It came from desert gave me nightmares as a kid, pretty much have avoided horror games since then.

Doom 3 is missing from the list. That was one scarry game. Always flew out of the seet when pinky appeared for first time.

Also Amnesia did scare me a lot even though graphically the monsters are not that horrible.

Usually games with good sound effects kill me. The same as with movies. I can watch scarry movies but if the sound is not just right I don't feel scared.

I know this is essentially a spotlight for GoG games, but you can't really talk about jumpscares without at least mentioning FNAF.

Fatal frame 1-3 were as close to perfection as I've seen when it comes to balancing fear and designing it with a good taste. Amnesia: a Machine for Pigs and The Cat Lady+Downfall are the best horror themed stories told in recent years in my opinion.

if a horror game/movie keeps jumpscares to a minimum, I'm happy. I think it is very hard to pull of a succesfull jumpscare and many times they tend to be overused.

I don't scare easily, mainly because I have exposed myself in too many horror games/films/books. That doesn't mean I'm fearless. The most intense videogame experience I ever had, was a couple of years ago when I played Silent Hill 2 for the first time. The most crushing feeling a medium has conveyed to me. I could not complete a gaming session that lasted more than 2 hours without one or two breaks. It messes with your mind and, personally, it played out like one of my worst nightmares. I knew I should get out of there but I just couldn't. Magnificent.

Penumbra (the first one) is another game that left it's mark on me. I played it for the first time when I was 13-14 years old and I abandoned it because I was terrified. Plus it left me with some kind of phobia for dogs. To be precise, stray dogs. Back then, there were stray dogs in the neighborhood and while they were not aggresive, they weren't the most friendly animals around. And I just kept on changing streets in order to avoid an encounter with them :P. For the record, I played the whole Penumbra trilogy many years later and loved it.

Of course there are other games that had a frightening impact on me. Scratches had a very eerie atmosphere. The Marine campaign on Alien vs Predator (the old one) was stressful. Amnesia was scary. Fear is an outstanding FPS and it was intense.

Also, I'd like to mention Condemned: Criminal Origins. This I played about a year ago. In my opinion, one of the best horror games ever created and very underrated. i just love this mix of crime and horror, the gameplay is well designed and it adds to the intensity factor and every chapter has something creepy to offer. Empty subway stations, sinister rural farmhouse, destroyed library. The only game that achieves that kind of atmosphere. "Urban horror" if you like it.

Surely I forget other games that left their mark on me and many other games that I enjoyed but didn't manage to terrify me. For example, besides Scratches, no horror adventure ever got into me. Sanitarium, Stasis, Barrow Hill, The Lost Crown, all of them very good games but I cannot immerse myself to the point that I will be scared.

Not only is Doom 3 missing from the list, it's also missing in GOG's library

@GOG *hint* *hint* *nudge* *nudge* *wink* *wink*

I have no idea why people play horror games.

I still have nightmares from Command and Conquer 4.

I get it, the area East of Europe, and most of East Europe has a fetish for horror games, and I...honestly don't understand why.

Of course, I was also born with, and raised with a strong separation of fantasy and reality; the best horror that I find is the horror found in the old X-COM games with the hidden movement phases, knowing that somewhere out there, was something waiting for you.

I prefer less monsters, and more feelings that something is off, and odd. Which is a problem for an interactive medium. because most people wouldn't be that keen on a horror themed Myst-Style game where there is no actual antagonist, dumbass jumpscares, or even a fragment of blood.

a really successful horror game for me are ones that put my character in places that I would dread to be in, hating every minute of exploration, breathing a sigh of relief for some slight reprieve or semblance of safety. filthy areas, rotting scores of bodies, dank and dark and you know it just smells like a carnal pit. games that did that well were the lower levels of silent hill and dead space. the highest honor i can give those types of games are not wanting to play them ever again as it was so disturbing. Jump scares also work but not if the whole game is centered around them. too many and it becomes cheap

I just finished Outlast 1 and Whistleblower today, while it might not be the scariest title in the club it sure did have me hooked. There's something about crazy people that freaks me out, I suppose this is why sanitarium also freaked me out...

Other greats are SShock2 (Shodan reveal anyone?) Amnesia (by extension penumbra)
And Stasis was amazing using mostly grissly imagery and scenes that can only be described as F*****-up!

I wish konami weren't buttheads about their old franchises and would rerelease Silent hill 2+3 on pc so i can see if their any good.

Actually the horror as literary experience started in Europe (both east and west) with folktales and gothic novels something you can't understand since that culture was developed through ages.

That is the reason why the horror as a way to explore the dark side of human nature is better perceived and fully enjoyed in many European countries.

I'm aware of the history, thank you. I meant it in a lighthearted jokingly way, seeing as it seemed for several weeks, every other release on GOG was another horror game.

Like there's enjoying horror, and then there's maybe having a relationship you should ask your doctor about with horror.

This. Kind of lame... I understand they're a store front and trying to sell their games, but if they advertise it as an article I think it's fair when people expect something a little more elaborate.

As for the evolution of Horror, it seems the modern approach to Horror is simply to increase the amount of gore, torture, jumpscares and random disgusting shit... Then add even more of it to the sequel(s). *coughoutlastcough*

For some creative, atmospheric and well-paced Horror in video games, check out Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Eternal Darkness or the remake of Resident Evil 1. Clive Barker's Undying is great too, especially during the first few hours. Almost forgot about SOMA, and Deadly Premonition is a wonderfully unique game too, even if it's not strictly a pure Horror game. Some other classics, such as the old Silent Hill games, have already been mentioned by others.

Indeed now you can say you were honestly...joking as you mentioned X-COM as a horror title when the game is a turn based strategy game.

Read for full context. :V