Horrorgames are wonderful and cater to audiences for every fear you can fathom. It’s hard for me to dislike a horror game, but it’s not hard for a horror game to mess something up at the same time.
Unfortunately, for some of these games, that small, simple mistake turns into an entire frustration that ends up ruining the entire flow of fear.
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Just because the golden age of horror games is over, doesn’t mean that other games can’t pay homage to it.
It’s not that these games are bad; in fact, quite the opposite. They’re loved, praised, andnearlyperfect in every way.
However, some issues end up being a small rock stuck in your shoe. you may’t stop feeling annoyed by it until it goes away.
10Unruly Camera
The Evil Within
Free cameras in video games (especially in the horror genre wherefixed camerasare in its roots) are a literal lifesaver – that is, if they work with you. Some cameras tend to have a mind of their own, just as it did forThe Evil Within.
Saying that the camera was unruly in The Evil Within is an understatement. At times, the camera would fight tooth and nail to stick itself into the player’s shoulder. It’s too close, which doesn’t work well for a game set mostly indoors.
Sure, there’s a claustrophobia in that, but if anything, it’s more of a nuisance, especially since there’s really no way to zoom out and tinker with the controls. At least itcaptures the classic vibesof being frustrated with the camera, but at what cost?
Simply put, it’s the camera’s world, and we’re all just struggling in it.
9Useless Skills
Call Of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu
When video games have skill trees, it’s expected that those skills are going to be worth their while, aiding the player with passive perks and abilities. However, the skills inCall of Cthulhuare straight up useless.
When you level into a skill, it just increases the chance of that roll succeeding, rather than actually giving you something to be good at. Given how the game saves as you make choices, good luck having positive outcomes.
It also really hinders the replayability of the game. Most players are good to bounce after one or two playthroughs, especially since there aren’t a lot of skill trees to begin with.
If anything, Skill Building just becomes a barely-used mechanic here since nothing is guaranteed anyway.
8Too Much Trial And Error
Siren(also known as Forbidden Siren) is one of those genuinely freaky horror games that feelsuncannily similar to the classic Silent Hill games. It also happens to be just as difficult.
With Siren, however, that difficulty is taken up a notch to where players are dying almost as often as they’re walking, which can lead to a frustrating experience. This is especially true if you don’t fully understand what’s going on.
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At times, the game is practically cruel with how it forces trial and error as a legitimate mechanic, with little guidance to give you any ideas. As much as I enjoyed the game, it definitely is understandable when others tell me they couldn’t finish it because of that very complaint.
Since we’re in an era ofhorror game remakes, let’s hope Siren gets that treatment with a little more help for players.
7Constant Patrolling & Frustrating Chase Sequences
Look, I loveOutlastand I think it’s genuinely terrifying – but there are moments where that fear is dissolved and replaced with annoyance. This is most especially prominent with the frequent chase sequences and constant enemy patrolling.
At first, this keeps you on your toes, and it actually works well in the game’s favour. Plus, the A.I. isn’t ridiculous, so it’s a decent threat.
After a while though, that changes to an eyeroll every time you realise you have to sprint to a locker. It’s often at the most inopportune times, too.
I had very similar qualmswith theResident Evil 2 Remakeand with Mr. X, but at least that game didn’t have as frustrating of chase sequences as Outlast could also have.
6Overly Obtuse Puzzles
Puzzles and horror games have always worked togetherlike bread and butter, butVisagetakes it a little too far when it comes to this mechanic.
The puzzles in Visage arevague, to put it lightly, and there’s no guidance on how you’re able to solve them. It wouldn’t be an issue if it was only a couple – but there areso manypuzzlesin Visage. It’s a connection of puzzles from start to finish.
It ends up taking away from the flow of the game a lot of the time, which is such a bummer because it actually really nails a chilling atmosphere. It’s moody and terrifying, but also hard.
This one is a bittoo muchof a brain-scratcher—it’s more of a brain-scrambler.
5Terrible A.I.
The Evil Within 2
Unfortunately for The Evil Within games, they’re always so close to perfection yet so far away with one small mistake. This carried over into the sequel, but not with the camera.
Instead,The Evil Within 2has really, really bad A.I. – seriously, you could be standing, not even crouched, in front of someone, and they won’t notice sometimes.
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You don’t even have to reach 100 Sneak to get thisSkyrim-level of NPC nonsense, but alas, it’s The Evil Within 2 experience. It’d be funny if it didn’t completely shatter any immersion or fear factor that the game has built so far.
Would it be wishful thinking to hope for a better A.I. update for the game? Then it genuinely would be flawless.
4Reliance On Jumpscares
There’s nothing wrong with having jumpscares in a horror game – however, many horror fans tend to agree when there’s too many of them, it just gets annoying. Plus, it makes the experience less scary if these moments become too saturated.
In the case ofMADiSON, it has such a strong start that you wouldn’t expect it to resort to becoming a jumpscare/haunted house simulator, but that’s unfortunately what happens by the latter half.
The atmosphere of the game was originally very strong, oppressive, and suffocating even. At the start, it manages to hook players with how well it can execute a jumpscare. However, somewhere along the line, developers decided it had a jumpscare quota, and they had to meet it entirely in the second half.
It ends up ruining the experience of really good horror potential, and was disappointing for mostly everyone.
3Too Slow Movement
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Listen, I understand that Ethan Winters is just youraverage guy, and he isn’t military trained inResident Evil 7. However, there is still no reason for him to be moving so damnslow.
If there’s one ridiculous pet peeve I have when it comes to horror games, it’s when a character moves at a snail’s pace, even when “sprinting.” Ethan in RE7 comes to mind – and that game had a lot of pressure for the franchise at the time.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still horrific, well-done, and I’m so thankful it broughtResident Evilback to its roots that I grew up on; that being said, it’s literally agonising to move.
Slow walkers are enraging in real life, and they’re just as enraging in the digital world as well, it seems.
2Overly Repetitive Gameplay
Alien: Isolation
The horror thatAlien: Isolationbrought was revolutionarily terrifying, especially because of the Xenomorph’s incredibly advanced A.I.
That being said, there’s not too much else when it comes to gameplay. You’re literally just running (and hiding) from the Xenomorph… for way too long. If the game was shorter, maybearound 10 hours maximum, it would justify the gameplay and be a perfect horror game.
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For those looking for a quick (but not cheap) scare.
But the gameplay loop is… a genuine loop. Sure, the A.I. learns, and it’s engaging, but after a while, it’s enough to where after a few hours of it, you get the point of the whole thing.
Do you want to just stick with the same gameplay for about 20 hours (at minimum) of running, hiding, and dying? After a while, it’s not scary, it’s exhausting.
1Too Dark To See
Silent Hill 2 Remake
Silent Hill 2
I absolutely love theSilent Hill 2 Remake(I gave it a 9/10for goodness sake), as it’s anabsolutely terrifying heartache from start to finish. That is, so long as you turned up the brightness before you began the game.
Many times, the base game at recommended settings is too dark to see, especially in areas like the Labyrinth andToluca Prison. Sure, there’s an element of fear in that, but it ends up becoming outright frustrating – especially since the flashlight is already dim.
To really paint the picture, in my first playthrough (on the recommended settings, to play as the developers intended), I actually ended up missing the entire Armoury (and therefore, the map for Toluca Prison) because of how dark it was. I didn’t access it until after I had already completed the Serpent Section.
And the thing is, you may’t crank your brightness up too high, or else it takes away from the freakiest parts of the game altogether. It’s a balance that’s hard to hit, so there’s likely to be pockets of deep darkness your flashlight can’t penetrate. As much as I absolutely love this game, this just gets annoying.
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