3. Slender Oh Shit, There He Is!!!
Youll be forgiven if you havent heard of Slender yet (its a free independent release, published on the indie label Unity, and developed by just one guy you can download it for free right now
HERE), but if you havent you really need to check it out, today. Based on the
Slender Man internet mythology, this is, unequivocally, the most instantaneously terrifying game Ive ever played in my life. You start inside a fenced-off area of forest in the dead of night, with no weapons and only a flashlight, which can run out of batteries, and a stamina system that decreases in capacity each time you sprint until fatigued. Youre told only to Find 8 Pages. Why? Youll never find out. As you push through the eerie woods, a knot of dread already growing in your stomach, youll stumble across various landmarks: a corn silo; a bathroom/shower building; a particularly tall tree; and finally, youll find a page. Thats when youll start to know true terror. As soon as you pick that first page up, The Slender Man starts to come after you. And every two pages from then on, he pursues you more aggressively. Why? I dont know. To do what? I dont know. All thats certain is that he wants you, hell never stop pursuing you, he cant be killed and hes out there, always one step behind. And seeing him, just in the distance amidst the trees, coming for you, might be one of the most effective Oh Shit moments in any video game, ever. Seriously. Watch this: http://youtu.be/0BswJKtn_9o I honestly cant quite fully describe how terrifying this game is; the trailer might not fully do it justice, but wait until its you hes coming after. Despite the fact that its a really short experience (if you know your way around the map, you can feasibly complete it in ten minutes), its an exercise in pure gaming horror and hopelessness that Ive not yet managed to play without almost pissing my pants.