Looking for a terrifyingly realistic (statistics wise) horror game - real scary situations, not paranormal.

Avatar image for Zuon
Zuon

505

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#1  Edited By Zuon
Member since 2008 • 505 Posts

I may have to describe what I'm looking for. Despite me having no real skills to make a name for myself out in the real world, I haven't exactly had a terrible life. However, I want to play some sort of horror game that is realistically relatable to people who have experienced situations most media outlets are afraid to depict.

I'm talking about no-win situations where you play as a victim where there is either no way to get help, or the people you reach out to don't believe you. Games where you're the victim of predatory stalking, convincing emotional deception/manipulation, shocking violence taking away everyone and everything you've ever known, a wrongful criminal conviction simulator, a realistic depiction of being a mostly sane individual stuck against your will in a mental asylum, even trying to survive a public shooting/hostage situation as one of the hostages... just more true-to-life depictions of horrible events a lot of people go through. I want to step into someone else's shoes just to understand the same terror these people did who have gone through something truly terrifying.

Does anyone have any recommendations of horror games/experiences that fit this criterea? I'm not looking to experience something supernatural with the fear of the unknown, but more something that is well known, but there isn't anything you can really do about it anyway, as as soon as the game starts, it's already inevitable and all you can do is endure and TRY to escape the likely conclusion.

Edit: VR suggestions are acceptable, but not required.

Avatar image for gerygo
GeryGo

12809

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 6

User Lists: 0

#2  Edited By GeryGo  Moderator
Member since 2006 • 12809 Posts

Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2 (2019) are not supernatural but are horror survival games involving zombies.

Alien Isolation where you escape in sci fi themed stuck on a ship mid space and have to survive.

Avatar image for mrbojangles25
mrbojangles25

58382

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 11

User Lists: 0

#3 mrbojangles25
Member since 2005 • 58382 Posts

That is a tough one, horror games tend to have some sort of supernatural element to them.

The only realistic games with "scary" content tend to be more mystery than anything. I can't really think of any "realistic" horror games.

@Zuon said:

I may have to describe what I'm looking for. Despite me having no real skills to make a name for myself out in the real world, I haven't exactly had a terrible life. However, I want to play some sort of horror game that is realistically relatable to people who have experienced situations most media outlets are afraid to depict.

I'm talking about no-win situations where you play as a victim where there is either no way to get help, or the people you reach out to don't believe you. Games where you're the victim of predatory stalking, convincing emotional deception/manipulation, shocking violence taking away everyone and everything you've ever known, a wrongful criminal conviction simulator, a realistic depiction of being a mostly sane individual stuck against your will in a mental asylum, even trying to survive a public shooting/hostage situation as one of the hostages...

With that said, this is all I can really suggest:

  • Spec Ops: The Line. It's a third-person shooter that sort of plays like gaming's "Apocalypse Now", with elements of rogue commanders, PTSD, schizophrenia, and more.
  • Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. While it's not set in modern times, you enter the mindset of a mentally ill Pictish woman that endures insane trials of the mind. The visual and auditory hallucinations in the game are done very well and very realistically, as they consulted with both mental health experts and people that suffer from these afflictions. Play with headphones!
  • UBOAT or Silent Hunter IV. Few things are more terrifying than being in a metal cylinder with depth charges going off. Water flooding the compartments. The suspense of lining up a solution to launch torpedoes, only to have them be duds that alert your position to a destroyer. While set in WWII, these games (sub sims) portray suspense, dread, terror, and reward superbly well.
  • Frostpunk. I know you said you want realism, but Frostpunk is a game that does hopelessness incredibly well. It's a city-building-meets-survival-game where you have a colony of people in the frozen world and are trying to keep them alive. You have to make tough decisions; do you want more food for people, but add in sawdust? Do you want to put children to work? The game is about despair and you really do need to hope for the best to really get the most out of it. Alternatively, plan for the worst and make the tough calls.
  • Max Payne. Gritty, bleak, and with a nice touch of film noir to it, Max Payne delves into the psyche of a detective who has lost everything, yet still trudges on for....reasons. Human life has little value to just about everyone in Max Payne, the perspective given to the player is cynical.
  • A Plague Tale: Innocence. One of my favorite games of 2019, this is a beautifully grim game about a sister and brother navigating the historic world when the plague took place. While the rats have taken on an almost supernatural aspect to them, the game really does a good job portraying the various outlooks and mindsets of people, the need to survive and the things one must do to do so. Desperation, hopelessness, baser instincts, and man's innate preference for conflict even in the face of disaster are all present in this game.
Avatar image for Zuon
Zuon

505

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 0

#4 Zuon
Member since 2008 • 505 Posts

@mrbojangles25: Thanks for these, man. I've played four of these, but not all the way through (Except for Max Payne.) Perhaps it's time to redownload them and give them another try. (Hellblade, Plague Tale, and Spec-Ops: The Line).

Avatar image for blazepanzer24
Blazepanzer24

437

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

0

Followers

Reviews: 0

User Lists: 5

#5 Blazepanzer24
Member since 2018 • 437 Posts

It's not exactly cheep and it's probably only partially what you are looking for, but you might try Disaster Report 4, Summer Memories. Basically you go though an earthquake and you have to make decisions about who to help, and how to proceed. It's pretty interesting and shows humanity at it's best and at it's worst, so to speak. You as the protagonist can also make some pretty low decisions as well if you so chose, or you can be the paragon hero is you wish.