Topic: What makes a game extremely scary?

I often wondered what makes a game extremely scary? Is it the fear of the unknown or suspense of knowing that ultimately grips people into the game?

Feelings of impending doom and feelings of being trapped are definitely scary. That's why I hate these guys from RE4.

@TylerTheCreator Those were the worst.

For me it's typically some sort of plausibility, or an impeding sense of doom.

The most I've ever been scared is a tie between RE4 when you reach the hedge maze and you see open dog cages, or in RE:R when you meet the captain for the first time.

Disc read errors

@Megumi: That actually does look kind of creepy. Gosh...

Wow, I forgot about that. You never knew when they were gonna jump out at you.

Its all about the music!

lol, anyways yeah I don't really play horror games, the closest I've gotten to with horror games is the Five Nights at Freddy's demo. (first game) Didn't even die in that game was still shaking 30 minutes after being done with it. xD

I think making the player feel less powerful over the course of the game is important. Too many "horror" games just throw scary looking creatures at you. To make a player scared you need to show just how useless they are. Some games do this by not having the player have combat abilities. Some games do this by having creatures instant kill you. When I think of good horror games, I normally think of F.E.A.R. It has combat but the player couldn't do anything when Alma was messing with them. Alma couldn't take damage and shooting her didn't stop it. It does a good job at making the player feel powerful with combat, then taking away that power when Alma "attacks."

It's mostly limiting what the player can see (and do) and having a good sound direction.

When a game isn't focused on jumpscares, it's predictable and lazy.

Definitely the fear of the unknown. What's really scary is when all you know is that something is out for your head, but you have no idea what it is, or what it looks like. It's definitely more scary than jump-

Nope. No no no...just...NO. That is not scary. That is startling. Not the sense of fear, but a human reaction. That is in no way scary.

Potentially losing hours of progress. If you go back to the last save point, you will surely die. So you have to keep making progress into the unknown trying desperately to get to the next save point wherever and whenever it may be before enemies kill you.

@Megumi: "That moment when the kids are sewn body parts of dead people and the serial killer likes to mix and match different body parts together to put them on display...that's what I get from this."
....GOOD TIMES!

The fear of going out into the unknown alone. The game doesn't even have to be based around horror to be scary (Minecraft and Terraria is a good example of these types of games). I seriously get chills down my spine when the music stops and I'm going into a cave or dungeon completely blind. Never had a game in the horror genre scared me, but games like Metroid Prime and Zelda OOT has scared me since I was a child because I'm scared of the unknown.

just pop in any n64 game besides doom 64.
doom 64 is the only good game for the n64.

When it's corrupted and the music gets horrifying, creepy sounds start playing, the game acts up and becomes completely unpredictable, and finding Diddy Kong's dead body at the end of a creepy dark hallways is a nice touch too.

@Noonch:

You're right. This video clip has traumatized my sister. If she hears me playing it she freaks out!

Mannequinns

A truly great Horror game needs two main things: great atmosphere and restrictions. A horror game needs to utilize a perfectly frightening atmosphere usually created through a combination of music and setting. It should create a feeling of solitude, suspense, and darkness. It should build and collect, frightening the player and must be able to immerse the player.

It must use restrictions, to limit the player and truly make them feel bare. They must feel hopeless and frightened, and feel the true danger and limitations they bare as they are forced to traverse the unknown vulnerably. A good horror doesn't need to rely on jump scares to temporarily frighten or jolt the player, they must be able to keep that feeling of suspense and dread throughout the course of the game itself.

That in my opinion, is what makes a game truly scary.