How scary is this game?

[Gerfreckle]

I really want to play the game because I'm a huge fan of the older SH games but I never found them to be *too* scary compared to some modern horror games. For me they had amazing horror atmospheres but I never felt viscerally scared in the same way as I did with games like Outlast, Amnesia and PT. But from what I've read, the SH2 remake is genuinely very scary, more so than the original, and a lot of people said they had to take regular breaks because of how intense it was.

What are your thoughts on this? On a scale of 1 to 10, how scary would you label the SH2 remake?

[Wolfman-RIP]

10 = Visage
9 = Silent Hill 2 Remake
8 = Silent Hill on PS
7 = Resident Evil on PS

To give you idea of scale. I have played almost every horror game since the 90's and only Visage I consider to be more scary.

To be scared of any game you have to increase immersion to the max. No hud, Retro mode, aiming reticle off, magnetic aim off, lights off, no hand holding and no save scumming.

Of course there will be a few trolls on here who don't own the game saying "its not scary" or people who play games with the lights on & the game sounds muted or low or with easier options which take away from the fear.

[Ritchey#228471]

I would say, that Amnesia and Outlast are mostly scary due to your character not being able to fight back and constantly trying to evade the enemies.
In Silent Hill 2 you do have situations, which can be a bit troublesome, but most of the time your arsenal is at least good enough to be able to fight all monsters off, as long as you don't miss all your shots.

"Scary" is a personal thing. I would rather call Silent Hill 2 distorted, twisted, disturbing.
The combination of sound (extremely strong part of this game) and visuals, the creepy enemies and the messed up environment makes me feel stressed and uncomfortable when I am in the otherworld and it feels mysterious, when I am in the "normal" world.

I would say, from all the Silent Hills so far, thisone does the whole "Silent Hill"-job best, due to the high technical standard in sound and graphics.

It is a shame, that all Bloober games have severe technical flaws, which mostly never get fixed totally.
Their games could be a lot better, if they were not so messy with stutters and messed up constrast/blacklevels.

[Gerfreckle]

Originally posted by Wolfman-RIP:

10 = Visage
9 = Silent Hill 2 Remake
8 = Silent Hill on PS
7 = Resident Evil on PS

Interesting. I have not played Visage but I've heard that it's universally considered to be deeply scary, so putting SH2R just below it is.... alarming to me! haha

How would you compare SH2R with games like Resident Evil 7, Amnesia (the original) and Outlast (the original)? I've played all of these and consider all to be very scary (Resi 7 lesser than the other two, though).

[phildor]

I personally found SH2R to be a bit scarier than the original. Like, the original SH games have a foreboding, oppressive dread vibe to them. For me, the scares in SH2R came from the gameplay itself.

The combat is more active. You can't just run past all of the creatures. They hide, dodge, sneak attack, and literally come at you from more directions than the original game. It's pretty difficult to handle multiple enemies at one time. And there's a few situations where you do exactly that.

Couple that with a fact that you're working with limited resources, and I think that SH2R does a great job at having the horror aspect emerge from the gameplay itself, rather than just the set dressing.

[Ritchey#228471]

Visage is the most horrifying game available by far, but I don't think that Silent Hill 2 is worse in any way, just because it is "less scary".

I don't think RE7 can be compared at all. I think RE7 is 95% an action shooter, hardly horrifying. The only somewhat disturbing/horrifying part was the one in the doll-house, the rest was an action-shooter game with horror-figures to shoot.


/edit: Oh I am confusing RE7 and "The Village". The Village was the shooter game. RE7 was horrifying too, but not comparable to the disturbed/twisted feels, that I feel in Silent Hill 2 Remake.

[Oaks]

I'm not very good at scary games. It was too scary for me at the beginning and apparently it just gets scarier.

[Tak]

the regular enemies aren't all that scary, but the boss monsters and level design have symbolism that makes them more and disturbing the more you think about them

it's more of a psychological thriller than a creature feature. The game is at its' peak of terror when you start to decode the world it's set in. If you don't look any deeper than the surface, it's a very different experience.

[Captain_Cole]

Originally posted by Gerfreckle:

I really want to play the game because I'm a huge fan of the older SH games but I never found them to be *too* scary compared to some modern horror games. For me they had amazing horror atmospheres but I never felt viscerally scared in the same way as I did with games like Outlast, Amnesia and PT. But from what I've read, the SH2 remake is genuinely very scary, more so than the original, and a lot of people said they had to take regular breaks because of how intense it was.

What are your thoughts on this? On a scale of 1 to 10, how scary would you label the SH2 remake?

Keeping in mind that this is only what I think, and that I have just finished my first play through, I wouldn't call the game scary. It is however creepy, in that hairs on the back of your hand creepy, especially in some later levels. The sound track is phenomenal at creating the creepy mood. I would advise you to play this with decent headphones, just so you can experience all of the little background noises.

[Wolfman-RIP]

Originally posted by Gerfreckle:

Originally posted by Wolfman-RIP:

10 = Visage
9 = Silent Hill 2 Remake
8 = Silent Hill on PS
7 = Resident Evil on PS

Interesting. I have not played Visage but I've heard that it's universally considered to be deeply scary, so putting SH2R just below it is.... alarming to me! haha

How would you compare SH2R with games like Resident Evil 7, Amnesia (the original) and Outlast (the original)? I've played all of these and consider all to be very scary (Resi 7 lesser than the other two, though).

I loved the original Amnesia. I'd rate it a 8 on scare factor for me personally. Outlast I would say is on par with that but its a different kind of scary. I prefer Amnesia over outlast as I like slower paced horror.

RE7 while a great game is less horror and more of a gore & action game to me. Still a lot of fun.

I think Silent Hill 2 Remake borrows a bit of RE's combat combined with the psychological horror of the original and excellent monster AI.

[Shaelent]

Honestly, it's not so much scary if you're used to horrors it is more unsettling because of the kind of themes the game has since it's a psychological horror. You'll find yourself feeling a variety of emotions rather than just pure fear.

[Higgs Monaghan]

I'd give it a 9. I had to play many parts in sections and take breaks because I was so TENSE. It's scary, but the constant anxiety in some parts drove me wild. The atmosphere really puts you on edge.

[Stigma]

Originally posted by Shaelent:

Honestly, it's not so much scary if you're used to horrors it is more unsettling because of the kind of themes the game has since it's a psychological horror. You'll find yourself feeling a variety of emotions rather than just pure fear.

Which is 100% due to the original game..