10 Horror Video Games That Broke All The Rules
2. Boogeyman - You Can't Run And You Can't Hide
Five Nights at Freddy’s really has been talked to death, we know, but part of its appeal was that as a player you could not run, hide, nor defend yourself with a weapon. In an effort to avoid recommending this game to you after years of coverage have pretty much turned it into a meme, let’s look at another, smaller game with the same kind of idea: Boogeyman.
In this game all you have to defend yourself is one measly flashlight. Playing as a kid, sitting in bed and paralysed with fear, you have to carefully monitor your room for any sign of movement, lest the Big Bad Boogeyman get close enough to snatch you away.
Empowerment in horror games frequently falls to one end of the spectrum: either you’re armed to the teeth and can blast away the monsters, or you have nothing to defend yourself and your only option is to hide.
Boogeyman falls somewhere in between, encouraging you to stay tense and alert at all times, knowing that you can never truly kill the enemy, but also allowing you to be on the offensive by shining your light.
It’s a hard line to toe but it can be refreshing to see a game take less of a hard-line approach to the offense and defense problem.