Scarefully Constructed: How Horror Games Continue To Innovate and Scare
And three horror games that represent how innovative horror gaming can be
Horror fiction shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion. — Clive Barker
Although many love the genre of horror, as we can see with the cinematic rise of the ‘Conjurverse’, the medium for horror video games is still a landscape that has yet to be fully discovered. In the wake of walking simulators and first-person zombie shooters, many think the horror genre of gaming struggles to be genuinely scary without relying on jump-scares. However, I think the rise of innovation within recent games show a clear indication that horror gaming can truly scare its audience.
I truly believe that a well-constructed horror game is far scarier and more lasting than a great horror film. Through the direct immersion, as it is the player against the horror, you become the main character. When all sound design, visual design, narrative, and gameplay are combined, a developer can truly create a masterpiece. I still remember checking around my house before I slept after completing Resident Evil 2, as the subtle sound design genuinely had me paranoid.
It’s this common misconception that horror is an oversaturated genre of gaming that inspired me to write this article. Not as a way to complain, but as a means to express the fantastic capability that horror gaming has demonstrated before. I also want to discuss three horror games that are both innovative and completely separate from the bog-standard of horror games.
IMSCARED
IMSCARED is a fantastic horror game that unfortunately has slipped under the radar. Utilising a pixelated style to its advantage, IMSCARED carefully constructs an intricate story with unique elements to the Gameplay that specifically intends to make the player feel uneasy and unsafe. Despite being only 59MB, the way this game is able to pack so much in such a miniature package is astonishing.
IMSCARED is so different from any horror game that I have ever played before. Despite initially portraying itself as a simple first-person walking simulator, soon the game actually encourages the player to access their personal files, as the game communicates through them. This enables a new form of intractability and immersion, as the wall between game and reality is blurred. There is a unique sense of fear that comes from seeing the file that the game saves to your computer, which gradually changes, leaving the player to wonder:
“How is this possible?”
The story of IMSCARED is complicated, with multiple endings and multiple environments that, once more, amaze me to say it's only 59MB. While the player is completely helpless and at the mercy of the face that follows you around, it is up to you to solve the puzzle that is provided. As most of the puzzles involve you walking around an area looking for the item that requires you to progress, the beauty of IMSCARED is that the environment will gradually change. Many players may not even notice it at first, but subtle changes lend themselves to the fear-inducing atmosphere.
Although fairly short, lasting only around 20 or so minutes, IMSCARED will leave the player thinking about how great of a game it was… right after checking every door in the house. This game messes with your mind and computer (eg. due to the fake crashes) and also utilises every aspect of what it is to be a game and makes a fantastic horror game.
Phasmophobia
Despite its growing popularity, Phasmophobia is the latest in horror game innovation. Carefully constructing the maps, AI, and multiplayer elements, Phasmophobia has demonstrated the gap in the market for horror games, as many players’ first thought is:
“How has no one else has done this before?”
While being a fantastic game on its own, it’s clear to see that Phasmophobia combines everything players have wanted in a horror game and it appears as the developers intend to keep delivering. Phasmophobia’s latest update has added several new innovations that show the care the small development team at Kinetic Games has put into this game and their desire to keep this game from dying.
Phasmophobia is a first-person ghost-hunting experience that revolves around you and your team of ghost hunters (up to 4 players), attempting to discover the type of ghost that haunts a property, ranging from a street-house all the way to a prison. Although a simple concept, the game builds off of this simplicity, encouraging the player to use a wide variety of equipment to assist them in discovering what type of ghost they are hunting. For example, only certain ghosts will react to you attempting to communicate with them through the Spirit Box.
Despite Phasmophobia’s innovative setting, equipment to hand, and ghost types, it excels with intractability, making the player feel more immersed than any other game they will have played. The ghost will respond to the player actually speaking to them and will use the player’s in-game mic to find them or respond. The programming of the AI ghosts turns this game from good to great. It’s a whole new level of immersion when you experience the ghost responding to you speaking to your friends.
Phasmophobia not only innovates an aspect of gameplay but also turns the notion that all good horror games must be single players on its head. This game is better with more players. When you all work in unison, you truly feel like you’re a ghost hunter, but beware that the more of you that there are, the more activity you’re going to experience from the ghost as there will be more communication and footfall.
One thing is clear from Phasmophobia: it is here to stay. It has given the players a taste of its innovation, and we are all hungry for more.
Pony Island
Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of Pony Island until recently, as it is over seven years old now. Despite its name, Pony Island is definitely a horror game. Pony Island is a master of deception, tricking the player into expecting a cutesy pony game, and that the player will be playing a “game”. Although hard to classify Pony Island as a conventional game, it doesn’t mean it isn’t as fun, nor unworthy of being considered a video game.
It’s just that it’s a game that doesn’t want you to play it. Let me explain.
Pony Island is a meta-style game, where it is a game within a game. Although seemingly just a point-and-click style adventure game, it is more about the navigation of the User Interface. The player has to navigate the internal programming of Pony Island through traversing and completing a variety of mini-game presented coding puzzles with the occasional element of what “Pony Island” really is.
The actual game of Pony Island is an endless runner game where you use a laser to score points and shoot mobs as you jump over obstacles. But the bulk of the gameplay is the aforementioned puzzles within the “coding” of the game. The player is taken along for a story where you have to battle with this haunted arcade machine, as you navigate the “code” and solve the puzzles presented for you.
This may very well be one of the most unique games I’ve ever played, as it almost seems to be an “anti-game” wherein there is no actual gameplay, but it is incredibly engaging. As you attempt to bypass corrupt code, follow instructions sent from a chat room, or by “modifying” the game in order to solve a puzzle with the goal to purify the machine, the game keeps the player compelled far after its roughly two-hour length of gameplay.
IMSCARED, Phasmophobia, and Pony Island all represent the extent to how horror media can and has evolved. The fourth wall is merely a barrier ready to be broken down in IMSCARED. Immersion is thrust upon the player in Phasmophobia while demonstrating how great multi-player horror games can be. Pony Island demonstrates how deceiving the player with expectations can lead to an incredible sense of fear.
These games for me are icons in how far the medium of gaming can reach, and I hope they are all recognised for their innovation as they are all available for purchase on Steam.
