Outlast

[Cuyir]

First Dead Space was what I call "fun scary". I got the platinum trophy in it because it was really easily replayable. Dead Space 3 had its moments that were truly scary but in the end it's just a really good fun game. Dead Space 2? Never again.

That's really interesting (assuming it's 'Never again' because it's too horrifying)

Do you reckon you could say what it was in particular that made it so much scarier than Dead Space 1 for example, or even more than Amnesia?

I think DS2 managed player resources better. I was always staring at an ever dwindling ammo and health recovery item count while in the first one they rained items on the player. It always seemed to throw you into encounters when you least expected and wanted them to happen. It was a relatively common occurrence to be nursing an injury and dealing with ammo shortages when BAM, stuff happens. Forced one to be very careful with ammo, do stupid shit (melee stuff) and use improvised weaponry.

The more relate-able environments in DS2 also helped a lot. The brain processes the information and it says "this is relatively close to what I think colonies in space would look like. Basically a huge space mall with living areas and what have you...wait...what was that sound? Did a woman just scream? waitaminute whose's guts are those?" And you get the schtick lol. The school, with the wave of killer toddlers, also helped the fear become cerebral. Normal average everyday looking things (BUT FROM SPACEEEEE) made it scarier for me.

The way they deal with

Spoiler below!

returning to the USG Ishimura was incredible. They made the damn ship scarier than it was in the first game. Your memories of the place are still pretty vivid and then seeing it again gives you a sense of "oh no, not again"

Great stuff.

It was also very mentally taxing. Each encounter took peace of mind and comfort from me, something that barely happened in the first one. Couple that mental fatigue with the sometimes bleak story taking place and you have yourself a doozy of an experience. Example:

Spoiler below!

when Isaac sends Ellie away, after going through a rough area and finally killing that crazy fuck who hurt Ellie, his reaction to dooming himself is horribly palpable. It's the closest I've felt to feeling like a protagonist in a horror game feels like. You and Isaac had just gone through hell and back. Had multiple moments that took comfort away (the elevator boss fight was too much for me, seeing how I have a fear of closed spaces), many close calls, suffered though his insanity and etc. And just seeing that made me feel his fear and helpless-ness. That "i'm going to die and there's nothing I can do about it".

And I think that's it really. Better atmosphere and ambiance; harder to survive and less resources; mentally taxing, etc. Didn't even get too specific with

Spoiler below!

Issac's insanity and his issues with Nicole,which are all pretty important to the whole experience. It'd make this post longer than it needs to be but i'll just say that that aspect of the game which i glossed over is also very key in why i think Dead Space 2 is amazing and impactful.

To me Dead Space 2 is better AND scarier than the first one, but how do I find it scarier than Amnesia?

It's a surprisingly brief answer: to ME facing dangers is scarier than running from them.

If you are killed in Amnesia it's because you either had bad luck or did something wrong. So you are forced to start over and thus all that build up and atmosphere crumbles away. In games where you have to fight that are well crafted like Dead Space 2 was, having to FIGHT these things and, indeed, run from them at times (like when I didn't have enough items near the end and the last boss was near so i began using the force gun as a shotgun to clear my way and run) makes it scarier for me.

If you die in Dead Space 2, which obviously also happens, it's a different feeling than in Amnesia and Penumbra and etc. How? You HAVE to face the monsters AGAIN. You HAVE to make sure you don't blow off all your ammo on them. You HAVE to make sure you take as little damage as possible. All while dealing with the excellent atmosphere. All those considerations that are running through my mind make encounters a bigger deal than they were in Amnesia.

In Amnesia it was drastically different for me. Getting caught meant three things: 1)Run run run run run, 2)get hit and run run run run and 3) oh god i'm cornered blaaargh die> restart> try again > sigh.

The difference comes from having to face the enemies. There's almost no considerations to take into account in Amnesia in a way. You had to conserve oil but I mostly never used it so moot. You had to make sure not to take many hits but you weren't expected to fight them so you could get away with not being perfectly healthy.

So dying in Amnesia was tiresome, annoying, time consuming and not scary (maybe jump scare scary) while in DS2 dying had a mental toll for me.