What are the scariest horror games in existence and why?

[dscross]

I was kind of hoping by asking this question that, as well as having some fun discussions, I might find some fun new titles play. Dunno if everyone will say the obvious ones or if some obscure ones will come up, but I'd to interested to see. Please describe why you found them scary on your initial playthrough and also if some of the panic or sense of dread stayed with you even on repeat playthroughs.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

INB4 Silent Hill and/or Amnesia the Dark Descent and/or whatever indie game I never heard of, but is probably deemed the scariest.

 

[Erttheking]

I've heard a lot of good things on Darkwood. A pretty unique eastern Europoean take on horror.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, lots of people though Yahtzee's XDAS games were really scary, though not a big fan of the horror genre myself so cam't really compare.

You are able to download them legally for free, though, so presumably they are amongst the scariest per dollar.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Horror is purely subjective. Loads of people claim Silent Hill 2 is the scariest(part of me still wonders if that's only because Yahtzee says so) but to me Silent Hill 2 is a goofy, silly, barely coherent mess of a game.
Amnesia DD had one scary moment, the water monster section. Until you realize you can kill it by dropping a box on it once and even then, the section is all of 20seconds long.

Maybe outlast 1? I didn't find it that scary, more loud and annoying, but an argument can be made its classical haunted house horror

 

[CaitSeith]

I consider the scariest horror games the ones that gave nightmares like-

INB4 Silent Hill and/or Amnesia the Dark Descent and/or whatever indie game I never heard of, but is probably deemed the scariest.

...

...and Alien: Isolation.

 

[Majestic Manatee_v1legacy]

Anthem is frightening as heck for the safety of my console.

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

I consider the scariest horror games the ones that gave nightmares like-

INB4 Silent Hill and/or Amnesia the Dark Descent and/or whatever indie game I never heard of, but is probably deemed the scariest.

...

...and Alien: Isolation.

And whatever Lovecraft game that's popular.

And that the scariest thing ever is fear of the unknown.

 

[Hawki]

That's hard to say, because a lot of horror games' level of fright is down to my age at the time. Like, the Jurassic Park Genesis game got me to hide behind the bed in the T-Rex section. Years later, Blue Stinger gave me nightmares. The former isn't a horror game, and the latter, while TECHNICALLY survival horror, is bereft of fear factor with the benefit of age. Also, fear factor inevitably declines with subsequent playthroughs - RE2 for instance, that was already in decline with the B scenario.

Whatever. You've already played numerous RE games, so I'm going to throw Dead Space in there, because yes, it's scary at least the first time round. Also, stay away from Alien: Isolation. Sure, the xenomorph might get you to crap your pants, but I'm already at the point where my reaction to the creature isn't "oh God oh God oh God" but more "just fuck off already!" The weaponless section in Colonial Marines is more scary than anything Isolation has thrown at me so far.

(Yes, I really dislike Isolation, how could you tell?)

 

[jademunky]

I'll throw Subnautica in there as my #1.

I can play Amnesia (although I don't think I can call it "fun").
Silent Hill? Spooky sure.
Resident Evil? No problem.
2018's Call of Cthulhu was not even slightly scary.

I know some people don't find Subnautica scary at all, something about the idea of Sea Monsters though.....

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Kuon by From Software for PS2. Yes, they made other games. Look it up.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I consider the scariest horror games the ones that gave nightmares like-

INB4 Silent Hill and/or Amnesia the Dark Descent and/or whatever indie game I never heard of, but is probably deemed the scariest.

...

...and Alien: Isolation.

And whatever Lovecraft game that's popular.

And that the scariest thing ever is fear of the unknown.

To me its fear of being powerless, rather than unknown. And I know in a game either A. I can kill the monster, B. Its programed I can escape the monster, and C. its a game, I can turn it off. There is never a time I feel powerless.
Like to me the idea of deep, psychological horror is nothing compared to a great super evil demon from Hell that has the power to just rip souls out of people, and nothing can stop it. Its all powerful, its evil, there is literally nothing in the universe than can stop it or save you...that's way scarier than just a dude who smiles all happy like while killing a puppy.
Knowing something or not is all well and good, but can you kill it? Run from it? Reason with it?

That's why some of Lovecraft is scary, because of outer void cosmic gods that can end time in a blink of an eye. Other times its just a bunch of cannibals or rats, usually being led by a Jew or black man.

 

[Squilookle]

I have to admit, I found the way Star Wars Battlefront 2015 fully illuminated all the ways that the game industry has gone to shit in just 10 years pretty damn terrifying.

 

[jademunky]

That's why some of Lovecraft is scary, because of outer void cosmic gods that can end time in a blink of an eye. Other times its just a bunch of cannibals or rats, usually being led by a Jew or black man.

Or a hillbilly with a monster in his barn, or a degenerate band of New England fishermen who have become...fishmen.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

That's why some of Lovecraft is scary, because of outer void cosmic gods that can end time in a blink of an eye. Other times its just a bunch of cannibals or rats, usually being led by a Jew or black man.

Or a hillbilly with a monster in his barn, or a degenerate band of New England fishermen who have become...fishmen.

Or those God awful stories that begin "for the record, I never encountered anything scary, I never heard or smelled anything scary, no one I know or have heard of has had anything scary happen to them, and nothing scary is going on in the countryside or the nation. Now please read the next 60 pages of borderline awkward coincidences that made it seem like a monster was around at the time, but as I've already spoiled, didn't amount to anything"

More than a few of those in Lovecraftian lore...

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

That's why some of Lovecraft is scary, because of outer void cosmic gods that can end time in a blink of an eye. Other times its just a bunch of cannibals or rats, usually being led by a Jew or black man.

You forgot the one where a dude finds out he had a black ancestor

Dun dun duuuun

 

[Drathnoxis]

Luigi's Mansion... just horrifying o_o

 

[Trunkage]

That's why some of Lovecraft is scary, because of outer void cosmic gods that can end time in a blink of an eye.

Lovecraftian monsters aren't really scary. They're like natural disaster, they don't care about you. In the moment, they might be scary but they have no lasting becuase they aren't after you. Stay out of its way and your fine. End time? Won't matter becuase you don't exist

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I'm not really a horror game connoisseur by any means but the Fatal Frame games made me the most uneasy when exploring around the levels.