What are some of your favorite and least favorite horror game cliches? Be it settings, story and character tropes, or mechanics tell me what y'all find is great (and not so great).
Honestly, I'm tired of the run, and hide, it's been done to death. Would be great if it was spiced up a bit with interesting mechanics, or some limited options to defend, and attack. I love depressive, mental illness, phycological themes in horror games. I really appreciate good sound design too, something I think is really lacking in many horror games today. Needless to say, jump scares are annoying, it's cheap, lazy, and very predictable. If done sparingly, and at the right times, it can be effective, but for the most part, it's garbage game design. One last thing I absolutely love in horror games is, journals/memos, like the ones in the old school Silent Hill, and Resident Evil games. It really adds to the lore, and builds up the atmosphere of the game. It's cool to read a journal of someone's last moments, or how they've managed to escape the nightmare, but their friends/family, were not as fortunate. More of stuff like this I would love, reading this stuff is interesting, and fun. I know most people would disagree, and find it annoying to read so much, but I personally love it!
I'd say PuppetCombo has executed the run and hide thing much better than anyone especially with games such as Nun Massacre, Power Drill Massacre, NightRipper, and Stay Out Of The House. They are so refreshing and terrifying with their journals, items, and terrifying antagonists.
Would definitely recommend for you to check or watching a let's play on these game, you won't regret it! :)
One thing I really hate is an antagonist who does evil for no clear reason. It's so much more convincing when you know what the monsters' motivations are. Over-the-top villains spoil things for me too. Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil 4 were great games, but the baddies were such cliched freaks, I couldn't take them seriously.
Disembodied Imagination mentions journals- and I agree completely- because I still get chills from the "itchy, tasty" diary in Resident Evil 1. I also loved that game because it got the scares just right. When you see the zombie turn for the first time (I mean, this is a total rip off of Night of the Living Dead, but still...), when the dog hurtles out of the window at you (I used to love having friends play the game for the first time, and watch them jump- because I'm a horrible person!), and when the camera goes to the hunter's perspective when he's coming to get you- these were all great cinematic moments.
I also think horror's a strange genre. If you see a comedian, you don't fight him. He wants you to laugh, and you want to laugh too, but when someone plays a horror game, or watches a horror film, they resist, they're like "ok, show me what you've got- I'm not scared of you". So the horror writer always has to really think of things from the viewers' persepective and do something that they're not expecting to take them out of their comfort zone. And I should know- I've written a couple of horror games!
The one that's most annoying to me is those really realistic looking horror games with no substance and cheap jumpscares that don't startle you at all. The thing with these games is that they might make you jump the first few times but as you keep going you'll realize that there's no real danger or possibility of death it's just there for some spooks.
Jumpscares should be accompanied with danger, and a horror game shouldn't allow the player to feel safe for even a second. Or atleast that's what a good horror game is to me.
I totally agree! Strangely enough, the lo-fi ps1 aesthetic horror games that have been coming out are more unnerving than the gorgeous AAA ones. Not saying one is automatically better than the other, but I'd say in horror the uncanny is your friend.
I recall in playing Silent Hill 2 there were freaky little "jumpscares" or details that happen and are never explained. Instead of getting rid of the tension, it just made me more paranoid.