For me it was Dead Space 2 when I was 12-ish. For reference, at this point the most gruesome/gorey/violent media I was exposed to was the Halo 3 Flood levels and the original 2 Alien movies.
I had way too much fun playing it to be traumatized by it at the time, although when i was old enough to understand the horror of the whole “your memories and experience becoming food for a god-like being that has absolutely zero respect for your existance”, that did inform my perspective of other media such as Evangelion or Childhood’s end when I watched them for the 1st time.
What was your equivalent to this? I’ve heard the Resident Evil games are quite common for this but I want to hear your perspective.
Silent Hill was the first video game I really played all the way through on my own (and was also on the first console we ever owned). I had played Mario, Sonic, Donkey Kong, Goldeneye, etc. at my friends’ houses, but that was the game that really started it all! I was already into horror stuff at that point, so it was right up my alley, though. I still think of Pyramid Head on foggy days.
Related, but PT was a fun experience when it first came out. Played it once on my own and then once with a group of friends!
I played Silent hill with my friend, whenever one of us got scared we threw the controller to the other one, there were times that we were playing 10 seconds each.
The 7th Guest was the fist one I really cared about. I grew up watching horror movies from the age of 5, but never really played a horror game until I got The 7th Guest in a CD-ROM drive bundle for Christmas of '93. It’s not so much a horror survival game as it is a horror puzzle game, but a great game nonetheless. I’ll never forget the opening: “Old man Stauf built a house and filled it with his toys. Six Guests were invited one night, their screams the only noise…”
I remember this game too! The live action cut scenes were really creepy as a kid. I distinctly remember the hands trying to press through the painting and the ghost luring you deeper into the maze. My dad and I got stuck at the one Othello style puzzle with the amoebas. We went out and bought a guide to get past it, only to learn that the author of the guide couldn’t solve it either.
Fun fact - that ‘puzzle’ has its difficulty set by your processor’s speed. The game uses a set amount of time to determine the best move for the computer, and plays the best it’s got after that time. On slower processors of the time, it would only be able to calculate so many options before needing to come to a decision, but because it didn’t account for better hardware, the computer can make the best move every single time, causing it to be unwinnable even if the human player also plays perfectly.
I remember the first time I ever saw 7th Guest.
All I could think about, was this was the future!! The graphics (lol), oh man!! It was on a CD! That went in your computer
The game was kind of boring though, IMO anyways. Never really got into those 7th Guest, Myst games that deeply, as they could never hold my attention long enough.
My brother and I used to play a game called Splatterhouse on Turbografx-16. It was humorously horrifying, given the highly pixellated gore on screen.
That game caused a lot of bullshit with those parent groups and whatnot. Definitely one of the better TG-16 games for sure.
Then Carmageddon and Grand Theft Auto came along a few years later lol…
One I haven’t seen mentioned here yet was Metroid Fusion on GBA. My brother and I would play it at night, then have trouble falling asleep, convinced that every sound of the house settling at night was the SA-X coming to get us
We never beat it then, and only years later did I rediscover it and beat it. They definitely nail the feeling of helplessness, but it’s so rewarding as the tides turn towards the end of the game
Wolfenstein! The lighting and colors alone creeped me out. I could only play a few seconds before I had to stop. But I kept starting it.
Carmageddon and syndicate war 2. They were more ‘fun’ than wolfenstein but they also had these dark cities.
System shock 2.
It was a little later than ‘childhood’ because I didn’t really get into gaming until I was in college, but I would have to say Outlast was my foundation when it came to horror games. I had so much fun playing it over and over, and I still revisit to this day, even through I know it like the back of my hand.
Oddly enough, because I hold Outlast in such high regard, it’s kinda of difficult for me to play walking sim-esque horror games that I truly enjoy because I have yet to find one that give me the same sense of satisfaction while playing it (the only exception being the first two Amnesia games).Uff, hard to say, a lot of the ones comented before applied to me.
As old pc gamer still missing one of the most influent scariest games. Alone in the dark… when you have to deal with the monsters added to frustration of bad controls…
Also dark seed, with all those HR Gigger stuff…
This is the one that immediately popped into my mind. “Alone in the Dark” is the game that made me realize I don’t ever want to play another horror game again! :-D
Honestly I think that game has possibly one of the best ‘first rooms’ in horror game history, like even with the low poly graphics, that thing jumping through the window, giving you the impression that shit is happening and you need to move, and then doubles down with the zombie out of the floor, and that if you know what’s coming, you can prevent both. It’s a shame the final section is filled with janky-ass platforming.
Festers Quest for NES. It is an Adams Family game where you shoot alien toads with a plunger. It is a definitely, definitely not horror game, haha.
BUT, to fight bosses you have to walk through these totally empty 3D buildings, not knowing what was around the corner. So uneasy.
And when you finally do find the boss BOOM! Almost like a jump scare, similar to the Friday the 13th NES game. Totally terrifying haha.
I had forgotten all about that game until your description made uneasy memories of those boss battles awaken.
Animal Crossing and the crushing weight of mortgages
You’re kidding, right? I wish a bank would be so lenient with me as to let me pay off my interest-free loan with terms of ‘whenever you feel like it, off the money you make as a freelance forager.’
Parasite Eve and Silent Hill 1. I became a big Silent Hill fan and then eventually came to play and enjoy some of the Resident Evil series.
These games came out in very late teenage-hood for me, but the amount of nights piled around the TV with the bros, pounding beers and bongers, and scaring ourselves…oh man the memories. Those games were absolute rippers, Parasite Eve 2 especially (except for that end boss)
The first NES Castlevania. Still a classic.
I actually have a 3E diorama of from the opening level hanging in my condo. I replay it once or twice a year. Still holds up.
I loved Resident Evil but it was the third one that really got me, with the havoc in the streets and the scare where you realize Nemesis can literally chase you from room-to-room and/or show up literally anywhere at any time.
Hugo’s House of Horrors.
The dog and the butler (chef?) terrified me.
One of them would shank you, wouldn’t they? The butler? I’m struggling to remember the exact specifics, I just remember someone would kill you.
Yeah, if you walked in to the dining room the butler would cut your head off. If you walked out to the backyard the dog would tear you up.
Fallout 3 isn’t a horror game but man that atmosphere is crazy. I remember one of the very first missions has you go to galaxy news radio from the first settlement, megaton to talk to the DJ. It’s a really long journey through subway tunnels and ruined DC streets. The wasteland is pretty horrific and lots of enemies are disgusting and almost disturbing to look at.
As much as Bethesda gets shit for that game, they did an amazing job converting the atmosphere from the first two games into a 3D world.
