Shocktoberfest: Enter The Nightmare -- A Month-Long Journey Through The Horror Game Genre

When does this start?

Shocktoberfest begins on October 1st, and will last the entire month of October, ending at 11:59 PM on Halloween night.

What should I play?

Anything that falls under the classification of a horror game. Survival horror, action horror, a horror-themed FPS, anything with zombies, etc. In the interest of having fun, this can be more of a loose definition of what defines a horror game, and constitute anything that is more-or-less "horror themed". So games like Gears of War or even Luigi's Mansion are fine.

For me, it's very much the same outlook as Backlaugust -- I've got horror games in my backlog, and it's time to play them. How many games you want to play is up to you, whether that's just one game or a few games. Any platform, doesn't matter. They can be new games, old games. Even horror games you've already beaten long ago and want to replay. You don't have to choose all of your games up front; you can if you want, but it's fine to just take it one-game-at-a-time.

Who should participate?

If you:

a. Enjoy horror games
and/or
b. Have at least one horror game in your backlog
and/or
c. Plan on buying a new horror game (such as, I don't know, ZOMBIU!!!!!!!!)

you should do this.

The purpose of this is a little less about seeing how many games we can beat, but for everyone to share in the experience of playing something scary. A good horror game can be a tough thing to get all of the way through to the end, but with some moral support from the rest of the community that's going through the same thing, maybe we can all make it back into the light by November! That's what it comes down to -- having fun, and being scared shitless. And being scared shitless is a lot more fun when being scared shitless as a group.

One last thing -- for your fellow NW-er who hasn't played every game, try using spoiler tags whenever possible for anything major that's story-related, or just in general anything that should not be spoiled. So, "I can't believe Leon died at the end!" instead of "I can't believe Leon died at the end!"


Completed (18)



Kentucky Route Zero, Act 1 (Secret_Tunnel, 10/6)
The House of the Dead: Overkill (GameDadGrant, 10/7)
Dead Space (PogueSquadron, 10/11)
Kentucky Route Zero, Act 2 (Secret_Tunnel, 10/14)
Fatal Frame (TheBigG753, 10/17)
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (PogueSquadron, 10/20)
Dead Rising 2 (Zero, 10/20)
Dead Space Extraction (Mop It Up, 10/21)
Super Castlevania IV (Het_Nkik, 10/23)
Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (GameDadGrant, 10/24)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Het_Nkik, 10/26)
ObsCure II (r_hjort, 10/26)
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (Jargon, 10/26)
Resident Evil: Revelations (ludist210, 10/28)
ZombiU (Mr_Mustache, 10/29)
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (TheBigG753, 10/31)
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition (r_hjort, 10/31)
Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen/Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (Het_Nkik, 10/31)


LEFT 4 DEAD (10)

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (Secret_Tunnel, in progress)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (GameDadGrant, *has thrown in the towel*)
Dead Space: Extraction (chrisguy, through 5 levels)
Doom II (Pokefreak911, 12 levels in)
Resident Evil Zero (gojira, at the Training Facility)
TellTale's The Walking Dead (Zero, finished Episode 3)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Pokefreak911, through Stone Tower)
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (Zero, finished first run)
ZombiU (gojira, Tower of London)
ZombiU (r_hjort, whack-a-zombie)


The Players (20)

chrisguy: Dead Space: Extraction
deathly_hallows: Cult County, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
DrFinkelstein: ZombiU
GameDadGrant: Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, The House of the Dead: Overkill, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
gojira: ZombiU, Resident Evil Zero
Hero_of_Hyrule: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Het_Nkik: Super Castlevania IV, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen
Jargon: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Dead Space, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
kriswright: ZombiU
ludist210: Resident Evil: Revelations
Mop It Up: Dead Space Extraction
Mr_Mustache: ZombiU, Castlevania
PogueSquadron: Dead Space, Castlevania 3
Pokefreak911: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Bioshock, Bioshock 2, Doom II
r_hjort: Obscure 2, Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, ZombiU
Secret_Tunnel: Dead Space 3, Kentucky Route Zero, 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.
Shadowlink: ZombiU
Stephen: Alan Wake
TheBigG753: Fatal Frame, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Zero: Dead Rising 2, Castlevania (III or Adventure Rebirth), Virtue's Last Reward, The Walking Dead


LAST YEAR'S THREAD

URL to share (right click and copy)

@Het_Nkik

There's a game I've given up on ever beating. My brothers and I got far many times as kids on the Genesis and again on Virtual Console, but it always seems like when you use a password, you're basically screwed because you're out of stuff.

Jargon said:

Yet another reason this game should have been on the Wii U!

I know! That, and RE:Revelations, and Kid Ica...(sorry Grant!! Don't hurt me!)

@Het_Nkik

I'll watch a little bit, to see how it compares to what I've been playing. But not too much as I'm pretty set on actually checking this game out at some point.

EDIT: You're right, it'd definitely be less scary if you were playing as Luigi.

@TheBigG753

Kid Icarus is the #1 in my mind. Still hoping, even though I have it on 3DS, I've barely played it.

@Mr_Mustache

A NURSERY?! WHY, GOD, WHY!! Slayed my first ELECTRICITY BEAST in the basement. Shades of Eternal Darkness Bathtubs, man. I can do without that stuff..

I've got the Meds, uncovered a Manhole and head back to the Safe House. Decided to call it a night, will deliver soon.

EDIT- I don't even know the name of the girl I'm using right now (TROPES THREAD), unfortunately. It was a terrible night for Zara (RIP) and Joseph (RIP). Randoms are out playing, so I was getting notifications of them fighting them, too. I guess Zara got one of them, haha. I didn't expect her to be Zombi'd out, but she totally wasss. Anyway, current girl made the scoop off Joseph's corpse after he did all of the SCARY SCARY work. I'll find out her name tomorrow, Bechdel Test-style. Or something.

@TheBigG753

@Mr_Mustache

Hehe, was waiting for you to get to that part (the Nursery)...probably the creepiest segment of the game.

@Het_Nkik

I watched you play Fatal Frame for about 20 minutes or so. First, it was pretty entertaining (as much as watching someone else play a game can be!). Your commentary was witty and insightful, and you got a few chuckles out of me. Even though when I was watching, you spent most of the time exploring the same room (the one with the mask under the bed, and the really creepy ghost boy). Which is funny, because I do the exact same thing in these games! In 2, I went back to the same room about 3 times, and found something new each time that I didn't find before. There's a lot of benefit in really scouring each room because there are a lot of surprises tucked away.

As for what I took away from it, it looks like they went the eventual RE route and did away with fixed cameras in favor of a normal third-person view, but they at least didn't go "full RE" and get rid of everything else that used to work fine. From my short time watching, it still looks very much like Fatal Frame. The level design, gameplay and most importantly, the scares, didn't look like it'd been dumbed-down at all. Looks like Fatal Frame with new camera angles, and it looks really great.

Most of the differences to FF1 and (what I've played of) FF2 seem to be improvements that make the experience better. When in combat with ghosts, the camera seems a lot more reliable. There were a lot of times in FF1 and FF2 so far where you appear to have the ghost in your sights, but the game seemingly arbitrarily doesn't always recognize that. That didn't seem to be the case from what I watched of FF4. They've also made considerable improvements to the spirit gauge. It is a lot more apparent now in aiming mode when the camera is charging up, and how charged up it is; sometimes, this was tough to keep track of (especially in the first game) when engaged in an intense battle, when you're focusing so much on getting the ghost in your sights and less on everything else. Using the Wii-mote to escape the grasp of ghosts is a nice addition too, since in FF1 once you are grabbed, you lose the set amount of damage and that's that. And that's still true in the second game, at least to the point I'm at.

But yeah, the game looks great and looks and sounds really creepy. While I have a soft spot in my heart for the old-school fixed cameras, I think the traditional 3rd-person camera is probably more of a positive addition than a negative. I think going from fixed-cameras to first-person immediately can be disorienting, and is probably a lot more clunky than it needs to be. It seems to make combat a lot more fluid in FF4, and though it may make things a little easier, other aspects like exploring the locales benefits from the new perspective. The only new feature that I'm a little iffy on is being able to buy health/film items from a shop. I prefer the idea of taking your chances and exploring potentially hostile areas to try and find some items, when really in need. Although, obviously this is a feature that I could just as easily ignore, as long as there are still plenty of items to find laying around normally.

So yeah...very cool stuff. Looking forward to checking the game out eventually. Thanks for sharing!

@TheBigG753

It was extra scary knowing that there was a game breaking glitch down there. But that's an element of terror I'm glad was removed

Started playing Project Zero 2: Wii Edition for real today. Going with a New Game + on Hard Mode, to maximize the terror. Originally I wanted to attempt a 100% run since the New Game + unleashes tons of ghosts that you wouldn't encounter on your first playthrough, but I've already missed the opportunity to snap pictures of two minor ghost sightings, and was so shocked by a third that I only managed to get a picture of half the spirits present. I suppose I could reload my latest save and try again, but where's the fun in that?

I played through the very first chapter of the game, exploring the abandoned Osaka house, which took me about an hour. Incidentally, I doubt I'll be able to play much more than one hour at a time, 'cause the game just creeps me out too much, so I might not be able to finish this game in time.

It's still the scariest damn game I've ever played, and even though I knew what to expect to a certain extent, it didn't make things any less frightening. There were a lot of new ghost sightings to be had, slightly switched up locations of some ghosts, and that grabby ghost hand is as unpredictable and heart attack inducing as always. Brilliant, brilliant horror game. Every little aspect of it.

@r_hjort Wow, someone else has Obscure 2? I bought that game a long time ago since it was super cheap, but I hardly played it... so I guess I don't have much to add. Just wanted to say that it was interesting to see someone else talk about it.

@Mop it up
Hahaha! People like us seem to be few and far between. Especially if you too bought the Wii version, 'cause I get the feeling most people who did buy it were PS2 gamers who enjoyed the first game and wanted to see what happened to the characters. I found it in a supermarket for about the equivalent to 10 dollars or something, and being the horror fan I am I couldn't pass that up. Didn't play very far at first either, and then I just left the game in my backlog for about four years, until Shocktoberfest came along!

3:30 AM here, but thankfully I don't have to be into work until 3 in the afternoon.

Played a pretty long session of Fatal Frame II, and cruising along pretty well. I got through Chapter 4 and am now on Chapter 5, about to make my way back outside and go back across the village (Mayu is locked up, and now I've got to go find the key -- after a segment there where I found several different keys in a row! I still need another key!! )

My biggest takeaway so far is that I think I prefer the first game, but I'm still only at the almost-half-way point, so a lot can change. After really sitting down and playing it for a while, I don't have that same level of uneasiness that I had in the first game, where it really escalated nicely over the course of the game. Here, it just hasn't quite been as suspenseful. Part of it is that the game is noticeably easier (I've found more health and film so far than I think I found during the entirety of the first game). And the ghosts just aren't nearly as aggressive or evasive during combat sequences. I feared for my life quite a bit in the first game, and had to run away a lot to survive. I wouldn't say I feel non-threatened in FF2, but I haven't had the same moments of panic that I had in the first one.

As for which one is scarier, I guess it depends on how you look at it. I think this game is creepier, largely due in part to the improve graphics, the more disturbing subject matter and just the game's overall darker tone. But I'd also say the first one had me scared a bit more, and again that's in large part due to me feeling a lot more vulnerable in that game. Nevertheless, it's only fair to note that Fatal Frame 1 had a pretty big spike in difficulty and overall scare factor starting around the half-way point, so there's plenty of time for the sequel to match it.

That said, I'm still really enjoying this game and am still always wanting to keep going forward after I've decided to call it quits for the night. The structure of the game is definitely a lot different from the first one, and this helps to give it more of its own identity. While the first one is set in just the same mansion and you visit the same areas consistently, FF2 is more spread out and in a lot of ways is a set of "mini-mansions" interconnected by the town. You spend a good deal of time in each area, so it still establishes a strong sense of place, but it also moves you along at a good pace so that each new chapter feels fresh. Also, I've got to commend it for having a lot less backtracking, particularly of the incredibly-forced variety that plagued the first game in parts. There's no question that this is the better-paced and structured game.

Anyways, those are my thoughts for the night. More late-night ghost photography tomorrow. Playing in the dark with headphones on is definitely the way to go; when you hear the sound of thunder, creepy whispering or demonic laughter, it really sends a chill down your spine when you aren't expecting it. Now, I've got to go back outside...without my flashlight. A feeling of dread came over me at the beginning of Chapter 3 when the flashlight batteries died, but the Kurosawa House at least had enough lights and candles such that it wasn't as bad as it would be to explore, say, the Osaka House without a flashlight. Speaking of which, I have the distinct feeling that this next part won't be quite as friendly in that department...

I finished Resident Evil: Revelations yesterday afternoon. Well, the main campaign on normal. Norman gave me fits for whatever reason, but I loaded him down with magnum bullets early and just stuck to my shotgun for the rest of the fight and that seemed to work.

So...I'm done.

@ludist210

He takes sooooooo much ammo to kill. Especially on Hell Mode, it's pretty ridiculous there.

What'd you think of the game, overall? It's pretty good, right?

I'm now on chapter 5 in Project Zero 2, pretty much the same place as you, @TheBigG753.

The Kurosawa house wasn't quite as scary (but still plenty scary -- the Kusabi stuff is intense!) as the first time around for obvious reasons, but hard mode made up for the lack of surprises with its more challenging ghosts. They can suck half my life away with one effective attack, they are less vulnerable to standard attacks, and are less keen on lining up for group shots than on normal. I had almost forgotten how much the different lenses and other camera equipment actually matter, and before I remembered how to unleash my lenses' special powers I almost got myself killed by two measly ghosts. I also ran into a group of seven (gah!) ghosts at one point, but that went better.

I'm still amazed by the attention to detail this game has. Practically everything that stands out in the environment is something you can walk up to and investigate for flavour text, and the different objects are so damn pretty in a grim way. The way trees outside cast shadows on the ripped rice paper in the windows, the minute traces of blood on drawers and walls, and the contrast between the colourful paper lanterns where you save and the surrounding darkness. Not to mention the details related to the enemies, like how you can spot small drops of water run down your camera's viewfinder when The Drowned Woman Man hovers silently above you. Man, I love this game.

@r_hjort

Wow, 7(!) ghosts at once. I think 3 is the most at any point so far through 1 1/2 games, though I guess that's why it's hard mode.

@r_hjort Yeah, I have the Wii version. I didn't have a PS2 when I bought the game, though I have one now. The funny thing is, my sister just bought the original Obscure for the PS2, which I was not expecting, no idea she had any interest in that. So maybe I will finally play through the game, if I can convince her that we should play both games together. The original has co-op too, right?

@TheBigG753

This is really insightful. I didn't realize the older games had fixed camera angles or lack of shop or potential problems with the the camera recognizing the ghosts and low readability of charging, etc. And thanks for the compliment on the commentary. It's... mostly just me talking myself through the game so I don't have a panic attack but good to know it's enjoyable.

Also, the game has a lock-on for the camera which one other person in my stream seemed to indicate wasn't the case with the older games, and that definitely helps keep the ghosts in sight. Though w/o getting too spoilery for you I'll say there's another item with no lock-on.

Anyway, I'm half way through the game now and I'm actually getting a bit braver as I go. A bit. The sound design and environments are scary enough on their own; throw ghosts into the mix and : (

WHAT the FUDGE. ""CIRCUS"" MY ASS!!

Pretty much the most off the wall part of the game, but I guess its POSSIBLE. Didn't feel like it fit with the overall scheme of everything else, but I suppose when it was over (and they were "overtaken" in the "booth"), it snapped us back to reality. So did that, the Prepper disowned me, and I guess I'm on the search for 3 more letters. Nice! I still haven't found a few IP Junction boxes; I'm hoping they're because I simply didn't have access to them..but I've combed some areas soooo many times, and I just can't find them. No hints, please; thanks.

After losing about 8-10 used-to-be Survivors yesterday, my warchest was looking a little grim (dying on the way to recover a bag full of weapons is THE WORST), but after the ""Circus"", I've built back up pretty good. And I now have the most ammo I've ever had. Missed out on the Tactical Shotgun though and the other one near the Petrol station as I died with those and didn't make it back. Packing a Double Barreled right now, which is alright, I guess, but I didn't even get to USE the other ones


Tonight is my last night to really play this thing. HMMMM... I hope all is left what I think/hope is left. I'll find out "soon."

@Mr_Mustache

I agree, that part felt completely out of place. But at the same time, I give it some credit because I wasn't expecting anything like that to happen AT ALL. Of the directions I thought the game may go in, that wasn't one of them...

Got out of work later tonight than expected, but I'm going to get in a couple hours of Fatal Frame II before I fall asleep...

@Het_Nkik

Ah, lock-on. Now I see why the camera seemed to be a lot more reliable in FF4. Do you think that makes it too easy, or is it still pretty challenging? Though from what I watched, it did look like ghosts took a heck of a lot more damage before they could be vanquished than in the earlier games.

EDIT:

OH GOD! OH MAN! OH SHIT! OH GOD! OH MAN! OH GOD...

I'll talk more about it after I get some sleep, if I even can. It took a while, but damn, this game is starting to really deliver on the scares.

I'm now at the end of chapter 5, in Kiryu house, and I'm almost starting to regret playing on hard mode.
It's pretty cool that you need to rely more heavily on performing special shots like Fatal Frames in order to conserve film and exorcise ghosts more effectively, but the amount of damage spirits dish out is crazy! Given the risk involved in deliberately trying to force Fatal Frames, I'd say the old damage ratio could have felt pretty balanced still, but Tecmo/Nintendo have really gone in for making hard mode worthy of its name.

Up until now the strongest spooks have been able to take away about half of my health in a worst case scenario, where they land a solid attack and I totally screw up defending myself, but I just saw my first Game Over screen after a run-in with a nice dead lady who took aaalllllll of my health with one single attack. Since this is a New Game + run, I've still got a decent amount of healing items,but if this is a sign of things to come, who knows if they will do me any good.

Seems the scariest parts of this game might pale in comparison to the realization that I suck.


@Mr_MustacheBwahahah! I hate the circus! But I love that they put it in the game, if that makes sense. Good zombie fiction needs human conflict and sick decadence like that, IMO.

@Mop it up
Yeah, think that's the main selling point of the whole franchise.


The aftermath of the hurricane that swept through parts of Europe yesterday and today means my internets and electricity are coming and going, so I don't expect to be able to play today, or to finish Project Zero in time.