There are many elements that are crucial in implementing fear into the players, I personally feel that sound is the key. Lighting is the other important factor which I feel definitely affects the game but I've played games in completely well lit rooms and still been absolutely terrified. When talking about previously reviewed horror games I touched on the elements of being helpless and that constant fear that something is following you. Having endeavoured to play more and more horror games it's good to see that these elements are being implemented in games these days. The whole ambiance of the game also plays a major role, when playing Dead Space for the first time it felt very reminiscent of the movie Event Horizon and instantly dredged up terrors I thought had long gone. Certainly the feeling of becoming lost is something that haunts people, making a left turn then a right thinking you're home free only to be presented with a dead end while something's chasing you does help build that climactic tension. So here are some known/not so known games that I feel left a significant impression on me through both gameplay and innovation. Let's get to it...
Slenderman
Not the simplest premise for a game but very close. You're in a forest and you need to collect eight randomly placed pages while being chased by the infamous Slenderman. It's not rocket surgery people! But that's just it, for something so simple it's such a well crafted game. Essentially what I took home from this game other than nightmares was that perfect balance of tension, much like Amnesia. You can use your torch to see but then Slender will know where you are, you can run but then Slender will here you, but if you take to long Slender will find you anyway. You're constantly wondering what's best option and coupled with that and the occasional jump scare from Slender it makes for a great experience. The low thudding bass in the background that slowly builds as you progress through the game only adds to your stress as you franticly explore for more pages. Slenderman is a classic and it's a prime example of a low budget horror game doing it right.
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Here was game from the current generation consoles earlier years that really stood out for me. While very different to the horror games I'm used to nowadays offering that sense of helplessness, Condemned played like them but with weapons. Working for the FBI it was your job to hunt down a serial killer that had been terrorising the city. You had forensic equipment at your disposal and a slue of weapons which you could pick up from the environment which made for a fun and entertaining game. As you progressed the game got darker both metaphorically and literally and towards the end there were some seriously scary moments such as the final confrontation with the serial killer in the Apple Seed Orchard. I don't want to spoil anything but damn was I terrified to walk around my house after that. Condemned showed us that even with the implementation of firearms and melee combat it's still possible to design a rich and tense game where you feel scared.
Here's a game that's still fresh in my head having played it again this week and let's just say the newer 2.0 versions floating demon head definitely has me checking my corners no matter where I go now. Eyes, much like Slenderman, pits you in a haunted house this time round with the objective; 'find the money bags, rob the place and get out', all the while being pursued by a ghost which can pass through walls. Again it's a simple game but with some great ideas, scattered throughout the house are 'eye' symbols, these 'eyes' allow you to see the world through the perspective of the ghost for a brief moment, however this can alert her to your whereabouts. This makes for exceptionally scary moments when you transition to her view and realise she's in the room you just passed through. The background sounds of both lightning and the distant moans of the ghost establish an eerie atmosphere over the house that surprisingly a lot of AAA development studios are lacking these days, which leads me to my next subject...
Dead space
The Dead Space franchise has sealed its place in history and that's a fact, the first game was a true masterpiece and as a sci-fi and horror lover it was my must buy game for Halloween 2008. Looking back at the original game now there were a lot of memorable experiences. The main issue I found with Dead Space was that being so cinematic it lost perspective with the whole horror aspect of the game. There were many tense moments but majority of them were jump scares and did start to become a little predictable after a while. Not to say the game is bad at all, it's brilliant, but I feel that if I had to categorize the game I'd say it's a sci-fi shooter with horror elements. Visually the game is great and the atmosphere is very heavy. While Dead Space is considered a scary game in many people's books its by no means anywhere near as chilling as Amnesia or Silent Hill, but I love it. Despite its different approach on the genre Dead Space is a much loved gem and deserves it!
Aliens V Predator 2
While we're on the topic of sci-fi alien shooters we may as well talk about AVP2, not the most recent one, no that was awful, the old school one from 2001 for PC. Growing up, the alien movie franchise had always freaked the hell out of me so when I finally got to play the Marine campaign in AVP2 I was so excited. All I can say is, sometimes it's not about fancy graphics and next gen capabilities, this game was terrifying. When you had to escape from the alien hive and fight off swarms of the Xenomorphs it was teeth grittingly intense. Now while this isn't a horror game Eyes or Slenderman it still built tension and atmosphere while keeping the story going on track. Sure you were a big burly space marine but that didnt stop you turning tail and freaking out when the tracker started beeping fast. I have so many great memories from this game and not just the marine campaign, the alien and predator campaigns were just as good if not better! Even while being a Predator the Xenomorphs still managed to find a way to freak me out.
Penumbra
Before Amnesia there was Penumbra; a similar take on the genre but a little shorter with a little less money behind it. However it obviously must have done well otherwise we wouldn't have Amnesia now would we. The game in essence plays almost exactly the same with tension, mechanics and puzzles elements all being similar in style. Rather than being in a castle though, you're in an abandoned science facility in the middle of Greenland somewhere. The story paces itself well with the motivation to uncover the truth about the facility and find your father being the main driving points. The game is remarkably freaky and has some excellent moments especially the 'kennels' area towards the end of the game; invisible zombie dogs scare the life out of me! While it is a little easier to out smart the enemies in the game the most interesting thing I found was that the level of intelligence in them came at complete random; there's no progressive difficulty of enemy. It makes for great gameplay as you're never quite sure if what's hunting you is a slow one or a fast jumping one, again, well done Frictional Studios.
Lastly I want to breifly talk about a game called Stairs, while still in beta testing this is a game that I've found really cool. Going back to the lighting aspect of a game, Stairs likes to work with this concept a great deal. It's a simple 20 minute long game at the moment where you play as a journalist who investigates an abandoned factory. The story builds remarkably well as you slowly discover what happened to its inhabitants through images and dialogue. When the game starts to shine is about mid way through when your torch dies and you have to use the flash from the camera to see where you're going. As the flash only lasts about three seconds before going completely pitch black again this creates epic tension as monsters can appear for a fraction of moment before disappearing again. I was watching this game as a review on youtube and even though I wasn't playing I was just as scared as the player. I'm sure we'll see great things from this studio in the times to come and I hope Stairs see a final production soon!
So by now I'm sure you've all gathered that I love horror and as a gaming genre there is so much potential out there. I hope you all get a chance to try these games, a lot of them arn't very expensive nowadays with Steam EOFYS and all, curse you Steam! Some games are even free to play online. For all those horror lovers out there please take a moment to stop and check out all the Indie developers at the moment, there's some really great stuff and they need support. Again, thankyou all for listening to me rant about horror and until next time, keep on gaming!
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