seriously, all the light sources are just GONE. It's you and a weakening flashlight- with assorted monsters creeping and crawling around you, just waiting for that light to flicker out... it's something else.

You're robbing yourself an experience if you don't check the games out though, go for it!

 

[Bobzer77]

Well there are a few scary moments in it but I don't think you should have any problems if you got near enough to the end of fear. Most of the scares are cheap "jump out and surprise you ones" and even they aren't too common. The only part of stalker that made me jump out of my seat was when:

Spoiler

The camera zooms up suddenly to the mutant's(can't remember what their called) face when your in one of the many underground facilities

 

[SniperWolf427]

Well, Stalker isn't nearly as scary as the original FEAR, or Condemned for that matter. However, it can be very nerve racking when you're slowly moving through a dark and deserted military bunker.

Stalker is more atmospheric than anything. There are some scary moments, sure, but the game focuses more on sucking you into the world rather than attempting to make you poo yourself.

It's an amazing game though (one of my favorites) and I would recommend that anyone at least give it a try.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

You'll be fine. It's about as scary as FEAR. If FEAR doesn't scare you, this won't.

 

[DazZ.]

I think you'll make it to about X18 and then quit.

Which is about 3 to 4 hours in, depending on side missions/exploring.

 

[dommyuk]

They're the scariest games I've ever played, the only ones to actually make me jump and scream in real life. SO I LOVE THEM!!! I'd recommend them highly and they'll make you scared of the dark, in Clear Sky I waited at the top of a tower for what felt like an hour for day to arrive, just so I could see what I was doing, the noises you hear are very creepy, I never found a single moment in those game where I felt safe and comfortable.

 

[Exnotime]

Stalker isnt really that scary, sure if you play it at night with lights turned of you might feel your nervs crumble when you hear the sound of a bloodsucker(or tentacleface as i like to call them). If you are going to play stalker i really recomend playing with some mods. the arsenal mod and oblivion lost are really good and gives the game a whole diffrent experience, the game is still playable without them though not like oblivion where i needed about twice the mods the amount of npc in the game before i felt some imersion.

 

[Jaqen Hghar]

Hmm. I think I might have to go for it then. I have to save some money first though.
Which one is the best one? I was thinking of getting the last one, since I have heard that is the best.

What I always do in scary games is to sneak. I figure that if I can see the enemy before it sees me, then it won't be as scary. Do sneaking work well in this game?

And to maybe create some kind of discussion in my otherwise pointless thread:
What do you do to make scary games less scary?

I sneak, as I mentioned, because I hate jump scares. I also play with the sound pretty low for the same reason.

(Since so many replied very well I cannot answer everyone. So I won't quote anyone, but rest assured that all of you helped me )

 

[Scobie]

DELETED

 

[hardlymotivated]

I think you'll make it to about X18 and then quit.

Which is about 3 to 4 hours in, depending on side missions/exploring.

3 or 4 hours? Blimey. Took me a lot longer than that, although the thing about Stalker is that you're given virtually completely free reign.

The area under the Agroprom Research Facility almost made me self-defecate, but I'm an absolute pussy when it comes to horror films and video games.

 

[Starke]

I think you'll make it to about X18 and then quit.

Which is about 3 to 4 hours in, depending on side missions/exploring.

3 or 4 hours? Blimey. Took me a lot longer than that, although the thing about Stalker is that you're given virtually completely free reign.

The area under the Agroprom Research Facility almost made me self-defecate, but I'm an absolute pussy when it comes to horror films and video games.

You can get to X16 in about 90 minutes of gameplay give or take, with some side missions. But, that's assuming you know the game. I think you can speed run it in about 15-20 minutes, but I have no idea how that works.

On Topic: STALKER is a deeply atmospheric game. There's a lot of content that's creepy as hell, but the game's willing to sit back and wait to spring it on you until it's good and ready. So, a lot of those set up and scare moments get drawn out as they work your nerves.

 

[Guy32]

Anyway, I think S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (which I will write as Stalker from now on) looks awesome.

...you never said Stalker again.

 

[Jaqen Hghar]

...you never said Stalker again.

...
Haha! You're right!
Well. Stalker. There. I said it.

Oh, and I checked the Benchmark program for the latest Stalker. Its gonna run perfectly on my rig. Looks like Stalker is the next game on my buy-list.

 

[Saul B]

One of the doomsday arcade episodes sums it up pretty well. Scary the first time you get jumped by the girl, boring after. Also, a bit like dead space, only surprising the first time.

 

[flaming_squirrel]

The thing with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is that if you play the game properly and end up walking around with fully upgraded guns and an exoskeleton everything seems kind of laughable as you smash their face in (except certain soldiers who have horribly powerful weaponry).

But if you handicap yourself and run around with basic gear in the middle of the night with just a flashlight and a double barrel it can get quite creepy, where every noise makes you spin around hoping a blooksucker's not about to rip your throat out.

 

[HaraDaya]

Well I finally got my little brother into playing it (15 years old), but once he reached the first underground lab he stopped playing. I taunt him to beat it, but he still hasn't. So if you can't handle the games you listed, this will be another test, if you get to the labs anyways.

 

[Acidwell]

Its pretty jumpy, especially when you aren't expecting anything at night or in the dark of the sewers and then some random creature jumps out at you, the have been many a time when i went about 2 feet in the air and wasted a clip before i realized it was something small