Blog: "10 Ways to Evolve Horror Games"

[SquigPie]

Combat didn't feel the least bit threatening in Silent Hill 2, you didn't enjoy it yes, but not because the monsters felt threatening, you didn't enjoy it because it was bad. As long as you had a gun, it was just "hold down aim buttom and fire a couple of time". And considering the amount of ammo, you'd spend most of the game using a gun. Dead Space at least required some tactical thinking, which made shit tense when there was 6 enemies bearing down on you and you had to dismember them all.

Even then, the enemies isn't what makes the horror style, Amnesia and Silent Hill 3 are both straightforward, they both lack subtlety (not in a bad way, mind you), in Silent Hill 3, the Otherworld is a hellscape with weird, almost melting walls. In Amnesia, you aren't stuck in a creepy castle, you're stuck in a Lovecraftian demonic dark world where the music blares ungodly tunes at you. Both games are very "loud". The horror isn't sneaky or creepy, it's roaring chanting and thouroughly terrifying.