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-   -   Horror and Dark-Themed Games (https://adventuregamers.com/archive/forums/adventure/11366-horror-dark-themed-games.html)

shezcrafti 02-25-2009 02:11 PM

I agree with whomever mentioned Phantasmagoria. One of my favorites!

I enjoyed Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder, which has strong Lovecraftian themes. Sometimes the puzzles were a bit illogical, but great overall creepy atmosphere. There are some genuinely terrifying moments in that game.

Penumbra was another good one, but sometimes was a bit too action-oriented for my taste; the dog scenes, in particular. I found the movement & controls to be a bit frustrating.

But my favorite FAVORITE scary game of them all is Scratches. I get chills thinking about it.

therabidfrog 02-26-2009 07:35 AM

The first Penumbra was a visceral sort of frightening. The kind of thing that kept you on your toes. That is until I figured out the easy way to kill the dogs, but there are a lot more scares later on.

tastebud 02-28-2009 07:45 AM

Personally I found The Lost Crown to be the scariest game I've played. Dead Space made me jump the most... but in Lost Crown I always had a feeling of tension and being very creeped out.

http://www.thelostcrown.co.uk/

Fantasysci5 02-28-2009 10:36 AM

That's because The Creator, Jonathan Boakes, is a genius. ;)

Sector 03-01-2009 03:37 AM

For me - Clive Barker's Undying and Penumbra Series !

wycked 03-01-2009 04:23 AM

What about Scratches http://www.scratchesmystery.com/ I haven't played it myself, but it looks scary

Sector 03-01-2009 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wycked (Post 498242)
What about Scratches http://www.scratchesmystery.com/ I haven't played it myself, but it looks scary

Yes it's pretty scary :P

Jadefalcon 03-01-2009 08:14 AM

I just got The Lost Crown and have to agree with the fear factor in it, the soundtrack, subtle though it is plays a big part in it.

therabidfrog 03-03-2009 10:09 PM

Scratches got completely illogical and annoying towards the end. It's like they just expected you to use every object on every item and place you could visit each time you got a new clue.

Fantasysci5 03-04-2009 08:47 AM

Scratches had pretty good atmosphere; it was an okay game. I didn't hate it, but it's obviously not one of my favorites. *shrug*

Mohlin 04-15-2009 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5 (Post 498710)
Scratches had pretty good atmosphere; it was an okay game. I didn't hate it, but it's obviously not one of my favorites. *shrug*

Don't you know that Jonathan makes one of the voices...? ;)

therabidfrog 04-15-2009 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mohlin (Post 504491)
Don't you know that Jonathan makes one of the voices...? ;)

Isn't he the voice of the real estate agent?

Sandman 04-15-2009 08:02 AM

Leaving Silent Hill and Fetal Frame series out and strictly talking of adventure games then I would says:

1. The Lost Crown
2. Darkness Within
3. Scratches
4. Dracula Series
(above are not placed in rating ... though Lost Crown tops the other 3)

What makes game horror/dark is the environment. Darkness Within, Dracula series and Scratches provide a great environment and they are scary (especially for a person easily scared, like me) but there is nothing unique about them. The Lost Crown is quite a unique and different experience. I never knew one can pull off a horror game in a 3rd person view. Hats of to JB!

Fantasysci5 04-15-2009 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mohlin (Post 504491)
Don't you know that Jonathan makes one of the voices...? ;)

Yeah, I did. And although I may worship that man, it doesn't mean I like the game. I liked it enough, the location was superb, and even the story was good. It just lost me somewhere in the middle.

And Jonathan's earlier games, the Dark Falls, were great, too. Just as scary to me as "The Lost Crown".

shezcrafti 04-15-2009 11:00 AM

I'd like to update my previous post to include The Lost Crown as well. I (finally) decided to give it a try on Easter weekend and am close to finishing it. (In fact I'm at work as I write this and I can't wait for 5 pm so I can rush home and play!)

I almost jumped out of my seat last night when...

Spoiler:
I found The Nightmare Room and read the journals in the desk drawer, then saw one of the Ager ghosts materialize in the corner by the bookshelf...omg!


I think what The Lost Crown does so well is provide a good mix of puzzle varieties so one doesn't get bored, as well as slowly peels away the layers of the background story. I would not consider this the scariest game I have ever played, but it's certainly made me uncomfortable in a few parts where I've had to laugh at myself for being so jittery. I can't wait to find out how it all ends.

Annacat 04-25-2009 08:39 PM

In addition to those mentioned, I'll add:

1.) Barrow Hill
2.) Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches-- this one isn't really "horror" per se, but it has a creepy atmosphere and a few startling moments
3.) Amber: Journeys Beyond-- this title is older and may be tricky to find, but if you can get your hands on it, it's worth playing

Mohlin 04-27-2009 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therabidfrog (Post 498670)
Scratches got completely illogical and annoying towards the end. It's like they just expected you to use every object on every item and place you could visit each time you got a new clue.

I just finished it and I cannot argee more! It started out fine, but then it became try-everything-on-everything. I was so upset I started at "Actions/thing you hate in AG" thread.
And I hate going back to find something that maybe can be used somewhere. If I need it, I should be able to find it close by, I don't want to go back 7 screens to look it up. Or talk to someone that maybee knows something.

And if I have a crowbar, why do I have to look for a key in an abandoned house (well, in a greenhouse...) to open a deskdrawer??

SamandMax 04-27-2009 08:20 PM

While I'd agree that there's a lot of clunky puzzles in Scratches, I think if you're in the mood for a solid horror game it's pretty easy to overlook the annoying parts for the few great scares the game has. The part where you wake up in the middle of the night and have to go explore the basement is one of the more tense moments in recent adventure game memory.

And while this might sound a bit odd to mention, Police Quest 4: Open Season is still an incredibly bleak and disturbing game that gets progressively weirder as it goes along. The end game sequence

Spoiler:
which involves a cross dressing serial killer and a decapitated head in a fridge


is still one of the weirdest and scariest moments I've played in an adventure game.

Jadefalcon 05-02-2009 02:51 PM

Midnight Nowhere, though not a perfect game has a few spooky moments in it.

marlasinger 05-03-2009 06:10 PM

Haven't played these games, but from what I gather:

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
Waxworks (extremely gory) - dungeon crawler RPG though


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