There are very few games that manage to make me feel anxious while playing, that uncomfortable feeling you cannot shake, like something is about to jump out at you from around the corner. Anxiety delivered in horror games is a full-body experience and one that only makes me feel safe residing in the pause menu for a while, just to escape the nightmare that is my brain fighting against my body’s screaming fight-or-flight response. There’s some bite-sized horror that effectively uses scares to build tension and create anxiety, like PSALM 5:9-13, Wrong Floor, and IT STEALS. But few create such an immersive and palpable atmosphere that makes the horror inside it feel like a genuine threat.
Here are the horror games that managed to make me retreat, but never wave that white flag of surrender.
1) Outlast 2
Although Outlast is overall a better game than Outlast 2, I’ve never felt such anxiety as I infiltrated the remote village in search of my wife, Lynn. I debated whether all of this was truly worth it and started to think that maybe divorce was on the table for the stress of saving my suddenly pregnant wife, who decided to shortcut her pregnancy for the birth of the Antichrist was going to send me to an early grave. Yay.
There’s something about dealing with madness in the darkness that makes you feel it’s contagious, and in the case of Outlast 2, it truly is. This is how you use stealth in a video game, for the stress of progressing was sometimes too much to bear.
2) Silent Hill
Tank controls, fixed-camera angles, tight, claustrophobic spaces, and a dense fog to wander aimlessly in. These are the makings of a nightmare I don’t want to partake in. My daughter, Cheryl, has wandered off. Kids, am I right? I have to save her, yet there are monsters roaming in this unnaturally thick mist that just isn’t giving in anytime soon. I can’t make sense of where I am. Blood acts as the main landmarks. Monstrosities stalk my every move. I feel as though I’m suffocating, but my daughter needs me. Every weighted footstep is full of dread and uncertainty. Is she even alive?
3) Dead Space
Stranded on a space station, the chance of any survivors seems slim — if they’re even human at all. Clanging metal, footsteps off-screen, breathing in the walls, a message reading “cut off their limbs.” We don’t stand a chance.
In the vast emptiness of space, I’ve never felt so unbelievably alone, knowing that no one will hear me scream. Accompanied by creatures capable of regenerating, I’m starting to feel a bit feeble right now. I know what I’m supposed to do, yet I can’t bring myself to use my legs and push on forward. Survival odds are near zero. Everything in me is screaming to leave this place behind.
4) Amnesia: The Dark Descent
I don’t know who I am, where I am, or what I’m supposed to be doing here. My name’s Daniel and I’ve woken up in some strange castle. There doesn’t appear to be an end in sight and all exits are locked shut. Something’s following me. A reminder perhaps? Are the monsters in my head or are they real? How am I meant to ever know?
I clench my jaw, see visions in the darkness, I worry I may not make it out of this place alive. Figure out the past through notes and survive the present to reach the uncertain future.
5) Stay Out of the House
Kidnapped, alone, and frightened. You must escape this house within a mere three days or the Butcher will have his next meal: you. Escaping the cage may be easy, but that’s only the first step. The compact house full of narrow corridors seems nearly impossible to navigate. Use bait to lure him, hide under whatever cover you can find, and save inside the walls, free from the Butcher’s grasp. He isn’t alone, though.
Stay away from her or she’ll scream the house down, sending her son your way. Collect whatever resources you can and piece them together to plot your escape right under their noses. Good luck.
6) Welcome to the Game II
Trying to stop a sick death game is far harder than simply being a keyboard warrior. You search for keys hidden across the dark web, but you cannot get too distracted, for a bounty is on your head. The longer you take hunting down the truth, the closer you tread to the line of death, and one wrong step could get you killed.
Each killer comes with a set of rules you have to abide by if you want to survive. Lucas will lockpick your door, Noir will watch you from the balcony, the Dollmaker demands sacrifices, and the Breather will try to snatch you away from collecting your deliveries. The stakes are high, not only for the life you’re trying to save, but equally your own. Time is ticking. Don’t get distracted.
7) Scrutinized
Keep your windows locked and the lights on. Check the cameras every chance you get. Oh, and make sure to check those BOLOs. There are two killers on the loose and they’ve both got your number. Every click on the monitor could activate Tanner. Every moment spent filing papers, checking search histories, pictures, and text messages on possible suspects puts you at risk of the lights going out and The Kidnapper moving in.
You feel the final nail in the coffin slam down every time you plonk your seat in the office chair. Your home is meant to be safe, and yet it’s become the most terrifying place tonight.
