15 'Horror' Video Games That Totally Failed To Scare Anyone

9. Alan Wake

For a game so inspired by Stephen King, Alan Wake isn€™t a scary game. It€™s a reasonably fun game, with a great combat mechanic and some absolutely stunning set pieces, but not a scary game, not even remotely. The central plot revolves around an author struggling with word-block, taking a trip to a remote region of the Pacific Northwest, only to encounter a series of strange occurrence, beginning with the disappearance of his wife. Like many of these examples, there€™s potential there, only the game makes several key mistakes that prevent it from being truly terrifying.

First of all, the vast majority of the game takes place in wooded areas, which quickly become repetitive, uninteresting and predictable. Worse still, the game warns you whenever a new threat as entered your vicinity; it does this by swinging the camera round in slow motion and highlighting the approaching threat. Why a horror game, built from the ground up to scare players would choose to do this, I haven€™t an earthy.

Contributor
Contributor

Formerly an assistant editor, Richard's interests include detective fiction and Japanese horror movies.