What was the formative horror game of your childhood?

For me it was Dead Space 2 when I was 12-ish. For reference, at this point the most gruesome/gorey/violent media I was exposed to was the Halo 3 Flood levels and the original 2 Alien movies.

I had way too much fun playing it to be traumatized by it at the time, although when i was old enough to understand the horror of the whole “your memories and experience becoming food for a god-like being that has absolutely zero respect for your existance”, that did inform my perspective of other media such as Evangelion or Childhood’s end when I watched them for the 1st time.

What was your equivalent to this? I’ve heard the Resident Evil games are quite common for this but I want to hear your perspective.

FlashMobOfOne,
@FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

I loved Resident Evil but it was the third one that really got me, with the havoc in the streets and the scare where you realize Nemesis can literally chase you from room-to-room and/or show up literally anywhere at any time.

acutfjg,

Silent Hill 2 on ps2

MangoKangaroo,

Not sure it counts, but I played a loooot of Killing Floor in my early teens.

drewdevorcula,

The first NES Castlevania. Still a classic.

FlashMobOfOne,
@FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

I actually have a 3E diorama of from the opening level hanging in my condo. I replay it once or twice a year. Still holds up.

ChaoticEntropy,
@ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk avatar

F.E.A.R.

FlashMobOfOne,
@FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

FEAR was so darn good.

ChaoticEntropy,
@ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk avatar

A seminal classic!

Callie,
@Callie@pawb.social avatar

I remember when I first rented FEAR at blockbuster, that section of the hallway at the start is so memorable.

I don’t remember specifics but it’s when you’re going through the building and keep seeing the little girl, then you get to a cluttered hallway and I think it was set ablaze and you were thrown back by her

ChaoticEntropy,
@ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk avatar

I remember having just the demo installed for the longest time and just playing that brief section of the game over and over. It was just so damn cinematic and awesome.

Ghost33313,
@Ghost33313@kbin.social avatar

Eternal Darkness for the Gamecube. Got me more into Lovecraftian horror and horror in general.

Kovukono,

I never played horror games when I was a kid, but Dead Space and Amnesia: The Dark Descent were the two games that really solidified what I wanted out of a horror game. Having the ability to defend yourself instead of running is still something that makes or breaks a horror game for me.

FlashMobOfOne,
@FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

Dead Space still scares the hell out of me.

Callie,
@Callie@pawb.social avatar

The body horror has always been one of the best things about Dead Space, the creatures are just horrifying

Lojcs,

Eyes

ghostofjohnnycache,

One I haven’t seen mentioned here yet was Metroid Fusion on GBA. My brother and I would play it at night, then have trouble falling asleep, convinced that every sound of the house settling at night was the SA-X coming to get us

We never beat it then, and only years later did I rediscover it and beat it. They definitely nail the feeling of helplessness, but it’s so rewarding as the tides turn towards the end of the game

drcouzelis,
@drcouzelis@lemmy.zip avatar

I came here to say the original NES Metroid game! Metroids still terrify me. 😆

But yeah, Metroid Fusion was so scary it caused me to take a three year break before I could finish it. 😅

hagelslager,

Phantasmagoria by Sierra Online.

StarChip,
StarChip avatar

Doom 3 when I was a young teen, although much later it was Amnesia: The Dark Descent that got me more interested in horror games.

pemmykins,

I really wanted to enjoy doom 3, but even 20 years later I haven’t finished the main campaign. Too many cheap jumpscares and the switching to the flashlight just to see, really put me off in the end. However, it was a pretty game for the time.

Amnesia is great, I haven’t finished that one either but it’s the good kind of horror, much more creepy and slow-burning.

tshannon,

System shock 2.

ShaunaTheDead,
@ShaunaTheDead@kbin.social avatar

I had played other horror games before it but the first one I became obsessed with was Resident Evil 4. I think I mostly just enjoy survival horror type games for the challenge, because other horror games have never really held much of an interest to me unless they have some kind of survival aspect.

ARxtwo,

The 7th Guest was the fist one I really cared about. I grew up watching horror movies from the age of 5, but never really played a horror game until I got The 7th Guest in a CD-ROM drive bundle for Christmas of '93. It’s not so much a horror survival game as it is a horror puzzle game, but a great game nonetheless. I’ll never forget the opening: “Old man Stauf built a house and filled it with his toys. Six Guests were invited one night, their screams the only noise…”

Die4Ever,
@Die4Ever@programming.dev avatar

Hell yeah, The 7th Guest! I was a little kid when we got this game and the family used to play together trying to solve the puzzles, good times. Gave me nightmares lol.

Btw we have !stauf_mansion

blip, (edited )

I remember this game too! The live action cut scenes were really creepy as a kid. I distinctly remember the hands trying to press through the painting and the ghost luring you deeper into the maze. My dad and I got stuck at the one Othello style puzzle with the amoebas. We went out and bought a guide to get past it, only to learn that the author of the guide couldn’t solve it either.

LoamImprovement,

Fun fact - that ‘puzzle’ has its difficulty set by your processor’s speed. The game uses a set amount of time to determine the best move for the computer, and plays the best it’s got after that time. On slower processors of the time, it would only be able to calculate so many options before needing to come to a decision, but because it didn’t account for better hardware, the computer can make the best move every single time, causing it to be unwinnable even if the human player also plays perfectly.

GrindingGears,

I remember the first time I ever saw 7th Guest.

All I could think about, was this was the future!! The graphics (lol), oh man!! It was on a CD! That went in your computer

The game was kind of boring though, IMO anyways. Never really got into those 7th Guest, Myst games that deeply, as they could never hold my attention long enough.

CharlesReed,
@CharlesReed@kbin.social avatar

It was a little later than 'childhood' because I didn't really get into gaming until I was in college, but I would have to say Outlast was my foundation when it came to horror games. I had so much fun playing it over and over, and I still revisit to this day, even through I know it like the back of my hand.
Oddly enough, because I hold Outlast in such high regard, it's kinda of difficult for me to play walking sim-esque horror games that I truly enjoy because I have yet to find one that give me the same sense of satisfaction while playing it (the only exception being the first two Amnesia games).

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