People who say the game isn't scary.

[Dootslayer]

Is it really not or are we just desensitized from playing too much horror games?
Because i admit it, i enjoy the game, but its more of an action one for me, but i clearly see the attempt the devs made at some parts, the fog and tree section in chapter 4 for example, could be creepy for someone who is new to the horror genre. What do you think?

[insta†.Nefer]

this game is hella scary once you realize that the enemys are no longer human, had some moment where some morphed something stared into my soul it was not the human that looked it was the thing in it
somethings stared at me with the skin of a human
since i realized that this game kreeps me the hell out

[ウィッチ（？）]

Horror is over saturated from beginning and used too much generic formulae (blinking light, dark corridor, strange noise etc.) that try to scare people. Once people get used to it, then there is nothing there to get scared of.

[Illudium]

Horror in video games is always tough. We're conditioned to know that if there's an enemy in a game, we're able to best it. Sometimes that means fighting it, sometimes running from it, or other times hiding from it, but it's a challenge designed to be beaten, not a real danger. That's doubly true in action-horror games, where the appearance of an enemy immediately shifts the tone from "oh ♥♥♥♥, what's gonna happen" to "quick, smoke this mother!"

It's why atmospheric horror is much scarier than facing an actual foe in games, and why a lot of the scariest games are actually horror-themed sections in non-horror games: The usual rules of your game don't apply. Ravenholm in Half-Life 2, the Oceanview Hotel in VtM: Bloodlines, and the Shalebridge Cradle in Thief 3 are all terrifying, because your usual approaches have been taken from you, you don't know what will happen next, and the scariest stuff is what ISN'T there.

[Fact Checker]

I agree with letters man, i dont think its scary because too many common tropes. I'd even say its more Gore than horror. The only part that actually gave me a "spooky" feeling was the cutscene where you discover there are bodies in the ceiling in the filtration area. I hadnt looked up and even then i only went "oooooh mannnnnn" i didnt get scared.

[DogWater]

Originally posted by Illudium:

Horror in video games is always tough. We're conditioned to know that if there's an enemy in a game, we're able to best it. Sometimes that means fighting it, sometimes running from it, or other times hiding from it, but it's a challenge designed to be beaten, not a real danger. That's doubly true in action-horror games, where the appearance of an enemy immediately shifts the tone from "oh ♥♥♥♥, what's gonna happen" to "quick, smoke this mother!"

It's why atmospheric horror is much scarier than facing an actual foe in games, and why a lot of the scariest games are actually horror-themed sections in non-horror games: The usual rules of your game don't apply. Ravenholm in Half-Life 2, the Oceanview Hotel in VtM: Bloodlines, and the Shalebridge Cradle in Thief 3 are all terrifying, because your usual approaches have been taken from you, you don't know what will happen next, and the scariest stuff is what ISN'T there.

+1 but I'd also add existential horror. SH2, Soma... Some examples of games that still scare and depress me years after playing them last. Same is true for movies. In your face gory schlock is fun but it really isn't the scariest. The brain is the most powerful horror asset if you really want more impact than some instant adrenalin.

[Illudium]

Originally posted by ウィッチ（？）:

Horror is over saturated from beginning and used too much generic formulae (blinking light, dark corridor, strange noise etc.) that try to scare people. Once people get used to it, then there is nothing there to get scared of.

I felt similar in the first Dead Space. It was scary for the first several chapters, but by the late-game, I realized that I'd seen everything the game had to throw at you, and I knew all the rules it was playing by, so all it had left was to throw more or different combinations of the same stuff at the player. The fear was gone, because it couldn't surprise you anymore and there were no new threats you couldn't already handle. I still liked the game, but it had ceased to be horror.

[Cheerows]

I mean just hold A or D while you walk and be prepared to mash E, nothing will happen. You get the feeling pretty fast and the game doesn't manage to scare. I don't see anything that would make it scary if it was a movie or something either, it could be creepier perhaps.

[𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒐𝑵]

I'm not scared by body horror and jumpscares but stuff like Blair Witch Project with all the tension gives me the creeps. talking about movies not games. for games I would say Alien: Isolation had it's fair share of scary moments.

[DistantReaper]

Not just horror games. We're far more tolerant of horror in general. The Exorcist for example was absolutely terrifying in the 70s, but now days it's considered rather humorous.

We're an increasingly tough audience.

[Shadow Wizard Fluffy Gang]

I do think the game would be frightening to someone who isn't used to the way game horror works.
But horror is bigger than just "does it scare me"
Horror is also "does it disturb me" "does it depress me" "does it make me do things that go against human nature" and the list can go on.
I think Callisto is a horror game, even if it doesn't scare me.

[жэф]

Horror has become synonymous with macabre. It's not necessarily that it's actually scary, it's just that it deals with and/or revels in morbidity (gore, abberant/extreme behavior, disfiguration, violence, death, putrifaction, et al.). If you're the kind of person who enjoys anything-horror, then it doesn't matter what it is, you most likely will be desensitized enough from inundating your mind with horror things that nothing will truly scare or terrify you. Callisto Protocol is no different.

The only true way to experience actual horror in horror-themed media like games and movies is to do your best to roleplay and immerse yourself in the universe of the media itself. Forget that you're Joe Blow playing a game on his computer screen from the comfort of his bedroom, turn out all of your lights and crank up your sound system, and pretend you're actually this freelance miner Jacob who's been dealt a ♥♥♥♥ hand after becoming victim to a terrorist sect committing an act of piracy upon his freighter vessel and somehow lands himself in a hellish lunar prison that he now has to risk life and limb trying to escape. If you can use the power of your imagination and lose yourself completely in the character you're playing or watching, you'll do a much better job at experiencing the elements of horror in their purity.

Otherwise, it's just as Illidium said above. True horror is when you're force-fed abnormality after a state of constant normality, and you're required to confront it head on in a true state of unknowingness. Existential dread also compounds this true element of horror, but I'd rather not confront the terror of my limited mortality when trying to enjoy some true escapism.

[Subset6]

Um, jump scare's are kinda dumb.. Alien Isolation, that's how you do survival horror imo. Man, the music, lighting.. that first play through was very nerve wracking, more so then any other game in this genre. It set the bar far as I'm concerned.

[zuppaclub]

imo compared to dead space, it isn't, it tickles me.

the last jump scare horror game I played and got me ucey was madison.

[Disgruntled Democracy Officer]

The scene where you are in a middle of a fight, then fog rolls in and lights go out was pretty good.

[Billy Blaze]

Phew... hard to say.
It comes always down to how much you immerse yourself into the world and game.

You can crawl around and be like "What's this? What's that? What is happening here?!?".
Or you run around and be like "Yeah, I passed a checkpoint, time to run to the next objective.".

The game can only do so much to provide horror but still being a videogame that's fun to play.
The player also has to do a bit of this stuff.
Kinda like playing an old Atari game and using your mind to fill the gaps in the graphics.

EDIT: Oh yeah, when it comes to this game, this game is phenomenal when it comes to horror.
It isn't always about jumpscares.
Just look at the enemies... the game is filled to the brim with bodyhorror.
The atmosphere, the location and the 10/10 sounddesign.

There are many moments in which you see an enemy vanish, and you wait for it to jump out.
Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't... and sometimes, it happens in a way that you crap your pants.