8 Tricks Horror Video Games Use To Terrify You
1. Playing With Your Expectations
Even if you're a horror veteran who knows these tricks inside and out, game developers will always find a way to catch you off guard by playing with your expectations of horror tropes and, in some cases of sheer cruelty, even the gameplay itself.
Recall an early sequence in Outlast: you've just entered the asylum and spot a conspicuous patient in a wheelchair blocking your path. You need to slowly squeeze past. Convention has taught us that this is the prime moment for a jump scare, but nothing happens. On your return, you think it's once again safe to cross paths with the patient. This time, however, he lunges for you.
Recent entry into the horror oeuvre Man of Medan takes its masochistic jump scare delivery further by striking while players examine a seemingly inconspicuous objects, a task players have done enough times up to this point to think they're safe while doing so, resulting in us thinking twice about interacting with anything else afterward.
There's no point in modern horror games you can truly feel safe. It's usually when you do feel safe from danger when you're at your most vulnerable.