Everyone loves a good horror game. Even the biggest scaredy-cats can appreciate a game that terrifies them beyond belief but somehow keeps their eyes glued on the screen.

But what exactly makes a horror game, a good horror game?

There are, of course, several reasons for loving one horror game more than the other. Nonetheless, significant cues exist that lead the mass majority leaning towards specific types of horror. And in this article I will try to decipher which elements work towards that decision, and which, if done badly, make gamers run in the opposite direction.

I think the first element is obvious: sound.

It has been scientifically proven we humans process information faster through our ears than our eyes. That’s why jump scares almost give us an heart attack. It’s not about how creepy the image looks, it’s how high and distorted the sound is.

So, sound is very important in a horror game. It creates atmosphere. The game may have uncannily silent moments, when, suddenly, eerie music starts playing in the background. It makes you jump, doesn’t it?

Amnesia: The Dark Descent used this to its advantage. At the beginning, the monsters roaming around the mansion are barely seen, it’s a very slow build up till any encounter of the sort happens. But throughout the game we are so vigilant to anything in our surroundings that a door creaking is enough to startle us.

Sound keeps us on high alert, thus making us terrified throughout most of Amnesia.

The next important element has to be visuals.

Similar to sound, what our surroundings look like creates an immediate mood. Places like abandoned hospitals, rotting mansions, or filthy mental asylums have an instant effect on us because of that unnerving thought: “this isn’t right. This shouldn’t look like this”.

Basically, anything that deviates from the norm rapidly throws us off balance.

P.T. really fucked with people because of that. In fact, from the beginning, it was subtly similar to Silent Hill‘s niche – taking an ordinary place and then slowly turn it into a nightmare from Hell.

When the teaser begins we seem to be in a normal house like any other, it even reminded me of my old home because of its long halls, but weird things start to appear that weren’t there in the first place.

The weird radio transmissions, trash on the floor, cockroaches coming out of photos, something disfigured closing the bathroom door, then everything gets dark, disturbing phrases are written on the wall, there’s a bloody fetus in the sink, a fridge is bleeding from the ceiling, lights are red now and we have moving eyes for photos.

Everything keeps repeating but it all just keeps getting worse and worse. And now the disfigured woman just killed us, peeing on us like I just peed my pants. I’m going to call my mom.

You see, visuals can create a downward spiral into madness. Combine that with sounds that instinctively makes us feel like we’re in danger (baby crying, someone being stabbed, etc.) and we have a horror game that’ll drive us to leave the lights on when going to sleep.

Then we have the third element: story.

Of course, there isn’t a rule that dictates horror games need to have a complex plot. However, it helps.

Curiosity is something almost natural in people. It’s what makes us go see a specific film, read that book with the interesting cover, go to this place which surroundings seem diverse. We are curious creatures, plain and simple.

It’s what fuels the Five Nights at Freddy’s community; a game which mechanics focuses on avoiding annoying jump scares.

Do you know how many theories I’ve come across since these games came out? Too many. Everyone and their grandma thinks they know what really happened to those poor kids. And there’s always a little detail someone forgot that they must write about. God, a book about the game even came out and people are still debating how that changes the game’s timeline!

I know I might sound annoyed, but actually I’m thrilled. Never have I seen so many people in so little time discuss every little thing about the game’s environment and come up with a theory that satisfies the majority of fans.

I have to give it to Scott, he really hide the details well within the game. Changing the children’s drawings to indicate the culprit, newspapers clippings that dive further into the rabbit hole, and creating prequels under the guise of sequels. Five Nights at Freddy’s story is not only a complex one but also very subtle. It encourages fans to discuss among themselves and keep the game’s unsettling mood alive.

And there is freedom in these three elements. Through the years horror games have diverged in style, pacing, and message. You have the ones who take a more philosophical approach to haunt us in our existential irrelevance (Amnesia: The Dark Descent, SOMA); use horror as a way to display the horrible effects of mental illness (Sanitarium, The Cat Lady); a focus on body horror to keep the gamer in a state of disgust (Siren: Blood Curse, Stray Cat Crossing), and some just want to fuck with you (Eternal Darkness, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, P.T.).

Of course, the poor use of these elements (or lack thereof) will give horror gamers a bad time.

Besides having to have functional gameplay (I’m looking at you, AMY!), if you give your protagonist too much power, the essential element of fear is gone. There is quite a debate over horror games needing to be scary, but for the sake of argument let’s say a game of such genre needs to at least put you on edge.

They challenge you and your thinking skills in a fight or flight mode.

The first Resident Evil managed to do just that, balancing action and horror in anxious-driven ways. But later instalments of the franchise have pushed terror aside and instead focused more on giving the player more powerful ways to kill zombies. Thus making the game not challenging in the least. That tense atmosphere completely vanished.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is awaited with much excitement because of the game’s focus being on going back to its horror roots. A Resident Evil game which actually puts you in uneasy situations that aren’t immediately solved by grabbing a gun and shooting a trite monster? What is this madness!?

Alas, it’s not just AAA horror games that have lost their way. Many indie games of the same genre have fallen into the uninspired and boring category. Go to Steam and you’ll probably catch five or six Slender Man knock offs in a row.

Of course, when you’re starting out as an independent developer, it’s normal to take inspiration in games you loved playing. Sadly, you aren’t the only one who thought of the same thing. Because of that, all these new horror games seem repetitive. Nothing special.

Like I said, it’s okay to be inspired by popular horror games – everything we make is inspired by someone else’s art – but thinking outside the box is required if these independent developers are to be taken seriously.

Maybe give the game a different twist than we’ve already seen. Throw caution out the window and create the weirdest horror game that can be made. Or have something special in it, something that only comes from your deepest, darkest nightmares.

Be creative!

Horror games are all about atmosphere and using our own senses against us. Done right, it will make you piss your pants, and you’ll love the game all the more for it. Also, misleading expectations are a must if developers want to mess with the player’s head.

Wouldn’t it scare you too if something you thought you controlled is actually the one calling the shots? Best not to look behind you then.