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Scariest Game You've Ever Played?

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    redxxiiredxxii Persona Non Grata Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    System Shock 2, no question.

    It's 2am, I'm running through the cargo holds, with a barely functional pistol and a few hit points left. It's dark as hell, and i all I can hear are the sound of zombies moaning and hunting me. I manage to avoid screaming after whiping around and getting a fatal pipe to the face.

    Ah, to be 13 again.

    redxxii on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Ezekiel wrote: »
    I don't remember which silent hill it was, but extremely early in the game you're in a school, and shadow babies are crawling in and out of the walls. Threw the controller down, never went back. Freaked me the hell out.

    That sounds like the first one to me. I need to go back and play that here soon. Gotta dig out my old PSX and plug it up though which isn't inspiring warm and happy thoughts.

    BornToHula on
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    InexactQuotientInexactQuotient Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Another great scary moment in gaming that's probably not going to get mentioned unless I do it: Snatcher. The beginning of the game - Hey rookie! Welcome to your new job of killing invincible cyborgs that are indisinguishable from regular people! Oops, emergency call - there might be one in an old broken down warehouse in an abandoned part of town. Yeah, and they use some chemical in the air so you won't be able to radio in to base. Good luck, kid!

    gens2009-09-0613-33-39-09.jpg

    Hey wait, what's that....?

    gens2009-09-0613-41-50-54.jpg

    InexactQuotient on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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    fragglefartfragglefart Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    condemned had its ooga booga moments
    but I'm a total wuss
    Condemned: Criminal Origins

    Those fucking mannequins

    Yeah, took me a while to beat that game...

    fragglefart on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    The first one was great for atmosphere despite the mechanics being sort of stupid. The second had the bear, but then had a really shit last half. I forget where beating up mans turns into some strange sci-fi thing.

    BornToHula on
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    DehumanizedDehumanized Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I'd probably go with Penumbra. The atmosphere is just perfect to make me too ascared to continue.

    When I was like 8, there was some PC game where you were a surgeon. That game scared the shit out of me, you'd press on a dude's tummy and he'd be like "oh, it hurts here", then I'd try to cut out the gall stones or whatever and whooooooops the anesthesia didn't work. That is the most chilling 16-bit scream I've ever heard, let me tell you. The game probably wasn't scary at all in retrospect (just a bit boring), but being completely unable to figure out how to not be a murdertrain of malpractice had a lot to do with it.

    Edit: Oh, I think the game was "Life and Death"

    Dehumanized on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    That sounds like a nightmarish Trauma Center. I really want to try this out. I'm getting the idea that anesthetic or something would be a requirement so you aren't slicing guys up while they're wide awake.

    Neat concept for a game though.

    I completely forgot to mention Alone in the Dark, great series, well great first game.

    BornToHula on
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    echo 78echo 78 Title Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I don't play a lot of scary games, but F.E.A.R. was pretty good at being scary. It scared my brother good :P

    echo 78 on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    F.E.A.R. was a little too corridor laden for me. It was like Halo with the girl from The Ring.

    BornToHula on
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    DehumanizedDehumanized Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Ruiner999 wrote: »
    That sounds like a nightmarish Trauma Center. I really want to try this out. I'm getting the idea that anesthetic or something would be a requirement so you aren't slicing guys up while they're wide awake.

    Neat concept for a game though.

    I completely forgot to mention Alone in the Dark, great series, well great first game.

    Here's an example of some post-surgery feedback:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylSZpSd66P8

    Dehumanized on
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    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Wow, I've never heard of that game.

    urahonky on
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    Kristmas KthulhuKristmas Kthulhu Currently Kultist Kthulhu Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Alone in the Dark (I watched an LP of it) is an abomination. The only thing remotely good about it is the atmosphere, which is ruined by everything else. It's a travesty of a game even if it actually made good use of Lovecraft's work.

    Kristmas Kthulhu on
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    cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Ah_Pook wrote: »
    Fatal frame 2 is the only game that has ever legit scared me beyond a gotcha jump scare. After a marathon session of tha= game I was so tweeked out I drove my car off the road...

    Came to post this.

    thumb-fatalframe2_5.jpg

    Tempted to marathon them for Halloween.

    cj iwakura on
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    BluefistBluefist Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I find horror works best when it is not the main focus.

    Not scary per say, but the macabre atmosphere of bioshock made me think a few times. Fallout 3 has similar moments. There is some weird shit in the background of those games if you stop to look.

    Bluefist on
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    Salvation122Salvation122 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    The first AvP. Facehuggers in particular - you just hear scritch scritch scritch, your motion tracker is pinging, you can't see the thing anywhere and than CREEEE face full of alien wing-wong.

    An example, via our very own UltimaGecko:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyr-GznHE2s

    Salvation122 on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Great game, makes me want to install it again.

    BornToHula on
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    Raiden333Raiden333 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    I would just like to also say Amnesia's the scariest thing yet.

    Raiden333 on
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    Mike DangerMike Danger "Diane..." a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Resident Evil 4. Regenerators and iron maidens scare the crap out of me. I am probably way too much of a chicken to ever play anything scarier.

    Mike Danger on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Raiden333 wrote: »
    I would just like to also say Amnesia's the scariest thing yet.

    I'm installing Amnesia tonight, really makes me think I'm missing out.

    Need to do both Penumbras too I guess.

    Anyone played Yume Nikki or Mondo Medical?

    BornToHula on
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    urahonkyurahonky Resident FF7R hater Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Alone in the Dark (I watched an LP of it) is an abomination. The only thing remotely good about it is the atmosphere, which is ruined by everything else. It's a travesty of a game even if it actually made good use of Lovecraft's work.

    The new one is really, really terrible. HOWEVER the original on PC was fantastic!

    urahonky on
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    SoaLSoaL fantastic Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Man it wasn't even the underground that ruined me in STALKER

    After the first underground part where you come out into the military compound is when I peed all of my pants. I had picked up STALKER Complete 2009 and it, among other things, made night time way fucking darker. Like pitch black and you don't dare turn on that fucking flashlight because you are in the middle of a military base and they all have guns and are very mean. So yeah I was just crawling around in the pitch black trying to sneak inside a building and could only identify the military by their headlamps. I had made it to a staircase and was ascending them when I hear some fucker start shouting gibberish right in my face and it is very loud and my bowels are evacuating and after I climbed back into my chair I shot him a whole lot
    anyways that pissed off the whole base and I somehow made it out and it was awesome believe you me

    SoaL on
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    ArrathArrath Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Fighting your way out of a royally fucked situation are among the best experiences in Stalker.

    Arrath on
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    Ghostly ClockworkGhostly Clockwork Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Fatal Frame, no question. That is the only game that I've never been able to finish. Scared the hell out of me...And it was the slow burn kinda scare, not the Zombie jumping through window scare. It got to the point where I didn't want to walk anywhere, would just slowly wander, trying to hide from everything. Scary...

    Oh god and how could I possibly forget The Cradle...talk to anyone who's played Thief 3. Just say, "Cradle" and watch em flinch.

    Ghostly Clockwork on
    FTC: honk.
    FTC: HONK.

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    DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    STALKER goes from fuck yeah to oh shit back to fuck yeah better than anything. And then you get the I don't... whatisthaAAAAAAHHHHHH!

    Drake on
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    SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    FEAR's abandoned building in the middle of the night atmosphere is something that really gets me, most probably because it's a recurring nightmare for me. I'm inside some building, all alone, and it's fucking pitch black outside.

    Satsumomo on
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    MuddBuddMuddBudd Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Ah, that time of year again, is it?

    For shame that this isn't in the thread yet.

    JOURNEY INTO THE CRADLE

    MuddBudd on
    There's no plan, there's no race to be run
    The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
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    RikushixRikushix VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    • I found it interesting that some of the creepiest environments in Dead Space were not the dark hallways with flickering lights but the reasonably well-lit rooms. The hydroponics lab, for me, was one of the scariest levels just because you can see everything that's coming at you at such a high level of detail. Backtracking as a game mechanic has its flaws but it works great for the horror genre. In Dead Space, you hate coming back to a central area that you cleared all the monsters out of some time previously. It fills you with dread; all you need to do is look at the lab or the main bridge for examples.
    • I've never played Silent Hill or any of its sequels. I deserve to die, don't I?
    • I remember when Fatal Frame 2 came out; I was like, 10 or 11 and even then I remember reading in gaming magazines that it was fucking terrifying. Is it really as scary as I thought?
    • Minecraft isn't scary, but it's definitely stressful.

    edit: Can someone revitalize my interest in STALKER for me? I bought the original for cheap on Steam like a year ago and twice now I've tried playing only to get seemingly stuck early on and frustrated by bugs to boot. Or is it the sequels that are scarier?

    Rikushix on
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    ArrathArrath Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Drake wrote: »
    STALKER goes from fuck yeah to oh shit back to fuck yeah better than anything. And then you get the I don't... whatisthaAAAAAAHHHHHH!

    Yes, exactly. You are just getting a handle on the rough shooting mechanics? Learned the ins and outs of the shooting AI? Found better armor than a Leather Jacket, and a real Assault Rifle? Okay, SURPRISE BLOODSUCKER!

    Edit: Riku: Hit up the STALKER thread, at the very least you'll want the ZRP (Zone Reclamation Project) mod, it irons out a fair number of bugs. Or maybe something like STALKER Complete 2009. I wouldn't exactly call the sequels scarier (Though, other than SoC I've only played CoP much) but CoP is definitely a lot smoother and bug free.

    Arrath on
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    cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Dragon6860 wrote: »
    Fatal Frame, no question. That is the only game that I've never been able to finish. Scared the hell out of me...And it was the slow burn kinda scare, not the Zombie jumping through window scare. It got to the point where I didn't want to walk anywhere, would just slowly wander, trying to hide from everything. Scary...

    I think 1 is scarier than 2, mostly because you're on your own for most of the game.

    cj iwakura on
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    Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    When DOOM 3 first came out I was like, 13. I couldn't play past the first level, and when I finally worked up the courage to keep going, I got to that first Red Room with all the pentagrams and candles and fucking Satan's laughter. Stopped right then and there, never to be played again. Jesus Christ.

    RE4 also wrecked me, that first main scenario in the village. I fought my way into that house and with my ammo dwindling, the townsfolk kept coming. And then, the Chainsaw Guy. Holy fuck the Chainsaw Guy. I had precious few bullets left in the pistol, and right before he fucking decapitates me, the church bell rings and they all retreat. I was a shriveling mess. RE4 is another game I never played again.

    More recently, in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, the second to last chase scene (after you go to your apartment) really got to me. The feeling of panic, hopelessness, and sheer desperation as you race through endless corridors didn't leave me for a long time. To this day, if I hear the music for that section, I get chills down my entire body. At least I was man enough to finish that one :P

    Sangheili91 on
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    cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Also, The Tower of Latria in Demon's Souls deserves a mention.

    No music. Just screams.

    cj iwakura on
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    RikushixRikushix VancouverRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Thanks Arrath. Will do, when I have the time. I'll poke into the thread and have a look. Start playing around Christmas :)

    Rikushix on
    StKbT.jpg
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    Lord_MordjaLord_Mordja Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    The scariest game I've played is Afraid of Monsters: DC, a mod for Half Life.

    And by played I mean, oh god what is that FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF quit uninstall.

    I swear man, I'll beat the sequel when it comes, I mean it. D:

    Lord_Mordja on
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    BornToHulaBornToHula Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Rikushix wrote: »
    I've never played Silent Hill or any of its sequels. I deserve to die, don't I?

    No, not really, but you are missing a few really great games.

    I'm need to finally get around to playing Silent Hill 3, The Room, and Homecoming. I picked these up for the PC for like $15, I can get around horrible port issues for horror games. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if there's been a little fan alterations here and there.

    I've also heard Homecoming is awful. I guess I just need to see for myself.

    BornToHula on
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    ChanceChance Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Scariest game I ever played: Fatal Frame II.

    Best survival horror game I ever played: Siren: Blood Curse.

    Chance on
    'Chance, you are the best kind of whore.' -Henroid
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    StollsStolls Brave Corporate Logo Chicago, ILRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Another great scary moment in gaming that's probably not going to get mentioned unless I do it: Snatcher.

    Hell yes. Adventure games - or whatever Snatcher qualifies as - don't usually unsettle me, but this game had a way of putting me on edge. Largely that music, you just know shit's going down but you don't know when or how. Good stuff, especially the hospital section.

    Most of what I'd list has been mentioned - Penumbra, Amnesia, Stalker, Fatal Frame, etc. - so I'll list a couple I haven't seen yet:

    Afraid of Monsters - A Half-Life mod that's simultaneously Doom 3 dark and Silent Hill dark; as in, way too much actual darkness and a piddly little flashlight to use against it, but it's a clever concept and the things you have to deal with are actually disturbing. I was genuinely tense at times, and the fact that it was originally a one-man effort makes it all the more impressive. The plot was rather threadbare, but the hook to it was smart. The Director's Cut was a welcome refinement, but the original ending has stuck with me.

    Overclocked: A History of Violence - Another exception to the 'adventure games usually don't bother me' thing. This is less out-and-out horror and more the creeping dread of watching things steadily get worse. As you try and piece together a mystery in a run-down psych ward, the main character has to deal with his collapsing financial situation and strained marriage; he starts having outbursts himself, to the point where people don't believe him when strange things actually do start happening to him. It's really well done.

    Stolls on
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    MarioGMarioG Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    The scariest games I have ever played are Silent Hill 2 and 3. The fucking emotional drain that those games caused was insane. I felt like I would never finish and yet I had to see it through.

    Fuck.

    MarioG on
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    SatsumomoSatsumomo Rated PG! Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    nightgaunt_hero_quest.jpg

    This just messed me up so much the first time I played hero's quest 1. It was probably the first ruthless game I played, where just about any wrong decision got you killed in the spot.

    "You don't know what it was" and such just made me not want to play the game anymore, it scared me to death (I did finish the game, seeing Baba Yaga's house for the first time was really creepy too.)

    Don't forget, the Nightgaunt graphic had 2 little red eyes as well.

    Satsumomo on
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    Lord_MordjaLord_Mordja Registered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Stolls wrote: »
    Afraid of Monsters - A Half-Life mod that's simultaneously Doom 3 dark and Silent Hill dark; as in, way too much actual darkness and a piddly little flashlight to use against it, but it's a clever concept and the things you have to deal with are actually disturbing.

    It's the way they
    twitch.

    Lord_Mordja on
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    facetiousfacetious a wit so dry it shits sandRegistered User regular
    edited October 2010
    Silent Hill 2.

    It took me half an hour just to walk through that fucking forest at the beginning of the game. I was so scared something was gonna jump out at me from the darkness I kept having to stop to calm myself down.

    facetious on
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