Horror Adventure, I summon thee Codex!

[halflingbarbarian]

Hi! After going through many of the LPs in the Playground I found out that I am very entertained by the adventure games LP'ed. I've never been into adventure games bigtime before, and have only played the Monkey Island series, Leisure Suit Larry series, and ... Phantasmagoria. And that was when I was around... 8-9 years old? Guess which one stayed in my memory .

I googled some images of Phantasmagoria and all that fucked up shit started coming back and I decided I should dive headlong into horror adventure games so that I can work out any subconscious damage done to my childish mind long ago. What I am looking for is:

1) Something pretty horrible (as in scary or seriously fucked up).
2) Not already in the Playground (completed, at least. because I read through all of them).
3) Not too hard. I want to be terrified, not alt-tabing looking for solutions online.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jaesun]

The Penumbra Series.

http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/penumbra-series

 

[Fowyr]

Darkseed, Darkseed 2. Maybe they was LP'ed, dunno.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Yahtzee's stuff counts, I suppose (5 Days a stranger, 7 days a sceptic, trilby's notes, 6 days a sacrifice), although the last part goes seriously full retard.

Also: Overclocked - A History of Violence. More of a psychological thriller than horror, but still gud.

Black Mirror 1-3, although BM1 will give you a headache thanks to retarded puzzles, unless you are an expert on fucking astronomy.

 

[halflingbarbarian]

Penumbra has first-person combat arg and Darkseed has TIME LIMIT omg. Haha thanks anyhow but I probably have half a testicle when it comes to playing horror games so I prefer it slow paced, and preferably clickety-click mouse interactions only (like the Monkey Island series, sorta). That's why Black Mirror does look good...

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Need moar!

Sidenote: Any of you played Phantasmagoria and remember that scene with the woman forcefed through a metal funnel to death? How fucked up is that.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

I have no mouth and I must scream.

 

[Zed]

cockclocktower

 

[ArcturusXIV]

Amnesia, Sanitarium, The Dark Eye, Parasite Eve (kinda!), Silent Hill (same.), Eternal Darkness, Darkseed (Giger art.), and Gabriel Knight II.

 

[ArcturusXIV]

Oh yeah, Longest Journey was supposed to be good, think it's more fantasy, but I watched some Dreamfall vids and the atmosphere made me cry.

 

[Elwro]

Try Amnesia: the Dark Descent. It has no combat.

 

[MapMan]

Try Amensia: the Dark Descent. It has no combat.

It has combat. The fact that you're a defense-less pussy doesn't mean it's not combat

 

[Mrowak]

The Void (aka Tension, aka Turgor) all the way. The atmosphere is damn heavy, and the game itself very creepy.

 

[Crooked Bee]

My number 1 recommendation is Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. It has a pretty cool magic system too.

 

[SCO]

If you want to be seriously adrenaline pumping, thief 2 missions are the way, though that isn't a adventure.

Clocktower for the snes is ok.

 

[mangsy]

Definitely Amnesia: the Dark Descent. Scariest game I've ever played. Puzzles aren't too bad. The Penumbra series is another good choice (made by the same dudes). Also, the Silent Hill games (esp. 2; 1-3 are the best). They have more action and less "adventure" (in the sense of the games you referenced in your OP) though.

Oh yeah, Longest Journey was supposed to be good, think it's more fantasy, but I watched some Dreamfall vids and the atmosphere made me cry.

Definitely give TLJ a shot. Dreamfall is an amazing game too, IMO, although many on the Codex will tell you otherwise. Neither is a horror game though, so if you want to be scared, look elsewhere.

ETA: The Resident Evil games are another option. They get more and more actiony as they go on though (the first few are survival horror, but four and five definitely step into shooter territory).

Oh, and I found the Alone in the Dark games scary when I was younger. Not sure how they'd stack up now. I think they inspired Silent Hill and Resident Evil though.

 

[Serious_Business]

If you want to be seriously adrenaline pumping, thief 1 missions are the way

"Fixed", as they say.

I'd go with Dark corners of the earth myself, altho it's action-adventure

 

[Alex]

Downfall is nice. It isn't great, as far as adventures go, but it has a lot of good in it. Puzzles are a little too simple, but it has a very nice atmosphere.

 

[felipepepe]

Amnesia, Sanitarium, The Dark Eye, Parasite Eve (kinda!), Silent Hill (same.), Eternal Darkness, Darkseed (Giger art.), and Gabriel Knight II.

Great games, Sanitarium is a mind-fucked point & click, very old-school and nice.
Amnesia will make you shit your brains, it's the scariest thing I ever played in my life.
Sillent Hill: The Room is my favorite, nice puzzles, perfect atmosphere and very little combat.

 

[made]

The Horrorsoft games, duh:
http://www.mobygames.com/browse/games/h ... eloped-by/

Also, Undying was pretty spooky in the early levels. Though I forget if it was more of an action-adventure or fps.

 

[coaster]

Most of my picks have already been mentioned, but I might throw in Blackstone Chronicles and the two Loath Nolder games, both had decent atmosphere.

The aforementioned Black Mirror 1 is cheesy as fuck but still has something creepy about it. BM2 & 3 are much more professional and quite decent games (quite an easy series but I like easy adventures).

Scratches: Director's Cut is incredibly atmospheric due to wonderful soundtrack, definitely play that one.

 

[halflingbarbarian]

Agree with the easy adventures bit. I started a ways into Black Mirror 1 so far and ... let's just say I am drinking alot of scotch nightly in front of the comp. Great list of suggestions guys; and as adventure games don't take much time to finish I hope to work down the list and see at what point I get desensitised.

 

[SCO]

If you decide to go the T2 fan mission route,

go here:

http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.p ... rror%20FMs

And work down the list.

 

[jonnypolen]

I bought Dark Fall: The Journal from GOG, and it was an ok horror/puzzle game. GOG has quite a few of the old horror/puzzle/adventure games. But, as somebody already mentioned, you should really do yourself a favour and try Amnesia.

 

[Jaesun]

Am I the only one who found the Penumbra series > Amnesia?

 

[jonnypolen]

I liked the Penumbra games, but the first one turned into whack-a-dog as soon as you found the pick and the second one just didn't do it for me in the same way that Amnesia did. Amnesia just feels more polished. They are all good games, though.