Imscared - A Pixelated Nightmare (Full Game) 

Hey Librarian, Ivan here! I really have a lot to say after seeing this video in it's entirety, but considering the barrier of not being good at expressing myself in english (and given the fact that it's 2:00AM here) I'll have to try my best... A twitter user sent me this video, talking about how a youtuber they really liked just played through my game: I don't see many playthrough in general and far less when they're playthrough of my games, because when I do that I get really anxious (and well, I don't like feeling that way). Your channel got my interest, though; I started watching all your VR exploration videos and found out that we both like some specific things, one of those being "how" we live a game (especially if it's a horror one). That's why I held this video on "Watch later" since its release. And here we are now, after two weeks I think? Don't know why, but I thought that tonight would be perfect for facing my fear of watching my games' playthrough... So I crossed my fingers, in hope you'd like what was in store. This is the first time I've watched an IMSCARED gameplay that made me -and my work- feel understood like this. I'm in that phase in life where you look back on the things you've made but you only see the ones you regret, only to find yourself in a love/hate relationship with the work you've done. But objective errors and problems aside, you played through it trusting the developer, playing with an almost child-like wonder, the same one I love to apply on every game I play but also the one that I'm not able to put on this game anymore. Tonight I had the time of my life with your video, indirectly reminding me of why I loved this game while making it. So yeah, sorry for the big dump of words but I don't have the gift of synthesis, especially if I'm trying to express gratitude in a foreign language. Tonight I managed to face some personal demons, even if just a bit... And I felt less lonely. Thanks a lot for playing IMSCARED, I mean it!

game: "i am behind you" librarian at the beginning: OH GOD game: "i am behind you" librarian after 3 hours: bet

This is how I interpret White Face and IMSCARED's general story. I think the intended story for White Face is a meta-narrative, in much the same way that the game's interactions with the player extend outside of the game itself. White Face is simply a rogue idea that came from Ivan Zanotti's head and gained sentience. An innocent idea that he once tried putting into a game he was working on; only the idea was implemented improperly, and it glitched out horrendously, severely corrupting the data around it. This glitched existence is the reason why White Face is surrounded by static noises, turns the originally sunny game world into a world of darkness, and crashes the game whenever it touches you. Now, being a failed idea that is detrimental to his work, White Face would have been discarded and forgotten forever by its creator; however, since it became aware of itself before he could remove it, it was able to further infect the game, and it published itself to the internet, trying to preserve its existence out of fear (we know that White Face is the publisher because one of White Face's alter egos is Ivan Zanotti himself, which makes sense considering White Face literally originated from his brain). After having done this, White Face exists as a lonely, living glitch that inhabits an empty, dark, and cold game...until the player downloads that game, and suddenly, it has a friend to try and play with. HER is just White Face taking on a new form, trying to keep the player interested by changing itself into something novel and different. White Face only changes itself after you've attempted to escape from it and end the game twice already, which tells it that it needs to do something different in order to keep you hooked for company; but it hates playing the part of HER. It hates having to change itself and puppeteer around a fake identity as part of a vain attempt to keep you intrigued with itself. It can tell that you're not enjoying playing with HER, it can tell that changing into something new for you was worthless...so it simply asks you to kill HER, putting its alter ego to rest and allowing it to return to normal. White Face wanting its alter ego (HER) to die is also why the player briefly *becomes* White Face when shooting HER. After that, the rogue idea-turned-data just starts doing everything it can to try and convince you to stop attempting to end its game (since then it will be lonely again), and to stop trying to get rid of it (since then it will be dead). At this point, White Face is no longer pretending to be anything, nor is it hiding that it's basically a virus that is scared of being deleted; it's just desperately attempting to bargain with you through the .txt files that it leaves and the messages it writes in-game. Until, eventually, White Face finally sees that you won't give up what you're doing until it's gone for good, and it simply resigns to its fate; showing you its heart and allowing you to destroy it once and for all. Ironically, without White Face, IMSCARED loses all of its substance. Sure, the game is sunny and happy again, all of the jumpscares are gone, and the player can go around free to do whatever they want; but what does that mean when there's nothing *to do* in it? White Face may have been a mistake, it may have been a glitch that "ruined" the game it was put into, but it's also the only thing that made that game *alive.* When it dies, so does the life of the game, because *it is literally the game's spirit.*

The ending felt like a breakup, emotions riding high and all. I mean, you left, and broke their heart. You kept coming back, like rubbing salt in the wound, and they screamed in anger. They give up, finally, and give you some way to say a final goodbye.

I really really really appreciate your openness and enthusiasm towards horror. Seeing you get excited and examine the way that horror is affecting you is something that I really love to see!

JUST noticed a really subtle but appreciated attention to detail: at 42:58, when the hand retreats behind the hall corner, a dramatic piano cue can be heard: Bbm 1st inversion. Back at the piano, blood has stained the keys, specifically marking Db, F, and Bb, which make up the same chord heard before! This plays really well into the game's already meta nature. Could it be that the music cue was actually diegetic? Yes, obviously, but with perfect dramatic timing, who could it have been? Really fun stuff!

Game so good it made The Librarian turn into a minecraft villager at 49:24

For how old this game is, it’s amazing how the creator did all the functions in this. The story and gameplay is top tier

I must add that whiteface literally did nothing to you but watch you and crash your game sometimes. No threats, no curses, apart for the very end when you are actively trying to kill it. I felt the panic and anger of this entity and really couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I saved it’s heart on a flash drive, and I believe it’s still around somewhere.

1:05:11 this is my first time hearing the librarian genuinely in panic, something about how he reacts here just feels off.

Now this is a retro throwback! So, so many indie pixaliated horror games have come out in the years since but none have matched up to this

When this game first came out, it didn't have the introductory messages, tutorial, or level select screen, and I think it was better for it. You had to realise, just by noticing, that the game had created a folder on the desktop. And you had to realise the crashes were fake. And you had no idea where you would be when you restarted the game. I think the game shows its hand a little too early with the addition of the intro screens. It was the surprise of that realisation that made imscared the phenomenon it was back then. This feels like a good, polished version to play if you were already familiar with the original, but these additions actually harm the original effect of the game IMO.

It is genuinely perplexing how every time you call out a dead-end-type scare, it doesn’t happen. You’re so adapted to horror you change the code of the game itself just by making predictions

I have had this game for years and it remains the scariest game I have ever played. With headphones on, there is something about the ambience that truly digs under your skin

BRO I just discovered your channel and you just post this, it's amazing i love your channel I watched 2 videos and I loved it, Keep it up man

I just found out that it's a good thing that you haven't made that many playthroughs of horror games that were popular during the Let's Play craze of mid 2010's RU-vid, so we can all relate to the nostalgia of watching it when we we were younger. That probably adds to the 'comfiness' of watching your vids, despite the material.

I remember playing this game in one play through on stream, back when I streamed. I played through it, all achievements, all that fun stuff. Went from an Upbeat playing bad horror games to something that just hurt. I believe it was 3-4 hours of pain.

I clicked so fast when I saw this in my recommended. It’s always a great day to watch a newly-uploaded blind playthrough of this game. Your videos never disappoint!

A few things you missed (S P O I L E R S) 1. After you Defeat (Her), you are supposed to continue moving backward to reveal that YOU are whiteface, and YOU were the real one doing wrong, shooting your wife and leaving her to die. 2. At the end, you could hang yourself, so she ISN'T lonely, she could have someone she trusted with her in the afterlife. 3. The reason (Her) was screaming at you and basically being mad, is because she was blaming you for her loneliness, when in reality, she was just really scared to die alone. Just like any human being. 4. Giving her the flower, Is, yes, resetting the game, but also giving her more time in purgatory.

Man I'm not even joking, I remember playing this game like... 8 or 9 years ago as a lonely teen with one of the first friends I ever made, on a shitty library computer. There was no introductory screen originally, so we discovered the file on the desktop (thanks to the library computer having like two programs on it) only when it first crashed. We were shook then, but later the first time the game "crashed" and then laughed while we were looking at the folder is a moment forever ingrained in my memory. Sadly, we only ever got the garage part and never ended up finishing it. Eventually drifted apart. Absolutely mind boggling that there was like another 3-4 hours of content we had no idea was even there. Let alone how deep it goes on the topic of loneliness. Thank you for making this video, what an incredible game.

there's something so utterly terrifying about hearing the librarian panic and scream in horror because in these horror videos and just these videos in general, they're there to be a comfort and explain what's happening.

Doki Doki also does stuff with the file changing idea I feel like it's a really cool way of creating some ARG or story. Just imagine, playing some horror game and you finish it multiple times, but in the files is some corrupted save that you never knew was there, and could port into the game to play. Once playing it after putting it into the game, whenever you have finally found it, it creates new folders in the game files and slowly fills them with lore elements over time that you play

I will randomly still think of this game. It leaves a lasting impression on you. I love games that can do that, for all the right reasons.

1:59:36 oh my god the absolute anguish this man went through. He sounded horrified

59:10 my favorite highlight. I laughed so hard at his instant call of what it was, and also the "mmmmhmm.." over and over 😂

FINALLY! I love this game and the creator is doing a remake of the game, I think.

These meta horror games are uniquely terrifying! I was inconsolable for hours after OneShot forced me to look in my Documents folder.

Small heads up: the firefox popup after the Tag game was the game trying to open an interesting video. Its a cute trick.

Lmao that cut to the White Chicks clip for "White Face" had me dying haha

Oh, i love these meta games. Amazing that you're playing this!

Awesome to see you play this game! I don’t know if I ever recommended this to you, but I would have if I had known you hadn’t played it! It seems right up your alley.

I'll be honest, I love this game. It's simple, but it gets the spooks across. And the whole files in a folder appearing, such a acool damn concept.

You really got me with that ending, was not expecting that.

IMSCARED is my favorite horror game of all time, so seeing The Librarian play this game (I'm late to the party) is truly wombo combo for me. Your commentary paired with this game works so well, your outward thinking really adding to the vibe.

I hate watching these in pure dark isolation. It just makes your heart stop when a jumpscare happens

God that white arm at 43:00 gives me friggin flashbacks of a real-life ghost I have in my backyard that extended a similar looking white tendril/arm and rolled it up in a series of pictures I took on my phone of the area it inhabits.

That first jumpscare after the heart is the FIRST time I have ever gotten spook’d by a JS while watching your vids. Cod that nearly made me jump out of my skin.

Imscared is such an amazing game. It was tricky and hard, but also really fun. My brother was watching me playing it an year ago and he like screamed really loud every minute 😂. (he was 4-5 years old) But when I finished it, he said he also really liked the game. This game was worth the 10.01 BGN.

I know this might be a long shot but if you could do this it would be amazing. Iv seen RU-vid’s new system for time stamps and I was thinking it would be cool if you time stamped jumpscares. I’m like you I get startled really easy to the point that even a steam pop up notification will sometimes make me jump. I really like the aesthetic of these games but the jumpscares are a huge out of for me. I love you channel and have been binging it all day. We need more RU-vid channels like yours. Shedding the light on these sort of luminal/obscure games i Likely wouldn’t come across in my life time is really something cool. Keep up the great work!

"the only answer was "nvm I fixed it" which it should be legal to kill these people" resonates with me on a whole another level ngl

I have never experienced the whole story, only ever the surface. Back when it was widely spread on youtube nearly a decade ago, it managed to stick with me the most. I have always got a sense of sincerity from it, like it wasn't made to be spooky youtube fodder or a lazy weekend project and having seen the full picture entrenches this even more. There is a lot of love and pain put into this that I only rarely see in any form of media. There is either a lot of the developer reflected in the game or a lot of myself, I can't really explain it. Also I am excited that I got to see your playthrough of it, a very calm and curious insight helps enormously when experiencing horror, when put next to the kinds of environments of screams and overreactions that were so common nearly a decade ago. I am far too paranoid to play horror by myself, old or new, so I rely a lot on other people's let's plays. I am glad I decided to really look into your channel a few days ago, after youtube had recommended you to me a few times over the years.

One game series you may enjoy is the Rusty Lake series, it's a point and click puzzle/horror type thing with heavy David Lynch inspiration and symbolism.

Absolutely fantastic, 10 out of 10, I sucked into this video when I was watching it. Once again you produce a work of art expressed through your thoughts and emotions. I was blown away by this game and what It did. Please if there's a 2nd part to this game please play it.

Oh amazing! My favourite horror youtuber playing one of the most effed up horror games out there!

Recently discovered your content and have been loving it to bits. Not sure you’ll read this, but I think a play through of Doki Doki literature club would be right on the money for this channel, that is if you haven’t already played it or been spoiled.

I'm the Jude who recommended this to him consistently and I'm so happy he's thrilled. We've been discussing our take on the story in discord dms and I wanna know what you guys think

1:19:56 23 hours of playtime? And when he launches the game it comes back to normal. That's kinda spooky

are we all gunna ignore the fact this dude played a clip from the white chicks movie 😭

Holy moly, that scare at the end got me, I fell asleep and once the noise played, I was immediately jarred awake. Well played, well played

its really interesting seeing this game after what must be like 10 years. it was definitely inspired by creepypasta as that was back when creepypasta was pretty niche. i remember browsing the old creepypasta wiki and scaring the shit out of myself but now many people younger than me with youtube channels have basically grown up with it being established. creates a very different perspective and i think its super interesting (for example the original ben drowned creepypasta was only posted 2 years prior)

This is my favorite horror game, I’m so glad you’re checking it out now

Whiteface is such a classic horror monsters in my eyes. The equivalent something like Jason Voorhes or pyramid head

This game is actually what pushed the creator of Spooky’s House of Jumpscares to create their game. You can tell the render distance, room designs, and the chase mechanics are very similar from both games.

This is genuinely the most worked up and scared I have ever seen this man

Still waiting for Eversion, since you like Meta games of sorts. There is also Inscription, Pony Island, and there was once a game called You find yourself in a room. Simulacra 1 and 2 both of those games, and Irisu Syndrome. I also would highly beg you to play Open the door to win.

57:20 why did i get so excited seeing madness project nexus in the very bottom corner hahaha, i'd sell my soul to see the librarian play it even though it has nothing to do with his channel whatsoever i just really like madness

What a wonderful video, it throws me back to 2012-2013 when I first watched it I think. Though you missed one little detail about the game. In the part where they give you the revolver, and you finally kill HER, you can keep moving, and discover that the one holding the gun is white face. Other than that, keep up the good content, would love to see more meta horror in the future.

you’re finally playing it! i’m so happy 😭

I've been waiting for this! I remember when you played Lost In Vivo and commented on the whiteface graffiti, made me hope that you would do this.

:0 !!! i used to be OBSESSED with this game!! very glad to see you play it!!!! :D

i was just alt tabbing away from something while i had it on in the background really quick and it was just at the first jumpscare at the monochrome ending section and even later at the very end of the video i was still shaking and my heart was racing it was horrifying

13:18 I literally had a heart attack

Been a fan of this game since the og gamejolt version. Very happy to see this pop up in my subs. I don't think it would be a particularly good video, but I feel that Strange Telephone is a good companion piece to this game.

Imscared is so legendary to me!! I've never seen an indie horror game with the same kind of pixel artstyle (there's been a LOT lol,) that had as an insane concept and execution as imscared did

I like that one of her pallet stuns is just her angrily barking

we sleeping good TONIGHT

29:48 It didn't make the sound louder, you somehow opened two drawers at once. Weird hitbox detection.

I fell asleep with youtube on at like 3 or 4 AM and had 2 weird ass dreams, woke up to this, figured out why they were weird dreams

That white chicks bit was funny asf I didn’t get it at first but then you said really seriously “did that work?” Lmfao

Nah, bro put up the fake "Up Next". That last jump got me.

Man you got me at the end when I thought It was over.

The interesting thing about watching this is now, is that I have forgotten a lot of what's actually in this game. So, I get to see what you experience and even portions of the game I wasn't even aware of that your commentary help educate me on. Thanks so much for playing this game... Even though some others think the original was better by lacking the menu screen and tutorial, I think it improves as much as it removes from the experience. All-in-all, it's aged incredibly well and it's a wine that I might get back to tasting when another 10 years pass.

The imscared story is really sad if you think about it, the fact that white face just wants a partener or a friend and just like he said, he just wants to play and is lonely is just very relatable and sad for me because I am lonely too. He hurt HER's feelings and he feels sorry and asks for forgiveness, that's probably why when you shoot HER 6 times, when you walk around you discover that you were actually playing as white face. The game switches characters. My theory is that: at the beginning when you give white face the red flower, you play as HER. And when you meet HER, you play as white face. And the fact that I've had a friend that looks like HER, is so sad to me... and the different places that you're going throughout the game, is literally my type of horror. THIS GAME is my favourite type of horror. The game sets you in a parking lot, a werid looking room, a tall hallway, a weird park like area with a void at the edge or even a factory. I've never seen a game like this. And the vibes all of these places give you... vibes of nostalgia or romantism than I can barely even describe... You discovered my type of horror ivan zanotti, great job ❤ Edit: i love this game so much!!

What a coincidence, my favorite RU-vidr playsy favorite game!

If you haven't, you should play OneShot sometime, it's not horror but it does a lot of the interacting with your computer stuff and needing to use files it puts on your PC to solve puzzles. Real good stuff.

I loved this video, and youve got yourself a new subscriber my man. Also, heairng the "Dormamu, Ive come to bargain." made my day.

2 hour long video... 2 hours worth of entertainment.

Your discovery of metahorror is a delight. There are many, many more.

" I love watching you" the demon could just subscribe to your channel instead of haunting your computer XD

love this game. Did you know the developer is making a remake that might come out this year?

I enjoyed watching this very much! Your reactions gave me a genuine laugh. I like hearing your analysis’ on how horror is made in video games like this, and bonus points! Ivan himself loved it! A game I’d love you to play is “The Witch’s House” by Fummy, it’s such an amazing frightening experience with some heavy endings. There’s two ways to play it, one is free to download, and another is the remastered MV version available for $15 on steam (which is the version I’d recommend). if there’s a tip jar you’d like me to throw in for you to play it, I have no problem doing it.

I think I heard a theory once that WhiteFace is intrested in you because of the flower.... like it/they thought you are proposing to them and then they kinda gave you their heart, like some twisted relationship proposal. You took it, so it sealed this weird marriage between you and WhiteFace. That's why they are so devastated at the end of the game. And hey- in the end you as the player enjoyed this relationship, even tho it was a horror game

"Don't tell me to laugh more, you laugh more >:( "

Hahaha you bastard, just finished the video 😁 I remember when this came out ages ago, always loved the look of imscared. I feel like I've seen more from this creator as well, but I can't remember after all this time.

Only a set few horror entities still scare me. This is one of them that stills scares me to this day.

Horror and Oates made a couple of excellent titles by the names of "No Delivery" and "Nobody's Home".

I didn’t expect to see him play this.

1:02:35 WE BOTH AUDIBLY SAID "OH MY GOD" AT THIS MOMENT. I didn't think that was what you did either because i forgot!

Jesus the jumpscare at the end of the video. I shited myself man!

As someone who's been more or less completely alone for most of my life, and who's still extremely lonely now, that ending was... hard to watch to say the least.

I woke up in the middle of the night of my TV playing this and I ended up watching him play this game, thats so cool how it creates files and shit when you play the game. I might have to get this off steam

This game is so scary but your voice managed to keep me from tabbing out (even when you yelled at the jumpscares)

After the first “end” of the game I thought the video will end but I checked the time and there’s like one and a half hours left LOL

Wow... just incredible. And you are so incredibly smart to figure out those puzzles! I'd never be able to finish a game like this. I did have to laugh those when in your ending monologue with less than 2 minutes to go I am hit with ads! LOL I love watching other people play horror games... but I just can't do it myself, I get too scared. Thanks for taking the 'frights' for me!!! The biggest takeaway for me in this game was that I WANTED you to give him the flower so he wouldn't be alone. As one who speaks from the depths of loneliness, my heart went out to white face... even though I KNEW he was the bad guy. I just hate to see loneliness. Again... wonderful job playing the game and your dialogue was both inciteful and fun to hear. Look forward to seeing more of your playthroughs.

"is this the little orphanage where Madeline lives?" Man you just unlocked a hidden memory

You know, seeing that tutorial at the beginning, "When in danger, press [Shift] to run." made me think of something that's probably too clever for my own good. Make a game that's off-putting, but has no fail states. No fail states, that is, until you start using the controls it said to only use when in danger. Every time you do that, and there's nothing around, it tells the game to _add_ danger, because you clearly think it's supposed to be there.

why do I always find your videos when its like 9.00 pm

1:41:27 Don't worry about the saviors, Negan was just making sure you had your sh*t'n pants on, lol.

Your Slendy wallpaper makes this even better

This is genuinely unnerving