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[Ra\/en]

By all means, please do. But, valid explanations/reasons would be appreciated. "Not, ### is good, it should be on the list, you don't know shit." I'd love to learn more about games I've never played and maybe why they should be played.

I mentioned it half a page back. I should have added a video or something. It is one of the scariest games i've played for sure. I find it really nails the whole supernatural/creepy/lonely/hopeless feel very well. Plus the howlers will creep ya out every time There is a skill that allows you to see the supernatural side of the world. They use this very well throughout the game. for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3mBU88UWk

The sound is TOP notch.

Music too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saWnluIbVXI


Also, Clive Barker's Jericho is GARBAGE in comparison. Undying is 100x better in every way.

 

[- J - D -]

I'm going to go a bit left field obscure and mention...

LSD: Dream Emulator for PS1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxIyMhOu_ZE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

While it's pretty dated now and isn't an outright horror game, if you get disturbed by bizarre and disparate images, turn off the lights, bump up the sound and it'll provide a really oppressive ambiance.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I mentioned it half a page back. I should have added a video or something. It is one of the scariest games i've played for sure. I find it really nails the whole supernatural/creepy/lonely/hopeless feel very well. Plus the howlers will creep ya out every time There is a skill that allows you to see the supernatural side of the world. They use this very well throughout the game. for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3mBU88UWk

The sound is TOP notch.

Music too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saWnluIbVXI


Also, Clive Barker's Jericho is GARBAGE in comparison. Undying is 100x better in every way.

That shit starts getting epic at 0:57.

I think that music and sound design have a huge role in how a survival games scares you. It's almost universally accepted that every great Survival Horror game has fantastic sound design.

 

[Lime]

Fuck, I'm sitting at work in broad daylight and some of the examples posted in this thread are terrifying to look at. Shit like that SCP: Containment Breach is incredibly creepy to look at, so I could imagine actually playing it to be horrific. I'd probably end up with a heart attack.

In regards to the horror games I've played, I am incredibly biased towards Silent Hill 1-3, but that is only in regards to the storytelling and sublime audio-visual aesthetics of them all. I originally thought SH2 would be the scariest experience I've had (I had to stop playing as soon as the sun went down, otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully), but when I started playing Fatal Frame 1 / Project Zero 1 five years ago, I felt completely overwhelmed by the camera mechanic coupled with the deterioated Japanese village setting. I mean, that fucking strangled/hanged female ghost that is being alluded to throughout the game is fucking my mind completely. I still haven't managed to finish FF1 since then, despite the fact that I bought all three FF games at once.

I'm probably going to go skip finishing FF1 and simply try to go through FF2: Crimson Butterfly on PCSX2 with a widescreen hack, but I don't know if the remake on Wii would be a more worthwhile playthrough.

 

[Swig_]

I always wonder how viable 2D games are for the horror genre. I played Lone Survivor, but had trouble getting into it. I'd love to see some indie 2D (or even text) games, but I don't know how well they can compete with the immersion that you see in 3D games, like Amnesia.

 

[Lime]

I always wonder how viable 2D games are for the horror genre. I played Lone Survivor, but had trouble getting into it. I'd love to see some indie 2D (or even text) games, but I don't know how well they can compete with the immersion that you see in 3D games, like Amnesia.

I had the same problem with Lone Survivor. The audio design is marvellous and the premise is very interesting. But the pixel art and character style make the visual experience less frightening to me, e.g. the monsters look cartoony and oversimplified. I know the creator was going for a specific aesthetic, but I don't think it was a wise choice to go for the pixel art look in order to create a proper horror experience. A better style with the same primitive graphics would have been something like Gemini Rue.

 

[TheChocolateWar]

I mentioned it half a page back. I should have added a video or something. It is one of the scariest games i've played for sure. I find it really nails the whole supernatural/creepy/lonely/hopeless feel very well. Plus the howlers will creep ya out every time There is a skill that allows you to see the supernatural side of the world. They use this very well throughout the game. for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3mBU88UWk

The sound is TOP notch.

Music too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saWnluIbVXI


Also, Clive Barker's Jericho is GARBAGE in comparison. Undying is 100x better in every way.

I do agree that Jericho was a pretty bad game, but I think the story holds up against Undying. Barker's horror writing was just as strong in Jericho as Undying.

But to expand on what the OP asked me;

Sanitarium should be added because it is considered to be one of the best horror adventure games ever created. It deals a lot with the problems in Psychiatry.

In the same vein, The Dark Eye should be added because it covers some fantastic stories from one of the darkest authors of all time.

One game that should be mentioned on the multiplat front and PC is Cold Fear. This game instituted over the shoulder shooting before Resident Evil 4. It did not get as much press because it was not as good of a game, but it did a great job of keeping the horror elements intact unlike RE4.

 

[Frankenstrat]

fatal frame

fuck this shit

The most NOPEtacular game out there.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I do agree that Jericho was a pretty bad game, but I think the story holds up against Undying. Barker's horror writing was just as strong in Jericho as Undying.

But to expand on what the OP asked me;

Sanitarium should be added because it is considered to be one of the best horror adventure games ever created. It deals a lot with the problems in Psychiatry.

In the same vein, The Dark Eye should be added because it covers some fantastic stories from one of the darkest authors of all time.

One game that should be mentioned on the multiplat front and PC is Cold Fear. This game instituted over the shoulder shooting before Resident Evil 4. It did not get as much press because it was not as good of a game, but it did a great job of keeping the horror elements intact unlike RE4.

Without sounding like a dick, can you elaborate on these 3 titles? If you had to make a list that stood the test of time would these be on it? And if so, why?

Without doing a single bit of googling, i'm pretty sure Sanitarium is a DS FPS like survival horror title, that took place in a sanitarium. I remember reading about it and thinking the premise was awesome. Also, wasn't the sequel on the moon or something to that extent?

Cold Fear I do remember that a Coastie was the "Star" of the game. I never played it upon release as it looked like a knockoff of the terrible Resident Evil Light Gun game(boy was I ever wrong). As I am in the USCG, I think it is hilarious that we are even mentioned let alone front and center of this game. But, iirc it is like you say, RE4 before RE4 was out, minus the tighter controls. Didn't it have those purple slug creatures? That's what I remember from the screen-shots.

I've never played The Dark Eye and have no idea what it's about.

 

[Übermatik]

The Staircase Simulator: SCP-087

Came in here to post this. Scary as fuck.

 

[Tacitus_]

I've been replaying STALKER currently and man, fuck the underground sections. Crumbling soviet architecture, dripping water, creepy noises, loads of anomalies and mutants... and you're practically blind outside of your flashlight cone.

 

[TheYanger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIX0DJtYJIM also, this condemned farmhouse. SCARY.

People always mention the department store, and while it IS scary, the farmhouse level of Condemned 1 scared the SHIT out of me. I think it's absolutely genius how you have to voluntarily run around unarmed with the lights OFF in order to progress through this creepy ass house.

 

[Acquiescence]

Undoubtedly, the most frightened I've ever been playing a video game was the Silent Hill demo disc that came with copies of Metal Gear Solid. I was totally unprepared for what was to unfurl in the opening segement and it rendered me a quivering wreck. I had played Resident Evil, but this was on a whole other level. It hasn't aged particularly well though, and in the scariness factor doesn't hold a candle to Silent Hill 2.

Project Zero I actually found so intense I halted my playthrough and, regrettably, never continued with it. When you get stuck or take too long doing something, the game catches on and sends random ghosts to haunt and pursue you between rooms. This just exacerbated things for me and it got too much lol.

Fear Effect was surprisingly scary. It starts off aping John Woo in a futuristic Hong Kong, and then gradually morphs into survival-horror territory, until you as the player find yourself in Hell and the game has essentially ditched the action and become a full-blown horror. The depiction of Hell itself is satisfyingly freakish and dripping in atmosphere.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

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.

Yep.

Jump scares and the fear of running into an early death work well in a normal horror-themed game where you're in full control of a player-character, but once you die enough times or experience the encounter enough, scripted or not, the tension bleeds outs pretty fast. Clock Tower and the few others that put you in directorial control (rather than direct control) of the characters who navigate on their own, invest you in their well-being because your detached connection to them gives them a natural sense of vulnerability, playing on your in-built desire to protect them from the threat you see more clearly than they do. The possibilities of that encounter make the whole situation more tense and frightening the closer to meeting that they are. Like, in a close call with a death, the drama was really only felt on the outside of the car where pedestrians and other drivers watched, in horror, as an 18-wheeler just shaved past a small car in the adjacent lane at double its speed, yet the driver and three passengers remained oblivious to their near-death experience as it was happening, and perhaps, never noticed it. The player, however, does. So, they get all of that wonderful stress and relief feedback loop that any great horror experience should be master over, above all else.

Rather than just the fact that you feel constrained to a limited, behind-the-back third person view or a more suffocating first person view, that remote control approach, like an RTS, allows you to direct the action while being able to witness a greater amount of the world at a time and all of those possibilities more immediately laid out in front of you, coupled with the fear of allowing a character to be killed, just ratchets up the tension so much. Certainly, I find it's more effective than being freaked out about baddies appearing in front of or around you in three dimensions as you engage them with the samey, decades-old, boring and simple combat gameplay of maneuvering around and either shooting shit or whacking on shit with stiff, 'realistic', and/or 'normal person' melee. Also helps that CT games aren't about combat, but about exploring and unraveling a mystery that branches many times and allows characters to die off while continuing as well as many different outcomes, with most being pretty bad for your protagonists. This format also makes it easier to support a large cast of characters because of the more laid-back feel when not in immediate danger, but the threat is always there somewhere, hunting you down. Heavy Rain wishes it could be the gum on the bottom of Clock Tower's shoes. Need more Clock Tower. Where's my CT 1&2 HD, Capcom?

 

[Krappadizzle]

This made me think of Horror RTS. Is that even possible?! How would that work? Is it even possible with established Survival Horror mechanics? Probably not, but, why hasn't it been done yet?

 

[Talyn]

Without doing a single bit of googling, i'm pretty sure Sanitarium is a DS FPS like survival horror title, that took place in a sanitarium. I remember reading about it and thinking the premise was awesome. Also, wasn't the sequel on the moon or something to that extent?

The DS game you're thinking of is Dementium: The Ward which had a sequel called Dementium 2 and a 3rd game using its engine named Moon. Sanitarium is a PC adventure game.

 

[Satchel]

Dead Space 1 and 2 are the only games to really make me jump, or be creeped out.

I haven't played all the games in the OP.

Sorry, also forgot Condemned. Very scary and creepy.

 

[Dascu]

White Day's got a better patch/translation coming out "soon":

http://unnamedgs0.blogspot.co.uk/p/whiteday.html

I really want to try it out.

 

[Krappadizzle]

The DS game you're thinking of is Dementium: The Ward which had a sequel called Dementium 2 and a 3rd game using its engine named Moon. Sanitarium is a PC adventure game.

You are right.. As soon as you wrote Dementium I knew I was wrong. You win this day sir.

 

[Rawket Lawnchair]

FEAR 1, Perseus Mandate expansion:

About 40-50 minutes in the game, you descend a ladder and see Jankowski's ghost entering an alley. I followed him and jumped off my chair.

 

[dark_inferno]

Anyone mentioned SCP-087?

 

[Talyn]

If you're going to put Ravenholm as an honorable mention, then that mansion/hotel level from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines should get a mention too.

I've never really understood what was supposed to be so scary about that haunted house in Bloodlines. I mean you're a vampire and a ghost is trying to scare you. Eh. Anyway there were places in that game I found way more unsettling: the prosthetic place, the areas involving the snuff film and the Malk's mansion are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

 

[Vormund]

I've really been meaning to play Amnesia...its sitting in my steam list.

This video inspires me

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Personally I think Silent Hill 1-3 are the games that have scared me the most. Not only due to the otherworldly monsters, but due to the darkness and the oppressive mood felt throughout the games. Silent Hill 4, 0rigins and Downpour are also good, even if they have noticeable flaws.

Other games that have given me the heebiejeebies have already been mentioned, like Clive Barker's Undying (it felt like a combination of gothic horror and Lovecraftian cosmic horror, with very effective use of sound effects and sound cues), Realms of the Haunting (very creepy atmosphere throughout the game), Penumbra: Overture (godawful combat, but very good otherwise, didn't like Penumbra: Black Plague though, and never played Penumbra: Requiem), Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (riddled with bugs, but still such a memorable, creepy experience).

Shoutouts also go to Dead Space 1, Nightmare Creatures (plz put this on PSN, someone), ObsCure and Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines (if only for the haunted hotel level).

 

[Dascu]

Just tried SCP-173.


What the fuck. Goddamn, this is sort of what I've always been looking for in a horror game. And at the same time it's far too terrifying.

 

[tearsofash]

Another vote for Dementium: The Ward.

Did anyone try that Fatal Frame spinoff for the DS? Any good?

 

[danmaku]

I've never played The Dark Eye and have no idea what it's about.

Edgar Allan Poe. It translates some of his novels in a point and click adventure format. There's not much interaction, but it's creepy and disturbing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Eye_(video_game)

 

[atre324]

It's been mentioned a few times before in this thread, but Haunting Ground is really fantastic.

Also it's not particularly scary, but every ps2 survival horror fan should play Rule of Rose at some point. The combination of story, music, and atmosphere is captivating and it still manages to feel like a horror game despite the lack of scares.

I really miss ps2 era horror games although there have been a bunch of great ones this generation

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Also it's not particularly scary, but every ps2 survival horror fan should play Rule of Rose at some point. The combination of story, music, and atmosphere is captivating and it still manages to feel like a horror game despite the lack of scares.

I really want to play Rule of Rose, but the asking price for a PAL copy is too high for me to care. £75 for a used copy? How about no.

 

[dc89]

Siren Blood Curse is the scariest game I've played.

 

[bengraven]

I want a Silent Hill made by Monolith's Condemned team.

Best game ever.

 

[Maedhros]

Yume Nikki: Freeware RPGMaker game about a recluse girl and her bizarre dreams.

Game is both disturbing and shocking for its imagery (especially if you make it to the ending).

This game is very shitty and overrated. Nothing there is scary at all. I think there's two places that are really fucked up, but even then, they're not really scary at all.

For creepy games, we have this:

 

[atre324]

I really want to play Rule of Rose, but the asking price for a PAL copy is too high for me to care. £75 for a used copy? How about no.

Yeah, it seems like its gotten expensive in a lot of places. I managed to pick up a disc only copy for around 20 a few months ago and it was worth every penny, but 75 seems ridiculous. Seems like a lot of the culty older horror games are routinely overpriced (I remember gamestop charging 30 or 40 for fatal frame not too long ago)

I've probably played at least 75% of the games on that Vs list, still have a few to catch up on but I might list some of them later

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Yeah, it seems like its gotten expensive in a lot of places. I managed to pick up a disc only copy for around 20 a few months ago and it was worth every penny, but 75 seems ridiculous. Seems like a lot of the culty older horror games are routinely overpriced (I remember gamestop charging 30 or 40 for fatal frame not too long ago)

I've probably played at least 75% of the games on that Vs list, still have a few to catch up on but I might list some of them later

A new copy goes for £105 and up on Amazon UK, so yeah, the price has taken a hike. At least I have Fatal Frame 3 lying around. I should dig it out and play it again, since I never finished it.

 

[XOMTOR]

another "obscure" horror game/franchise

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

Perfect timing for this thread.

I'm actually playing through this game right now on PSP. I was skeptical as due to the mediocre reviews but it's surprisingly enjoyable. It's very much a blend of old school RE and Silent Hill. Ammo and health items are very rare and the combat is clunky so there's no Rambo-ing through it. The ambient sounds, limited camera angles (in corridors) and disturbing imagery do a good job of setting the tone. Puzzles are fairly frequent and provide a bit of a challenge. Story is straight up teen horror (takes place at a University) and the VA is solid outside of the cutscenes and can provide for some humorous moments.

You're in control of 2 characters at all times so you have to manage the health and items of both to ensure both members survive. This dual character play does take away some tension as there's dialog between them but it's a different take on things.

As a bonus, the graphics on PSP are fantastic and the soundtrack is surprisingly top shelf.

 

[astroturfing]

how is it even possible that i read the thread title as Schindler's List: The Game..?

my brains are fried or something

 

[MightyHedgehog]

This made me think of Horror RTS. Is that even possible?! How would that work? Is it even possible with established Survival Horror mechanics? Probably not, but, why hasn't it been done yet?

Flesh Feast, an old shitty PC zombie game tried some of this. There are others that may have flirted with it in real-time, but I doubt many if any were scary as that would take some serious imagination and decent production values to impress most of today's crowd. Outside of just recreating the slasher movie scenario, where you might control a rapidly-thinning group of potential survivors or going the Night of the Living Dead route, I think you could successfully marry some tower defense with real time strategy tactics and close the scope down to Roguelike dimensions with more confined areas and limited vision forcing more discretion as fatal encounters are possible very early and often. Also would have to be small number of units or characters to direct/babysit. Add Sims-like personalities and telltale signs of mental/physical condition and the game could be pretty cool. I'm sure there are games that I'm unfamiliar with that might offer something akin to this, so I'd love to hear about them if they exist.

As a side note, I'm now playing through Naughty Bear, a serial killer/slasher-simulator with living stuffed bears. I didn't buy it, but I got it. So, playing that a little gave me the idea that playing opposite the killer would be more fun as you could co-ordinate with other survivors, AIs or players, to get away or put the maniac down for big points. A real video game version of Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street.

 

[dreamer3kx]

Siren here, I couldn't even play that game, all he others I got through with my chicken shit self but I couldn't with Siren, I haven't tried Amnesia yet.

 

[haikira]

Don't have anything to contribute, that hasn't already been. But just wanted to thank everyone who has. Love horror games, and there's plenty in this thread I'm just discovering.

 

[atre324]

A new copy goes for £105 and up on Amazon UK, so yeah, the price has taken a hike. At least I have Fatal Frame 3 lying around. I should dig it out and play it again, since I never finished it.

Fatal Frame 3 is pretty good, although I think from a story perspective it's a little sleepy and disjointed. I definitely felt like FF4 tackled the multiple characters thing a lot better. FF2 is by far the best, and IMO FF4 and FF3 are #2 and #3 but they're pretty close.

I had a bit of trouble getting into Obscure 2. I didn't particularly enjoy the combat system, and I always found myself wanting for healing items even on the lower difficulty settings. I still need to go back and pick up the first one.

One of my favorite overlooked games is Alone in the Dark: Inferno. The 360 version is pretty horrible, but the ps3 version fixed a lot of the more glaring issues, although it still isn't perfect. I really enjoyed the use of light/fire/electricity to solve puzzles and the open-ish hub (driving around central park) between story missions, even with some annoying physics/collision bugs that can make it hard to progress.

Still, the soundtrack for AitD: Inferno (by the same composer responsible for Obscure/Obscure 2) features some really haunting stuff from the Bulgarian Women's State Choir, and is probably one of my favorite soundtracks of any horror/horrorish game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh2kSs89Xxw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq44F1iV8GU



In terms of mediocre/bad stuff, I've also played my fair share:
Kuon - Interesting concept (not a lot of horror games take place in feudal japan) but pretty horrible execution. It'll scratch your survival horror itch but it's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination

Cursed Mountain - Another relatively unique horror game (1980s Scottish mountain climber vanquishes Buddhist ghosts with an enchanted ice pick!), made worse by some unintuitive waggle finishing moves. Make sure you google the proper motion for exorcismal finishing moves to avoid controller throwing frustration.

Haunting Ground - I already mentioned this, but it's what Clock Tower 3 should have been. Exploring the house is a lot of fun and the addition of the alchemy/accessory system gives you lots of reason to find everything, as well as a way to not feel so defenseless once you're fully upgraded.

Fragile Dreams - I'm not sure you can call this a horror game, although it feels like one at times. A lot of people talk about the atmosphere and story being totally enthralling in this game, and they're right. It even has an RE4-style inventory management system.

Cold Fear - Semi-competent RE4 clone that has not aged particularly well. This game would be a lot better with a map.

Echo Night: Beyond - Ghosts in space! Too bad your space suit makes you walk at a snail's pace. I found this game sleepy, slow, and just plain bad, but I know a lot of people like the series so maybe it's just me.

Lifeline - A totally voice-controlled space horror/action game seems like a bad idea, especially when the voice controls just plain don't work, but I had very few issues the few times I've played this. Screaming/panicking will probably cause your character to misunderstand commands and waste all her healthpacks, but if you speak slowly and clearly you can limit how often this happens. Even though it's flawed it's worth a playthrough, provided you have a ps2 headset/mic.

---

There's still quite a few games that I haven't been able to get through, or haven't played in general. I'd love some recommendations on them, if people have played them:

Juon, The Calling, Ikinie no Yoru/Night of Sacrifice - I've tried to get through Ju-on and found it intolerably slow, Calling was a bit better but I had difficulty getting into it as well. I hear that Ikinie no Yoru is pretty good but my Japanese isn't that great.

Escape from Bug Island (Necro-nesia) - This "horror" game is so bad that I sometimes wonder if it's intentional (like Deadly Premonition). Some day I will slog my way through this one.

X-Files: Resist or Serve - A survival horror game set in a non-canonical X-files episode seems like a great idea, but the gameplay kept me from getting very far.

I also haven't really had much experience with the point-and-click/adventure horror PC games. Anyone have a recommendation for a good starting point?

My tolerance for crappy games seems to be considerably higher when it comes to horror games, so I'm willing to try anything.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Do you like outer-space?

Do you like ghosts?

Little kid ghosts?

What do you think of a first-person perspective where those ghost's can randomly leave hand-prints on your space-suit mask just to fuck with you?

How about broken dolls sitting around in the darkness?

Echo Night: Beyond.
Rubber-pants sold seperately.

 

[Ra\/en]

I do agree that Jericho was a pretty bad game, but I think the story holds up against Undying. Barker's horror writing was just as strong in Jericho as Undying.

I agree with you on the story for the most part. The messed up story is what actually kept me going in Jericho. I may not have finished the game without it.

 

[Orin GA]

Amnesia has been the only game that has freaked me out. Everything else..meh. Still need to play system shock tho

 

[Prophane33]

This list needs more Haunted House for Atari 2600.

 

[HoosTrax]

I wouldn't really consider L4D a horror game much more than I would with Plants vs Zombies. Ok, the witch is a little creepy admittedly. But any sort of co-op game where you have massive amounts of ammo (unlimited in some situations), a steady stream of action, and highly predictable swarm events is hard to consider scary.

I wonder how Dead Space 3 is going to play out...

I haven't played the DS games yet, but I have seen a gameplay video of either DS1 or DS2, where

Spoiler

Isaac has to put his head in some sort of machine to get an occular implant, with pretty horrific results if you fail the minigame

. That seems like a pretty good representation of horror in my mind.

 

[scorpscarx]

I wouldn't really consider L4D a horror game much more than I would with Plants vs Zombies. Ok, the witch is a little creepy admittedly. But any sort of co-op game where you have massive amounts of ammo (unlimited in some situations), a steady stream of action, and highly predictable swarm events is hard to consider scary.

L4D1/2 is a riot, the game is ridiculously funny most of the time.

For example a charger going HRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG and knocking three people off the roof on No Mercy. You'll be in tears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04lpdEf1GeI&feature=player_detailpage#t=22s

 

[Criminal Upper]

Most people will laugh at me, but I was quite frightened while playing The Grudge game.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I wonder how Dead Space 3 is going to play out...

I haven't played the DS games yet, but I have seen a gameplay video of either DS1 or DS2, where

Spoiler

Isaac has to put his head in some sort of machine to get an occular implant, with pretty horrific results if you fail the minigame

. That seems like a pretty good representation of horror in my mind.

The first DS is a relatively creepy game, largely due to it taking place on an empty, desolate space ship. You really feel very isolated and alone. DS2 takes place in a city called Sprawl, with more people appearing throughout the game, so it's not really as scary as the original. DS2 is also more action-focused. DS3 seems to move even further towards action/third person shooter territory. And that video you're talking about happens close to the end of DS2.

 

[jmdajr]

My friend had this for the commodore...

scared the shit outta me...

about

 

[McNum]

This made me think of Horror RTS. Is that even possible?! How would that work? Is it even possible with established Survival Horror mechanics? Probably not, but, why hasn't it been done yet?

It's kind of been done turn based already. It's part of why UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-Com: UFO Defense still holds up. It can be really scary when it wants to. And not jump-scare scary either. Oppressive, dangerous, a feeling of dread both when it's your turn and when it's not.

Ask anyone playing a Terror Mission in X-Com... At night. Against Snakemen. You suddenly feel very exposed and threatened. Enemy shots coming from nowhere, and then you hear a howl. And a scream. You manage to take down a few Snakemen, but the howling and screaming continues. You manage to see a black thing turn a civilian into a zombie in a brief second during the enemy's turn. Suddenly, a howl, and out from the darkness comes another black thing, straight at your men, instantly killing two and turning them into zombies. Your turn comes up and you kill the back thing with focused fire. Then you shoot the zombies... and two more black things pop out of them. And now it's the aliens' turn. No one ever heard from Skyranger-1 again. You just met the Chryssalid, one of the downright scariest things ever in a strategy game, and perhaps even in a a video game.

When X-Com wants to be scary, it's really scary. The oppressive "music" and the fact that no matter how badass, how well equipped your squad of soldiers are, they are fragile. One unlucky shot and they're gone forever. This is the kind of game that can spook you with an open door. Because last turn... it was closed! What just passed through? Do you investigate? Knowing that if there's something there and it sees your man first, it gets the first shot? You more or less have to investigate, but you really don't want to...

It's actually kind of impressive how they pull this off. A fantastic and dirty trick they do is to hide unseen enemy movement, but NOT silencing the sounds. Doors open and close. Aliens kill civilians. Chryssalids howling. Explosions going off. All unseen behind a cover screen with two words on it: "Hidden Movement".

I hope the new one keeps the horror part. It's an easy thing to miss...