Psychologically disturbing games.

[DownSince86]

Are the Fatal Frame games worth the cost of entry? I'm aware of them, but they are on the pricier side as far as used PS2 games go.

I played a little of the first one when it was released, but couldn't get into it because I often don't find ghosts to be scary in games or movies. If I could find an inexpensive one I would pick it up though.

I've become a fan of the series after importing Fatal Frame 4 for the Wii (first game in the series I've played). Now I'm looking to buy the older ones for the PS2 and Xbox.

If your interested there is a fan translation for part 4 on the Wii: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/18/smile ... available/ All you need is an SD-Card and your good to go.

If you do pick up the one for the Wii the best advice I can give you is this: Save your powerful film for the boss ghosts. I used all mine up early on in the game and paid for it later with multiple game overs.

The game really takes off later on when you start having to deal with multiple ghosts at the same time. It always freaks me out when I'm lining one up for a shot and another one comes out of the wall I'm standing next to and attacks me.

[ujnhunter]

Clock Tower 3 - PS2

[dedalusdedalus]

I forgot to add "Rule of Rose" to this list.

It also uses a unique kind of fear, in that it evokes a lot of our common childhood fears. Firstly, the often-arbitrary and sometimes malicious power that a group of other children wields over us. Secondly, the fear that inanimate objects have an internal life of their own.

Hey JT, have you ever played I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, based on the story by Harlan Ellison? He even helped design the game and provided voice work as the machine AM.

Yes, this game is a must-play on so many levels. I feel like slapping myself for forgetting to mention it.

Firstly, it's a must-play because it's a perfect example of point-and-click, that lovable but long-neglected 80s/90s genre. Secondly, it succeeds in being even more psychologically disturbing than its source material, the Ellison short story of the same name.

It's psychologically disturbing on the same level as Silent Hill 2--each of the characters has a dark secret which is reflected in their stages.

If you're going to play this, I suggest reading the short story first.

I was thinking about mentioning the Call of Cthulhu games. I never played them myself, but I remember Destructoid's Anthony Burch talking about how even though they were mediocre games, they really succeeded in making the player feel helpless - created fun through dis-empowerment.

Call of Cthulhu is interesting. It succeeds to a far greater extent than Doom 3 in creating a genuinely scary FPS. Again, it succeeds where Doom 3 fails because CoC plays with the fear of the unknown and incomprehensible, as opposed to relying on simple "boo"-type scares.

It's not without its flaws though. Atmosphere is great, as are the points in the game where you feel dis-empowered. But it's got a lot of bugs, and the "dis-empowered" parts are just unfair and frustrating sometimes. If you're going to play this game, prepare to die a lot.

[AppleQueso]

Echo Night: Beyond is an interesting and sometimes scary first person adventure game on the ps2. It involves you exploring an abandoned base on the moon that's haunted.

Obscure is honestly a pretty crappy resident evil clone by itself, but if you have a friend who's into the genre, it can be a blast with its co-op.

Lots of games have already been mentioned, we're bordering on having named off every remotely notable console horror game, at least.

[Scooter]

I'm currently playing through The Suffering for the first time. It has a few disturbing moments but nothing outrageously shocking. Cool storyline though which draws you into the game with the desire to find out more.

[J T]

I've got a few ideas for new games to buy from this thread, but I'm also realizing that I need to just play some of the ones I have. I just installed Call of Cthulhu and it seems pretty cool. It has an HP Lovecraft feel to it that reminds me of the original Alone In The Dark. So far, I'm enjoying its creepiness. I like that when you walk into some creepy scene, you also hear your characters heart start to race and his vision blurs a little, and when the voice actor is doing his job right and sounding appropriately scared it really convinces you that "whoa, this is messed up" more than just seeing the visuals by themselves. It's like the horror equivalent of canned laughter.

[Ack]

Echo Night: Beyond is an interesting and sometimes scary first person adventure game on the ps2. It involves you exploring an abandoned base on the moon that's haunted.

I didn't recommend it because he said earlier that the wasn't into ghosts, but I did really like Echo Night: Beyond. It's a more mellow horror game, since there's no combat and really not TOO many scenes with hostile ghosts. More like the horror equivalent of a pleasant walk through a beautiful park. I enjoyed it highly and want to get a hold of the first Echo Night on PlayStation.

Obscure is honestly a pretty crappy resident evil clone by itself, but if you have a friend who's into the genre, it can be a blast with its co-op.

Yeah, think of it as the teen movie equivalent to the genre. Co-op really is the main draw. I've played it by myself a bit, but was very underwhelmed. I haven't tried the sequel yet.

I've got a few ideas for new games to buy from this thread, but I'm also realizing that I need to just play some of the ones I have. I just installed Call of Cthulhu and it seems pretty cool. It has an HP Lovecraft feel to it that reminds me of the original Alone In The Dark. So far, I'm enjoying its creepiness. I like that when you walk into some creepy scene, you also hear your characters heart start to race and his vision blurs a little, and when the voice actor is doing his job right and sounding appropriately scared it really convinces you that "whoa, this is messed up" more than just seeing the visuals by themselves. It's like the horror equivalent of canned laughter.

Despite the technical issues and errors I had in the game(including one part where the game simply refused to load an event at a critical point), Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth was a really good horror game, and I hope to see more games directly based on Lovecraft in the future, like Alone in the Dark and Shadow of the Comet. After that...well, if you've got a stack of horror games to play, check them out.

[samsonlonghair]

Phantasmagoria for windows and DOS. This is one of the best psychological horror games for PC.

[vlame]

i recall this game i used to play in 2nd grade in my school (im 22 now so like 14 years ago?) on the greyscale macs. it was weird. you played at a circus and you shot porcelain heads with a gun you controlled with the mouse. i have no idea what it was, i just remember it was very creepy and still is (in my mind).

[J T]

Phantasmagoria for windows and DOS. This is one of the best psychological horror games for PC.

I played through this from start to finish a few months ago. It's god awful and wonderful all at once. It really feels like a b-movie horror flick with all the full motion video bad acting. It's corny, but it stays fun. The game never really scared me that much, but it definitely has an interesting vibe to it. It's also really unique story wise. You are a woman and your husband becomes possessed and goes mad. The man you love and have committed yourself to has taken a turn for the worse and now is a threat to your life. It's created by Roberta Williams, who is best known for making the King's Quest series. The game was designed with non-gamers in mind, so the puzzles are never particularly hard and you can't die for the first 95% of the game (which makes the ending sequences more frightening actually). I think the fact that this game was designed and conceived by a woman gives it something unique because I don't think a man would have been as likely to come with a story that is a horrorshow parallel of being trapped in a bad marriage. It's a really interesting concept and worth playing through for its originality in concept, though honestly, the gameplay is dreadful- it takes everything bad about FMV games and point & click adventures and combines them into one. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the game because it's a rare experience that a videogame deals with issues of trust in a marriage, abuse, rape, and feeling trapped both in a marriage, and in a small town. It's also remarkably schlocky, so if you enjoy mystery science theatering your movies, you'll have a good time poking fun at this one.