Halloween = Scary games topic

[Sno]

I'm going to use Halloween as an excuse to create a topic about scary games, because scary games are pretty rad.

So - Favorite scary games? Games you hate because they're scary? Games that weren't necessarily meant to be scary, but were scary to you? General thoughts about executing on horror in a gaming context?

System Shock 2 is probably still the most affecting game i've played.

For one, it pushes you hard, and i think that's part of what makes it scary. You're always two items away from running out of supplies, your weapons are always on the verge of breaking, and the enemies are always respawning. Environments are constantly hostile, there's nowhere to go where you can just sit back and feel safe for a bit. (Comfort is kind of the antithesis of horror, of course.)

The audio in that game also leaves such a lasting impact, some really incredible sound design. It is difficult to convey in words how unnerving the character dialogues in that game are, and how the ambient music is almost subliminally unsettling. A great example of a game being scary with no jump scares. The atmosphere is just so unrelentingly twisted and creepy, and the story really goes to some remarkably disturbing places.

The first Condemned is a game i really love, takes on a really awesome "unknowable horror" vibe kind of out of nowhere. (Which the sequel promptly ruins by explaining everything. It also reenvisioned the protagonist as an asshole. It still has some good moments though, like being chased through a cabin by a mutant bear, holy shit.)

I also really love Doom 3. Playing Rage has got me thinking about that game again, i had played through Doom 3 a bunch of times and really think it's a terribly misunderstood game. If somebody wants to have that argument with me, i'll take up the cause.

[Thompson]

  Sno said:

The first Condemned is a game i really love, takes on a really awesome "unknowable horror" vibe kind of out of nowhere.

I've talked a lot about it, but Cryostasis was terrifying.