When I was younger I'd always play games at a friends house, and at that time it was Quake and Doom that were the scary games for me. Later, when I got more into videogames, I never bothered to replay them, and the only horrorgames I played were the
Silent Hill and
Resident Evil games.
Although both had me scared a bunch of times, I always thought the SH games were scarier. The story, atmosphere, and the the evil was more symbolic. I love
Resident Evil, don't get me wrong, but its characters were trained people that knew what to do in situations like this. The creatures behaviour could be explained by the viruses and what not - in SH it was always so much more psychological and symbolic, and the fact I couldn't always explain what was going on and why made it more scary than the RE games. Besides that the characters were just average people without training that suddenly found themselves into that place (after receiving a letter from their dead wife what turf.)
Even so, if I had to pick
one level that had me terrified from start until the end, it's the
Shalebridge Cradle level in the stealth game
Thief: Deadly Shadows.
That level is absolutely brilliant, it has everything a good horror level needs IMHO.
There were moments where I sat in dark corners and not daring to go further (I hid in a fireplace for over 10 minutes), and moments I really screamed in fear. The level is brilliant in every way. It doesn't need hordes of zombies and other creatures to scare you - I was scared even when there wasn't anything going on. The noises you hear, from squeaky doors to the cries of a baby, it won't fail to send chills down your spine and it won't give you a second of rest, nor the illusion of being safe. In the Shalebridge Cradle, you are always on your guard.
Garrett, the character, isn't a trained agent like in RE. He doesn't have the strength, nor the equipment to fight off hordes of monsters - it's best to avoid them. You feel vulnerable all the time, which makes it even more scary.
When I entered the building, I hated the darkness, I hated how I couldn't see anything or anyone until it was probably too late. Later, I stumbled upon a generator, and I was so happy. With a mechanical scream it started working and turned on the electric lamps, light I longed for so badly. And right then, I hated the light, and I would have done everything to make it go away, for now I could be easily seen by whatever remained there.
I thought to my self several times "
I need to get out of here as soon as possible." When I did leave the Shalebridge eventually, I had explored every inch of it.
I think if a game or a level, designed to scare you, designed to make you hate it, achieves that, it has succeeded in it's every purpose.
OMG long post what turf.
and to tell the truth i hate playing them when am all alone.
)
Reise for Mod.
Ghosts freak me out though..
