10 Horror Games That Don't Rely On Jump Scares
1. Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 isn't all that far removed from most survival horror games of the time. There are puzzles to solve, items to manage in a limited inventory, monsters to avoid, and the ever-changing dimensions of Silent Hill games.
Protagonist James Sunderland comes to the town after receiving a letter from his deceased wife Mary, and discovers Maria who looks just like his dead wife.
The very human horror of Silent Hill 2 is spread throughout the game, but you only truly realise the enormity of it all during a sublime ending sequence. Seeing the player simply walk down a long hallway and listen to dialogue from his past, here we find out that Mary was ill and James, more to relieve his own suffering than hers, euthanized her.
This reveal makes a lot more sense of what the player has experienced through the game. Relentless executioner Pyramid Head at one point seems to have sex with one of the zombie nurses while chasing the player and, as James sees himself as Mary's executioner, it seems obvious that James has a lot more to feel guilty about than just euthanazia.