What are the scariest games you've played?

[Dawkinsfan69]

thief 3 and penumbra black plague
morrowind actually freaked me out as a kid because of how surreal the game feels
yume nikki/lsd dream emulator if on drugs
Kenshi can give the creeps watching my squad get eaten alive by the weird alien creatures

 

[cretin]

Darkwood. Number one with a bullet. This game handles atmosphere, gameplay and especially sound and vision mechanics so fucking well and it has a great grasp on creating that fear of the unknown.

Call of cthulu was pretty fucking scary right up until you get a tommy gun and a fucking springfield rifle, then its all about making fishmen eat dick. The hotel escape level is a set piece that rises far above what is otherwise a pretty mediocre game.

Alien isolation. Fantastic environmental work, so you dont know when you're being a little bitch about a false alarm and when you're actually being hunted. However I will say, from about the midpoint onwards, the alien is right on your ass so often and hangs around forever, that it actually has a demystifying effect of you dying so often that you stop being scared and start being annoyed by the constant presence of this fucker. Always thought that mod that makes the alien more randomized sounded good, but i never tried it.

The first penumbra scared the fuck out of me for the first hour or so. Got pretty routine after it, but that game is a great example of how to do a cold open with very little exposition and yet have it immediately dripping in atmosphere.

 

[Ash]

Alien Isolation is trash for casuals.

 

[Kainan]

In my restless dreams, The Suffering still stands out the most. Scary monsters, creepy sounds, stabbing music, heart pounding action.

 

[Hag]

Amnesia the Dark Descent managed to stay unnerving through all its play-through, with a few downright scary part (the prison, and around the end like one where a monster appeared out of nowhere, never knew if it was intended or not, but this was very bad for my heart-rate).
But the worst was Amnesia:Justine. Creepy as a cold Hell. And difficult. And with this Amnesia-like tension and monsters. Never finished it.

The first Stalker had also its moments. I had a genuine tension-induced adrenaline rush in one of the underground lab.

Spoiler

Constantly hearing loud footsteps, having to search a pitch black warehouse, and the moment I turn back seeing this huge fuckin horror coming at me. I emptied all my magazines on it in a pure survival fight, and then had to stop playing for a few seconds just to catch my breath and temporize. Then I carried on and it kept being scary, with all the objects flying at you. A fond gaming memory. Also, entering the Chernobyl plant and hearing the monolith for the first time also was quite unnerving.

I also found that The Void was kind of scary. Not in a jumpscare way, but you're alone in a strange, hostile and non-nonsensical place, basically helpless, surrounded by lies and monsters. The way they managed to make it beautiful doesn't remove its lingering tension.

 

[Ulysa]

Great mentions in this thread Alien Isolation, Silent Hill, STALKER...
I have a particular love for Alone in the Dark original. Man, that intro and everything is so Lovecraft and that guy sitting by the fireplace that will chase you if he sees you. The first seconds in the attic when you have to block the trapdoor and window. Played it as a kid I will never forget. Also best music.