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http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/wiki/Scary_Horror_&_Mindfuck

Good list, but the scariest game I've ever played was honestly Aliens vs Predator 2 as the Marine.

You have a rocket launcher, flamethrower, radar, night vision, flashlight, flares, machine gun, shotgun, and an assault rifle AND IT'S STILL SCARY

Although as a kid (8th grade) I remember getting to Ravenholm for the first time in Half-Life 2 and I just refused to play the game until the next morning. There was no way I was playing that at night.

Also I'd like to give a shoutout to the Half-Life mods Afraid of Monsters: Director's Cut, Nightmare House 2, and Cry of Fear. AoM in particular was excellent and very well done.

 

[AcceptableGhost]

I love that a made up genre by Capcom is used a lot. I only play "Survival Panic" games, and "Nature Adventure" (other made up genres by Capcom).

 

[CitizenCope]

Condemned is the only game where I decided it was better to play a part in the morning. I had to investigate something in the basement of this house. I stood at the top of those stairs for 5 minutes before quitting. Had enough scares for the night.

 

[dancrane212]

Dead Space 2 still has my favorite "Horror" moment (from very limited experience with the sub-genre).

Spoiler

The 10 minute, no encounter, re-run in the Ishimura was fantastically tense

I was on edge all week after that.

I'd really like to play more horror games, I'm feeling much more confident after going through DS1/2 at night with headphones on. I did pick up Eternal Darkness a while back, I really should give it a go once my Wii is returned.

 

[Krappadizzle]

http://vsrecommendedgames.wikia.com/wiki/Scary_Horror_&_Mindfuck

Good list, but the scariest game I've ever played was honestly Aliens vs Predator 2 as the Marine.

How the hell did I forget this? Wow, good catch, added to the list. Playing as a marine was so thrilling, you never felt under powered, but you always felt weak, if that makes sense.

 

[Slermy]

another "obscure" horror game/franchise

kinda a low budget mediocre horror game, but those lookin for more horror games on PSP besides silent hill....

Not sure about the PSP version, but the console versions are co-op and decently fun. Definitely worth a look.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Dead Space 2 still has my favorite "Horror" moment (from very limited experience with the sub-genre).

Spoiler

The 10 minute, no encounter, re-run in the Ishimura was fantastically tense

I was on edge all week after that.

I'd really like to play more horror games, I'm feeling much more confident after going through DS1/2 at night with headphones on. I did pick up Eternal Darkness a while back, I really should give it a go once my Wii is returned.

DS2 had its moments for sure. Though with DS3, I don't know how I feel about co-op. I like multiplayer games, but RE5 didn't do it for me. If it was called anything but Resident Evil, I would have liked it a lot more.

 

[Deitus]

Sadly, I have nothing to add to this subject, because I've never really played a game that I found to be scary. I've certainly tried (but maybe not hard enough, seeing as I haven't played many of the games listed in this topic), but I just can't seem to find one that really does it for me. I didn't get into Resident Evil until after it became an action series. I tried playing Silent Hill 1 (and I enjoyed the atmosphere) but the tank controls really ruin it for me. Dead Space was just a series of monster closets, but the scares were incredibly predictable, and you always felt like an action hero so there was never a sense of desperation.

When I first heard about Amnesia, I thought it was going to be the one. I had heard tales of how terrifying it was, and I watched the trailer and immediately thought it could actually be a scary game. I bought the game right away, and made sure to play it at night, and with headphones for added effect. And the early parts of the game were great, especially the water level. But then it just plateaued. The monsters became incredibly predicable and easy to deal with (that is to escape and/or avoid), and then I lost all reason to fear them. And if you did in fact fail, the only real penalty was a close up of the monsters face (which if anything ruined the mystery even more). Certainly the whole game still had great atmosphere, and the fact that you couldn't fight back prevented it from becoming another mindless action game, but it failed to scare me.

Of course my main problem there was trying to play Amnesia like a game. Even though the start of the game instructs you not to treat it like a game, but as an experience, I just couldn't turn off the part of my brain that tries to find every hidden object and conserve resources as much as possible. I finished the game with more consumable items than I knew what to do with. I mention that not as a point of pride but rather as an indication that I long passed the point where resources were scarce, and I continued to hoard them because that's what I do.


So I guess my main point is this: am I just broken? Am I incapable of being absolutely terrified by a video game. Should I even want that? I always here about how amazingly scary horror games are, and I've played some with amazing atmoshpere... but I've never found the scariness. Should I just give up and decide I'll never have that experience, or is there something I'm missing.

Sorry for being such a downer here.

 

[encephalon]

Siren for the PS2 gets my vote.

 

[Grakl]

Sadly, I have nothing to add to this subject...

Do you find that movies or books are scary?

 

[Krappadizzle]

Sadly, I have nothing to add to this subject, because I've never really played a game that I found to be scary. I've certainly tried (but maybe not hard enough, seeing as I haven't played many of the games listed in this topic), but I just can't seem to find one that really does it for me. I didn't get into Resident Evil until after it became an action series. I tried playing Silent Hill 1 (and I enjoyed the atmosphere) but the tank controls really ruin it for me. Dead Space was just a series of monster closets, but the scares were incredibly predictable, and you always felt like an action hero so there was never a sense of desperation.

When I first heard about Amnesia, I thought it was going to be the one. I had heard tales of how terrifying it was, and I watched the trailer and immediately thought it could actually be a scary game. I bought the game right away, and made sure to play it at night, and with headphones for added effect. And the early parts of the game were great, especially the water level. But then it just plateaued. The monsters became incredibly predicable and easy to deal with (that is to escape and/or avoid), and then I lost all reason to fear them. And if you did in fact fail, the only real penalty was a close up of the monsters face (which if anything ruined the mystery even more). Certainly the whole game still had great atmosphere, and the fact that you couldn't fight back prevented it from becoming another mindless action game, but it failed to scare me.

Of course my main problem there was trying to play Amnesia like a game. Even though the start of the game instructs you not to treat it like a game, but as an experience, I just couldn't turn off the part of my brain that tries to find every hidden object and conserve resources as much as possible. I finished the game with more consumable items than I knew what to do with. I mention that not as a point of pride but rather as an indication that I long passed the point where resources were scarce, and I continued to hoard them because that's what I do.


So I guess my main point is this: am I just broken? Am I incapable of being absolutely terrified by a video game. Should I even want that? I always here about how amazingly scary horror games are, and I've played some with amazing atmoshpere... but I've never found the scariness. Should I just give up and decide I'll never have that experience, or is there something I'm missing.

Sorry for being such a downer here.

You're not broken. Some people just don't respond to the little nuances that others do. By no means are any of the games listed perfect, they may have a flaw that you couldn't overlook that just brought you out of the game. I saw you mention Silent Hill 1. While it was good. Silent Hill 2 or 3, either one really, are excellent games. They do have tank controls, which if you can't get past, you won't find any enjoyment in at all. BUT, if you can work past them, which you really really should, they become second nature after an hour tops, you will experience some of the best moments in gaming, especially if you play like you said, with headphones and in the dark. Please, for the love of god though, if you decide to play Silent Hill 2 track down an original Xbox/PS2/PC release. Not the incredibly gimped HD re-release.

Do you find that movies or books are scary?

The House of Leaves, will make you question reality. Such a strange and weird book.

 

[toddhunter]

I'm not scared of snakes..some people really are. No big deal what scares you.

However certain games have really got to me.

System Shock 2: Random 'jump out at you' scares do not do much for me. The same things in a game dripping with atmosphere? They get the heart pumping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkWz7-0q1X0

Also, for the older crowd:

They do have tank controls, which if you can't get past, you won't find any enjoyment in at all.

Or you can just switch to 2D controls.

You still have to get immersed into them though to be scared, and this is only something you can do by yourself if you let it happen. This is the same reason I have cried at different parts in many games. Some people will say 'lolz I would never cry at a game'. I could never cry too if I wanted, I just enjoy the emotion so I let it happen.

 

[Deitus]

Do you find that movies or books are scary?

When I was a kid I would like to read "scary" books, but the books I was reading were pretty dumb by adult standards (you know, Goosebumps and the like). I don't read all that much nowadays (though I should), so I really wouldn't know what are good horror books.

As for movies, I can't recall any that I found particularly scary. I certainly haven't seen every horror movie though. Its always been a genre that I've wanted to like, and while there are some horror movies that I've enjoyed, none of them really scared me. Similar to my comments on books, I remember being absolutely terrified by certain movies as a child, that in reality are really goofy and dumb, but this only really happened when I was 6-7 years old.

So its definitely not limited to video games. Maybe its just all fiction I have trouble with.

Please, for the love of god though, if you decide to play Silent Hill 2 track down an original Xbox/PS2/PC release. Not the incredibly gimped HD re-release.

Oh I know, such a disappointment. I was waiting so patiently for the Silent Hill HD collection to come out so I could finally play 2 and 3, until I read how terrible a port they were. I guess I'll have to try and track down a PS2 copy then.

The House of Leaves, will make you question reality. Such a strange and weird book.

Guess I'll have to check that out some time.

 

[King Of Fuh]

Just thought I'd chime in and say while Half-Life 2 wasn't a scary game on the whole, the first time I entered ravenholm, and heard the howl and saw those fast running zombies in the distance was terrifying. The whole ravenholm chapter, between those speed zombies, and the black head crabs really got my blood pumping more than any other game I've played.

That said, I'm too much of a coward to try Amnesia.

 

[itwasTuesday]

Not a scary game as a whole, but the original Black & White would say you name softly during the late hours of the night. That was pretty freaky in the wee hours of the night and not something other games where doing at the time.

Not every name worked though.

 

[legacyzero]

The Staircase Simulator: SCP-087

THAT shit is fucking TERRIFYING. Like, that is BEYOND scare, and into straight up FEAR.

 

[Kevtones]

Check out I Am Alive. It has genuinely unnerving moments and does a lot of things Last of Us is hyping up.

Calling on the Wii has the scariest moment of the gen.

Cursed Mountain is decent and original.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Just thought I'd chime in and say while Half-Life 2 wasn't a scary game on the whole, the first time I entered ravenholm, and heard the howl and saw those fast running zombies in the distance was terrifying. The whole ravenholm chapter, between those speed zombies, and the black head crabs really got my blood pumping more than any other game I've played.

That said, I'm too much of a coward to try Amnesia.

Ya know, I'm gonna add it to the list, because as a whole, HL2 is not scary but that part deserves an honorable mention.

 

[King Of Fuh]

Ya know, I'm gonna add it to the list, because as a whole, HL2 is not scary but that part deserves an honorable mention.

Right on!

 

[toddhunter]

Also Parasite Eve 2. Not a scary game but we all remember the shower scene right? Well the monster approaching in the distance to a remote location was right out of my nightmares.

One of the best and scariest scenes of all time for me.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Enemies straight pop up through the ground.

Plus it has cool FMV:

 

[scorpscarx]

You know, it's my favorite genre as well. Amnesia was amazingly good, best game I've played in years upon years.

I always hated myself for not playing Eternal Darkness, so I youtubed it a couple years ago.

Still working through Penumbra stuff, good but not as good as Amnesia, I can't seem to finish them.

Wish there were more.

If you haven't played Cryostasis, some excellent shit there.

 

[Krappadizzle]

Also Parasite Eve 2. Not a scary game but we all remember the shower scene right? Well the monster approaching in the distance to a remote location was right out of my nightmares.

One of the best and scariest scenes of all time for me.

Never played the second as I heard it wasn't as good as the first. Don't know how much merit that statement actually holds though. Added to the list regardless.

This specific example is what I was looking for. A game and a reason as to why it scared you, if it was scary to you as an individual than we should have it on our list.

Though games that people don't like, or their mechanics don't count. Like uh, COD Black Ops terrified me with it's mediocre story, etc.

Enemies straight pop up through the ground.

Plus it has cool FMV:

You know, it's my favorite genre as well. Amnesia was amazingly good, best game I've played in years upon years.

I always hated myself for not playing Eternal Darkness, so I youtubed it a couple years ago.

Still working through Penumbra stuff, good but not as good as Amnesia, I can't seem to finish them.

Wish there were more.

If you haven't played Cryostasis, some excellent shit there.

Added

 

[SomeOneInaHat]

FUCK THIS GAME

SCP Containment Breach

Looking at what will kill you to keep it from killing you is the most brilliant gameplay mechanic ever devised.

 

[Krappadizzle]

FUCK THIS GAME

SCP Containment Breach

Looking at what will kill you to keep it from killing you is the most brilliant gameplay mechanic ever devised.

What is the story with this? It seems scary as shit.

 

[toddhunter]

Never played the second as I heard it wasn't as good as the first. Don't know how much merit that statement actually holds though. Added to the list regardless.

2 was very different to 1, but a much better game in my opinion.

This is the scene, kicked in the imagination (which is what scary is all about no doubt)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFnvmi9Pq2o

 

[Montresor]

I thought Alan Wake was scary. American Nightmare not so much, but maybe that's just because by then I had already run through the original Alan Wake three times.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Also, dont forget THIS little gem!!

I've always found the scariest games to be the ones where you lack complete control or you can die at any sort of wrong turn.

Honestly games structured liked that scare me more than anything.

 

[Pistolero]

There was a game called Undying; a Clive Barker's trippy FPS where you wonder around a castle and use a special stone to uncover the ugly side of things...Call me a chicken, but the demon stuff coupled with the screams-guttural sounds made me renounce the project of finishing it.

 

[SomeOneInaHat]

What is the story with this? It seems scary as shit.

The Alpha seems to be a proof of concept for a horror mod.

Here is their website, it also contains the download for the Alpha.

http://scpcb.wordpress.com/

 

[ULTROS!]

Great list.

I'd add Corpse Party (PSP) too. Despite the animu appearance, it's definitely a freaky game with an interesting story and probably the best horror game this gen:

 

[Krappadizzle]

2 was very different to 1, but a much better game in my opinion.

This is the scene, kicked in the imagination (which is what scary is all about no doubt)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFnvmi9Pq2o

at 1:38 of the movie, that fucking monster design is great. Very cool.

Great list.

I'd add Corpse Party (PSP) too. Despite the animu appearance, it's definitely a freaky game with an interesting story and probably the best horror game this gen:

Added, but what was scary about it to you? I've never played it.

There was a game called Undying; a Clive Barker's trippy FPS where you wonder around a castle and use a special stone to uncover the ugly side of things...Call me a chicken, but the demon stuff coupled with the screams-guttural sounds made me renounce the project of finishing it.

I remember reading somewhere that this had a good story but it was pretty poorly implemented.

 

[Nibel]

I got Amnesia from the last Humblebundle and haven't started it yet. The icon on the desktop seems to be staring right into my soul and waits for its chance to take a piece of it.

 

[King Of Fuh]

FUCK THIS GAME

SCP Containment Breach

Looking at what will kill you to keep it from killing you is the most brilliant gameplay mechanic ever devised.

 

[ULTROS!]

Added, but what was scary about it to you? I've never played it.

The music is pretty fantastic and eerie which adds unsettling scares that are genuinely freaky. Not to mention when you play it, you'll get a feel that "something" might be following or watching you. It's a must play for horror fans.

The story is also genuinely gruesome and pretty good.

 

[Hitmonchan107]

Limbo.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I'm really hoping that The Secret World gives me the Cthulu atmosphere that i've been craving lately. It seems like it'll have enough accessibility that my wife can play it and enjoy and also give me that dark and brooding atmosphere that I love.

Limbo.

This game was dripping with atmosphere, but horror? I can't really make a compelling argument against putting it on our list, but I never got the horror vibe. Though, the spiders and the freaky local people were pretty cool. What's the general concensus? Not about Limbo as a game, as it's great, but as Limbo as a horror title?

 

[Davey Cakes]

Can you post a link or something? I've searched for it, but haven't found anything about it.

Oh yeah, sorry. As an abandonware game, you have to dig around for it.

I think this Youtube video does the trick. You can just kind of jump around to get an idea.

It's an old DOS text adventure game and it's actually called Skullduggery: Adventures in Horror.

 

[Helmholtz]

SH 2 and 4 were pretty scary. But then again I played them when I was a lot younger. Amnesia is the most recent scary game I've played. Ravenholm in HL2 was great too.

 

[lunch]

I'm glad Ravenholm received an honorable mention. The Half-Life series is among some of the scariest games I've ever played, and I've never finished any of them (including Lost Coast!) as a result. I tried playing Half-Life Source a few years ago and found the houndeyes absolutely terrifying, so I decided that I would go through the game windowed at 640x480 with everything on low and the sound off.

And despite all of that, as soon as I saw a houndeye, I literally screamed. I uninstalled the game right after that. I hope Half-Life 3 never comes out so I'm not tempted to buy it only to play through it with tears running down my eyes.



Needless to say, I've never played an actual, legitimate horror game.

 

[Unicorn]

After a few drinks Left 4 Dead scared the shit out of me, consistently.

The Suffering was also successful in making me jump throughout the game.

 

[iammeiam]

Great list.

I'd add Corpse Party (PSP) too. Despite the animu appearance, it's definitely a freaky game with an interesting story and probably the best horror game this gen:

I'm playing through this right now, and it's definitely creepy as all hell. Aside from the effective sound design, the text does a decent job of outlining gruesome deaths in the Wrong Ends. It doesn't have much in the way of the jump-scares you see in most horror games, but it works on a spooky story level. Plus it's not always obvious what the right answer in a given scenario is, so there can be actual tension behind the decision-making.

The 16-bit graphics with occasional anime illustrations mean it won't work for everyone, but leaving the gore to text is pretty damned effective.

 

[tdrdrgn]

Silent Hill and Fatal frame are the only franchises to give me the creeps enough for me to stop playing them midway through.

 

[scorpscarx]

Absolutely not for Limbo. Just lol at saying Half Life is scary. And L4D is comedy not horror.

 

[ohhthegore]

Saw this on the list

System Shock 1+2(PC,XBLA release)

Are the System Shock games really on XBLA??

 

[lunch]

Saw this on the list

System Shock 1+2(PC,XBLA release)

Are the System Shock games really on XBLA??

I'm pretty sure that's a mistake.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Check out I Am Alive. It has genuinely unnerving moments and does a lot of things Last of Us is hyping up.

Calling on the Wii has the scariest moment of the gen.

Cursed Mountain is decent and original.

What makes The Calling scary? I've seen it around for about $7 and have considered buying it.

 

[Heart of Black]

I can't play Condemned for more than an hour with the lights out... couldn't play it at all when my wife was out of town...

Doom 64 is another game like that, except its full of invisible enemies and scarier things...

Not looking forward to booting Amnesia up...

 

[Macattk15]

I really didn't find Amnesia to be scary at all. Especially towards the end when it just became a shitfest to me.

I think I'm too desensitized to this shit

I was definitely more creeped out playing Siren : Blood Curse.

 

[Jharp]

If you consider yourself a true fan of horror, you owe it to yourself to play the wealth of Half Life and Half Life 2 mods. Notably Afraid of Monsters for Half-Life and Nightmare House 2 for Half Life 2. In NH2's case, don't worry about playing the first one, because the first level of NH2 is a remake of the original and it's better than the original in every way.

Afraid of Monsters: Director's Cut (make SURE you play the Director's Cut) is bar none the scariest game I've ever played. It puts every single other game to goddamn shame. And the craziest thing? It was made by a teenager with no money, on an engine that was over a decade old. Some of you may not understand the significance of this, so allow me to repeat it in context for emphasis: EA, Capcom, Konami, and several other studios spend millions of dollars on tech, full staffs of professional writers, coders, artists, engineers, designers, etc., and develop specific tech and games with the sole intent of scaring people. Some teenager in Europe with no money, the basic ability to create assets on tech that was over a decade old made something that was scarier.

What the bloody fuck? All of you babies that think Dead Space and Resident Evil are scary would do well to play Afraid of Monsters.

That said, the game does break some of the things I hold dear in horror games- it gives you a decent amount of ammo and throws monsters at you, so it can feel VERY actiony at times, but somehow that doesn't remove the dense atmosphere and constant threat of angry, malicious danger. Additionally, the game is loaded with monster closets and jump scares, but it paces them intelligently, and fucks with you on several occasions by using, or not using them, so it somehow works.

I could go on and on about AoM, but goddammit, just go play it. I've yet to play Cry of Fear by the same guy yet.

Some other great mods to check out:
Mistake
Mistake -1 (prequel to the above)
They Hunger (three episodes long, huge game, well made, scary, fun, will last you for some time)
PARANOIA
Underhell: Prologue (Very original, very atmospheric and horrifying in parts)