Why Horror Games Work So Well
Horror games succeed in a way horror movies sometimes can’t, mainly because games force participation. Watching a character open a dangerous door in a film is one thing. Being the person who has to press the button yourself is completely different.
What makes horror games memorable usually isn’t the monster itself. It’s anticipation. The silence before something happens. The uncertainty of not knowing whether the next hallway is safe. Games create tension by making the player responsible for moving forward.
A lot of older horror games understood this really well. Technical limitations accidentally made things scarier. Fog hid distant areas, low-quality audio sounded distorted and unnatural, and strange animations made enemies feel unpredictable.
Modern horror games still work best when they understand restraint. Constant jumpscares stop being scary after a while. Atmosphere usually lasts longer than shock value.