Why I Love Horror
I used to fear the horror genre as I would get nightmares and live in a constant state of anxiety from my mind's wild imagination.
However, since overcoming that fear, I've grown to love the thrill of horror and find it a healthy outlet for emotional turmoil.
I am currently playing Outlast II on PS4. The game has an additional layer of horror embedded; I cannot fight or eliminate the enemy, only run or hide.
The only way to see in complete darkness is night vision through my video camera, which drains battery and is an exhaustive resource.
Horror games provide a psychological thrill and challenge where the player’s level of unease and fear, and ability to manage heightened physiological responses influences how the game is played.
When I started playing horror games, I was in a state of anticipation and tunnel vision of when the next jumpscare may be. I played the games in utter fear, and it drowned my ability to be rational or truly enjoy the experience.
It wasn’t until my experience of playing horror games and emotional control abilities increased that I didn’t play in a state of “survival mode”.
Why I love horror games:
Requiring more intense focus because the environments are darker and easier to miss things (e.g., doors, crawlspaces, interactable objects).
Leveraging the sinking feeling of being chased by the enemy into quick decision-making that can lead to life or death. In Outlast, it’s not just about aimless running, but running to safety or the next destination for game progression.
Outsmarting the enemy through stealth where possible, given limited resources. In The Last Of Us or The Evil Within, I go with the stealth approach, and engage in combat as a secondary plan.
The strategic planning involved as part of studying enemy movement patterns, and identification of what tactics are successful. Every enemy has a weakness.
Intermission
In a sense, playing horror games is psychological training for self-control. To prevent feelings of fear, distress, panic and fight-or-flight responses from completely taking reign, then acting on panic rather than logical, clear thinking.
All of this often happens within seconds after a jumpscare, then decisive action is required to stay alive when death is right on my tail. The comforting aspect is that in real-life, I am completely safe, and death in-game doesn’t equate to death in reality.
I am also an escape room enthusiast, particularly horror themed rooms. I have completed rooms inspired by Jigsaw, Resident Evil, Annabelle, zombie survival and murder mysteries.
This is significantly more immersive than horror games through a screen, and it takes fear to the next level. I found myself being the person to go into a dark corner through a narrow corridor or putting my hands into dark cabinets to find required puzzle items; it was thrilling.
Highlights from horror escape rooms include:
Being handcuffed to a pole against the wall in darkness while blindfolded, and having to find a torch and the key to cuffs once the game started.
The room went into utter darkness as Annabelle from the glass box disappeared, leaving behind the message of “MISS ME?”
Getting from one room to the next (part of the same game) through lying in a closed coffin and being pushed by friends to the other side.
Being trapped in an elevator, and accidentally finding the exit through leaning on one of the walls.
Horror is my favourite genre of games, films and TV shows, and I’m glad I overcame my fear of it so it can turn out this way.