Why scary games are never scary

Obviously the author of this article never played Fatal Frame. Gyaah!! Anyways...

They can be creepy. They can be disturbing. They can obviously be gross, gory and gruesome. On rare occasions, they can even be shocking enough to make you jump out of your seat... or at least shift unexpectedly from one well-formed couch groove to another.

Are videogames, however, really that scary? Not superficially, but deeply and viscerally? Do they force you to cover your eyes like a good horror movie? Do they inspire nightmares like a midnight ghost story? Do they torment your imagination the same way a walk through the woods or a cemetery could? Do videogames truly, honestly frighten you?

I don't think so, and here are 13 reasons why. Agree? Disagree?

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That's odd. Some of the reasons given have absolutely nothing to do with why they're not scary.

I've had games that had me literally freak out loud. Others have even stirred up my irrational fear of the dark.

He completely ignores the fact that games have much stronger atmospheres than movies. Used properly, a game can be truly scary because of that. The first act of Clive Barker's Undying (so about half of the game) was really scary, much scarier than any movie I've seen. Fatal Frame is also a great example of an amazingly atmospheric game that can actually get scary.

Also, come on, does anyone actually think that slasher movies (i.e. most of his examples) are scary at all? Personally, I watch them because they're entertaining and amuse me. Halloween wasn,t scary; it was funny.

That's odd. Some of the reasons given have absolutely nothing to do with why they're not scary.

I've had games that had me literally freak out loud. Others have even stirred up my irrational fear of the dark.

BladesOfAthena

Actually being afraid of the dark makes perfect sensce because it a survival instinct we cant see threats in the dark which is why it's scarier. Back to topic though The silencing for Xbox freaked me out the most because it was so twisted and messed up also don't laugh but doom 3 was scary for the first half for me until I started getting kick but weapons.

Actually being afraid of the dark makes perfect sensce because it a survival instinct we cant see threats in the dark which is why it's scarier. Back to topic though The silencing for Xbox freaked me out the most because it was so twisted and messed up also don't laugh but doom 3 was scary for the first half for me until I started getting kick but weapons.

_Kikode_

Hmm..the way I see it though, the reason why its irrational is because when you get down to it, there's absolutely no reason why one must be afraid of the dark as every preconceived notion is nothing more than mere illusions fabricated within the faculties of the mind.