Horror games have always been popular in the gaming community. No one denies the impact horror games have on every top games lists every season. Streamers and gamers are always eager to try new horror games and even the old ones too. Horror games also get a lot of adaptations which further proves how popular they are. But why do players enjoy this type of games? Continue reading this blog to find out.
There are five main categories for horror games: Survival horror, Action horror, Psychological horror, Jump scare horror and Reverse horror. Survival horror depend on making the player try and survive with no to little resources throughout the entire game while facing puzzles and creepy monsters. It’s probably the most common type of horror games and the most popular like “Clock Tower”, “Fatal Frame”, and “Parasite Eve”. The second type is Action horror. Action horror is just like survival horror but with adding action game elements from first person and third-person shooter games just like “The House of the Dead” series, “Dead Space” series, “Left 4 Dead” series, and “The Last of Us”. Psychological horror is the third type of horror games. It’s meant to scare the player through emotional, mental, or psychological distress mainly for just for example, the “Silent Hill series”. The fourth type is Jump scare horror which mainly depends on giving the player surprises that are unexpected to make the player feel uneasy. The idea with this type is that the player is usually dreading and anticipating the next jump scare which in turn make the player more engaged in the game just like the popular game, “Five Nights at Freddy's”. Finally, Reverse horror games and from the name, they put the player in the antagonist seat. The players try in this type of games to murder and chase after the good people to give the players a new perspective of horror games like in “Dead by Daylight”.
But why do people like to put themselves in the situation of being frightened and scared? Well, horror games offer a unique experience to the player. Horror games usually put the player in a state of thrill and anticipation which in turn adds to the adrenaline bar. The aspect of killing supernatural and creepy beings makes the experience even better. Also, indie horror games allowed all types of players to try their hands with horror. There are games that don’t require any mastery to the controllers which makes this genre accessible for everyone. Horror games also offer many amazing stories. The facts that the game itself is built cleverly to arouse different emotions in the player makes the plots very sophisticated. Also, the fact that those games depend highly on the senses to make the player scared, the developers work hard to make the game visually and aesthetically pleasing.
Aristotle considered a good story that impacts pity and fear in tragedies. Horror games took those elements to give the players this marvelous experience by just playing a game.