u/MermaidBookworm

I feel sacrilegious saying this here, but I don't like horror. I never have, and probably never will. But there are some kinds of horror (or horroresque content) that scares me more than others. As a fan of shorter, story-based games that include a lot of puzzles, I've come across a lot games games that look interesting that also happen to overlap with the horror genre, which obviously makes me hesitate. But I don't want to pass on a game that I might like just because there might be too much horror. Nor do I want to waste my time and money on a dozen games that I'll only play 15 minutes of.

I've tried certain games that I believed would be low on horror or at an acceptable amount, or other elements of the game would overpower the horror, only to be severely disappointed, often quitting in the first 30 minutes or so. What Remains of Edith Finch, for example, I thought would have a mildly ominous atmosphere at most, but the psychological/supernatural elements pervade too much of the game. I probably got about 3/4 of the way though before I realized I wasn't enjoying myself. I thought Killer Frequency might have a few jump scares, but right from the start, I could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

On the other hand, I've avoided, then reluctantly tried games that I believed would be too scary, only to find them not so bad, some of which I even loved. I grew up with the Nancy Drew games which often had ominous music, jump scares, finding yourself trapped in dangerous places, and the like, but most of the scary moments were offset by lighter moments. Dying was usually a source of humor, and there were often places you could go to escape the ominous vibes. Plus, I was too busy solving puzzles to care about the vibes. I recently tried the Painscreek Killings, which I was extremely nervous about, but other than two parts of the game (I must have missed a few of the smaller sights), I didn't have any problems, and felt mostly safe exploring and solving puzzles (to be fair, I looked up light spoilers after the first scare, which eased my anxiety and allowed me to play more freely).

I've been frustrated by this this for a while, since it is hard to tell from the home page or advertising content alone to what extent the horror elements of a game are present. I can exclude horror and psychological horror tags from my searches, but people are so gung-ho about adding tags, that I might miss some great games (can you believe The Stanley Parable has a psychological horror tag?).

I got to thinking that if there were a way to search for this ahead of time, I might save myself some time, money, and sanity. Obviously, anything would be better than the nothing I have at the moment, but ideally it would:

-include lesser known and indie games, no matter the age of the game, including those with few horror elements

-rate horror elements on a scale (ominous music, supernatural elements, psychological elements, whether and how much you are "stalked" or chased, violence and gore, jump scares, etc.)

-add notes about elements that might offset the horror or "romantacize" it

-make clear distinctions between different kinds of horror (creepy, anxiety-inducing, comedic, survival, lovecraftian, slasher, folk horror, etc.)

-add a percentage of how much of the game could be considered horror

-make notes of how much or if any of the horror elements can be avoided, knowingly, or, if necessary, with hints or a walkthrough (Forgotten City gave clear warnings when you were entering an area that would be considered horror, and those areas were completely avoidable)

-have the main section be as spoiler free as possible with an additional section(s) that contains more in-depth warnings for those who are especially sensitive, or plan to play the game, but want complete foreknowledge of what they might come across

So basically, I'm asking for help. I'm looking for a website, app or, barring that, a rating system that will help distinguish different kinds of games based on their horror content. Something like Common Sense Media for horror content in games.

If something like this exists, please let me know. Aside from asking about each and every game (of which there are a lot, and it doesn't solve the root of the issue), or scouring reviews for information (which I can do, but it rarely gives me the type of information I'm looking for), I feel finding a resource similar to what I've described is my only option.

I browsed this group before posting, and you seem like a really nice group. I hope I'm not asking too much. Whether you can help me or not, I thank you in advance for your time.

Tl;dr: I don't like most horror games, so I'm looking for a resource I can use to differentiate somewhat scary or ominous games from true horror and different kinds of horror content from each other, so I can make more informed choices when I consider purchasing games that look like they stand on the line between too much horror and an otherwise fun and interesting game.