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Scariest Adventure Games
Happy Halloween. Please list your favorite scary horror adventure games.
Mine:
Fran Bow
The Cat Lady
Simulacra
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
I’m a sucker for horror themed games (and movies), but “pure” adventure games rarely manage to really scare me. The best example of a game that works would be Dark Fall (the first in the series). And maybe Inherent Evil, although I played that one a long time ago. Amber: Journeys Beyond is another one that manages to create tension without throwing ghosts or monsters at you.
There are quite a few other horror themed adventures that I’ve enjoyed, but that haven’t really scared me. Barrow Hill and Scratches come to mind. Played a game called Dead Circle a few months back, and it was pretty ok and rather scary. An adventure game at its core, but it resorts to run-and-hide scenes to create most of the tension.
The scariest games I’ve ever played are probably Project Zero 1 & 2 (Fatal Frame in the US), some of the Resident Evils and Silent Hill games. Actually, if you set the puzzle difficulty to high and the action difficulty to low in Silent Hill 2 you get one of the best and most scary adventure games ever created.
In terms of pants-shittingly scary, I’d go for Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
That game’s so insanely scary that I just can’t play it without being reduced to a whimpering mess…
In terms of games I can actually play, I’d like to mention STASIS, since that has a couple of really good jump-scares, and a chilling atmosphere, coupled with several “eww, what is that?” moments.
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
IHNMAIMS is fucking terrifying. The whole set up and plot for the game is one of the worst nightmares I could imagine.
I still haven’t played Amnesia but the creators certainly have form - I found Penumbra one (or three, I suppose) of the tensest, scariest games I’ve played. The way the stealth mechanic keeps you looking away from the monsters is so effective!
The scariest game I’ve ever played was Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. It is action/adventure, but it was made by seasoned adventure devs (of Simon the Sorcerer fame), and it shows - plot-driven, with plenty of exploration on the way, shooting is rare and clumsy. And the game is damn terrifying. Amnesia was great, but after Dark Corners it felt like a fan tribute - many similar moments, only they are less effective.
PC means personal computer
IHNMAIMS, The Cat Lady, The Blackstone Chronicles have all kinds of emotional effects on me, but they don’t scare me. I’m a sucker for jumpscares in 1st-person games. Like the classic ones in Stories Untold. I’d almost forgotten I played Simulacra last year, with its remarkable sound effects. I always play with headphones on and some noises made me jump because they seemed to come from behind me. Doesn’t happen often that I confuse game sounds with RL sounds.
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
It’s not at all scary, as it’s a comedy, but Alien Incident is a very good game that takes place around Halloween.
One of the most underrated games in the genre, but that’s what you get for releasing it in 1996…
As for the scariest game otherwise, I’m not sure… Black Sails is kind of creepy in the end and has some attempts to scare players during the gameplay too.
Could Return of the Obra Dinn be considered a scary game? It had its moments for me.
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
Scratches Directors Cut
Shivers for the few unexpected jump scares
For whom the games toll,
they toll for thee.
Both Amber: Journeys Beyond and Scratches kept me tense as I played them. I also remember a panicked moment when I made a mistake in setting the compass in the middle of the stone ship in Myst. The lights went out, and I thought I wasn’t going to be able to escape the ship before the water came in.
“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” -Bill Watterson
I get scared playing Nancy Drew games so I’m not really the best-suited person for this thread
I wouldn’t call the Cat Lady scary, more horrific, and definitely emotionally wrecking.
Rusty Lake games, despite being far on the psychological horror side of the fence, have their jump scares and panick-inducing moments. That’s what I like the least about them
One of the games that scared (and unsettled) me the most is a free game called Dreaming Mary. It start as an overly cute adventure, but if you play it one of the ways it is intended to be, it becomes excruciatingly grim and there’s a blood-curling chase sequence somewhere down the path. I would highly recommend it but would never play it again myself.
Dark Seed with its Giger-esque artwork and trip into nightmare worlds of darkness really got to me. The way the plot unfolded and the unstoppable descent into insanity was really creepy.
I loved Dark Seed, played it on the old Amiga computer. It was amazing. I do have Dark Seed 2 on the PC.
Wouldn’t a CPT of Dark Seed be great….......Dark Seed is one dark and creepy game.
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
I think The Cat Lady had its moments - in Gladys’ house, for example, it had me in a very tensed state…
Rusty Lakes games are good “creepy with occasional slide into scary” games, yes.
Neverending Nightmares were pretty unsettling, although it’s not a game for everyone. It’s very artistic, and I’m not much for games that are more art than games, but it had good atmosphere.
I’m currently replaying Fran Bow, and it is still surprisingly dark and chilling with quite a few jump-scare moments.
I agree that pure adventures are rarely “terrifying”, more so “ominous and creepy” but I prefer my horror this way to be honest.
Dark Corners of the Earth has what I think might be the most intense sequence in games ever - when they try to break into hotel. That was just CRAZY and very enjoyable
Another game I want to give honorary mention because it had my heart beat very fast in a quite a few scenes is Inside. When you are being chased by dogs there, for example, AND you get caught - I think I was biting my lips, then nails, then back to lips and was just very anxious about my little guy… It’s a FANTASTIC adventure/platformer/puzzle, I highly recommend it.
And, of course there are Outlast games. Also action/adventure, but since you can’t fight in them, I’d count them. They are terrifying.
Thanks everyone for mentioning games that aren’t as popular - I’m checking every mention out, as horror adventure is one of my favorite genres.
Edit: +1 to Silent Hill games!
I get scared playing Nancy Drew games so I’m not really the best-suited person for this thread
I think that Curse of Blakmoor Manor was pretty freaky to be honest. It was a looong time ago I played it, but I still remember it
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