There's no way around it, I'm a complete scaredy-cat when it comes to horror games. Over the years, I've attempted to brave the genre in the likes of Alien: Isolation, Resident Evil, and even Amnesia: The Dark Descent (back when it was taking the newly burgeoning Let's Play scene on YouTube by storm). But alas, I just couldn't hack it with any of them. I'd hoped, somewhat foolishly, that my love for the Alien movies would at least be enough to help me push past my fears in Creative Assembly's much-lauded survival horror. As soon as the terror of being hunted by a Xenomorph gripped me, though, I had to admit defeat.
Try as I might, I just can't handle scares in games. I'm not that much better when it comes to movies, admittedly, but the interactive nature of video games strips away a level of safety by putting you right into a nightmare scenario. Thanks to my cowering heart, I've come to accept that I can't play most horror experiences, but there are a few exceptions. Yes, despite my self-confessed 'fraidy-cat nature, I absolutely love Supermassive Games' interactive story-driven horror fests. That's not to say they aren't full of frights, they absolutely are, so why is it that I enjoy them so much when I so often flee in the other direction at the first sign of a game that's designed to scare you?
Fright night
I think it all boils down to my love of interactive, story-driven games that are shaped by the choices you make. As a big fan of Telltale Games, The Walking Dead was as close to horror as I had gotten, but it always felt like there was a level of safety there that couldn't be found in, say, the third-person action of another zombie-centric experience like Resident Evil. You're still very much an active participant, but you can sit back and put some distance between yourself and the horror to an extent.
Having fallen in love with the likes of The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands, I was always looking out for other games in a similar vein to play. This led me to discover Until Dawn, a cinematic, interactive game that looked like it tapped right into the kind of playstyle I enjoy. Despite it being in the horror genre, my love for that kind of experience outweighed any sense of trepidation I might have. After saving for months, I finally got my very own PS4 later than most in 2016, and Until Dawn was high on my list of exclusives to try. In fact, it would turn out to be the very first game I ever played on the console.
Until Dawn is like an interactive horror movie that pays homage to classic slasher flicks. The story follows eight young adults who return to an isolated mountain lodge where two of their friends disappeared one year ago. Sounds perfectly safe, right? Surely nothing could go wrong there. Of course, there's naturally some unseen horror lurking beneath the surface and it's clearly out for blood. The characters are like a tropey cast plucked from annals of early 00's horror, and it's all the more fun for it.
There were some interesting ideas at play, too. Premonition-giving totems tease potential deaths like something out of Final Destination, which adds an extra layer of caution to everything you do, lest you make it happen for real. Supermassive also used the PS4 DualShock motion controls to try and make the player stay as still as possible to avoid detection. While it was a little gimmicky and could sometimes feel unfair if the slightest movement caused the death of a character, it was a novel idea that heightened the tension of certain scenes.
There are certainly some jump scares and intense moments throughout Until Dawn, and it's hard not to be on edge when the lives of the characters hang in the balance. But the way you determine whether they survive the night or meet their untimely demise through a series of choices and QTEs makes you feel like you're participating at a safer distance. I can't explain the exact science behind why, but for whatever reason, I can handle horror in this particular format.
The chase
The Quarry is another Supermassive highlight, mainly because it reminds me of the cheesy, iconic horror of Friday the 13th. Again, there's plenty of scares here, but I can handle it because of the choice-based way you interact with it. Perhaps my fear of particular games stems from my relationship with horror games growing up. I'll never forget trying to play Clock Tower 3 on the PS2 and the utter nightmare material that was being chased by a hulking sledgehammer-wielding killer. At one point, I can vividly remember hiding behind some stage curtains and putting the controller down to physically hide away from the screen.
Another game that lives in my box of nightmares, never to be seen again, is Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. The stress of watching my dad play it as he was pursued by murderous villagers in the town of Innsmouth is forever scarred into my memory. Maybe I'm just forever terrified of being chased in games, horror or not, but there's something about those games that made me feel like I was physically in danger. Like I was really in the terrifying scenario, rather than participating in it. Sure, I still found myself shrinking away from the screen when I played The Quarry, but I'd take it over being chased by Mr. X in Resident Evil 2 Remake any day.
I've always appreciated the craft that goes into games that pull off genuine scares, or bring to life an atmosphere that puts you on edge. But I've long since accepted I'm just not about that horror life when it comes to games. I wish I could have the courage to throw myself into the likes of Alien: Isolation, if only for the way it brilliantly captures the sci-fi aesthetic and retro-futuristic tech of the films. At least thanks to Supermassive, I can still get my fill of scares.
Looking for something to play this Halloween? Check out our pick of the best horror games.
