The ghoulish thread of scares and frights

[pix3lboy]

So Halloween's been and gone and I decided to buy and play Dead Space after not even completing chapter one before trading it in.

I sat down in a completely empty house, with all the lights off and played through chapter one but didn't feel fear. I felt boredom. The one game that has almost literally made me shit myself, the one game that I actually traded in because it was too scary for me. Not sure why it is but I guess once I've completed it, I'll have to step up my game and try Amnesia.

Anyway, the point of this thread is to find out what games (if any) scare you lot, or even if there are just certain parts of a game that scares you (remember to use spoiler tags if it's a key plot point )

[The Sonic Mole]

I personally thought Dead Space was cracking, if a little derivative.

The scariest game I've played recently is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. The disempowerment and helplessness of the main character are what really make it spine chilling. In that sense it's more like an old fashioned survival horror. One of the problems, I think anyway, is that the genre has become somewhat homogenised - taking on elements of the third person shooter, etc. This results in an empowerment of the player, which for me is to the detriment of the experience. Resident Evil 5 is a good example of this.

It's a bit of an obvious answer but I think the scariest game I've ever played is Silent Hill 2. It has the ability to really get under your skin. A bit like a good Japanese or Korean horror film does. The music in particular is really unnerving; all wonky analogue synths and clanking industrial ambience. Excellent stuff.

[Kat]

Dead Space, yeah, fuck that. I could only do a tiny bit at a time and soon gave up.

Serious Sam makes me jump and yelp cos the baddies just appear out of nowhere :/

[MarkuzR]

I'm afraid I have to say that no game has ever scared me or had me on the edge of my seat. Closest I ever got to having my heart race was when I swore I could see Moxxi's panties riding up but it was just a dodgy texture. I don't startle in real life either, so when I know that I'm sitting in front of a screen watching pixels move around, I'm even less affected by it. Bit of a shame really, as I'd like to have that sort of rush from a game.

[ZeroMark]

What Mark said. Deadspace didnt scare me, the only game i felt a bit bleh about playing was Doom 3 but after the first 20mins you expected things to happen so nothing startled me.

Still when im walking down the street and a bus air break goes off i jump, so im not brave lol. I just dont get drawn in to video games or films ect.

[UselessJack]

Dead Space made me shit bricks in the first few minutes, then it became pretty obvious when a monster would jump at you.

I'm not a big fan of the horror genre, and I get scared pretty easily. Not by the "BOO I'M A MONSTER ATTACKING YOUR SCREEN!" moments, but more by the games where you actually never know what will hit you when. Darkness and creepy sounds and music are enough for me most of the time. I got Penumbra Overture and quit as soon as I entered the dark, scary mine. Haven't played it eversince.

Outside of gaming: Needles. I have a phobia when it comes to it. Just seeing someone handing a needle makes me leave. I once had to be dragged into a kindergarden since they were using the place for blood donation and my ex was working there as a nurse. I almost jumped out of the window when she asked me if I wanted to donate, too. I can hold and handle them myself, but as soon as somebody else takes it, I panic. One time I almost hit a very good friend of mine in the face since he found it funny playing around with one in front of me, making fun of my phobia.

[Zephyr]

Yeah, people can be real insensitive pricks like that. One guy I used to work with would pretend to electricute himself by sticking his fingers in plug sockets after he found out I'm electriphobic. One time he showed me a vid on the internet, didn't tell me what it was, said it was funny, turned out it showed a guy touching some high voltage cables and getting fried. I was fucking traumatised for the rest of the day For some reason he thought chilling me to my core, making me feel sick, fucking my head up and making me shake for over an hour was hilarious.

[Sketch]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent, hands down. I usually avoid horror like the plague but in a fit of bravado after seeing the trailer, thought I'd give it a go. Within ten minutes I was deeply regretting it and wishing I hadn't tied myself into reviewing it. The sheer helplessness of the player, combined with a truly terrifying audio feast, along with the constant weight of dread was horror alchemy.

Every doorway, passage, and room could hold potential terrors, and with no weapon and a very limited light supply, it helped create a thick atmosphere of fear and foreboding. You have to proceed at a snail's pace for fear of what is coming next. Nothing had to necessarily happen, but the thought that it was about to at any time frayed my nerves to the point that I could only handle playing it in short bursts at first.

When I finally got through some truly terrifying areas, barely escaped the water demon after having my heart nearly burst through my chest, and then reached a new door entitled 'Morgue'...I wanted to burst into tears. After shitting myself in an area called 'Storage' there was no way I wanted to sample the delights of a morgue. I'm still amazed that I finished it. I think I'm over it and then I watch a YouTube vid and just the sound of the chase music sets my heart racing again.

On a funny note, it is always hilarious when the person being scared by a game isn't you. This is a great YouTube vid that I love to pimp...a compilation that some bright sadist put together of the best Amnesia scare videos...how I laughed and how I was so glad that it wasn't me. At least I can be proud of myself that I didn't give up and just about scraped through to get it finished. Never before has a game had my hands trembling to such a ridiculous point before. Never have I wanted to give up so much on a good game!

[Sketch]

Had to watch it again for the millionth time for giggles and it still cracks me up. The first guy at the message "You have to carry on" whining "No I don't!" and the woman who managed to shut herself in a room with a beastie are fucking hilarious. 'That' door in the 'Storage' area gets nearly everyone...

[The Preacher]

Scariest game for me is probably the original Alien Trilogy. Simply because I saw the first Alien film when I was 7 or 8 by staying up late and using headphones, and it terrified the fuck out of me, so now any time I see a xenomorph I go cold. I had Alien Trilogy on my Playstation because it came bundled with it, and I still get creeped out just by the boxart.