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GAF, what is the scariest game you've ever played?

I had to shut Outlast off after the very first jump scare. I know, I'm a wimp, but I've tried two times since and can't get past the first 5 minutes(the point at which the first jump scare comes). I haven't even SEEN a monster in the game.
 
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This level from Dark Forces sticks out as particularly scary.
 
i stand by what i wrote. i went into the game blind, not having read anything about it here or anywhere else. the Llorona lady is spooky, sure, but scariest game ever? after i figured out i was supposed to be collecting letters and doing god knows what else i had to call up my friend and ask him what the fuck i had to do to proceed.

You can stand by it but its a perplexing opinion to have since I don't feel any of your points are valid.
What would you put up as a scary game?
 
I hate being chased in games, so one game that freaked me out was Call of Cthulhu on the Xbox.

There's a part at the beginning where you're in your hotel room and then these crazy villagers try and break into your room while you're sleeping. You wake up and you have to run into the adjoining rooms and move dressers in front of doors and lock doors that are open before they get in. Then you jump to the next building and they're chasing you.

Freaked me out at the time.
 
I would say that Fatal Frame 2 probably left the longest impression of dread on me after turning it off. That game seriously gets intense towards the end of the game. But I will echo the comments on P.T. being the scariest thing in recent history. I still have to play Alien Isolation, Outlast, and Fatal Frame 5 from my backlog though.
 
The first dungeon of TES III: Daggerfall. Privateer's Hold. You can hear the shrieking of far off enemies. Everything is very confusing and labyrinthine. You're still too weak to properly defend yourself. Still getting used to the weird combat controls. Primitive 3D graphics. Just a weirdly unsettling game all around.

Need to reinstall dosbox.
 
It was Amnesia: The Dark Descent.... until P.T. came along.

Side note: when I first started playing Gone Home, I was terrified walking around that house. Kept expecting a jump scare.
 
P.T.
Playing that game with headphones is creepy as fuck, especially when you actually take the time to look around and listen to your surroundings.
 
PT. has jumpscares but its the less scary thing the game has. The atmosphere and sound design is what made me crap my pants.

The best or worst part of P.T. was
the damn radio that tells you to look behind you and when you turn around boom!

I normally don't get scared easily but this part got me pretty good.


best part is that sometimes nothing happens there. It adds to the suspense to not knowing WHEN it will happen.
 
To be fair, that was part of the marketing. I think Kojima was hoping it'd take weeks for someone to get to the reveal at the end so it was intentionally obfuscated.

I dunno, I'd definitely recommend PT to everyone just as a a singular experience, but it really does trip up on itself thru its intentional obfuscation of gameplay elements. What initially starts out as feeling unnerving quickly becomes a total chore when you're just mindlessly walking about trying to trigger... Well... Anything

I don't see where we disagree :P

I enjoyed PT for the same reason I enjoyed Amnesia: excellent sound design, but the game never unnerved me in the same way as Fatal Frame II. Not even close. I think a large part of that has to do with how most horror games tend to take place in Western locales. FF's Japanese village on the other hand felt absolutely foreign and alien to me. It was also able to absolutely nail the feeling of claustrophobia with its enemy encounters that took place in tiny rooms. The camera mechanic of waiting until the very last second to attack the enemy as well as the moments where the game forces you to peep through some hole (a design element that P.T. lifted) was absolutely brilliant.
 
Quite possibly Super Metroid. Keep in mind I haven't played any horror games or any really purposefully scary games like that. But man, Super Metroid has it all. Scary music, scary sounds, scary environments, scary bosses...
The wrecked ship and Phantoon are crazy scary. And then the whole escape sequence at the end...
Good stuff.
 
I'm a total pussy.
I couldn't even finish the demo,so P.T. is the clear winner.
Alien Isolation close second, that i managed to endure till the end is a gaming miracle I think.
I avoid horror games like the pest usually, but sometimes they inexplicably draw me into them.
 
The thing about PT is, it has jump scares but to say that's all it has is inaccurate. The jump scares are powerful because they don't just happen, they are set up with a lot of tension and creepy atmosphere. Its the build up to the scare that's the most effective part of it. The scare itself is just the climax.
 
You can stand by it but its a perplexing opinion to have since I don't feel any of your points are valid.
What would you put up as a scary game?

something like Amnesia or more recently Alien Isolation, and of course a lot of the classics - resident evil, system shock, silent hill, etc

i just feel like PT was too obscure, too dream like in its game logic if i want to be generous, to be appreciated as a game i felt like i was an active participant in. sure, other scary/horror games have puzzles that will leave you scratching your head, but i can only walk through the same corridor so many times not knowing what to do before i realize im not engaged in playing the game anymore and therefore cant be scared.
 
It's the only one in the series I've played, but it's Fatal Frame 2 by a mile. Resident Evil, Dead Space, Silent Hill, Condemned - they were spooky at best, FF2 was actually unsettling and way more scary than any of those. I'm going to assume anyone not mentioning it hasn't played it :)

I've a feeling P.T. could probably match it, but I've only played it for about 20 minutes, Need to go back and finish it but from what I did play it illicited that same sense of dread that FF2 did.
 
PT did nothing for me. But Alien Isolation, which I haven't played would probably scare the crap out of me. Especially if we're talking a pretty unpredicatable Alien after me.

I'm really surprised I'm not seeing many mentions.
 
something like Amnesia or more recently Alien Isolation, and of course a lot of the classics - resident evil, system shock, silent hill, etc

i just feel like PT was too obscure, too dream like in its game logic if i want to be generous, to be appreciated as a game i felt like i was an active participant in. sure, other scary/horror games have puzzles that will leave you scratching your head, but i can only walk through the same corridor so many times not knowing what to do before i realize im not engaged in playing the game anymore and therefore cant be scared.

To be fair P.T. isnt really a game but a promotion tool for Silent HIlls. Its supposed to be really obscure so people work together to discover the secret of the demo (that its Silent HIlls). Thats why Kojima encouraged streaming the game, and that a micro is needed to beait it. A full game like that wouldnt work, obviously.
 
Never heard of P.T. before this thread but it looks legit scary.

Is it a PS4 exclusive or is it likely to come out for PC?
Its an exclusive available for free on PSN.
If you have a PS4, download it immediately.

I'm not sure it qualifies, but it is EASILY my game of the year. One of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.
 
The fuck is "P.T."?


Anyway, scariest game? Anything with nigh-unkillable zombies (like the original Thief had). I go nope at that point but otherwise nothing scares me in games.
 
I don't see where we disagree :P

Pahaha, how did I miss that? You're right, we are in agreement!

I'm sure the full release(s) will be a lot less confusing. I fully expect the difficult puzzles to return from older games, though.

Edit: Another contender I just remembered is Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi. That game holds up incredibly well today because the enemies are so damn fast and unpredictable.
 
I wish I could get scared by games as much as a lot of you do.

The thing about PT is, it has jump scares but to say that's all it has is inaccurate. The jump scares are powerful because they don't just happen, they are set up with a lot of tension and creepy atmosphere. Its the build up to the scare that's the most effective part of it. The scare itself is just the climax.

Just like a haunted house. Either y'all went to some really shitty haunted houses, or I want to some amazing ones.
 
Also something I find incredibly scary is scary moments when you don't expect them in Non-horror games... like the moon from Majora's Mask.

Sped-up version showing how the moon actually moves constantly throughout the 3-day cycle until it's inevitable crash (Especially take note to how enigmatic and sad the music is in the last 5 minutes)
This is an awesome choice. The moon itself that comes closer, the "end of the world" atmosphere and theme, the music, the bells, the earthquakes...
 
PT did nothing for me. But Alien Isolation, which I haven't played would probably scare the crap out of me. Especially if we're talking a pretty unpredicatable Alien after me.

I'm really surprised I'm not seeing many mentions.

I lasted through about an hour of PT. One hour. After that I just couldn't take anymore. I had to stop because I was too much of a pussy to keep playing. I say this as someone who was able to play all of the Silent Hill games (er, the first four that is) alone at night with the lights out. I had no problem playing Alien Isolation under those conditions as well. To me an alien is far less scary than surreal shit that reminds me of actual nightmares I've had.
 
I made attempts at Amnesia the Dark Descent and P.T. but didn't finish either.

To me, it's the sound design that make all the difference. Amnesia's graphics frankly look pretty bad- not realistic at all. That said, it was just as unnerving as P.T.

I would have finished P.T. if it wasn't so trial and error.

Outlast was sorta scary, but mostly just gross. That also had solid, if heavy-handed sound design.

Sound design is more effective to communicate a sense of peril. Used well, it can really manipulate you and make your mind go places it would rather not.
 
Yeah would have to go with P.T also

the game is just downright unsettling within 3-4 minutes of starting to play. Everything is just set up perfectly to really F with your mind. You can lulled into this monotony of the situation and its so tight and clastrophobiic and depressing. That alone would get to you, but then you have the ambient noises, the happenings, the whimpers of whomever you are, the heavy breathing, etc.

It is almost unbearable lol
 
something like Amnesia or more recently Alien Isolation, and of course a lot of the classics - resident evil, system shock, silent hill, etc

i just feel like PT was too obscure, too dream like in its game logic if i want to be generous, to be appreciated as a game i felt like i was an active participant in. sure, other scary/horror games have puzzles that will leave you scratching your head, but i can only walk through the same corridor so many times not knowing what to do before i realize im not engaged in playing the game anymore and therefore cant be scared.

I can understand where your coming from but the game offsets any frustration with the puzzles by having such excellent audio design. Not only does it create a feeling of constant tension but a lot of the time it helps direct you on what you need to do next. The Visuals + amazing Sound grounded me into the game more than anything I have played before. The random nature of the ghosts appearances just kept me on edge the whole time as well.
 
Clock Tower on PS1 used to give me nightmares as a kid. In terms games I have recently played as an adult... Alien Isolation, PT, and Outlast.
 
Just like a haunted house. Either y'all went to some really shitty haunted houses, or I want to some amazing ones.
It personally doesn't scare me, I don't get scared by video games or movies. But i understand how its effective for some people and I totally get the creepy vibe. I think it works. Just like comedy, its subjective.
 
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