But others remain adamant on the ever-present potential of staying closer to tradition. As the genre continues to evolve and grow in popularity, developers are finding new ways to subvert players’ expectations around horror’s foundational staples. X chasing you around the Raccoon Police Station in Resident Evil 2 Remake or stepping on broken glass and inadvertently alerting a clicker in The Last of Us are a few examples. The Bunker is part of a group of horror games where dynamic or randomized elements haunt the player. “When things are out of your control, they become less scary.” Frictional Games “After a jump scare, you’ll go, ‘OK, what am I doing? I should be careful in what I do in this game space because that might lead to the next one.’ When things are out of your control, they become less scary.” “Jump scares shouldn’t just be something that’s pushed on you, but something that’s almost a consequence of your actions,” Olsson tells Inverse.

Accidentally stepping on a trap, using a grenade to blow up a door and open a path, or even moving heavy objects can irritate the monster hunting for you. For Amnesia: The Bunker, creative lead Fredrik Olsson wanted that bow to be tensed by the player’s actions. Scenes like these are aplenty in horror video games. By the time your hand is on the handle, you expect the bow to strike at any moment.īut this is speaking in the traditional sense. Looking down at your pistol’s chamber to count the few bullets left inside is the first drop of sweat running down your face.

The sudden rattle knocking on a window triggers an internal alert. A long, obscure corridor with a door waiting at the end is enough to set the scene. The moments leading to a video game jump scare can feel like a bow gradually getting tense.

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