Thread: Horror games

So Halloween is just around the corner so I thought it'd be fun to discuss our favorite horror games and even discuss moments from games that scared us the most.

First up for me is Resident Evil 2. I'm in the middle of playing the Resident Evil Remake and, while it's damn good, it does not hold a candle to RE2. The atmosphere, the music, the characters all contribute to making this the most memorable RE game. It was the first game that I played that made me feel like someone in a desperate situation and using whatever weapons and tools you can salvage and determining when to fight and when to run.

System Shock 2 is another great horror title. Now, it may not be as nerve wrecking as other horror games, it makes up for it with an eerie atmosphere. In some ways, it does the survival aspects better than Resident Evil since it your weapons can break and you need to carefully choose what skills to upgrade with your modules. Some of the baddies are creepy, especially when their little shred of humanity comes out for a brief period of time.



And finally, there is Alien: Isolation. In a time when modern horror games rely on jump scare to jolt players (cough*Five Night at Freddy's*cough), it's a breath of fresh air to have a game that avoids that, at least for the most part. Very really does the xenomorph just pop out to make you jump. A lot of the tension comes from the fact that you know where it is and you have to try everything you can to make sure it doesn't notice you. This made it one of the most stressful games I've played. There were parts that I was rushing to get through, not because I was trying to breeze my way through the game but rather because I know the alien will show up at any time and I'm trying to get out before it comes. It's also a cool mix of classic survival horror tropes (Resource management, knowing when to fight and when to run away) and newer survival horror tropes (Crafting, a invincible enemy that you have to sneak around). Hell, even the save system was a bit of a cool throwback to the save systems seen in Resident Evil and Silent Hill. All in all, it's probably the best horror game I've played in years.

Ooo, Alien: Isolation is such an amazing game! I streamed it a few years back, and it's given me such an adrenaline rush!
I don't play many horror games, but memorable ones stick out like RE2 and Quake (first person shooter, but still scared the hell out of me as a kid!).
Glad there's another RE2 fan on this site, by the way!

Without a doubt in my mind, I can say a moment that scared the shit out of me in RE2 was the jump scare with the first licker you encounter as Claire (Leon if you do the Leon A Scenario). I'd usually fight it with half my health left and very little handgun ammo, usually win in the nick of time, too. All on easy mode........yes, I'm a wuss on old-school survival horrors, sue me...

If it makes you feel any better, I become a big ass wuss when those giant spiders showed up in the sewers. I don't know if it's just how realistically they are animated but those things put the fear of god into me. I start getting nervous when I get to the first sewer section. I am not looking forward to their first appearance in the Resident Evil Remake because I can only imagine how terrifying they are with more modern graphics.

It's interesting you brought up Quake. It's because of it's freaky music, isn't it?



I don't find the game particular scary but it does a great job creating a foreboding atmosphere and a lot of the monsters, the fiend in particular, look downright horrifying. What's funny is that it's low poly graphics actually make some of those creatures even more unsettling.

The copy I have doesn't have any music, sadly. Upon listening to it, I see where RE4 gets a ton of its influence from. Which explains the lava saturated sections in that game, too...

Now that you mention it, that bit of music does come off as similar to the rengerator's music from RE4.



Fun as it was, I didn't find Resident Evil 4 all that scary but it was intense to go up against the regenerator. It's that weird sounding breathing that he makes that gets to me.

I'm also playing another horror themed game...Vampire: The Masquerade-Bloodlines. I started playing this for the first time not too long ago but got lazy and now I'm picking it back up again. It's not scary per se, but it has a very gothic atmosphere that's enjoyable. I will say there's a point where you go to a haunted hotel and...I dare not spoil it, but you will shit bricks.

I haven't played a horror game in many MANY years. I am considering getting into Friday the 13th though just because it is a multiplayer platform. I tend to enjoy those more these days. Anyone play that game? I have watched people play and it looks like a lot of fun to play with some friends, specially when you can get a party going.