Horror Games That Start Off Terrifying And Become Utterly Boring The First Time You Die
Any horror game knows that to be truly successful at what you plan to do, you have to curate your length. It's very rare you're find a horror games longer than 20-30 hours, and they're typically not very well-received as horror if they do. The fear loses its intensity when the mystery is unraveled, and a long runtime can undo that.
But what about those games that are already the right length? Alas, some games make their monster too front-and-center, leading to a few too many deaths, and thusly too many encounters that stop being scary and simply become annoying. It takes away the tension, and even if it doesn't ruin these games entirely, it does sap away almost all of the horror.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Turns Out Death Is Not Actually A Factor
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice final battle HelaHellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Action Adventure Systems Released August 16, 2017WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONLet it be known that the original Hellblade is a great game, and a great examination into psychosis and Norse myth in a thoughtful and engaging way. It also tells you at the very beginning that Senua has a disease that will spread each time she dies, ultimately ending your game and Senua's journey with too many deaths.
Except that's a lie. Though the disease spreads, it simply stops at a certain point. No fear of death, and so death itself stops being scary. The threats are no longer threatening. Though wonderful a message, that we should strive to survive no matter what, it does take away much of the game's evocative fear when you learn the underlying system does not exist at all.
Outlast
That Sure Is A Monster Chasing Me
Outlast
10.0/10 Released November 4, 2013WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALHere's the thing with Outlast. For when it released, it was a great game. Horror was in a bit of a drought, and a new indie studio proved it had the means to create a genuinely unsettling, scary game. And to give it further credit, the camcorder as the visual presentation of the game was a stylish choice that led to a more uncomfortable environment.
Except the monster that chases you, well, does so in a very rudimentary fashion. The chase sequences often devolve into simply going fast enough, and most hiding sections are more heavily scripted, becoming more of a waiting game. And once you die once, you'll fear losing progress much more than your life.
Prey
Boring Is Harsh, It Just Stops Being Scary
Prey
10.0/10 Released May 5, 2017WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONPrey is an incredible game. And from a studio that never really worked in horror, it was an exceptional first shot at it. In the early sections of the game, it really is scary. There's no fear quite like having to hammer a Phantom to death and hoping you have enough stamina to beat it before it gets back up. Except you can also gain the Typhon abilities.
So death early on can be scary, because the enemies are unpredictable. If you get enough of their abilities? Then death is just an inconvenience because you didn't fight hard enough. It's unfair to say the game becomes 'utterly boring', but the horror that they keep pulling fails to hit the mark frequently afterwards.
Layers Of Fear
And You Can Barely Even Die!
via static4.gamespot.comLayers of Fear
3.0/5 Released February 16, 2016WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALBefore Silent Hill 2 Remake, Bloober Team was best known, by its own admission, for creating shitty games. Silent Hill 2 Remake was goo, better than most expected honestly. And not everything Bloober made beforehand was without merit, either. They just, well, weren't really ever all that scary.
Let's look at Layers of Fear. Scripted segments have been made fun of aplenty in the game, though that's not the only layer to its lack of fear. You can barely even die. For the most part, you can go as slow as you want, despite the game feeling like it's trying to urge you on. And once you realise this, the rest of the game starts to fall apart.
Deadly Premonition
Great Game. Terrible Gameplay
Deadly Premonition
2.0/5 Released February 23, 2010WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALDeadly Premonition is of the limited cadre of developers that create games heavily inspired by the works of David Lynch and other surreal pieces of art, like the Twilight Zone. And Deadly Premonition is excellent as a piece of art, even if it's kind of terrible as a game.
It is a game with a lot of gunplay, and a lot of driving, and a lot of bugs. Oh, it is a very broken game. And while the enemies you face in combat are quite uncomfortable to look at, you'll be bored of the gunplay by the second encounter, and tired of the loading screens and hoping the game won't crash after the first time you die.
Resident Evil 3
At least Jill Can Dodge-Roll
Resident Evil 3
4.0/5 Released April 3, 2020WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONAfter the success of Resident Evil 7, and the adored over-the-shoulder remake of Resident Evil 2, it felt like Capcom could do no wrong with the legendary horror series. With the Resident Evil 3 Remake, surely they could fix the original game's shortcomings of playing too close to Resident Evil 2 while being made in such a short period of time so as to lack many original ideas.
However, history loves to repeat. Resident Evil 3 Remake was clearly made from the bones of Resident Evil 2, and in a short period, meaning it had little chance to develop its own major features. So while Nemesis can be terrifying at first as he chases you through Raccoon City, he becomes little more than a scripted threat as the game advances. And once you've died to him once, you've died to him every time.
The Callisto Protocol
But A Great Brawler!
The Callisto Protocol
2.5/5 Released December 2, 2022WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALThe Callisto Protocol was touted as the next big thing in space horror, taking clear inspirations from Dead Space but refusing to admit it. And that's a good thing, because the Callisto Protocol is a significantly worse game, and the number of pixels i can pump out doesn't give it any more personality.
Callisto Protocol becomes boring even before you die, through egregiously gory death scenes because the game didn't quite work becomes aggravating almost immedately. On the other hand, if you play Callisto Protocol as a melee action game, you will honestly get a lot more enjoyment out of it.
