We all got moments where we got scared, creeped out or uncomfortable while playing a video game. Not just horror games (I mean, that's their job :P) but also any games. Even the most family friendly ones can hold a few surprises, maybe that wasn't even their intention or maybe they started normally and suddenly got spooky without warning. Well this it what this thread is for, to share those scary moments!
I'm starting with one of the earliest I can remember. I’m gonna talk about Forestia. Now, I'm not the only one to have been a victim of this game, in fact, if you were an European kid that grew up in the 90s/2000s who played a lot of edutainment PC games (like me), you certainly know what I’m talking about. So, what is Forestia?
Forestia is a French Myst-like (first person point n' click) where you walk around in a magic forest with talking animals and trees and other fantastic creatures. You play games and solve mysteries and can collect plants and take pictures of animals to learn about them. There is also a day/night cycle. In short, it just seems like a perfectly harmless little game but, as you might have suspected by now, there is something dark behind all that. This game is cursed and I'm not only speaking about the 3D that has badly aged a bit. Some of the missions you are assigned to have a creepy atmosphere, like the mermaid one or the sneaking in the anthill one. But if you want to discover all of that by yourself, go play it, it's abandonware (but you'll need an old OS or a virtual machine for it to work correctly). Now, there's a particular moment that those of you who already played know full well what I'm referring to :
https://youtu.be/qb50xzsI0rY?t=2031
So everything start up fine, you going to sleep with your friend Sam at the top of the watch tower. And then... when you wake up, you're all alone, lost, everything is covered in thick red mist and there's a constant ominous choir. Most animals you come across are dead... I know this sounds like a creepypasta but, it's real. To make things worse, there are jumpscares and creepy warping textures if you take a good look at some spots. This is why I often tell people to play this game, just to see them go "What the hell? This is a kids game?!". :evil: Oh and, there is also a bad ending to this level where you accidentally doom the forest and you die by taking a huge blazing rock in the face.
The impact this moment had on 5 years old me was strong enough for me to not touch Forestia again (and Myst too, because I though they were the same game :forehead:) for quite some time. But, I still love this game very much and it's one of my favourite from my childhood despite that. Daddyoak and Little Birch are very nice and probably the reason why I like trees that much. Not only that but it is a tradition to play it every evening of the summer solstice, because "Ce soiiir c'est la fête! La fête de la musique!". :D
That's super creepy! I've never heard of this game before, but I can see why it would have left such a strong impression.
Often it's those things that disturb us ever so slightly, rather than outright scaring the bejesus out of us, that leave the most lasting impression; we keep going back to see if it will have the same effect, or to investigate what it is that made us feel that way.
I can't think of a video game moment off the top of my head, but for me, a similar kind of memory would have to be the John Tenniel illustrations from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. They're so creepy and mysterious, as a kid I would just hover on those pages and stare at the drawings, taking in every detail. The one where her neck has stretched because she's just eaten the cake which makes her grow massive is particularly striking:
(https://i.imgur.com/FrBKz94.jpg?1)
Interesting topic! :lemcat:
Believe it or not, one of the games that spooked me early on was Lemmings!
There's a video which showcases some of the unintentionally creepy moments in Lemmings (All the 6's, Gory Traps ect.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2IbUYZ_zus