Why do you enjoy horror games?

[Sean Hollyman]

I'm asking fans, I am actually curious.

I actually find no entertainment in getting scared playing a game. I usually just leave it. But some players really like it.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

For the same reason I enjoy horror in general, I'm fascinated by the macabre and how it plays with people.

Call it a morbid fascination, but all things unnatural, disturbing, and borderline supernatural just interest me in how it plays with people and their reaction to it. Everyone has their limit to what scares them, and the psychological stuff, like in Silent Hill, that plays with your head is the stuff that I enjoy.

Well, maybe not enjoy, but I like to see what actually scares me and see what people can come up with in terms of horror. Normally there's an unwritten metaphor or message that the creator is trying to tell by just showing it in various ways, and sometimes it's good and sometimes not so much.

It's a fun little journey that I like to partake, even if my little heart doesn't like it.

 

[Someone Depressing]

I enjoy horror games because they strike a nerve with people, and I find different kinds of horror games compelling to play. Mostly because somewhere, somehow, there's a person who can relate to this.

I also like creepy things.
[sup]Like this monstrosity[/sup]

I also love to analyse things I like, Silent Hill 2 and 3 basically being video game length, morbid sexual innuendo, symbolism, and general macabre silliness, that it becomes impossible not to over analyse.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

For the same reason I enjoy horror in general, I'm fascinated by the macabre and how it plays with people.

Call it a morbid fascination, but all things unnatural, disturbing, and borderline supernatural just interest me in how it plays with people and their reaction to it. Everyone has their limit to what scares them, and the psychological stuff, like in Silent Hill, that plays with your head is the stuff that I enjoy.

Well, maybe not enjoy, but I like to see what actually scares me and see what people can come up with in terms of horror. Normally there's an unwritten metaphor or message that the creator is trying to tell by just showing it in various ways, and sometimes it's good and sometimes not so much.

It's a fun little journey that I like to partake, even if my little heart doesn't like it.

I guess that makes sense, I'm really into the paranormal and ghosts and all that even though it scares the shit out of me

Plus it's fucking hilarious yet scary seeing stuff like this.

The second guy. You can just see him accept his fate. That is real fear.

 

[Clearwaters]

I'm a huge wimp. I'm jumpy and even the silliest campfire story could keep me up at night.
Yet I have a fascination with scary games. I'd say I play them for the thrill of a life threatening situation in a safe controlled environment.

Also because I'm so easy to scare it is easy for me to get into a horror game. All the things the characters feel I feel; every new room is tense and every monster encounter is hectic and terrifying. So while other games really have to work to suck me in. Horror games are immersive without even trying

 

[DementedSheep]

*shrug" adrenaline rush? I also find it kinda fascinating to see what things freak me. I'm very audio in that. Images don't tend to scare me but the right audio will have me scaling the wall even if nothing is happening. Hell, especially if nothing is happening.

That and horror done right is nice just as a different experience to the over the top badassery you get in most games.
Also cool grotesque monster design.

Captcha: run away!

I swear this thing has gained sentience.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

I'm a huge wimp. I'm jumpy and even the silliest campfire story could keep me up at night.
Yet I have a fascination with scary games. I'd say I play them for the thrill of a life threatening situation in a safe controlled environment.

Also because I'm so easy to scare it is easy for me to get into a horror game. All the things the characters feel I feel; every new room is tense and every monster encounter is hectic and terrifying. So while other games really have to work to suck me in. Horror games are immersive without even trying

Yep, same boat, big ol' baby just in it for the thrill.
I go hard too, it has to be 7P at the earliest, lights off, headphones, I know it's a bad idea for someone like me but I guess I just like the pain.
And finishing a good horror game, I feel freaking accomplished, like "I went through that nightmare and I *beat* it", that sigh of relief is one of the best feelings ever.

 

[Mikejames]

For the same reason I enjoy horror in general, I'm fascinated by the macabre and how it plays with people.

Call it a morbid fascination, but all things unnatural, disturbing, and borderline supernatural just interest me in how it plays with people and their reaction to it. Everyone has their limit to what scares them, and the psychological stuff, like in Silent Hill, that plays with your head is the stuff that I enjoy.

Well, maybe not enjoy, but I like to see what actually scares me and see what people can come up with in terms of horror. Normally there's an unwritten metaphor or message that the creator is trying to tell by just showing it in various ways, and sometimes it's good and sometimes not so much.

It's a fun little journey that I like to partake, even if my little heart doesn't like it.

Good way to put it. Gore fests in themselves don't really do anything for me, but I find the games that can play with your head really intriguing. The Silent Hill series especially is a fascinating character study, building up people confronting their personal demons and the themes of facing a darkness beyond what they can deal with on a physical level.

Silent Hill 2 and Shattered Memories are probably the most subtle of the series in regards to violence, but they stuck with me because they set you on this downward spiral that makes the protagonist's mental state just as ambiguous as the state of the town.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

They're usually short and intense and have a taut dramatic unity, I like the genre. The best ones feel closer to role-playing than actual RPGs, and can be very cathartic.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

For the same reason I enjoy horror in general, I'm fascinated by the macabre and how it plays with people.

Call it a morbid fascination, but all things unnatural, disturbing, and borderline supernatural just interest me in how it plays with people and their reaction to it. Everyone has their limit to what scares them, and the psychological stuff, like in Silent Hill, that plays with your head is the stuff that I enjoy.

Well, maybe not enjoy, but I like to see what actually scares me and see what people can come up with in terms of horror. Normally there's an unwritten metaphor or message that the creator is trying to tell by just showing it in various ways, and sometimes it's good and sometimes not so much.

It's a fun little journey that I like to partake, even if my little heart doesn't like it.

Good way to put it. Gore fests in themselves don't really do anything for me, but I find the games that can play with your head really intriguing. The Silent Hill series especially is a fascinating character study, building up people confronting their personal demons and the themes of facing a darkness beyond what they can deal with on a physical level.

Silent Hill 2 and Shattered Memories are probably the most subtle of the series in regards to violence, but they stuck with me because they set you on this downward spiral that makes the protagonist's mental state just as ambiguous as the state of the town.

I think it's the reason why I'm not impressed with the series past SH4 (Yes, I'm one of those people. ) since I think subtlety was kind of lacking in that regard. Didn't think Shattered Memories was all that great, nor scary, but rather boring. However, that's just me, and whatever scares me might not scare you and vice versa. I do think SH2 nailed the atmosphere nicely.

I think in general atmosphere needs to be well presented in horror if anyone wants to make it scary. I mean, Outlast did have a pretty decent atmosphere, but you had to hold your disbelief considering where the game took place. Amnesia: The Dark Descent had excellent atmosphere in some places, like the sewers. It's kind of sad that a lot of horror is yanked in the action/adventure genre, but I do see it changing. Thank God for that.

 

[krebons12]

Partially, I would say, is its because it gives me an idea about myself. For example, whenever I play a horror game, I'm usually jumping the weird sounds and shadows, and it fascinates me when going through these same areas with a form of self defense (i.e. bat, gun, knife, etc.) And suddenly these noises and creatures aren't terrifying.

It helped me learn that a situation not being in my hands is something I can't really stand, and that I find that much more upsetting and scary than any of the abominations that inhabit Silent Hill. So, it's not so much the scary I enjoy in horror, its the way I find more of me.

Also it's hillarious when that same night I'm slowly checking behind corners for anything that wants to eat my head XD

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

Because I love horror and the macabre in general. The more ghastly, the better. In fact, I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to it. Everywhere I go people call me the creepy girl.

Take this video, for example. And this is nowhere near scary enough for my liking...


Scary games are a natural extension of my love of the dark. Only problem is I've never played a game that I'd actually call "scary."