MO SADEK
Special to The Leader
It’s a regular Friday night. You’ve had a tough week and head back home with the intentions of relaxing a bit before your weekend activities begin. As you take your shoes off and sit down on the first seat with cushioning, you hear a knock at your door. You didn’t have any plans with your friends, so the noise seemed to be in your head, but then a second, louder knock occurs. As you throw on something presentable, you wonder who it could be. You’re too tired to hear the imaginary voice of your conscience telling you to ask who’s there, so you just open the door. Standing in front of you is a man wearing a mask.
On any other day, a guy showing up in a mask at your front would probably be a warning sign that something’s not right, but since it’s Halloween, the only crime here is not providing this person with a sugary treat. Fear is something that we suppress during Halloween because the entire culture around the holiday promotes scary activities like haunted houses and costume parties but, most importantly, scary games. Theres nothing like getting a bunch of your friends together and playing through a game filled with jump scares, zombies, or homicidal stuffed animals that want to make you one of them. Here are a few suggestions that will keep you from sleeping this Halloween season.
1. Amnesia: The Dark Descent
The reason “Amnesia: The Dark Descent” is first on this list is because it inspired all of these in one way or another. While you’re searching for answers to the questions of your character’s blurry past, a presence referred to as the “Shadow” follows you with the intent of ending your search. Encounters with the monster are devastating, as making visual contact with the character causes your character’s mental state to deteriorate to the point where you begin to see different faces in paintings you’ve seen or to hear noises that aren’t really there. Unfortunately, as there is no way to stop or harm the monster, and the only weapons you have in this game are your wits and darkness; all you can do is hide. Progressing through the game may seem to be a daunting task, but the rewards outweigh the scares. Learning about the mysterious and dark past of your character and the mansion separates this game from other mindless titles in the horror genre.
2. Five Nights at Freddy’s
You’ve probably heard stories of this game — maybe you’ve even watched a play-through of it — but there is nothing comparable to actually playing it. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is the story of you, a clueless individual desperate for work, who decides to work at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a restaurant comparable to Chuck E. Cheese’s. All you have to do is sit in the office, watch the security cameras and keep your sanity from the hours of 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Unfortunately, the robotic entertainment staff isn’t properly programmed, and, to save a few bucks, the owner didn’t bother to repair them. Instead of just singing and dancing, they have taken the extra responsibility to put anyone who is not dressed in proper costume into the required Freddy Fazbear attire. This wouldn’t be so bad, but the costumes are filled with robotic parts, so the task of getting you into one is more like putting meat into a grinder. Good thing the office has doors; just keep em’ locked, right? Unfortunately, this will only expedite your death, as the doors require power to operate, and management has decided not to pay for power after hours. Though the tasks of the game boil down to three simple mechanics, you can’t let your guard down; the animals can mess with your doors, sprint into the room without you knowing and can unexpectedly appear in front of the office. With a low price and a mobile version for iOS and Android, “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is an effective and quick way to get some squeaks and squeals out of your friends this season.
3. Outlast
“Insane asylums are fun,” said no one ever; however, “Outlast” is an easy way to get yourself into one. You’ll take the role of a dedicated reporter who gets a lead on some illegal and unofficial experiments happening at Mount Massive Asylum. This game is not for the faint of heart. Numerous encounters with the asylum’s residents will leave you questioning your own sanity. Similar to “Amnesia: The Dark Descent,” there are no weapons that can be used against the violence, and you must resort to hiding and running to evade death. I’d love to tell you more about the game, but I’ve never made it past the first half-hour.
4. Among the Sleep
If you’re calling me a baby for not being able to conquer “Outlast,” you wouldn’t be too far off. In “Among the Sleep,” you take the role of a toddler who is awakened in the middle of the night and looks around the house for his mother. Sure, it’s cute to be able to crawl around and make funny sounds, but that is the only comforting aspect of the experience. You may have gotten over your fear of the dark, but it’s clear that your character has not. As you progress through the game, the environments become distorted, darker and harder to navigate. What’s even more disheartening is your inability to run. Sure, you can sprint for a short time, but you’re a little guy; you haven’t yet fully mastered your legs and constantly stumble when you aren’t crawling. This makes running away from the monster a more terrifying experience. On the plus side, you carry a stuffed animal named Teddy who not only acts as a flashlight when you hold him tight, but can talk you through obstacles. The game itself is fairly short with completion time around 2 hours, making it a great horror game to play from beginning to end on a Friday night with friends.
5. Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition is a few things, but frightening isn’t one of them. Though categorized as a horror action game, it’s full of lots of quirks and faults that make the game humorous at times. This doesn’t mean that jump scares and a good story are absent from the game, but you may end up finding a zombie violently thrusting a foot in your mouth. As FBI Agent Francis York Morgan, you will investigate a murder in the small town of Greenvale. Throughout the game Agent York has these strange conversations with Zach, his imaginary friend. The game has a plethora of goofy characters that all have their own unique personalities aside from York, like the stereotypical small town sheriff who thinks he owns the place and a couple of eerie twins who can’t help but finish each other’s sentences, that all contribute to the game’s interesting storyline. Though it may not be the scare you were looking for, the clever writing and abundance of ridiculous events in the game will keep you and some friends entertained. Zach approves.