Halloween Gaming 2016 Edition

[Wolf Kanno]

Okay, so as per my new tradition, I tend to play horror games in October as part of my Halloween festivities ever since I played Silent Hill 2 a few years ago. I kind of screwed up last year and didn't get to finish my game (SH3) so I may end up starting fresh. So my question to you fine people is which of my three horror games should I play? I am close to finishing up Digital Devil Saga, so my consoles will be freed up.

Here are the choices:

Silent Hill 3 - Started last year but got bumped by my obsession with MGSV. I don't think I even got out of the mall.

Silent Hill 4 - Maybe I should skip the third installment and go to this last great gem by Team Silent.

Fatal Frame - another Halloween installment I didn't actually finish but I got farther in this one. Though I will likely start over if I do play it.

Amnesia The Dark Descent - Maybe crack open that backlog on Steam and check out this little gem. Maybe even finish Half-Life while I'm at it.

Maybe another suggestion, if you have any?

[Karifean]

To represent my favorite genre, Higurashi Ch.1 Onikakushi.

[Slothy]

Silent Hill 3 is must play horror. 4 is worth playing as well since it's quite different but I'd go with 3 first. It's hands down my favourite in the series.

[Psychotic]

I've only played Amnesia and SH3 of those choices. SH3 is a decent enough game although I preferred its two predecessors to it. I found Amnesia to be a lot scarier although some of the pacing is a little eh so you spend great deals of time doing bugger all.

[Formalhaut]

I don't do horror, so I'd say all of them are scary enough. Amnesia is famous for the sheer terror it invokes. Silent Hill 3 veers towards 'creepy' and also an emphasis on puzzles if you like that in a horror game. I hear Fatal Frame is pretty good with a focus on 'when rituals goes wrong' (which is the series tagline, basically).

Beyond that? Really not my cup of tea, so I can't give any specific details. Still, any of them is probably good enough!

[Wolf Kanno]

although some of the pacing is a little eh so you spend great deals of time doing bugger all.

I feel that describes most of the genre unless it's on the more action side of things.

I'm probably not going to bother with SH4 just yet, my OCD requires me to play the entries in order. Right now, I'm leaning towards SH3 and Amnesia.

Though if people could give me good reason to check something else out, I can be easily swayed.

[Fynn]

Though I like SH4 much better, I think you should go with 3 first. Still a very good game that really ties in nicely with the first game. Also, it has probably the most fun protagonist (though I still find Henry incredibly adorable) and she has a nice relationship with all the characters she interacts with.

[Vermachtnis]

Fatal Frame is legitimately scary.

[Bubba]

It's got to be Ghosts 'n' Goblins on the NES!

[Wolf Kanno]

It's got to be Ghosts 'n' Goblins on the NES!

If I could get my copy to run, then perhaps.

[Vyk]

Fatal Frame probably gets the least love and exposure out of those. So that'd be my pick out of that list

If you want suggestions, some of my favorite in the genre:

Alien: Isolation (by a lot)
Dead Space
Alan Wake
Until Dawn
Obscure (similar to Until Dawn but way more campy)
Corpse Party

Some that I am seriously cosidering getting into that are not even new or anything, and are reasonably cheap (though also probably super short)

Claire - Extended Cut
Lone Survivor - Director's Cut
Home - A Unique Horror Adventure

So I guess if anyone else is in the Halloween mood, there's a few suggestions :3 I know I'm going to be playing through a few here and there throughout the season

[Karifean]

On second thought, you should play an Undertale Genocide run. Now that's a brand of terror you don't see often in games.

[Fynn]

NEVER make your first run of Undertale a Genocide run, if you ask me.

[Pike]

Undertale is a good Halloween game as is, like even a pacifist run. All those skeletons. And monsters. And ghosts. ~spookwave~

I don't do horror games myself and I usually play Costume Quest for Halloween. Which is a hilarious game, by the way.

[Karifean]

NEVER make your first run of Undertale a Genocide run, if you ask me.

You heard the man. Better play Undertale normally in preparation. :up:

[Night Fury]

Is Undertale really good? I've heard fab things and I might treat myself to it. I'm after a game that's a bit different!

[Fynn]

Well, it was a game that I didn't really want to get into because of the annoying fanbase.

But then I played it and my heart got torn to shreds. I felt things I never thought I could feel anymore.

So yeah, it's pretty okay, I guess.

[Night Fury]

Yeah I've heard it really induces feelings! and it's only 6.99 that's a bargain! I'll get this tomorrow :)

[Fynn]

You know, the more I think about it, the more I think Undertale is actually a very fitting Halloween game. Aside from the dorky spooky stuff Pike mentioned, Undertale does have its chilling moments. Too bad I already voted in that poll, because I would totally switch my vote to that now.

[Psychotic]

Is Undertale really good? I've heard fab things and I might treat myself to it. I'm after a game that's a bit different!It's a masterpiece. The soundtrack is fucking A too.

[Fynn]

Oh GOD the soundtrack, yaaas....

[Psychotic]

although some of the pacing is a little eh so you spend great deals of time doing bugger all.

I feel that describes most of the genre unless it's on the more action side of things. I dunno, I thought Outlast was paced really well!

[Wolf Kanno]

I do actually own Undertale, it's on my Steam backlog with Amnesia, Papers Please and Braid among other things.

I also realized the other night that I had a copy of Parasite Eve, another Square classic I never played that has a horror element to it that I probably should have put on this list as well.

[Fynn]

Parasite Eve is okay.

[Slothy]

Parasite Eve is okay.

Fuck you it's amazing!

PS: Love you Fynn.

[Fynn]

I bet you say that to all the pretty girls

[Slothy]

:smug:

[Vermachtnis]

Can I change my vote to Parasite Eve. Loved that game.

[Wolf Kanno]

I should hopefully be finishing up DDS tonight, so I'll most likely be starting my Halloween gaming-a-thon tomorrow or Wednesday. Since so many entries have been mentioned and my poll feels a bit meaningless, just post in the thread the title you think I should play.

[Vyk]

Parasite Eve was really good for its time, but I don't think it held up well with so many other games doing similar things better in most respects, doesn't help that it's really slow. I tried getting into it like a year ago and I loved it when it first came out, but could not do it. But I have a hard time getting myself into a 1997 mindset. Wolf is probably much more capable of getting into that headspace and enjoying a classic as a classic

[Fynn]

Undertale has the advantage of being really short compared to many games listed, like Silent Hill (the game time counter counts minutes, just to give you a sense of how long you're expected to beat it in), so you could technically get a couple of games in.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm going to say right now that Undertale is probably a non-starter for me for this event. I know very little about it, and I certainly plan to play it in the future, but I'm really looking for something that will be more "fun playing in the dark" if you know what I mean. I want to actually be scared, and I just don't really believe Undertale is going to be able to scratch that itch for me. I'm hoping to recreate my experience going through Silent Hill 2, where my mind actually started to play tricks on me cause the game got into my head.

[Fynn]

I don't really think many games can really recreate that Silent Hill 2 feel, though. It's kind of that incredibly subtle type of horror that just fills you slowly but thoroughly with a feeling of existential dread and hopelessness and ends with an incredibly poignant type of catharsis. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of games that are dark, have jump scares and play tricks on you, but I don't think there's a single game that can replicate that type of horror. Heck, even the other Silent Hills can't scratch that. SH3 is more overtly scary, but underneath it's just kind of a coming of age story, and while Silent Hill 4 is as chilling and creepy as any other entry in the series, at its core it's just a guy dealing with a cripling rat infestation that turns out to actually be caused by a murder mystery.

I don't think I've actually been freaked out by a game since Silent Hill 1 and 2, really. Heck, Parasite Eve didn't do anything for me, honestly. Many games may have an unsettling atmosphere or enemies giving you a hear attack, but if you're looking for something to recreate a feeling you had, especially if the game you had it with is Silent Hill 2, it's probably not gonna happen. What "helps" with this is that the more you expose yourself to horror, the more desensitized to it you are, which really can't be helped.

That said, from the more horror-themed games, I say go with Silent Hill. Either one is fine. They're both really good games in their own right, though SH4 has a very special place in my heart for probably being the most fun I've ever had with a horror game. It gets a bad rao which is an incredible shame because I think it's an amazing game. I also love how connected to Silent Hill 2 it is.

SH4 might actually the better choice for you, now that I think about it. As one Internet reviewer once said, it's much like SH2 in that it's more gray than dark, unlike SH1 and 3. As I said, SH3 goes the more overt route to give you scares (which is a bit less effective, in my opinion), while SH4 uses the little things to keep you on edge.

[Psychotic]

Yeah, Undertale isn't a horror game. A spooky game with skeletons? Aw yeah.

But yeah have a look at Outlast on Steam too.

[Vyk]

Alien Isolation is tense and terrifying, but not on a psychological level. Had me afraid to go downstairs at night in the dark though. And I love that feeling

[Wolf Kanno]

Alien Isolation is tense and terrifying, but not on a psychological level. Had me afraid to go downstairs at night in the dark though. And I love that feeling

Yeah, I've been meaning to pick it up. I love Alien.

Sorry I have not been talking about this much. I made the terrible mistake of finally picking up FF TheatRythm: Curtain Call, and it's become a mini obsession. I've also just had more times for handhelds than console/PC at the moment.

[Vyk]

The PSP remake of Corpse Party is available digitally on Vita and is still a really good psychological thriller :) If you need to mix handheld and horror. There's also a way to get the first and second games together at a discount buying it digitally through Amazon. Or at least there used to be. That's how I own them

But I mean, don't fight your gaming desires and feel obligated to do anything in particular. If you just want to play Theatrythm all the time, then just have at it. No stressing over some obligation to play certain games based on the time of year

[Wolf Kanno]

I chose to ignore the Vita this console cycle. I got more use out of my PSP as a portable PS1 than I did as a next-gen platform and I could already see Vita was probably going to end up being a redo. So sadly, I can't pick up Corpse Party for handheld.

Oh I still want to play my spooky games, my issues at the moment is that I'll play Curtain Call in anticipation of getting home to console game and next thing I know, I spent the last four hours trying to get perfect SSS ranks on all difficulties for my favorite songs, and I need to go to bed. The other issue I'm having is the game is getting me all nostalgic and wanting to play through various games in the FF series as well and that desire will certainly eat into my console time.

I just need to sit down and start, and I'll be fine with starting my Halloween gaming. I'm just having gaming cravings if you know what I mean.

[Depression Moon]

Oh right, Halloween. I have Dead Space now so I think I'll start a playthrough of that around the holiday.

[Formalhaut]

If I remember correctly there's a game called 'Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem' which, you guessed it, has a sanity mechanic. Basically, the more stressed your character gets, they start to hallucinate, which can include the character, but also the screen as well, like it going black.

I don't know that much about it, but it has a weird-ass plot apparently. And monsters. Have a look I guess.

[Fynn]

Having seen an LP of Corpse Party... Yeah, I don't get the hype. It's as subtle as a brick, gratuitous as all hell, and in general just seems unpleasant with all the wrong ways. To me, of course, since horror is subjective. I just don't think extreme gore and panty shots are a tasteful combination.

[Wolf Kanno]

If I remember correctly there's a game called 'Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem' which, you guessed it, has a sanity mechanic. Basically, the more stressed your character gets, they start to hallucinate, which can include the character, but also the screen as well, like it going black.

I don't know that much about it, but it has a weird-ass plot apparently. And monsters. Have a look I guess.

I always wanted to play ED, especially since its based on Lovecraft and I love that stuff. I like how the game's sanity meter would fuck with you the player, like pretending to crash or pretending it erased your save data. Some real Hideo Kojima type stuff.

[Vyk]

Still one of my favorite Game Cube experiences. I should try to get it running again. Last time I tried Eternal Darkness, it didn't get very far before completely taking a crap in the opening cut scene. Couldn't tell if it was my Game Cube or the game disc. I can't imagine why it would be the disc unless it underwent data bleed or something, because I take good care of my games. But my Game Cube plays everything else as far as I remember, so eh..

It is a good one though. And if I remember correctly, there's like four endings to it. One play through was enough for me though. I'm not the completionist type. The interesting thing other than the sanity mechanic is that it takes place over like 8 different stories with their own protagonists, and the timelines aren't chronological and it takes a while to piece the narrative together, so there's a mystery aspect to piece together as well which was interesting and fairly well done. Not a lot of games pull off unconventional narrative like that

[Galuf]

Play project zero. Sorry I mean fatal frame. Because it is the scariest game ive ever not played but saw my sister play.


eternal darkness did have 1 creepy monster in it though that got me as a kid.