Be sure to leave a like, and a comment, It really helps the video out and if you're not subbed, please consider becoming a subscriber today. And hey, if you're felling generous, please leave a thanks as a tip for the video or become a channel member - It really helps things out as well :)

Remember Bugsnax and Omori? How their horror elements were a surprise, and with the latter also the ability to make you feel miserable

To me it’s because of the fandoms. Remember creepy pastas? Back then I was terrified of them but after seeing a bunch of weird fan art of slender man tentacle’s and Jeff the killer in a compromising position I became less scared but more grosses out.

Maybe it’s not just the games… but the people. Too many horror game’s desensitized me sometimes- I remember when I played Alien Isolation and then Dead Space 2 right afterwards, and my scare factor was gone.

Im glad someone finally pointed out how stupid Chris was in RE village, by just refusing to explain the situation. It's such an easy fix too. The baddie has a baddie with magneto powers. Have his powers start to shake the area. And kris says, " no time! I'll explain later!" Then they get jumped. That way, the story isn't revealed yet, but Chris's actions actually made sense. He just wasn't fast enough

For me I'm a bit desensitized to a lot of horror due to the fact that my dad and sister made me watch horror movies as a kid because they thought it would "toughen" me up. And in a sense it kinda did, granted i can still get jump scared from time to time but that's all about surprise factors. When I played Resident Evil 7 honestly the SOUND DESIGN is what scared me the most as I walked through the Baker houses hearing RANDOM AMBIENT NOISES. That got me a lot more then most of the monster because it was playing on my anticipation. And I think that's the biggest factor in fear with video games, playing with your anticipation and how the game sets you up for a scare VS something random happening.

Mr. X showing up while you try to walk through the police department is still the best kind of horror imo

I'd be interested in seeing a horror game that uses brightness and saturation to its advantage. Darkness worked well in the old age of horror, but if devs are really that desperate for people to see their monsters they may as well stop relying on darkness to make them scary.

One newer horror game that I loved was Iron lung. It's so different from other horror games that it isn't hurt by being repetitive, and it's incredibly good at scaring you sh*tless without an insane amount of jump scares and is my idea of a great, sweet but short style of horror game. I highly recommend trying it for people who want a different taste of horror while not wanting to spend to much time on it, as it's only about 2 hours long.

The main thing a lot of games struggle with is building atmosphere. A good atmosphere will do so much more to make something scary than any other element of gameplay. It’s something that a lot of developers have forgotten about

To me it's a case of over exposure, and it is not contained to horror. Gory violence works similarly, the more you see it, the less repulsed or shocked by it you feel. Do you remember the first time you ever violently exploded a head in any game? I'll bet the reaction was pretty strong, be it thrilled, scared or whatever, but I'm sure after a couple dozen more, it becomes just another "cool" thing to do. We fear things that we don't know or don't fully understand, things that are menacing, and exposure to these things gives you knowledge over time, so even if they look ugly, at least you know how to deal with them. If you know the jumpscare is coming at the next corner, you brace for it or sometimes even ignore it, due to muscle memory. Another key aspect in horror to me is the lack of control, or rather, the feeling of powerlessness. No need to fear Nemesis if you can make it eat rockets, but limping around with a shotgun as a crutch and having very limited ammo? Yeah, that's scary. Still in Resident Evil, the first games also limited your ability to see things by having a fixed camera, and the low poly graphics helped to enhance the ominous and gritty ambience. The more high res you get, the closer you get to an uncanny valley where the details make it look goofy instead of scary. Sure, I'm positive some could harness the unsettling power of Uncanny Valley to create a fear factor, but usually this is the result of an attempt to be ultrarealistic. Sounds are also very important, an eerie silence ca be just as terrifying as increasing low drums. All that to say, even these factors will be diluted over time as we experience more and more of it. take a loot at the VTubers and how the watchers are eager to see them get scared. The main attraction is not the horror game, but the reaction of the players, because the watchers probably already experienced it themselves. But there's a small silver lining, I think. So long as you keep exploring, you can find new ways to be scared, new stories, new experiences, new concepts. Sure, it is not an infinite path, but it is a way to extend the horror experience

With remakes, FNAF, and other "mascot" horrors, I just want us to have a brand new terrifying MONSTROUS monster. Or some eldritch stuff, lovecraft style with less racism. Or as you have pointed out, too many monsters are showing themselves off too much. Imagine a game that could scare you of something you never saw. I remember Markiplier playing a game about the Chernobyl liquidators and it somewhat accomplished that. It's definitely eerie and made you uneasy despite there being no enemies because the danger was invisible and a force all too real. Sometimes, showing nothing is scarier.

Video Idea: Horror Games That Revolutionized the Genre

Kind of off topic, but since you mentioned it: (Omori Spoiler ahead) The game does actually give us an idea of how Sunny and Basil might have "gotten away" with Marries death. It's hinted ad that Sunnys parents, at least his father, might have known that the howl thing wasn't a suicide, and covered it up/worked it out with police behind the scenes. The biggest hint for that is in a secret that you can unlock in a hidden section of the Pyrefly Forest, where you can see a figure (asumingly Sunnys father) jopping down the tree with the noose (something we later find out happened in irl, since the tree in Sunnys garden is jopped down) and acusing Omori of "not beeing his son". Now for a father to say his kid is no longer his son, something really bad must have happened. Like, for example, his son acidentaly killing his only daughter by pushing her down the stairs.

In Bendys case I didn’t mind it not being scary but the story of the second game is just so much better i could care less if it’s scary or not.

I've really liked how Fatal Frame does its jumpscares. You almost never see the face of the ghost immediately. Instead, you see a hand or hear a little sound; you almost never get a "BLAHHHHHHH, SCARY FACE IN YOUR FACE" classic jumpscare. It speaks to how dangerous the ghosts are lorewise; in each game, the ghosts have a body count, with people being killed by them prior to the protagonist being involved. They can walk through walls, touch you (but you can't touch them generally).

I think the main reason why horror games are less scary is because KZfaqrs have desensitized them. If you don't watch them, games like the Bendy games and the original four FNAF games can be just as scary as Amnesia. Edit: I should have mentioned Pastra. I liked his Bendy video.

I think there are three major problems with the Horror genre: 1) Sequelization: As you said, you're not scared of Necromorphs anymore. Pewdiepie had an infamous clip where he "failed" to react to a FNAF jumpscare. Resident Evil has a huge issue with sequels being less scary. We're afraid of the unknown, but unknown is expensive compared to just releasing the same enemies with slight deviations game after game . 2) Copycats: A lot of horror games are basically "What if I remade an old classic like RE or Silent Hill 2", and if they're not that they're just trying to be a new Mascot horror game. I don't want to discredit the more unique horror games out there, but this is a huge problem with horror in general; a lot of the videos I've binged are kind of running together, but I believe you said "Amnesia turned everything into "Run and Hide"", which is pretty much the case. Along with this: 3) Indie Horror: You mentioned that indie games have the Deep Lore to try to entice people to talk about it/get Matpat to make a video about it, but that's only half the problem; even as an indie dev myself I've thought about making a horror game because on top of the Game Theory video, people like Pewdiepie, Jacksepticeye, and Markiplier are absolute goldmines in potential sales/boosted signals. The fact that you've got two potential methods of boosting eyes on your game means that it's a very good idea to go for it, and horror is cheap and easy to make compared to other genres. Note that I said "to make" and not "To make well".

Don't see it as a plothole in Omori, as the parents might've known since they put distance between themselves and their son. Even if you don't buy into that theory, it does nothing to change the core plot/characters

alien isolation is still Peek Horror for me, the atmosphere is just perfect

I think its because we are now older its harder to get scared by these like going back to oldschool RE games like how we used to think this was scary

People don't take horror seriously anymore. Once you get used to the scares, it's not scary and you have to depend on other factors and I don't know what I'm talking about.

I feel like its bc of how ppl get less scared with things over the years growing

There’s quite a few factors that explain why horror games have gotten less scary over the years but I’ve noticed a few. 1. A horror game prioritizes difficulty over the horror aspect. If you’re able to defend yourself in a horror game, it’s always prone to being too hard. A games story won’t even matter if the game is too hard to beat (tho it can push people harder if the story is good enough) 2. Fandoms. Back then, all the hype people had for horror titles came from game journos and reviewers. Fans making fanart and fanfics for horror titles was pretty minimal until imo fnaf came along. Mascot horror has characters that are not only fun for artists to draw but also has enough crumbs of lore to make fanfics which has only gotten worse over time (especially when horror games started pushing out plushies and other merch) 3. KZfaq. It’s no secret that over time, lps of horror games have made many people just numb to the usual horror tricks. Plus with some horror games, the game becomes more of a vehicle for streamer bait and some great games simply become “Blind Playthrough binging fodder” aka games like FNAF, Baldi’s basics and unfortunately Omori. Ps: “You were almost a Jill sandwich” is so funny because this kinda goofy writing was a once in a lifetime thing.

Mystery is definitely a balancing act as well. FNAF did a good job of keeping people invested in figuring out the mystery, but I think it's gotten to the point where many people are just waiting to hear the results rather than wanting to play the games to find out the answers. No matter what "theory" you subscribe to, the answer is never clear-cut, which at a certain point just becomes exhausting. Or at least that's how I feel towards the franchise. I would watch many different playthroughs, follow several channels on theories about the storyline, etc., and even though I would still like to know the answer, I just ignore any new thoughts and updates because it's been shown that the series will keep "changing the details enough to make things not quite fit." The games have kinda become "William Afton is still alive, because of course he is," which isn't much of a mystery anymore, even if you don't necessarily know all the details.

My biggest frustration with the genre over the years has been the severity of "Follow the Leader" syndrome it has. RE1 is popular: Everything has to be a clunky, fixed camera angle adventure game for almost a decade. RE4 is popular: Everything has to be a "horror theme'd" shooter for half a decade Amnesia is popular: Everything has to be a Hiding/Walking sim for half a decade Fnaf is popular: Everything has to be about spoopy corrupted childhood nostalgia for half a decade etc. Obviously this happens in other genres too but horror has it particularly bad. The medium just goes through an endless cycle of absolutely *saturating* with #popularthing and I get sick of it well before the trend is over usually.

Me: $101 for a horror game? MangaKamen: With cheese, Mr. commenter, with cheese~

Made a really good point about being an older gamer. With a lot of new horror games, we've pretty much seen a lot of these tricks already so we're predisposed to it. Granted it doesn't mean it won't be a disappointing experience all the time.

there are so many iconic lines in re1 though. my personal favourite is how wesker delivers the "STOP IT! DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR!"

You're almost a Jill Sandwich! I've got nothing to add, horror isn't a genre for me firsthand. But I do get fascinated with the tension cycles, gameplay and antagonists here and there.

I like to think that the primary reason behind horror games getting less scary is just human nature. When we start out, we don't know what to expect, and when the unexpected happens, it scares us. However, when we conquer the unexpected, it builds our confidence and lowers the fear. Certain games can work around this by changing up the scenarios, but on a second playthrough, that doesn't work as well because the unexpected becomes expected. The best way to keep the player on edge in my opinion is to have a certain level of randomness to the gameplay. Take Slender the Arrival. On the first playthrough, I was terrified of Slender and the dark atmosphere the game presented, and even though I'm less scared on repeat playthroughs, Slender's AI has a small level of randomness to it. You don't really know where he's gonna pop up, and when he does, it can still scare you. Another method is to have an always constant threat until the very end. Bendy and the Dark Revival did this, and I think it was done well. They took the idea of the Ink Demon appearing randomly in any room in Chapter 3 of Bendy and the Ink Machine and applied to every chapter past the first. While there are certain moments where the Ink Demon is triggered, you don't really know when he's going to show up the rest of the game. There is the hint that it depends on how long you stay in one room, but that length is still unknown. Plus, the idea that staying in one place for too long will attract him keeps the player on edge, and if the Ink Demon happens to catch you off guard, it'll lead into a state of panic as you frantically search for a hiding spot before he kills you. And unlike other deaths that are basically slaps on the wrist, death at the hands of the Ink Demon sends you back to your last save which can be a lot depending on when you last saved.

Old five nights at Freddy's still scare me no matter what

I don't know but often, when I am watching a lets play or playing a game with a friend, the horror is died down dramatically, usually because I am having more fun that way.

While I agree that Chris should've told Ethan what was going on. He did have a reason to not do so I think it's detailed in one of the game's many documents that Chris wanted to check both Rose and Ethan for if they were infected by Mother Miranda, he probably thought something along the lines of "If I say something wrong it could trigger something in Ethan" Which is still stupid but a reason is a reason

Maybe it's just me but the horror of the deeper darker areas of Subnautica are great

Small correction about Outlast, there is a journal entry from Miles after seeing that security guard where he wrote if he could go back the way he came, he would. I forget exactly where, but I think the moment he entered the building was the point of no return. Still though, I’d be trying to break down the nearest door or window out of there if I was him lol.

One possible thing for me is how with games (and stories in general) becoming more "commercialized", the actual feelings of dread that make horror more pronounced won't really stick. Even games designed for horror will tend to have a happy ending, which I personally don't mind but it does make the elements of horror something you feel less. Like if you take even some of the most famous works of horror in all of history and tie them up in a bow with a happy ending you wouldn't feel it as strongly. And how fears change and the things that resonate with an audience need to update with those changing times. Nowadays I think a lot of things that people are afraid of would be tough to accurately capture in a game. And in particular, a AAA developer wouldn't do it because... They're part of it.

"That was too close! You were almost a Jill Sandwich." When it comes to characters doing stupid things in fear, that in of itself isn't stupid. In fact it's rather realistic, that being said for it to be realistic. For this to be understandable for them to think irrationally at that given time. Let me build a scenario. You locked yourself in a bathroom equipped with a pocketknife and a lighter. But you recently had the knife on you while as the lighter you had it for hours ago, thus you don't have that in your mindset since you were chased just now and are hiding. You look at what's in the bathroom to see what you can use as a weapon, but as soon as you do that the pursuer is breaking the door putting you on high alert, so instantly equipping your knife out while checking you see mostly nothing useful at that given moment, but there is deodorant spray, but brushed it off since you need an immediate solution which is your knife, instead of the more effective weapon being your lighter with the deodorant spray. (Because the pursuer is still human) So you fight then despite it being a loosing fight. So like in scenario like that would make more sense why would a person make that mistake because it was based more of Primal knowledge rather than being witty and think ahead since the person is under a lot stress of being chased. Also realistically, you will forget having a lighter like 8 hours ago long before you were in any danger. By comparison to a typical pocketknife where it's also small, but you can still feel it on you. Like that sounds appropriate for point and click type game or something like that as well as a movie. But that's me on realism in a horror movie situation. When it comes to what to make a good horror game, I honestly can't say. Mostly because how subjective it is a whole. All I can do is, give a good example of a horror game, another game that is complete hidden gem is "Haunting grounds" which was made by the same people who made Resident evil 4. Because Devils may cry wasn't the only game they accidentally made while making Resident evil 4. Haunting Grounds, has many good qualities on mechanics to handle a horror setting of being a protagonist that can't fight back, but you do have ways to work around then, of course there's running away, but you have limited stamina, you can hide, but being too predictable on hiding and your pressures will find you. So you have two way, one some rooms have traps you lay for them to fall for, another is the few items you find to flash bang them. Lastly, is your trusted Dog. Which the dog can distract, attack, and can even help you find certain puzzles in the game. But, depending on how you treat the dog, if treated well, the dog is reliable most of the time, but treat the dog poorly, the dog will take longer to come help you or not help at all. This because important, because if your relationship with the dog is less than B-Rank. You will have a horrible ending, which normally if you had a good relationship, the cutscene will show the dog coming out to save you from said situation, leading you to continue forward.

I think horror is a hard genre to get right because you have to get real creative to keep people scared. When I started playing the game saints and sinners I was scared out of my mind. But as I went on I got less scared of the zombie because I just run and stab them.

1:54 there’s already a third *game* 💀💀💀

I remembered reading a horror novel titled 'My House of Horror'. It was really scary at the early part of the story. The tension, the ghosts appearance, the helplessness that the main character feels because he's playing a death game and there's rule to follow or else it's insta death. Then at the later part of the story, it become an action horror story and not suspense horror story anymore and....well, at first I was a bit disappointed. But then throughout the novel, I realized this makes sense, isn't it? Sure, the main reason why the genre did a complete change is because it's a Chinese novel and Chinese banned anything scary, but contextually, it's not that weird when the MC is not a helpless guy anymore. He learned from experience, he is now able to keep a calm mind when face with danger. Not to mention, he is now accompanied by some powerful allies too. When u play a lot of horror games, someday, you will finally reach the numb point. Jumpscare are not that scary anymore, so to compensate for that, I think horror games need to crank the suspense up to the max and stop using cheap jumpscare. The feeling of being watch, unknowing whether you are safe or not, are sometimes a lot scarier than the final scare itself

Let's be honest, many people were horny rather than scared when FNAF: Security Breach for obvious reasons.

The first levels of the human levels in AvP 2 always creep me out. It's so good at building that tension. You know the bugs are out there but you don't know when it's going to happen

Tension scares me, that creepiung dread that something is about to happen or just hearing the monster patrolling the area.

tbh games like subnautica scare me more than anything the mix of isolation and an unfamiliar environment with just the minimum amount of information for you to survive off of and an abstract goal really do work well

Oh and Scorn was actually really scary around the end and I'd still count the whole game as scary, it's just a slow burn kind of scare and body horror & being unsettling would still be considered scary but like the last part, the scary thing is the Parasite and time with it especially around the end, the whole thing is like a nightmare but I love it.

One thing that ruins horror is making the protagonist and supporting cast unlikeable. We see this a lot in movies where the characters are either too stupid to live or are just plain old bad people (sluts, bullies, cheaters, jerks, disrespectful, think the rules don't apply to them, etc.), to the point we end up rooting for them to be killed (like Abby and her crew from TLOU2). Another thing that ruins horror is when they're trying to be deep and/or teach a lesson (again, TLOU2 is an example of this).

Horror games becoming less scary has KZfaq to blame for it. The more popular a genre gets, the more views it gets on KZfaq, the more it'll slowly devolve and eventually we get a FNAF Security Breach type game where the horror the game advertises itself to have is the *last* thing you encounter. Unfortunately, the biggest problem is children. Kids on KZfaq watching videos haphazardly and eventually stumbling upon a KZfaqr playing a horror game which causes the downward trend of making a game or its series/genre less and less scary just for the sake of making money. The more bright and colorful something is, the more children will *beg* their parents to buy merchandise of it.

Overrelaying on jumpscares can really ruin horror for me. Like I have zero problem with jumpscares being used but if their used one after the other it can really ruin the horror.

Personally I like the type of horror that does not let you go, always coming back to your mind, hijacking thought trains like books like aion do, it does not matter if the game is terrorising by the standard methodology, if you give it attention it will bite you and give a mind virus hardly forgettable, also gives total freedom of gameplay as is the messenger of the horror

It’s not really that they stopped being scary It’s just that the more you play them, the more you expect the moments

True... Groovy!! They're starting to lose that factor of horror. Also that's a funny opening theme. Almost Dead.

In the case of dead space yeah I’d say it’s probably because you’re familiar with them already, playing the remake for the first time and I’ve been genuinely terrified at times

As soon as you said "let's talk about one of the biggest franchises in horror gaming", I got an ad for tiktok. Must be a sign

if i remember correctly in omori wasn't there a note or something hinting that the dad found out about it and actually helped them hide and get rid of evidence but over time couldn't handle it anymore and that's why he left?

I really don't think its the games themselves, but rather the advances in community and availability of knowledge on said horror games. Like, I don't find myself shitting bricks while playing any of the older horror games. To a large part it is due to me knowing what a game is and how it works -- I am aware of tropes, of ways devs try to make me afraid, and the general concepts which 10-15 years ago would've been less known or explored. But of course, there is a case to be made for any individual series growing lack of horror -- namely FNAF and pre-7 RE -- but on the general I'd say that modern indie horror games are at the scariest they've ever been, especially those that rely on analogue horror or 4th wall breaking. They are often abstract and strange enough to be unnerving to even the experienced gamer, though that same abstraction, too, will grow obsolete once it faces oversaturation.

Objection MangaKamen, Of course Chris wouldn't tell Ethan because Chris is working for a secret company as a Leader for a Task force, in the context of the game Ethan while he has fought a BW he is still considered a civilian and is only clued in when he gets himself too deep into the conflict at hand. Chris isnt a free agent he has protocols and rules he must follow

I can give two examples of Horror games not having the horror aspect, with both the progress of checkpoints system and how much progress you lose progress. To another where the mechanic helps the game, but becomes more frustrating than scary and it gets tedious. Evil within 1: MAN where do I go from here, besides the damage ratio form enemies is so random that a simple punch to the face can bring you down to 10% HP, while bombs or explosives only deal like 5% damage to your health. Instant kill traps that are used way to much and if you accidenally run into them, you die or even worst. Get staggared into them. The stealth mechanic is abysmal and no matter what you do, the enemies ALWAYS will hear you no matter what. Don't get me started with the large amount of instant kills the game has too- and I know management resource is key, but the lack of ammo or items to help you throughout the game is practically none existing. Even in the beginning of thegame there hardly anything to help you progress. And the only tme they give you a lending hand, it still won't be enough and its like low amount of ammo to even help you in such area. And then the final boss...MY gosh NEVER have I seen such an automated sequence in my life that practically kills the game completely where you are now suddenly super powerful and cannot die [far as I know] and you are granted an automatic win. There so much going against the game in the gameplay department, that it practically becomes a marathon of you trying to find that safe zone to enter the area where the receptionist is just to save your game. The upgrades are pathetic as enemies of random kind, even if you upgrade your health, will literally take ALL of it with a simple punch, scratch or even bite on you. However, the premise and story thankfully makes up for the horrible gameplay mechanics, and I am super glad they fix all the issues within the sequel, but have yet played it. Another game that comes to mind that literally kills the fear factor, is Alien isolation based on the movie. The save points are few in between and if you die from any type of enemy in the game, you lose a whole slew of progress and get sent back to where you last saved. the Alien or Xenomorph Ai can be both broken and busted and frustrating when it gets introduced, in where I had moments where it usually suppose to be programmed to despawn and unload within the game, when you hide and become completely silent whenever they're around. But had moments where it never disappeared or despawn and literally had me stuck hiding within one room, where it would ALWAYS spawn in from the vents and enter the room I am in. Despite trying to distract it or throw something to have it go after said object. It wouldn't disappear and had to force myself to get killed just to reload the area and start over from, once again a save point thats two hours earlier before reaching the area. And then the game becomes more tedious and annoying when you have to deal with 2 to 3 Xenomorphs the further you get near the end of the gamem and will always automatically know where you are and instant kill you. Or where even I was near a save point, knowing I was completely safe- only to have the game for some reason! Spawn the xenomorph into the room and killed me, behaving as if I made loud noises and bangs when I didn't and lost about five hou8rs of progress bcause the game spawn the stupid alien in the room. OR and like security breach, my personal favorite is end game. Where there are no save point, there bunch of face huggers spread out in the fire like halls who also instant kill you, you have to crawl and sneak your way through five xenomorphs per room without any ammo or flamethrower fuel and if you get caught and die...HAVE TO STAR FROM THE BEGINNING AND DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN! UGH I was so glad I fnished the game, was ready to throw it into the dumpster and garbage for just how annoying the game was...and do't get me started on the lack of crafting materials they barely give you in the game. As well as having a health bar too which made it x10 worse, considering most of your healing items comes from crafting. hese two games are my prime example of Horror games not doing horror right. That and Evil within reasoning for being a horror game is being hore and heavy blood everywhere and just have body entrails here and there, which doesnt really make it horror, but more of a s;lasher type of game anything else. They try making it psychological horror too- but they miss the mark, thankfully gets fix in the sequel. But Alien isolation...yeha more frustration than scary. Apologies for the long rant but you did say essay comments and figured to share my experience of two games that annoyed me more than being scary XD.

I think that the bendy games do well in horror because you get new abilities and upgrades but not in a way that makes you stupidly OP. The weaker enemies are easier to defeat while there are invincible enemies that you have to avoid (the keepers) as well as the possibility that you can get overwhelmed. Another think BATDR does well is they cut off all sounds and darken the screen when the ink demon is near given there is no warning when this screen darkening takes place, forcing you to drop everything and look for a hiding spot, enforcing panic.

The self-limb cutting audio log in the Dead Space Remake is way more bonechilling because you have to get the poor guys Rig off his corpse. There is another one I found where a guy was being attacked by a unitologist and I heard the in game shop in the background right before the guys bloodcurdling scream. I then turned around from where I found the log and saw a disabled shop covered in blood and the mangled remains of a corpse inside. The guy was murdered with a suit upgrade (0-0)

Honestly, the things that ruin horror games for me are: Too many jumpscares in a short time period. Jumpscares that don't make sense in the situation. A severe lack of actually spooky settings. Monsters that aren't hidden for most of the time. Knowing almost everything about the area/enemies. Too much light. and, one of the most important parts to me, Music/sound design. Like Garten of Banban, the chase music is just not scary. However, something like the second 'Legging it' from IT STEALS is much better for the situation, combined with the rapid and fast approaching footsteps of Shutter mode's chase sequences. The way I'd describe the music is frantic, and unnerving. Some of the sounds within the track make you question what they are supposed to be, and having that thought while being chased makes you question if your pursuer is making said noises, which just adds more and more to the Fear of The Unknown. Here's a link to the OST if you want to listen to it. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jKeCf9SnsZeaYok.html

"You were almost a Jill Sandwich!" First video of yours that I watched and I can tell you put a lot of effort into this and I loved it!

Yeah, horror movies/games haven't been the same for a while, but still some gems out there. Plus, for me, the last games that really scared me were Dead Space 2 and RE 7 probably also congrats on 150K followers

I'm not too big about horror, but it's neat to get these in depth analysis onto what makes horror good and what makes it bad.

From just reading the title. I disagree. There have been plenty of great horrors that have come out recently. Grest example is Signalis

honestly the best horror comes from angles you don't expect it to. stuff you have to let simmer in your mind. stuff that makes you go "oh god" when it hits you.

Someone's a Shadow the Hedgehog fan. I recognize that music.

I like when non horror games add a level or section is made to have elements of horror, such as the mansion in nier, and 343 guilty spark in halo

Chris: If Leon Won’t help continue the Redfield bloodline then Ethan has to do, say goodbye to wifey Ethan it’s time to get you a real woman and her name is Claire.

For modern horror games, Alien Isolation and Subnautica will always be anxiety-inducing. Whether it's in space and no one would hear you scream when getting mutilated by a xenomorph, or the whole thasslophobia shit because of the sheer emptiness of ocean waters and monsters out to eat you. Resident Evil VII and RE2 Remake are some of my absolute favorites so far in modern horror, and I'll definitely give RE3R, RE4R, and RE Village a go someday. Truly gave me some good scares, but surely 'cutesy horror gone wrong' are topped by DDLC, Bugsnax, Omori, and Spooky's Jumpscare Mansion.

I was half expecting the FNAF3 jumpscare comparison to mention the fan animation of Springtrap. The "jump" is getting blindsided and getting your teeth kicked in, but the actual scare is getting back to your sense only to see Afton slowly unlock the suit's jaw before giving you a lobotomy with his teeth There is build up to it, not just loud sounds jumping at the screen and you're hardly surprised so it stays with you long after watching it for the first time (unlike the games ' jumpscares)

The problem comes down to one thing: Most developers making horror games these days don't know how subtlety and suspense works or maybe more accurately don't care to know. They throw jump scare after jump scare at you until your nerves get used to it and thus stop feeling scary, or they just put up a ton of gore and expect that to be scary, or both. Plus, a lot of them are too action based. There's nothing wrong with a game where you can fight off the horrors facing you, in fact it's far better if you can than if the game makes you arbitrarily helpless. However, starting with Resident Evil 4 horror games have turned the player character into this nigh unstoppable one man army killing badass which isn't scary. The protagonist should be armed with a pipe or a knife etc. and while they can kill every monster they come across, it takes a lot of work and isn't worth the resources spent. It's for movies rather than video games but I think an interview with John Carpenter I saw a long time ago describes how horror should work. In that, he describes what suspenseful horror and jump scare horror are by comparing it to a scene the audience are watching of a bomb under the table while he and the interviewer are talking. First with the latter the two can just be talking normally and then all of a sudden BOOM! the bomb explodes. With the second, the two are talking like in the first example, but the view frequently shifts to the bomb with it's ticking timer. In this case the audience are thinking or even shouting at the screen "Quit talking and get out of the room!" It gets them emotionally invested despite the fact that they know what's going to happen. Video game developers don't know how to do that anymore. Why should they when everybody and his mother does the jump scare gory horror now? Then there's the games which go way too far in the other direction and make you this helpless PC who can't even grab a stick and smack the monsters in the face, which I don't know about anybody else but I've never found scary.

I'm pretty sure in outlast,miles attempts to get the hell out after the big guy chucks him.

You were almost a Jill sandwich! That brought up memories of watching my cousin play it.

"Well, imagine my shock?" - Paul Joseph Watson

Talking about checkpoints ancestors the humankind Odyssey Nails it perfectly. When you die you start to play as a Another ape and it goes on until you lose all of them, when it happens you start from the very start of the game, it teaches you that maybe you should think twice before going to kill a animal without proper skills

...i got a little confused about that "Omocat" bit. what did they do? What's going on?

I don't know why but the slowed Bonnie jumpscare noise is making me laugh

Please say word "bucket" more, it is my favorite part in this video. Btw really good video and i agree with most of it.

I feel like horror games are becoming less scary because they are more so becoming the same type of games like for example when Resident Evil & Silent Hills came out back in the late 90's they were scary because we didn't know what to expect back than so that type of horror was scary af for us but as more games started being like that & we grew up nowadays it's not scary but will probably get a flinch or startle out of you. And the same can go with FNAF I remember when FNAF 1 - 4 came out & thought the games were scary af but as more games came out & I grew up they weren't scary but more so unsettling & the fact that most of the games just had the same characters coming back every time didn't help.

You were almost a Mangakamen sandwich, Master of Locking.

Instead of leaving a comment about what ruins horror games for me, I rather tell the story of the scarriest thing to ever happen to me in a game. In farcry 4 you need rhino skin to do some upgrades later into the game. I was flying around on a gyrocopter, armed with a double barrel and granade launcher looking for rhinos. As soon as I spotted 1 under the brush I looked for a safe place to land and started walking towards it. I ran close to it and unloaded all 3 of my granades into it's side, as the screen shook and I ran out of 'nades, the rhino stood STILL ALIVE. I thought nothing of it and pulled out my double barrel, shot it twice near the head but I did not realise those 2 shots were the last of my ammo. Finally the rhion turned to fully face me and I sunk into my seat as I just realised that I am now defenceless. I BOLTED the other way, I did not know if there was anything I could make it to that would save my skin, as I kept running thrugh the thick jungle, with the rhino gaining on my I fell into a small lake. I turned around as fast as I possibly cold to see the rhino less than an inch from my face. It was just deep enough for me to be out of range for the rhino. I was relived and shaking from the adrenaline. . . and then a gator attacked me beinging me down to the last scraps of my healthbar. I SURVIVED THE JUNGLE! But that almost self inflicted terror is the only time a game made me almost shit myself.

What was the deal with Omocat? The fact they made a drawing that said shota? Was that really all? Because if so, it seems so stupid to create a big deal out of that

On RE8 I ran into fetus monster because I thought it wouldn’t instakill me and already had cues that it was a hallucination :3

Almost dead from shadow the hedgehog I love that game ❤ also great video 👍.

Mechanics are my go-to with horror games. If the enemy isn't a challenge then I'll just wonder why the can't beat them up or outsmart them. Not to say that difficulty is everything, but few people are afraid of something that only has safe hot air.

At least Bendy and the Dark Revival improved upon the first game

I must say I completely agree with the title of this video. But, playing Dead Space Remake actually got me really good sometimes, and I've played the original game many times, so my hope for horror games got revitalized. But I feel like really ruins the horror games nowadays, they don't create or establish an atmosphere that is scary or eerie to be in. most horror games nowadays, they have scary elements in them, yes, but when the world your in isn't scary, well those scares in the game just become that much less scary. yeah I know jumpscares scare you because, well they jumped you when you didn't expect it. But what is more scary is when a game doesn't even have to do that to make you scared, if the game can make you scared passively without having any enemies around or having a jumpscare ready around the next corner. an environment with a scary atmosphere can do so much to make you feel uncomfortable and make yourself look behinf yourself constantly when there isn't even anything there. this right here is what is missing from horor games today.

Loving the use of Shadow the Hedgedog music. Also was the spoiler for Metroid Fusion a joke? I didn't see any of it in the vid.

In the past half a decade, the only game that managed to scare me was Subnautica, and that's not even supposed to be a horror game.

I wish these games were less scary to me (well something like fnaf doesn't really scare me). I don't seek out horror content normally anyway so that's most likely why. I mean, the killer croc mission in arkham asylum still scares me to this day 😅.

Okay HELLA KUDOS to the editor that put Pyramid Head fight with James wasting bullets as u said “people make mistakes and do stupid things” *chef’s kiss*

I'm not the biggest fan of horror games (they're just not really for me) but I think the one that was the most memorable for me was Ib. The music is what really makes it scary. the jumpscares are earned, like the first time you see one of the mannequins move, it shows Ib stepping back slowly. Or the doll room, which scared the shit out of me when I entered it as Gary. Even the lady in blue in that small room, when you manage to get out the door, you think you're safe, and then she crashes through the window. the game never feels particularly frustrating (which i find makes games a lot less scary, fnaf being an example) and the story is interesting. rpg maker games really are a different kind of horror, huh

Maybe horror games are limited by the fact that the scares have to be safe enough for mature audiences? You could go over the top blood and gore and be put on a banned game list.

"Barry? Has anyone seen Barry?" Off in the distance: "WEEEEEESKERRRR"

I did a quick web page search of your video's transcript. Nothing was mentioned about KZfaq's algorithm that I could find. Whether people will even know a game exists will depend on whether KZfaqrs and Twitch streamers play it. I believe that themes of the "forbidden" - ranging from gore to edgier stuff like the darkest recesses of the human mind no one will discuss (even with their closest friends) - are what make horror "tick". Unfortunately, the kind of content that platforms like KZfaq will allow without getting demonetized seems to be getting narrower. Game developers know this and have to dumb down their content. In addition, horror requires some mystery. If someone is watching an entire walkthrough before purchasing a game (assuming he does), how is the viewer going to be shocked twice?

Although it's a movie not a game, Evil Dead gives a reason why ash stays in the cabin. After his first horible night he gets in his car and tries to GTFO of there, only to find the bridge over a gorge he needed to take has been destroyed by the malevolent forces he had unknowingly released. Good horror always does that, it's not that they don't try to run away, but that they can't.

MangaKamen's title: Horror games being less scary MangaKamen in the Thumbnail: *Face full of fear Me: This dude is giving me mixed signals here. (Lol, I know the real reason, but judging by Title Thumbnail alone.)

To be honest, I'm not intelligent when it comes to what makes horror good, but I do know what scares me, and usually needing to run and hide from something is one of them, hence why Amnesia and Soma are a couple of titles I like. But I always enjoy subtlety and atmosphere. I still remember playing Metroid Prime Hunters and actually being creeped out in one moment because I saw a bunch of enemies dead in a room (they were tougher ones too) and some eerie music started to play, so I wondered what I was up against. Putting some kind of sense of paranoia in the player really helps, but might be a detriment in later playthroughs, unless you just enjoyed the sensation that moment gave. I was also thinking horror can work as an interesting aesthetic or style. I do remember playing a game that was mainly not scary at all, but then I went through a level that actually was pretty creepy, although for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Could've just been a Mario titles with the ghost houses, but I swear I remember playing through some really creepy level in something that was otherwise not scary.

I think it’s just a matter of exposure. Games like Until Dawn freaked me out because of the realistic visuals and brutal death scenes. 8 years later it still has intense moments, but it doesn’t have the same impact because of how frequently I had exposed myself to it. Basically desensitized myself to most horror elements like Gore and brutal violence. Dead space remake kept me on edge, but I was never freaked out because I had played Dead Space ‘08 so frequently. Still a fantastic horror game I would recommend. Signalis had me spooked at certain points. It’s a unique Resident evil/Silent hill hybrid, and an exceptional horror game I recommend. Then theirs Callisto Protocol…. A mediocre button-masher with excessive jumpscares. The worst “horror” game I’ve played personally, and I don’t recommend it even at a bargain bin price. Some horror games still give me some good spooks, but not as frequently due to how often I’ve exposed myself to that genre. I’ll still keep playing them cause they offer a great thrill, even if I don’t get scared like I used too.