So it’s Halloween, spooky times indeed! Everyone has played a game in their childhood which has them holed up in their bed fortress wishing somebody else would play the game for them. Maybe since you’ve grown up you haven’t had this experience again? Let’s change that, here are five modern games which will leave you a shivering wreck!
Slender: The Eight Pages
Slenderman: he is described as wearing a black suit strikingly similar to the visage of the notorious Men In Black, and as the name suggests, appears very thin and able to stretch his limbs and torso to inhuman lengths in order to induce fear and ensnare his prey. Once his arms are outstretched, his victims are put into something of a hypnotized state, where they are utterly helpless to stop themselves from walking into them.
TL;DR he’s a scary bastard.
Parsec Productions have made Slender: The Eight Pages in order to remind every single gamer that deep down they are a quivering coward. You have no weapons, no HUD and a flashlight running low on battery. You are tasked with collecting eight pages from the environment which were left by the previous victims. You can sprint, but your stamina doesn’t regenerate, so use it sparingly. The audio alone will besiege your colon with brown notes as the environment grows darker with the depleting flashlight.
Available for free download here.
SCP-087-B
So a spooky slender chap doesn’t scare you? Fine, try SCP-087-B and experience a true flight reflex as you descend the staircase. In SCP you are exploring an unlit staircase which descends with no end in sight. The staircase is the source of paranormal activity and no explorer has ever returned. The pleading of a crying child has been heard by some explorers.
So what the hell is it? You just go down a staircase over and over again right? Well yeah, but the atmosphere and beings that seem to haunt the staircase really set you on edge. Subtle changes also happen as you progress, keeping you on edge. You should give this game at least one go, it’s free and offers an experience unlike any other.
Available for free download here.
Lone Survivor
This game is awesome and has an astonish atmospheric feel for a 2D pixel game. Infact, I’m going to be brief and let the trailer do the talking for it. Lone Survivor is a game in which our protagonist must escape from a city plagued by some mysterious disease and bizarre creatures. Created by Jasper Byrne you start off in a dormitory of sorts, wondering what has become of your fellow occupants. Hallucinations, dreams and just weird shit follow him every step of the way. If you do anything, watch this trailer.
Available for ten bucks here.
Metro 2033
4A games was founded by former employees of GSCGW. For those of you in the know, you’ll realise what this means, any game made by 4A comes from the makers of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Metro 2033 takes away the open world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but replaces it with a fantastic story and atmosphere. Based on the book of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky, the player controls Artyom, a survivor in a world ravaged by nuclear war. Arytom must travel through the underground metro system of Russia and encounters many strange events.
The game has some very unique mechanics, such as a gas mask being required to survive the harsh atmosphere of the surface (whatever you do, don’t break it.) The creatures found in the game and the fantastic environment design give an experience which I can honestly say I have never encountered in a game before. Of the thousand or so games I’ve played, this would be one of the games I would put forward as a true piece of art. Terrifying art, but art nonetheless. Alexey Omelchuk’s soundtrack plays a major role in this.
Cheaper than train ticket (£5) here.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Once upon a time, there was a chap who worked for Frictional Games. This chap was happily enjoying his games design career and happened to be quite good at it. During one journey to the book store the chap picked up a collection of books written by another chap, H.P. Lovecraft. After reading these books our Frictional chap become demented and started to produce demonic, horrifying games torn right from our darkest nightmares.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent will make you shit yourself, this is guaranteed. What isn’t guaranteed is any reasonable amount of sleep afterwards. The game pours out a nonstop torrent of Lovecraftian nightmares in both the subtle and direct. A first-person adventure game with a creepy narrative that nails every single aspect of what a horror game should be. Those who feel brave, play. Like this guy, he’s really brave (WARNING: LOTS OF FUCKS ARE SAID HERE)
On sale (75% off!) for halloween here.
Mark Brassington 