Why do you find Dead Space scary?

[Hawk of Battle]

Slightly off topic, but I don't think any games have been actually scary since like, the original Silent Hill and Tomb Raider (no seriously, I actually find Tomb Raider to be one of the scariest, most atmospherically haunting games ever). And I'm not exactly one for much horror myself. Always makes me laugh when friends get me to play like, Fear or Stalker, games they found scary, and then watch as they expect me to be creeped out and terrified of them, only for me to wander through without batting an eye.

Though admittedly I have only played a tiny bit of Dead Space, most I remember was a room with a giant spinning ball in it that was basically a rip off of the engine room from Event Horizon, and some place where a bunch of screaming corpses suddenly appeared out of nowhere for a few seconds before vanishing again. My reaction was the same as the characters, blank stoicism.

 

[Kroxile]

How many of you have played Dead Space 2 on Hard Core?

Because if you have you know just how dreadful the intense shooting bits are... even if you know where they are and when they are coming up.

 

[Zhukov]

I didn't.

I think the first game made me jump once when one of those tentacle thingamabobs burst through a window. Kind of how my little sister once made me jump by hiding behind a door and yelling "Boo!" when I walked past.

The second game had the eyeball machine. That was cool.

I do enjoy the games though. Slaughtering necromorphs by the dozen is fun.

 

[The Towel Boy]

The eye "poker" makes my list, was not expecting that, otherwise, nothing, but mild jump scares. Not too scary, but very interesting and fun.

 

[kingthrall]

I didn't.

I think the first game made me jump once when one of those tentacle thingamabobs burst through a window.

The second game had the eyeball machine. Maybe a jump scare or two, can't remember.

I do enjoy the games though. Slaughtering necromorphs by the dozen is fun.

that eyeball machine made me squeamish than scared.

 

[Snotnarok]

Dead Space scary ...well alright lights off, surround sound pushed up and lean forward and immerse yourself, the creaks of the ship, the little random noises, it makes you uneasy then BANG thing from a vent! They also seem to be 100% quiet when coming from behind till you turn then the music gets louder and BLRARRGHH EATING YOUR FACE.

Also if it's any sort of thing to go by, Minecraft would scare me when I'd look left and from a 100% dark spot a creeper would just walk out right at me in a narrow hallway. ...or fall from the top of my house and blow me up.....agh

 

[Tamrin]

Slightly off topic, but I don't think any games have been actually scary since like, the original Silent Hill and Tomb Raider (no seriously, I actually find Tomb Raider to be one of the scariest, most atmospherically haunting games ever). And I'm not exactly one for much horror myself. Always makes me laugh when friends get me to play like, Fear or Stalker, games they found scary, and then watch as they expect me to be creeped out and terrified of them, only for me to wander through without batting an eye.

Though admittedly I have only played a tiny bit of Dead Space, most I remember was a room with a giant spinning ball in it that was basically a rip off of the engine room from Event Horizon, and some place where a bunch of screaming corpses suddenly appeared out of nowhere for a few seconds before vanishing again. My reaction was the same as the characters, blank stoicism.

Are you talking about this?

Also, have you tried Amnesia the Dark Descent by any chance?

 

[EHKOS]

I only found the first one scary because it was tense and I had a higher difficulty level because I was playing at about 20 FPS at best. I could barely aim, and that made it terrifying. Plus it was new and the monsters were scary because I wasn't familiar with them, or the game engine.

 

[Brainwreck]

I'm sure that if DS was 1st person, it'd be far more terrifying. I've yet to be even remotely close to being scared when I played a 3rd person game. Your distance from what's happening makes everything less scary. Plus the armor looks badass, which also diminishes the scary factor.
Also, jump scares are way too numerous to be effective.
And the game's just not dark. Darkness is supposed to mean 'pitch black, your torch being the only thing that lets you see, and in a pretty limited cone', not this vague shade over everything.

Then again, excessive amounts of STALKER more or less desensitized me to darkness, horrible and extremely quick death by forsaken monstrosities and scary sounds.
Edit: to clarify: STALKER is not scary when it's daylight and you're happily hunting for artifacts, the occasional dog or overconfident bandit being the only resistance you might face. STALKER is scary when you're standing in a pitch black corridor illuminated only in a few patches by flickering lights, the foreboding sounds of imminent yet extremely vague danger that the pipes transmit being the only thing to keep you company. And then you see a flicker of something hastily exiting the corridor through a side door in the distance.

Spoiler: Also, this. Yes, a jump scare.

I've yet to find anything as effective as this in Dead Space.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I'm not sure Dead Space ever really went for "fear"- more along the lines of "tension" and "suspense". Although I do have to give Dead Space 2 credit for the section where you:

Spoiler: Spoiler

revisit the Ishimura

That was actually a rather inspired section there, and I really wish more of the game had gone for the psychological angle rather than the jumpscares.

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

How many of you have played Dead Space 2 on Hard Core?

Because if you have you know just how dreadful the intense shooting bits are... even if you know where they are and when they are coming up.

I have, and I kinda disagree. If you've got a Detonator with you (the gun that launches grenades and proximity mines that's totally a mining tool) the shooting parts become a cakewalk, even on hardcore. The mines do a ton of damage and one-shot most typical enemies, and I found the ammunition for it to be rather plentiful (especially since you can deactivate and pick up mines that don't get tripped). I went through the game with the Detonator as my primary weapon, and a Pulse Rifle for long range and/or precision shooting for mobs with specific weak points. Never had much trouble at any point.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

I would say that I don't find dead space all that scary myself, but I love the games otherwise. I loved the art style/design and the 'sci-fi groundings in reality', but what I loved most was the atmosphere, it really kept the tension up especially around the unkillable types that regrow limbs.

In all honesty though I'm incredibly skeptical on Dead Space 3, I just find the idea of co-op in horror games off putting. I can't enjoy the atmosphere if I'm worrying about someone else. It drags me out of the experience, completely breaks my immersion. Dragging us into brightly lit outside environments also makes me raise an eyebrow, the whole necropmorph's popping out of the snow is a nice touch to overcome the possum act that is so clearly obvious, but yeah. Lastly I don't like the idea of whipping out giant Necromorph's at every turn, mainly because I really can't see the 'human' aspects to them, especially with the latest ones.

Dead Space always hit that nice middle ground for me between a 'horror title' and 'a game'. Like Amnesia, great horror title, not something I'd play to unwind or 'enjoy'.
I'll probably get it when there's a sale on or something, but I don't think it'll be a day one purchase like the last 2. Dead Space has lept the undead shark for me.

 

[Tactical Pause]

I'm not sure Dead Space ever really went for "fear"- more along the lines of "tension" and "suspense".

Pretty much agree with this. I never found the Dead Space games to be particularly scary, but that doesn't stop me from loving them. Something about the atmosphere, the setting and the gameplay just makes me obsess over them for reasons I can't quite put a finger on.


...or maybe the Marker is just taking hold of my mind.

 

[BiscuitTrouser]

I played it on the hardest difficulty right out of the box is why I found it scary. Ammo was scarce a lot of times, and any conflict was tense.

That's kinda the only reason. I played it on easy, and the atmosphere was not the same at all.

Oh yes this! Tried hardcore today and died before the first save station i planned to use :/ The fight was intense and every motion terrified me because i knew death was... the end. It made stuff frightening because i cared a LOT about dying. Similar to real life. I feared death.

 

[Reaper195]

I think the games could have their moments, like the room with the disjointed "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," and the more subtle "Make us whole" bits, but a persistent tension didn't really last for me. Partly because Isaac's a walking arsenal before too long, and partly because the jump out of vent attacks really only startled me the first few times.

There's also the concept of less is more. The sound of scratching from inside a locker in Silent Hill, or the somber whispering in Fatal Frame got to me way more than a mutating eviscerated man screaming at the top of his lungs in Dead Space.

Or when you find a dead necro lying on the ground. After the second time, I just shot any body on the ground.



1 was pretty cool, I liked it, and there were a fair few moments where I genuinely felt scared and didn't want to continue. But these were sections where I was walking down an empty corridor with blood everywhere, but no bodies. And occasionally I'd hear something make a noise up ahead, but never find out what it was. 2 seemed like it was trying to follow modern horror movies: "Let's just throw blood and gore and shocking things all up in your face. Because that's scary, right?" That's not horror. That's just gross. I found Alan Wake to be scarier than Dead Space 2 (Although I never classed Alan Wake as a horror. Ever. More a psychological thriller). But I guess it seems that games, like movies, have trends. Horror games like Amnesia or Silent Hill back in the day (Okay, not Amnesia, but it follows the old style) were considered scary. Nowadays,, to be horror, all you need is a monster or large amounts of violence.

 

[Longstreet]

chalk one up for the 'found it boring' side.

For the first i just lost interest, wasn't as scary as i heard so many people say, but the controls really tossed me off it. For me the camera angle was crappy and clunky, and it didn't really flow.

Let me expand on the camera bit a, well, bit. Either 3rd person, or 1st person, not something in between that fills 3/4th of my screen with his body

The second time around for some reason i just couldn't get into it. Can't explain it.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

The immersive atmosphere and the fact that I always play horror games on the hardest difficulty to increase the "You're seriously gonna die" vibe that they have.

 

[LarenzoAOG]

I'm not sure Dead Space ever really went for "fear"- more along the lines of "tension" and "suspense". Although I do have to give Dead Space 2 credit for the section where you:

Spoiler: Spoiler

revisit the Ishimura

That was actually a rather inspired section there, and I really wish more of the game had gone for the psychological angle rather than the jumpscares.

This, I was having 'Nam flashbacks during that entire section. I actually really like Dead Space, it's dark and claustrophobic, which is enough for about half of all people everywhere, and has some excellently choreographed jump-scares to boot, a lot of people underestimate the amount of work that goes into a jump-scare.