Even though Halloween has ed, and the spooky season is technically over, horror fans still want to be shocked and disturbed at every opportunity they can. While there are great horror movies that were released this year, there is nothing like the experience of being fully immersed in a horror game. They can capture something that horror movies are unable to.
A game has plenty of aspects that contribute to its overall scariness. From simple aspects like character design to more technical ones, like the music. Some of these games are cult classics while others are more underground. Regardless, Reddit believes these horror games stand above the rest in of scariness.
Outlast
Outlast is a survival horror game that takes place in a mental hospital. There have been some sequels, but the first game is extremely disturbing.
What makes Outlast one of the scariest games in recent memory is all the abnormal-human creatures the player encounters through jump scares. Plus, the camera mechanic does a good job of immersing the player in the environment. For example, the scenes where the player is being chased by one of the creatures will make anyone's heart race as Redditor LordXenu45 says "The Outlast games had me freaking out at times." Many sequences are very gory that players with weak stomachs might want to skip over.
Five Nights At Freddy's
Five Nights At Freddy's is a cult horror classic that spawned a franchise consisting of many games, a book series, and a feature film. The originator of the series is one of the scariest games ever.
What makes this game scarier than most is how the player does not move. The fact that the player is stationary intensifies the situation since there is nowhere to run. The player gets so wrapped up in their goal of surviving that they never see the horrifying Bonnie or Chica jump scare coming. Redditor demogorgon_main says its "Clever sound and visual design...really give a paranormal feel to the world." Thanks to these elements, the second the night starts, the player is already invested and wrapped up in the crazy world.
The Last Of Us
The Last of Us is a franchise that features two games and a series coming to HBO. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and even though it is mostly an action-adventure game, it still brings the scares.
This game's horror focuses more on tense and suspenseful situations, rather than continuous jump scares. The scariest and most tense part is when the player needs to carefully maneuver around the infected without triggering them. And if they do, the player would need to run from them, which is scary as the player will never know when they will be caught by them. Redditor Fans can not wait to see what The Last of Us show has in store.
Doki Doki Literature Club
Doki Doki Literature Club is the most unconventional horror game on this list. This game appears to be a simple dating simulator, but players quickly discover its haunting underbelly.
It is very impressive how this game haunts this player in its cartoon, anime style of animation. The jump scare with Sayori in her bedroom is completely out of the blue and shocks the player to their core. Players still think about this game long after they play it as Redditor Arguably the best part about this game is how it purposely glitches and breaks the fourth wall numerous times. To experience the game at its best, players need to simply go in blind.
Cry Of Fear
Cry of Fear is a horror game that balances psychological horror and survival. The player needs to maneuver around a city avoiding monsters after waking up from getting hit by a car.
One thing about this game that makes it scary is the graphics. The less-than-stellar graphics make all the characters look and move in a uncanny way, which gives the impression to the player that they are not human. Another mechanic that makes the game scary is the camera flash being the player's only source of light at times so light is only available in quick beats. Redditor DM_Me_TwistedFateR34 was introduced to horror games with Cry of Fear as they say, "Cry of Fear was my first horror game and it scared the hell out of me."
Detention
Detention is a Taiwanese 2-D side-scroller game. It follows two students whose school gets invaded by monsters, and they must unravel the mystery of the school's secret darkness.
Similar to Doki Doki, the anime look of this game adds to the horror since this style is not typically used in horror games and makes it memorable as Redditor CantSleepWontSleep66 says Detention, "absolutely seeped into my psyche." One aspect that is unique to Detention is the side scroller visual. This mechanic makes the game scarier since the player can not see what is up ahead until they start to move. One particular moment that continually haunts players is the distorted and creepy voice at the phone puzzle.
Visage
Visage is a horror game that is set in a house as they work to uncover the secrets of the occupants who lived there before them. The first-person game relies on supernatural horror to scare the player.
The video game version of Paranormal Activity scares the player by doing normal ghostly things, like flickering lights and slamming doors. This game was applauded for its fast pace as Redditor Infinite_Isopod5303 says it, "goes hard from go and never stops." The sanity level mechanic is interesting as it could split the player's focus, making them more vulnerable to scares. The sound design is also threatening as the player constantly hears this strange gurgling sound while moving around the house.
Amnesia
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a very famous horror game in the gaming community. The player navigates through a castle, which gives it a unique medieval horror atmosphere.
The scariest part about Amnesia is the gatherers. Their character design is horrifying as they have a wide open mouth that makes it seem like they are about to chomp at the player at any second. Avoiding them while walking around the castle produces an extremely tense atmosphere as Redditor Raykingofhearts mentions says, "Amnesia 1 made me clench my cheeks in fear and my heart race." Almost nothing is scarier than hearing their disturbing growl, alerting the player they are nearby.
The Joy Of Creation
Five Nights at Freddy's. The game features characters from the original franchise.
What separates this game from FNaF is its open-world nature. The concept of putting FNaF in an open-world style game where the animatronics can chase the player is horrifying. It still has classic FNaF jump scares but amplifies them with a different animation style and noise. Redditor diamondDNF applauds the game and recalls one specific level that was frightening; "The Joy of Creation's...Basement section still terrifies me..." Usually, fan-made games are glossed over, but this is one any FNaF fan should check out.
Silent Hill
Silent Hill is a horror series that started in 1999. This is the survival horror game that most of the previous entries took inspiration from as it set the trend over 20 years ago.
Silent Hill has a good amount of gore and shock factor as there are trails of blood in almost every frame. For example, it is very disturbing when the player is walking and stumble upon a man, tied up with his insides hanging out. Redditor f34rd3m1c can not help but applaud every aspect of the game when they say, "The monsters, music, and atmosphere work perfectly together." Again, the fact that the graphics are not the best almost amplifies the horror as it gives the whole town a very uncanny feeling.