So I know there are quite a few folks out there who appreciate this genre and while it quite broad I thought I would make a dedicated thread to support these types of games, much like the Roguelike thread.
While I love the general genre of horror and its classic tropes I do however struggle to play a lot of these games. Not that I get scared or whatever by them, nor do I get scared from movies of the same ilk. Though the genre is subdivided and has multiple subgenres as an example:
Survival Horror
Action Horror
Psychological Horror
Jump Scare Horror
Reverse Horror
Now from personal experiences, I do enjoy watching playthroughs of said games (and even movies) and have no issue with this, but make me play the game and I nope out very, very quickly and easily. My aim is to try and breach this genre and have invited my wife to play them with me. Though I do have certain criteria and themes that I just generally don’t like or have no interest in. Things like Five Nights at Freddy are just there, in my opinion, to cause you to have frights. That should not be the only requirement for horror and should contain a multitude of factors, like psychological.
Some personal experiences and personal loves in this genre include:
Man of Medan
Until Dawn
Alien Isolation
P.T.
Some titles I would like to get and play include:
Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 3
Some notable and upcoming titles in this genre include:
Resident Evil Villiage
Scorn
The Medium
So what are some of your experiences and recommendations?
I’d say it might be worth checking out Observer and Layers of Fear if you liked The Medium.
The Resi Remakes are great but Resident Evil VII is something I wish I hadn’t overlooked at launch. It’s truly excellent in everything it does. Solid combat, decent puzzles and an amazing atmosphere make this a super package. I’m excited about Resi VIII.
I know, and I’m sorry. I noped out of Outlast about 10 minutes into it.
Okay, that’s great to know. From the initial trailers and so forth it looked a bit more hardcore for my likings but will move up my list. Currently playing Man of Medan then might do RE7 next as I have access to it, unlike the remakes previously mentioned.
I like watching people be good a horror games, and I know he is not everyones cup of tea, but Markiplier’s FNAF( fine nights at freddy’s) playthough of all the games are quite nice to see when he starts getting serious. I myself am terrible at horror games, as my mind has an incredibly active imagination, and I tend to scare myself more than any game ever could, but the setting and atmosphere the game introduces causes my imagination to go wild.
Some interresting horror games I have always liked watching are those of the scary game squad on JesseCox’s channel:
namely: little nightmares 1 & 2
and:Faith (youtube is freaking out so can’t search for the first chapter)
Just finished Man of Medan, and thought it was pretty good without having to rely on cheap jump scares. It’s the type of horror I like. The game has some issues and can go into more detail if anyone requires bit overall I really enjoyed it. Not sure if I’ll play again to get the other endings or different outcomes.
Next up is Resident Evil 7.
PS: should I be playing these titles on any specific difficulty, being a horror “noob”?
So the wife and I have started a playthrough of Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. I made the choice of playing this on easy as this isn’t exactly my forte and I don’t want to get stuck on a loop of deaths or a wall which I struggle to get over.
That being said, I am actually really enjoying it thus far. The fact that it isn’t trying to scare you with cheap jump scares is great and instead find that the inherent scariness comes more from the tension, environment and audio design. They’ve built this very very well and look forward to playing it more.
I also loved RE7, despite being a pansy. It does have some really scary moments though but at least I could finish it. I can’t say the same for The Evil Within 2, that shit freaked me out too much.
I’ve been playing Dead Space on Series S on and off for the last couple of days. Just got to Chapter 8. It’s still such a great game.
While I don’t often play games in this genre I came across this, Maple County, which is a short (about 8 minutes) game that I thought was rather unique and considered sharing. And why not, it’s FREE!
Maple County is a very creepy little horror game where you watch a police training VHS tape about dealing with an unknown threat.
Drawing inspiration from the Mandela Catalog YouTube videos, Maple County is a short and very unsettling horror game where you watch and interact with a creepy old interactive police training VHS.
I played a excellent little indie game called Murderhouse recently. It’s a PS1 inspired game - a bit like Resi - with deliberately low fidelity graphics and tank controls. It also has a bit of a VHS aesthetic to it and it is set in the 80s/90s.
It was a real thrill! Most of the game is puzzle solving (like in Resi) and running away from a killer in an Easter Bunny suit. The sound design is excellent too, and everything feels deliberate.
The dev didn’t choose the PS1 look for the sake of ease or, as a gimmick. It all comes together as a wonderfully well thought out package. Part of the experience is because the controls are so clunky, and the visuals are a throwback to the days when this genre was well represented.
It’s a short (under 4 hours) but well crafted game and well worth the asking price.
