The best horror games/scariest sections

[Starwars]

I'm sure this has been done before but since it's Halloween time, I figured why not?

What are some of the Codex' favorite horror games? Old or new. Also, post some sections from games that you find particularly unnerving (can't think of any myself right now but I'll come back to it if I think of any).

I think my personal favorite horror game remains Amnesia: The Dark Descent. At least if we're going for straight up scariness. It's one of few games that really managed to scare the shit out of me as a grown-up. It kinda wore off as the game went on unfortunately as I remember but it really terrified me. Have just started playing it again and am delighted (and frightened) to say that I can't actually remember much from my first playthrough.

EDIT: Goddamnit, wrong section. Feel free to move this to the Gaming section of the forum.

 

[Lilura]

System Shock 2, Clive Barker's Undying, Condemned. STALKER's atmosphere makes some segments scary, especially with certain mods. Thief is also a tense game, and has horror aspects. Vampire Bloodlines parodies horror.

 

[Carrion]

Aliens vs. Predator (1999). Those fucking facehuggers... The sequel was heavily scripted and had unlimited saves, so it didn't really have the same kind of effect, but the first game was really tense and you felt vulnerable all the time.

Thief also had some great horror sections, like Return to the Cathedral (or parts of it, at least) and, to a lesser extent, the Cradle level from Deadly Shadows. Not scary in the same sense as AvP, but the atmosphere is incredibly thick and brooding, and those levels manage to evoke that "I'm in way over my head" feeling better than any game I can think of at the moment.

 

[SerratedBiz]

Alone in the Dark.
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.
Clock Tower.
Dark Seed.
Diablo.
Penumbra.
Silent Hill.

That said, obviously atmosphere > jump scares any day.

 

[bloodlover]

VTMB: Bloodlines.

 

[PhantasmaNL]

The original DOOM, at that moment in time. Atmospheric and tense, i found it to be very immersive, with some good scary moments.

VtMB. Also very rich in atmosphere. I wouldnt call it a parody. Extremely clever use of genre cliches, yes. The Ocean Beach Hotel section is iconic.

Stalker Pripyat, i played that game alot. Ultimate survival horror game.

Also, odd one out, the MMO The Secret World, the first segment on the island is top class Lovecraftian styled horror with a few - for mmo standards - extremely entertaining quests. Still play this occasionally, it is free to play.

My favorite horror movie is The Thing, the orginal remake by Carpenter. The atmosphere is so dense in this movie it is nearly tangible. Uniquely it succesfully manages to combine this with fabulatastic oldskool "real" sfx, never surpassed since imho. Every year i at least watch it once. Sadly something like this will never be made again.

 

[Bester]

System Shock 2, Clive Barker's Undying, Condemned. STALKER's atmosphere makes some segments scary, especially with certain mods. Thief is also a tense game, and has horror aspects. Vampire Bloodlines parodies horror.

Clive Barker's Undying is a really amazing game, for some reason it was seriously under-noticed. It's not scary like Amnesia or anything, but it has its scary moments. Nevertheless, it definitely is the best title in this thread (or second to VTMB).

 

[Darth Roxor]

The Ocean Beach Hotel section is iconic.

Iconic of jump scares, sure. It has to be one of the most overrated sections in horror gaming.

Also, I'll hijack this thread for my own (sorta related) agenda a bit and ask what sections in games does everyone find to be the most repulsive and disgusting?

It's actually a funny thing because most of the games that are really *built around* making you feel revolted all the time don't do it for me. The best example of that would probably be Cleve Blakemore's Clive Barker's Jericho - all that blood and gore everywhere, and all I could think of was 'huh, that's p. cool design' when looking at the crusaders and romans. Most of the overly bloody FPSes make me go 'gahahaha' at enemies exploding like blood sausages.

But then come scenes that are actually mundane as hell and they manage to disturb me greatly. Two top examples:

1. Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper. The puzzle where you have to find out what weapon the killer uses by applying blades of various sizes on dead pigs inside a slaughterhouse has to be the most hilariously grotesque thing I've ever seen in a video game.
2. Amnesia's HOOMAN SACRIFICE memory. PAINT THE MAN! *SLASH CARVE* CUT THE LINES! *CHOP SLASH*. I remember it left me thinking 'ho boy, that's some serious shit right there'.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Holy shit, blast from the past, I remember this poster Starwars.

He had an avatar of the gay bear from MotB.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Eversion and Five Nights At Freddy's are two recent titles that certainly qualify for this thread, though their approach to scares and horror are more subtle and psychological.

The title that's currently "most repulsive" for me is Dark Corners of the Earth...but not because of its content, but because of the horrible motion sickness that it gave me.

 

[sser]

System Shock 2, Clive Barker's Undying, Condemned. STALKER's atmosphere makes some segments scary, especially with certain mods. Thief is also a tense game, and has horror aspects. Vampire Bloodlines parodies horror.

Clive Barker's Undying is a really amazing game, for some reason it was seriously under-noticed. It's not scary like Amnesia or anything, but it has its scary moments. Nevertheless, it definitely is the best title in this thread (or second to VTMB).

Clive Barker had a super strong starting level, too. Lots of good scares in it. The game later devolved into a shoot 'em up IIRC. That said, even the shooting portions were actually pretty nice because of the duel-weapons system.

 

[SCO]

Play thief 2 missions like the seven sisters or inverted manse but ghost all the way. Guaranteed to be bad for your health.

 

[Heresiarch]

Silent Hill games of course. SH1 was the only horror game that literally made me stop playing every one hour or so.

Other very good games:
Eternal Darkness
Dark Corners of the Earth
The first AVP
The first System Shock, those mutants freaked me out when I was a kid, and when I picked up a decapitated head I stopped playing the whole game immediately (and never played it ever again)

I think good horror games are the opposite of good action games in that they should make you not willing to replay it, but instead having a long lasting (pleasant) taste when you think about it.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Shadow of the Comet
Alone in the Dark 1/2 (second one has the scarriest intro ever)
Blood
Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels
SMT1/2/Nocturne/Strange Journey
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
AvP'99
Fears (Amiga)

As a kid I used to shit my pants during Haunted House level in Chip'n'Dale 2 (NES), sick crap.

 

[TripJack]

X18 in shadow of chernobyl is easily the tensest video game section ive played recently

still need to check out penumbra & amnesia...

 

[Starwars]

Holy shit, blast from the past, I remember this poster Starwars.

He had an avatar of the gay bear from MotB.

Huh, had forgotten that I had that avatar.

One good scary section for Amnesia is the one with the water monster (just played through it again). The first time I played it, things went pretty smoothly. This time I died twice though. Gotta love that they actually changed up the level after that. I actually thought something had bugged out and then it scared the shit out of me. Well done Frictional.

The water monster in itself isn't that scary I suppose but the section is tense as hell.

 

[SerratedBiz]

Ecstatica. Fucking werewolf.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Also, Betrayer

 

[Shaewaroz]

System Shock 2 is an example of a scary game done right. Eternal Darkness is also pretty good.

 

[Jaesun]

still need to check out penumbra & amnesia...

You should definitely play the Penumbra series, I believe they are on sale on STEAM right now.

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

every time i see a deathclaw in new vegas at low levels

x18 of course

every time i feel a controller when i change maps in modded shadow of chernobyl

condemned criminal origins had its moments especially early on

 

[Metro]

Five Nights at Freddy's, ofc.

 

[I'm Big Into Anal]

as an aside, im in the process of purchasing dark descent because of all the codexian praise; is machine for pigs worth buying as well for an extra few bucks for the bundle?

 

[Western]

One that hasn't been mentioned here yet is 'Scratches', I enjoyed the atmosphere and style of the game, there's a great moment when you go the furnace as well.

 

[bonescraper]

System Shock 2
Thief
Silent Hill (the first one, and olny this)
The first Blair Witch Project game (especially the first person part in the woods)

But all those games are old, and i guess i wouldn't be scared playing them once again. I've grown too old for this shit. Yeah, Amnesia isn't scary, fuck off. I do love horror themes though, especially when it involves serial killers and insanity with a touch of the paranormal. Think Shadowman, that game has excellent atmosphere.