You walk trough an empty town, everything is quiet, just the slow wind and lingering sounds in the distance, a subtle monotonous strange thumb creeps in the background, gets into the back of your head without you even realising, you feel alone, exposed, it's almost soothing in a way, if it wasn't for the uncertainty of the horror that lies ahead. You get startled by a loud sound coming from your rear view, objects hitting the ground, rocks, metal but also.. almost like a splat, a squishy sound of meat hitting the ground, you hear it slithering, approaching, fast, as you turn around, in an instant, like it was there all along; a shapeless figure, all rot and teeth, a shrieking sound coming out of it.. is it... words? you try to make sense of it.. a sentence.. J..Jon.. where's.. my.. lasagna???
Man, the way you described survival horror just... It's probably the best way it could ever be described. I've met plenty of people who are always on this "Horror with combat ain't scary cuz gun. lol" hate train. They always think that once you get a gun, it *has* to be some kind of masterclass in weapon manufacturing that has 5 billion bullets and kills everything in one hit, when in reality it never was the case.
Amazing video! I’ve always felt this but have never been able to articulate it. People ask me why I don’t like most “horror” movies and this is why. But then they scoff when I say that the first season of Stranger Things handles horror expertly because it thrives on the audience’s fear of the unknown.
There's no horror like Basements by Kitty Horrorshow. Just spends 30 minutes blaring you with loud noises and visual pain, it's spinechilling and I love it.
You mentioned that while playing some of these stressful games, your heart runs like it normally does whenever you sprint (something like that). I believe this might actually HARM (in the long-term) your heart (scientifically proven if I am not mistaken), because your body does not move (at all), but your heart RUNS like crazy. Kind of a similar situation to weight-lifting, but even WORSE, much worse.
Ooh I never even thought about that. That's a really interesting point. I definitely want to do some research into that. I know this to definitely be a problem for power lifters who don't get in enough active cardio. I have definitely seen reports of people with severe heart conditions having complications after horror games. I wonder if that has some relation to what you mentioned.
I kind of doubt this is true, and I can’t find any data to support your hypothesis. It’s not like this is a constant chronic issue. Occasionally taking advantage of your sympathetic nervous system for entertainment and mental engagement is probably a good thing unless you have significant health issues. In the same way that moderate weightlifting is absolutely good for you, moderate horror game playing is also probably more positive than negative. If you are playing eight hours a day and having very strong reactions, that’s not good, but even non scary games would be equally bad.
@@Tinyvalkyrie410 anything that extends the "normal" limits (according to some fellow psychologists of mine playing video games for 8 hours non-stop is not normal) could be harmful for our health. Yeap.
Good video! You had good editing and nice argumentation. I definitely liked and am commenting to help the algorithm. I need to say though, when you credited Resident Evil 2 Remake, you actually showed the abysmal 3 Remake. Or a modded 2R with a Jill skin. The pop up card for one of the Phobias also came up behind another card shortly before it went away. Still, great video!
Oh GOD, you're right. Thank you for pointing that out. Initially I had a clip there from RE2 Remake and replaced it without changing the card. Woops! And thanks for the positive feedback! I've been trying to up the editing of each of the video essays each time I post. Glad to see people are noticing to upward trajectory.
@@zeporion6091 Oh, thank you so much! I'm actually a bit surprised how much I've come to love Soma since I played it. I honestly didn't like Amnesia that much so when I started Soma, I remember not being super excited for it. But now that I've finished it and analyzed it a bit, it's become one of my favorites too.
@@zeporion6091 Agreed! The more I think about the implications of the ending specifically, I just... fall in love with it more. I know there's no room for a sequel, but I would love for there to be a game set in that universe again.
thank you for another insightful video with so many well put together examples ✨ you're right, jumpscares can get "old" and although i hate horror games, i can still appreciate those that are well done with the build-up/suspense/sound design
What a masterfully crafted video Otter, well thought out, informative and entertaining. A couple of my favourite horror games are Silent Hill and The Evil Within.
Wait how does this have only 1k views? I’ve watched the video without looking at the views and subscriptions and thought that you are a youtuber with AT LEAST 10k subscribers, based solely on the quality. You’ve just gained a new subscriber my friend
Jumpscares are so damn cheap, i will always love games that use psychology, world building, and the environment to scare the player instead of a cheap loud jumpscare. My favourite horror game is Darkwood although Ready or Not is up there, it isnt directly a horror game but it can absolutely for sure fall under the category of psychological/action horror
@@filmotter It's a slow paced tactical game. think the successor to swat 4 if you have played or know what that is. at its surface its not intended to be a horror game but a lot of the missions are horror in design and story, the environmental story telling is next level, things like drawings all over the walls in houses used to cook meth, notes scattered all over the place and fully readable. the attention to detail is amazing. some levels will give you very few details apart from the basics in briefing and as you go through you'll discover some dark secret or a secret underground organisation doing sketchy things. The dev's are amazing and stick to their vision of the game no matter what, they have kicked roughly 2 or more publishers over the publishers trying to tell them what is and isn't ok to put in a game. they aren't mainly in it for the money, they are just as passionate about the game and genre as much as their community is
Let's not forget about simple tension. There are situations in games where you get nervous because you *know* what's coming and you must prepare fast... or else.
You can tell that a lot of effort was put into making this video; so many horror games were featured! Also, I’m pleased to see throwbacks to Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead in there among the more modern titles. Jumpscares can definitely feel cheap (and, let’s be real, most are), but the anticipation of them is so unbearable for me at times that I have to watch playthroughs of scary games to prepare myself for them 😅 Picking a favourite horror game is difficult, but one of my top picks has to be Resident Evil 7. I love Marguerite Baker in an I-love-to-be-terrified-by-her kind of way. Plus the Baker house is stunning: perfect horror vibes!
ko-fi.com/filmotter If you want to support the RU-vid channel and help me afford to make these video essays EVEN BETTER, here's a link to my Ko-Fi. You can donate there OR go for a monthly membership for just $4 a month, which will let you see some behind the scenes content for these videos and help decide on topics in the future!
Wonderful video again! I always love your editing too! ❤️ I wish I could recommend any games but I'm pretty sure you've played all of my favourites already. ^^;
See I have the opposite problem with Jumpscares. Jumpscares suck for me because they CONTINUE to work on me. I'm Autistic and so have a Sensory Processing Disorder. The sudden jump in music volume, is usually accompanied by a change in visuals and added loud noises. It always startles me and causes me to react even if I see it coming. It makes horror games that do it a lot less enjoyable for me especially if it's a constant thing because it sends me into sensory overload. Especially since I will spend the entire lead up to the jumpscares on edge because I know it's going to fuck with me. So I can't play games like Phasmo or FNAF because even though I know it's coming the constant on edge feeling makes it so when the jumpscare DOES happen I will have sensory issues. More likely than not the anticipation of that feeling makes me not want to play. If I play Phasmo with some friends then I usually just stay in the van because I know that if a ghost grabs me it's going to fuck with me. Though the same thing can happen anytime there is the threat of something suddenly grabbing me. So I can't do games like Alien Isolation either, because the sound and visuals accompanied with the alien finding you would fuck with me. Side Note: Loved the bit about how phobias can make a game horror that isn't. I 100% agree with Subnautica. I don't even have that phobia I don't think... but playing Subnautica scares the fuck out of me. Another is Skyrim. I hate going in caves in Skyrim because the spiders scare the hell out of me.
Oh wow, this is actually an interesting point that I hadn't thought of! I'd be interested to see how others who are on the spectrum feel about this. You're right, though. It makes sense that the auditory and visual stimulation would work so well for people. I loved reading your perspective! And yes, I totally agree with the caves on Skyrim, which is why I didn't include thar footage. Spider scare the hell out of me! 😅
@@filmotter it probably depends on the specific person. i am autistic myself and jumpscares do make me jump very easily but they dont overwhelm me. but my auditory and visual sensory issues are also quite light so thats probably why.
Thank you so much for saying that! Honestly it takes me a ton of takes to get it to sound natural. I feel like my normal speaking voice is pretty monotone. I think you could definitely make it happen! What kind of video essays would you make?
@@filmotter I’d talk about issues in the gaming industry and point out the flaws of huge triple A companies, I had a script written and everything for one but I gave up on the video to make something else. I don’t know if I’d ever use it so it’s going to waste
I haven't really played any horror games partly because it's so hard to tell whether it's the type that I like or whether it's just gonna be jumpscares 😅 Although I saw The Forest in this video, it was interesting playing that with friends because it wasn't really very scary in that scenario, but then it turned out I had left the game without saving this one time so I didn't have equipment that others did and I had to go back while everyone else went forward. Suddenly going back through all the areas I'd already been was so much more stressful when I was alone 😰 I do really enjoy the concepts in games like Oxenfree where things are just *wrong* and it's super unsettling like that, but I feel like that's probably considered a thriller rather than horror.
Oh yeah I see what you're saying. I feel like The Forest is really unsettling and spooky when you play alone, but once you start playing with others, it almost cuts through the tension? I personally have never found multiplayer experiences to be all that scary because having other people there with you inherently makes you feel a little bit safer. Maybe not as scary of an experience but still really fun! Oxenfree sounds like something I would really be into and a lot of people have told me to try it. But from what you described, I'd say that could definitely fall into horror? Maybe? I'll have to see for myself I guess. 😅
I like jumpscares personally until it's accompanied with a 100db sound. It doesn't even scare me it just hurts tf out of my ears. It's so cheap and pathetic. Edit: I had a genuine panic attack while playing Subnautica. To the point I had to get off the game and do nothing for 30 mins to calm down. It's bad for us Thalassaphobia people
I'm a big fan of Alien: Isolation myself. I like the franchise and they do a good mix of survival with just enough strength to defend yourself a little while never feeling close to safe
Agreed! Admittedly, I haven't finished the game, but what I have played has a great balance of tense stealth with just enough leeway to let you get out of a sticky situation!
I'm actually about to start streaming my first play through of Outer Wilds next week. I don't know like... anything about it, but I'm really excited to check it out. 🥰
Hi! I discovered your page thru community night with FauxRetro! I really appreciate this video. I always disliked jump scares, and you explain it perfectly
half-life 2 from 2004 has a chapter called ravenholm - that's horror, everything is balanced out perfectly. when it's time for scares it literally does nothing but let map, light and ambience do their thing when it's time for action it's action and one transitions to another parfectly and then you have.... modern "games" that take more than inspiration from hollywood and it all sucks major ass
