Video games that scare you?

[Stuttermabolur]

I don’t do well with jump scares. I’m scared because I constantly expect to be scared, and then when something jumps out and startles me, I get mad because I got startled. It’s idiotic.

What I personally love is psychological horror games. Just an eerie, sometimes bleak atmosphere. They scare me on a different level. No jump scares, just a mounting feeling of unease at the little flashes of horror the game is hinting at.

Eventually I'll write a longer post about it, but if you are looking for psychological horror games, "OMORI" is (in my opinion) absolutely masterful. It's probably in my top 2 games of all time, and I wouldn't really say it has jumpscares (at least where you get noise+quick movement). However, it gets very intense and scary, particularly near the end. I personally don't recommend watching the release trailer as it can spoil some stuff.

The story is incredible, it's really good and deals a lot with emotions and facing your past. I can't think of a story with a better portrayal of mental illness. The music is also really good (I'll include 2 samples for fun: Sample 1, sample 2) and the art is phenomenal (not surprising as an artist made it). Ergh... I have been completely obsessed with this game for close to a year now...

I should warn you that the game can definitely be triggering so I would not advice you to play it if you don't feel prepared for it.

 

[Bolletje]

Eventually I'll write a longer post about it, but if you are looking for psychological horror games, "OMORI" is (in my opinion) absolutely masterful. It's probably in my top 2 games of all time, and I wouldn't really say it has jumpscares (at least where you get noise+quick movement). However, it gets very intense and scary, particularly near the end. I personally don't recommend watching the release trailer as it can spoil some stuff.

The story is incredible, it's really good and deals a lot with emotions and facing your past. I can't think of a story with a better portrayal of mental illness. The music is also really good (I'll include 2 samples for fun: Sample 1, sample 2) and the art is phenomenal (not surprising as an artist made it). Ergh... I have been completely obsessed with this game for close to a year now...

I should warn you that the game can definitely be triggering so I would not advice you to play it if you don't feel prepared for it.

Thank you for the suggestion! I’ve heard about this game before. It was on a list of the best psychological horror games of all time. Having heard from two sources that it’s the best psychological horror game of all time, now I must play it. Thanks for the warning though, I’ll make sure not to play it if I’m feeling fragile.

Have you played “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” and “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream”? Both have been in my backlog of games for a long time, both are on the same list as OMORI.

 

[Stuttermabolur]

Thank you for the suggestion! I’ve heard about this game before. It was on a list of the best psychological horror games of all time. Having heard from two sources that it’s the best psychological horror game of all time, now I must play it. Thanks for the warning though, I’ll make sure not to play it if I’m feeling fragile.

Have you played “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” and “I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream”? Both have been in my backlog of games for a long time, both are on the same list as OMORI.

To tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of horror personally. I'm very squeamish and don't like getting startled so horror was never for me. I'm fine with Omori though as it doesn't really play much into the typical horror tropes for the most part and doesn't have body horror to speak off (though it does get absolutely terrifying in parts). I like the fact that it's largely a regular RPG with good characters and the horror stuff is clearly signposted. It feels like the horror serves the story, not the other way around.

I know about both the games you mentioned, so I can perhaps help a bit. From what I have heard, Amnesia is incredibly scary (or at least it was when it came out). I think it is more like survival horror in terms of gameplay as you are hiding from a big unkillable monster for most of the game, but that does mean that it is brimming with tension. I can't tell you if all the horror is organic or if there are jump-scares and suchlike. It is eldritch horror so deals with madness, but I can't speak to the quality of the plot. I heard that the second game (Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs) has a good story but isn't particularly scary compared to the first one.

I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream is a point-and-click horror game based on a short story by Harlan Ellison. It is a very good recreation of the story while a lot of the visuals (as well as the plot which I won't spoil) are really terrifying. However, it might be frustrating to play as it's a 90's adventure game, especially if you aren't used to those. I think a trigger warning would also be in order for that.

From what I have read, both games are very dark, but the latter is more existential in nature. Make of that what you will. I'm sure people who have actually played them can give a better description.

P.S. Feel free to message me when you are done with Omori. It is rife for analysis but I don't know anyone else who has finished it. This goes for anyone else in the forums who has played it.

A second P.S. While I personally really like Omori, and the game had a big effect on me, I won't pretend that it's flawless and it might hit you differently. I just don't want you to go in with your expectations too high as that frequently leads to disappointment. I came in with no expectations myself.

 

[Bolletje]

However, it might be frustrating to play as it's a 90's adventure game, especially if you aren't used to those. I think a trigger warning would also be in order for that.

I started playing video games in the early 90’s, so that’s not a problem

I’ll message you when I’m done with OMORI, I enjoy discussing games that make me feel things. The game having its flaws is fine by me. If a game has a good story I’ll play it, unless it has game breaking bugs.

 

[Stuttermabolur]

I started playing video games in the early 90’s, so that’s not a problem

I’ll message you when I’m done with OMORI, I enjoy discussing games that make me feel things. The game having its flaws is fine by me. If a game has a good story I’ll play it, unless it has game breaking bugs.

One tiny but very consequential spoiler.

Spoiler: Open unless you want to start completely blind.

When it's morning and you get a knock at the door, this is a major branching point in the story. I recommend opening the door for your first playthrough, but not responding leads to different endings.

 

[dragonfire42]

I haven’t played very many games recently, nothing’s coming to mind now, but I have played Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It is the sort of survival game where you never even have a weapon that you can use as such. Much of it is puzzles and locating things, but there are times where you have to hide from an entity, and there are what I would call “jump scares” (I hate calling them that because there is a huge difference between being startled and being scared). I will also note that torture is a primary theme of this game.

Spoiler: Semi-spoiler and details

It centers on vitae, a substance that is distilled from the blood of people who are in pain/fear, the more the better. I don’t recall any visuals that were too graphic, but I’m pretty inured, it takes a good bit for things to stand out to me. However, there is audio and lots of very detailed description, and you see some of the contraptions that are used.

Overall I’d call it pretty hardcore on the horror.

 

[Forest Cat]

I will also note that torture is a primary theme of this game.

Torture is the primary theme of the game?

I think the last video game I played was Tekken on Playstation 1. What happened to video games. It sounds so brutal.

 

[dragonfire42]

Torture is the primary theme of the game?

I think the last video game I played was Tekken on Playstation 1. What happened to video games. It sounds so brutal.

Most of it doesn’t occur during the game, but yes. I probably wouldn’t have played it if I knew that beforehand, that’s crossing a line even for me.

 

[Forest Cat]

Most of it doesn’t occur during the game, but yes. I probably wouldn’t have played it if I knew that beforehand, that’s crossing a line even for me.

It just sounded extra brutal, I know new video games are full of war and violence. Fun for the kids. Human beings are a little weird and brutal, we're a fun race.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Hmm, lots of mentions of Amnesia: The Dark Descent here. I played this during a really dark period in my life and it still sticks with me today. Something about it brought me so much joy at the time (even though it's obviously a pretty sinister experience all around) that I'll probably always remember it as the greatest gaming experience I've ever had.

I absolutely understand why it scares most people who play it, however. It's unlike anything else IMO.

 

[Metalhead]

Hmm, lots of mentions of Amnesia: The Dark Descent here. I played this during a really dark period in my life and it still sticks with me today. Something about it brought me so much joy at the time (even though it's obviously a pretty sinister experience all around) that I'll probably always remember it as the greatest gaming experience I've ever had.

I absolutely understand why it scares most people who play it, however. It's unlike anything else IMO.

I currently am working on obtaining all 1000 gamerscore on the Xbox version of the Amnesia collection. Playing through The Dark Descent on Hard difficulty is very taxing on my patience, though.

 

[Edmund Greyfield]

The game that needs an honorable mention on this list is probably Parasite Eve. The game is pretty scary in itself, and although it is fun, the main Villain is a terrifying person named Eve, who is the incarnation through the cells of a woman named Melissa Pierce of the real Mitochondria Eve. The character is virtually on a rampage to kill and exterminate man throughout New York City, where the game takes place, and luckily, by the game's end, there is a good ending. There are no bad endings, only two depending on the route you take in-game. The second route is only playable to users who beat the game. The reason Eve terrifies me is the power she has to potentially wipe out every person there is through genocide by making each and every person COMBUST.

 

[Lemon Zing]

Clock Tower.