What’s The Scariest Game Of All Time? Here’s A (Not So) Scientific Analysis…

From dusk until dawn last night, horror enthusiast Mark Butler played through some of the most terrifying games ever made in a bid to discover the true champion of fear. Following a full-throttle evening of shocks, shudders and even a full-blown psychological breakdown, he reports on the nail-biting experience, and eventual winner…

[Sharingan_no_Kakashi]

Gonna say Fatal Frame. I heard there were plenty of people having nervous break downs on that game as well and it is in fact the only game that has ever made me scream. *ahem* well more like a ... uh.... Oh what the heck I threw the controller and hid under my pillow. THERE... YA HAPPY??!!!

[NukaCola]

I think Silent Hill 2 is horrifying because it's so disturbing. The atmosphere is creepy and all the monsters are effed up. I mean legs sewn onto legs at the hips all bloody walking at you is just weird and demented. I love it.

[JellyJelly]

I've played both of those great games (all of the Fatal Frame and SH games for PS2 in fact) and I loved them, but they weren't poop-my-pants scary imo.

It's very subjective what scares you but Dead Space 1&2 are some of the scariest games I've played. I've heard that Amnesia: Dark Descent is supposed to be something else though.

I'd probably include Call of Cthulhu: Dark corners of the Earth as well. That game had some very scary moments.

[buddymagoo]

Siren Blood Curse freaked me out to the point where I couldn't play it. I still haven't got past the episode in the hospital.

[Brosy]

He didn't play Condemned or Condemned 2, so this list is woefully incomplete.

[DigitalAnalog]

Really, DS1 & 2 are far from the "scariest" games available. And this is coming from a guy who has his surround sound setup playing in the most extreme mode who plays horror games AT NIGHT. I can tell you I had more scary moments in Uncharted: DF than there is in DS. But that aside, Amnesia does live up to it's expectations especially with a headphones on. I heard COC was also good so I might check it out sometime.

[Tokyo_reject]

The ONLY other game (other then Amnesia) that I have had to A. Turn on the lights....
then B. turn the game off and take a half an hour break just to give my heart a rest is in fact Fatal Frame.

So yes, alittle disappointed that this wasnt mentioned.
But i have to agree with the winner lol.

[metsgaming]

i dont expect anyone to agree with me, i dont play horror games but the most scary/freaky game i can think of playing was actually Titanic adventure out of time. The game is soooo creepy, you never want to travel deep into the ship the farther you go down the more freaky it gets. You get a sense of dread knowing you have to go down there, you even think about muting the game.

[SPAM-FRITTER-123]

Amnesia: Dark Descent

FACT.

[Muffins1223]

I may not get to scared on video games but that picture freaks me the fck out

[TrendyGamers]

Dead Space is definitely up there.

[Tokyo_reject]

Dead Space one yes....but the fact that he put 2 up there is laughable

[deep_fried_bum_cake]

Why? In a lot of ways 2 is a creepier game than 1.

[scrambles]

Dead Space can startle me but it cannot scare me. Many of the silent hills and other games use psychological horror which is FAAAAR superior than a monster popping out of the same kind of vent for 450th time that day. Dead Space did have atmosphere down thats for sure.

[FlashBack]

AH, what? I played through amnesia, and now playing DS2 is a walk in through the park

[Genghis]

These articles are usually the same. So for a change of pace, everyone check out SCP-087

It's a freeware game, but it's pretty damn scary. The game is just an FPS of you descending a staircase. AND IT'S EERIE AS HECK

here's a playthough: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Genghis]

SCP Containment Breach is their next game. It has a brilliant blink mechanic where the meter on the bottom shows how long you can keep your eyes open w/out blinking. The the screen flashes black for a split second when you blink, enabling all sorts of hair raising jump scares. I hope mainstream horror games catch on to this one... it's definitely a next jump in horror gaming.

[Pintheshadows]

That is a really good idea.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

Actually, that mechanic is from Alone In The Dark. :)

[Winkle92]

Does this game have anything to do with the SCP series? I assume it does, and thats awesome. I have spend so many hours reading these things. Awesome entertainment.
http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com...
SCP-087 really seems scary as hell. Good premise for a game.

[Dead_Cell]

It's in the game too, somewhere. I saw some guy trying to get away from it. the second he moves the screen off it. BAM. S'there in your face.

[vikingland1]

No fatal frame? Not even mentioned in their games they didn't mention section.

[shodan74]

Hi. Article author here. Yes - you're damn right about Fatal Frame! Didn't have it to hand last night, annoyingly, but it is an absolute gem and we'll certainly be sure to bring it to the party next time if we do a 'Round Two'.

[vikingland1]

Too bad you didn't have it on hand. When you do, don't forget surround sound up lights off and an extra pair of underwear.

[shodan74]

Thanks for the advice! ;)

[aDDicteD]

they should have at least mention fatal frame

[KeiserSosay4788]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent by a longshot! There is no other game like it.

[Series_IIa]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent with a quality headset is pretty intense at times... Not scary as such but since you have nothing to help you it gets really tense.

[gemc666]

the house 2 is a point and click flash game that made me change my pants twice....in a row....in the same hour.....

someone playing some levels:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Pintheshadows]

I'm gonna play that later, when it's dark.

[Summons75]

Amnesia, Fatal Frame 2 and Rule of Rose have to take the cake for things that actually put me on edge...and that is hard to do.

[spunnups]

resident evil 1 and the suffering,

[AusRogo]

Cold Fear was pretty scary, not the scariest but it scared the shit outta me on some bits. But Resident Evil.2 I am still scared of to this day

[TheEatingOrange]

LOL at the author saying "vatra you should learn".. The new silent hill was freaking scary and although silent hill 2 was obviously better, it's pretty damn close

[oguzsasi]

Was a nightmare!

[xAlmostPro]

People shouting for fatal frame, i agree it should be up there but it's not that bad personally.

Although i did find FEAR the original one, scary in a sort of 'jumpy' way, thee others were terrible though.

Amnesia gives me a good scare too, also i'm with the guy that mentioned SCP-087. That game makes me scared, it doesn't just make me jump

[soundslike]

I can't bring myself to play Lone Survivor anymore. Even with 2D its terrifying me.

[entitygm]

Good list, tho fatal frame and system shock 2 (spiders are EVIL) should be on there. I like that he acknowledged RE3: Nemesis.
It wasn't scary in the traditional sense, but the entire game was spent in absolute terror, wondering when Nemesis was going to appear. Running through that taking him down with a pistol every time was the most adrenaline-fueled gaming I've ever experienced.

[OcelotRigz]

Im playing "Demons Souls" now and man that can get pretty intense, especially with my headset on. One part for example, you're walking through a dark tunnel and you can only see a foot or so ahead of yourself, there could be something around any corner, then suddenly you hear feet shuffling and you just freeze, thinking which direction did that come from and eventually you'll have to progress knowing something is waiting for you.

The thing is, unlike other games, this game is very unforgiving, when you die you have to go all the way back to the start of that level. This adds to the intensity of the situations.

By the way, what a game!!! Why the hell am i only playing this now.

Half-Life 2 could get pretty scary for me. Having a fear of spiders, i use to hate when you broke a box and those crab/spider thingys would just fly at your face. Used to freak me out everytime.

[nik666uk]

Godfather 2, it was so bad in EVERY way it was frightening!!

[Pintheshadows]

Amnesia. I actually hate it. I can't even play it in the daytime. It's bloody terrifying.

[tigertron]

Resident Evil: Remake, Silent Hill 2, Siren: Blood Curse, Dead Space and Dead Space 2.

I haven't played Amnesia or Project Zero though so I can't comment on that.

[stevenhiggster]

I wholeheartedly agree with the winner. I honestly have never been so on edge playing a game it is a genuine nerve shredder. I'd actually say it is a frickin horrible experience! In a good way :S

[Virtual_Reality]

Amnesia The Dark Descent definitely.

[DanJenkoFMV]

I, like poor old Jono, am a Amnesia-virgin. I'm not exactly sure if this article has encouraged or discouraged me to give it a try, though. Most probably the latter.

The scariest game I've played, certainly this-gen, is Dead Space. Silent Hill 2 was also pretty terrifying.

[Unlimax]

Nothing Scary more Than Parasite eve series , Fatal Frame series , Forbidden Siren series , and last but not least Resident evil 3 Nemisis !

[girlwithturn]

Forbidden Siren 2 and Parasite Eve series. Also RE and FF.

[ginsunuva]

Playing CoD on Xbox Live.

Gives me chills every time I think about it...

[Mr Tretton]

Silent Hill 1 back in the day made me have to hit pause a lot and walk it off.

[TheMutator]

Condemned 1 and 2

[stoepkrijt]

Amnesia The Dark Descent!
Amazing how this game can get your heart pumping.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Cry Of Fear should have been mentioned as well. The monster and sound design of that game was pretty impressive coupled with some pretty realistic gun mechanics which makes it quite evident that the protagonist has little to no firearm experience....

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

I don't know. I think Fatal Frame II and Amnesia are pretty close, personally. Both scared me a lot. There isn't a single movie that can scare me anymore. Video games, on the other hand, can be horrifying.

[Father Murder X]

There was a game on the N64 called Shadow Man. It dealt with voodoo, zombies, and serial killers. it was very gritty for the time. It was quite scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[jag_stilvecchio]

The Fatal Frame games had their moments but weren't that scary, imho.

The original Silent Hill scared the crap out of me simply b/c I was new to that genre/style of game when I first played it years ago on the PS1.

Silent Hill 2 is another game that freaked me out consistently.

Condemned 1 & 2 are awesomely scary games too, especially in the first whenever you're in the department store and the mannequins...

[scark92]

penumbra series

[Horny]

I can't say that I was actually terrified by any horror game or movie but amnesia, silent hill 2, siren blood curse, and resident evil remake have great atmosphere and actually have scary parts. Love playing when unexpecting people are watching.

[Yomaster]

Did everyone forget The Suffering on Xbox way back in the day? No, not the second one, the original.

That game was scarier than shit. Although I do agree that Amnesia has everything beat!

[sriki007]

resident evil is not scary.
It might be good, but definately not scary.

[Tdmd]

Fatal Frame, for sure. There should be a remake of this... Dead Space 1 and the old Resident Evil games (up to Code Veronica). Really miss games like those.