Video games in the horror genre have gotten increasingly more frightening as time has gone on. What used to be the scariest thing ever has now become old and cliché. Some of the things that used to scare us so much now are almost funny or feel more like a throwback than they do a scare tactic. And I don’t know if you have played P.T. yet or games like Outlast , but they have quickly become some of my favorite scare-fest games of all time. So we decided that it might be kind of fun to take a look back at some of the things that used to be considered scary, and why we probably should never fear them again.
Looking in the Mirror
Oh yes, this one is a classic. The music builds to a creepy crescendo as you walk closer to the mirror on the wall. You know good and damned well that there is something coming. Something is going to happen. You’ll have to open that mirrored cabinet to retrieve and item or something. Then when you close it, a figure will be standing behind you that wasn’t there when you first opened it. But the truth is that game makers know this is how you feel about it. So these days they may not even let you make it to the mirror before something scary happens. Or they may just make you think that it’s going to happen and let your mind play the trick and not the game.
Annihilated Teddy Bears
There is something innocent, familiar and comfortable about teddy bears. They are a thing of simplicity and a thing that soothed us when we were younger. Those very reasons are the same ones that make it incredibly creepy when you enter an old nursery or a room of the like in a game and see a teddy bear on the floor that’s been torn to pieces. Or worse yet, one that has been stabbed into a wall or floor or piece of furniture. But once again, people who make scary games know this. That’s why these days, teddy bears have become something more for games like Naughty Bear .
Eyes In a Painting
You’ve seen it a million times used as a device of foreshadowing in film and in games. Someone will be making their way through a room or down a hallway and they pass a painting of someone on the wall. But then the eyes of the painting follow the person as they walk by. It’s that unsettling moment when you realize that there is someone behind the painting that is watching you. But since this has been done to death, it is far more fun to use this as a diversionary tactic nowadays. They make it obvious so that you will pay attention to it. Then, out of nowhere, the real threat exposes itself, and if you are not vigilant, it may spell ‘Game Over’ for you.
Bangs and Clangs
Back in the day there wasn’t much scarier in a game than hearing no soundtrack at all, or at least a very ambient one and then suddenly hearing loud noises. Things like clanging metal and knocks on walls and sounds of things crawling through vents and such made quite the impression of fear on your average gamer. But the noises were meant to startle you. To break an otherwise intense situation. To misdirect you from the mounting fear you were already feeling and make it that much more intense. But these days, games don’t just employ loud sounds to give you a jolt. They use subtle ones that are just a little askew or out of place for the level that you are in. They make you feel unsettled and antsy…and that’s how they get you.
Eerie Music
Sure, music adds all kinds of atmosphere and emotion to any form of entertainment media, but especially in video games. Titles like Halo and Uncharted may not have been as successful as they were without the epic soundtracks that fueled the emotions of the games. But often times, the sheer absence of music in a game can be the scariest freakin’ thing ever. Take the first Dead Space game, for example. There really wasn’t a soundtrack or score to speak of. There was only ambient sounds that added to the overall feel of the levels. It was the absence of music, not the music’s emotive qualities that scared you the most.
Creepy Little Girls
Oh those creepy little things. They seem to have popped up everywhere in recent years. Now, they haven’t been overused as much as zombies have, but they have still made their mark in film and games as a serious source of creepiness. But, as with everything else on this list, it’s getting played out. So people are starting to use them as a diversion. Worse than that, there are people out there making games that still think that these innocent little pretties turned evil are still a viable source of scare factor. Well unless you unleash some new form of hellish little one, we’re just not that impressed anymore.
Weird Eyes
It used to be that a character that came to you in a game with different colored eyes meant that they had a darker or more mysterious side than the folks with normal eyes. But with the proliferation of games like Mass Effect and games where complete character customization is a core part of the experience, weird eyes are somewhat commonplace. Back in the day if you ran up on a dude with glowing yellow eyes, you’d think, “Whoa, I better steer clear of this dude until I figure him out.” But now it’s like, “Oh hey, it’s just one of those silly Quarians bitching about their pilgrimage.”
Scary Figures In The Distance
I am not going to lie to you, this one always got me. You’d be bopping along in a game somewhere and then off in the distance (or even close up) there would be a figure or set of figures that would be there, motionless and staring at you. They don’t advance as you get closer. Or worse, they maintain the same distance no matter how close you get. That stuff used to give me the creeps. Then I saw the “Hell Valley People” in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and suddenly…that stuff just wasn’t scary anymore. The fear of weird shadows lurking in the distance became mundane and completely not scary at all.
Blood and Guts
I am not talking about games like Splatterhouse when I mention this one. Those types of games are meant to gross you out with their level of hemoglobin-soaked mayhem. I am talking about the focus of an injury in a game. Let’s say a partner character gets hit with a bullet in an older game. They take a minute to show that trace of crimson leaking out from under their hand. That’s when you as the player know that you are about to lose your backup and it gets a little frightening knowing you’ll be going it alone. Nowadays, and in many titles, your partner and anyone else in the game can suddenly be blown to bits right in front of you without so much as a warning. No moment for digestion, just BOOM!….gone.
Demons and Devils
As a child I was taught that the Devil’s greatest victory was making people believe he never existed. Well, let me tell you who’s doing a fine job of helping. Game developers are making the demon and devil game just plain boring. As a matter of fact, the Devil himself has become the thing that people poke at and make fun of and not the other way around. The truth of it is that there have been so many games with devils and demons and ghoulies and such that no one is really scared by this anymore. At least not in games. Now the concept that there may actually be a Devil scares the sh** out of me, but at least I don’t have to be afraid in video games anymore.