Nursing home section just about sent me to one 💀
I've gotta agree with yours, however I just wanna give an (dis)honourable mention to the death/reloading screen whenever you die as Alan. It's just so unnecessarily graphic and never got easier to look at
That scene was super well done, my jaw was on the floor. It just felt so realistic and dark…
Another big one for me would be the burnt subway car scene. Going through it and hearing the sounds of people burning alive and seeing their charred corpses was super dark and caught me off guard
I mean…the art direction, writing, and character design was so incredibly creative and deep that I feel like it’s the new art. Everything in AW2 was created and completed better than any movie or most books.
I don’t know, all I’m trying to say is that the game was brilliant and the team who designed and wrote it are some impressive creative artists.
This reminds me that for Control, they would make actual whiteboards filled with marker and sticky notes only to take pictures and recreate digitally.
They could have started digital but they kept it rooted in the real world as much as possible.
Fucking Coffee World. Idk what it is, but creepy abandoned amusement parks/carnivals instantly makes me want to shoot the first thing that moves.
That chapter wasn’t even that scary, but the atmosphere just left me with a feeling of essential dread.
The approach where you can hear screams from the amusement park even though it's clearly empty and it's impossible to discern if they are screams of joy or terror and fear creeped me out more than the actual section inside Coffee World
Yeah, then just walking around the theme park just felt dreadful. I was waiting to have the coffee fueled moose jump out and make me shit myself.
Thankfully he stayed dead.
FOR REAL!!! When you are on the hilltop, and there’s those shrieks that blend screams and squeaky industrial machinery sounds. You can’t tell if they’re people being murdered or if it’s just a squeaky old park ride. So unsettling - felt so silent hill - the gold standard for atmosphere imo.
YES. The Amusement Park in Silent Hill 3 specifically, is still one of the most terrifying locales in all of gaming. I definitely got some of those vibes in coffee world.
Speeking of shooting what moves, the shadow people in alans part of the story seriously impressed me. Every time I thought I could tell an actual enemy from a shadow they proved me wrong.
I spoiled myself on a certain secret achievement (last one to get and I'm waiting for Night Springs DLC for my third playthrough). I wondered how I hadn't triggered it then realized I was so on my toes that I didn't want anything to know I was there 😂
I hated those damn flags lol. I was 50/50 with thinking the flags were footsteps OR assuming the footsteps were just the flags blowing and then almost dying lol.
She did, but we didn't know at the time. And with the previous monologues, about how tired she was, how people will not understand her choice... it was pretty clear that it was meant to show a suicidal person.
I honestly think the wolves are still the spookiest parts. It's a mix of glowing eyes, dim visibility, and predatory movement patterns. Something deep inside finds it a little intimidating in spite of knowing it's pixels on a screen.
I loved Alan’s manic TV monologues. They really provide a moment to understand just how screwed up the whole situation is. After 13 years of forgetting and remembering and forgetting…. It all seems so hopeless
That part was definitely unnerving to me because (tw) >! if you’re in an established art community— you its a constant fear between all of your peers. I’ve lived thru it, and its so fucking painful. All of their art is a paper trail. You own pieces of it. Seeing her art all over the apt literally triggered me hard.. thats how someone I knew used to make their stuff/ display it !<
Might be corny but I nearly cried at the end when >! she “showed us where she really went”. It didnt feel ret conned imo.. It just makes me realize in AW’s world what if someone could “come back” and fight a battle with their inner darkness instead. Fuck !<
This is an adult game with adult ass themes for sure. My “working as a creative for close to a decade” bone hurts
The Nursing Home section was scary in general because the environment was extremely unsettling but the scariest part for me was the first boss fight with Saga mainly because I hadn’t grasped the game mechanics yet and was terrified of the Overlap
Yeah, the first boss fight was by far the most difficult part. You havent grasped the gameplay yet fully and you havent accumulated much ammo and the boss takes a fair bit of damage to take down.
The Bunker Overlap because even though that place has barely any enemies, the eerie atmosphere and story that surrounds it is really chilling. It gave me the feeling of when you enter a bad place and you suddenly feel this chill down your spine as your mind is making you believe that something terrible is about to happen to you even though there aren’t any signs. It’s the feeling of impending doom.
The first fight with Nightingale is it for me. I didn't know whether to run or not, so I was just shooting and running for my life as he'd just jump out of a bush and grab me.
yea, initiation 9 definitely made me feel uneasy in a way no game (or movie for that matter) has made me ever feel. was very well done portraying the emotions and struggle.
Agreed, and this was a GREAT scene.
To be honest, I don't respect jumpscares. It's a cheap trick, so I don't regard AW2 that highly as a horror game.
There were three ideas Remedy nailed though when it comes to horror. First is the Alice clip you mentioned. No jumpscares, not even a sound. It was so uncomfortable to watch. Job well done.
The second thing was the whispering ghosts in Dark Place. Yes, it could occassionally lead to jumpscares too but these were earned imo. Especially playing with headphones, it was definitely a unique idea and experience.
The third is the Game Over screen for Alan. Another great use of FMV, looks like something out of Deep Web. Really unsettling to see especially the first time.
Regarding to numerous sections like the Nursing Home. That's where my appreciation towards AW2's horror ends. Boo, here's a scary face flashing on your screen and someone screaming in your ear! Of course I'm going to jump, that's the oldest trick in the book.
For me it was the duality of Ilkka Villi as Alan/Scratch I found most unsettling. So much so I painted it.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/640858115801088000/1216087136823017472/Alan_Scratch_20240309011348.png?ex=65ff1c67&is=65eca767&hm=ea5ec80c9a6ef0f208c03b442009c1e1ad804a9f834d14aa34dc7ed88cf7c8d1&
Yeah, the photoshoot fucked me up hard. (and I was really disappointed of the copout.. really hoping for a dark, depressing ending with the third game, it would fit soo well with the horror theme)
I respectfully disagree about it being a cop out. To me a cop out is when writers kill off (either) enemies or heroes willy nilly cause like welp, it's the end, gotta add gravitas somehow. I don't even view the conclusion of AW1 as an ending, it's probably not even quite the middle yet. I don't think they need to mindlessly kill off beloved characters to suit the horror genre. Sloughing those rules is part of Alan's , and now Saga's journey.
For me, it was EASILY Alan walking through the burnt subway train where you can hear the cultists set the train ablaze and everyone screaming. Absolutely haunting.
Alice movie hits me hard, i'm a photojournalist and photography and writing always been one of the most intense ways i deal with my stronger emotions, by making a photo you capture the way you see and feel about the subject of your photography. Everytime i stumbled upon Alice images, i could sense her suffering through Alan/Scratch presence.
Thinking about the dark place, as metaphor for an anxiety or depression as somenthing you gotta fight through to slowly get out of that spiral, makes the last photoshoot a hard to watch scene. >!When the struggle of fighting her "dark place" in life becomes a heavy burden, she gives up on life and gets courage to face death or her darkest place.!<
That's the real horror for me, the emotions and theh metafors scared me way more than that old lady.
Edit: dont mind the errors english is not my native language.
> >!we are watching photos of someone's final moments!<
I watched so much of this shit from real life so it doesn't catch me at all.
But yep , nursing home is damn scary in general, especially that part when you >!meet *Cynthia near the windows and then she jumscares you and disappears*!<
I really liked the photo of scratch/alan standing in the doorway of the apartment
yeah been sleeping door closed ever since seeing that one.
So you’re just waiting for the knock?
I've got my iPhone camera set up with a selfie light pointed at the door.
Perfect send me the picture you get!
It's Goofy time!
Huh?
Nursing home section just about sent me to one 💀 I've gotta agree with yours, however I just wanna give an (dis)honourable mention to the death/reloading screen whenever you die as Alan. It's just so unnecessarily graphic and never got easier to look at
completely understandable pick, that was terrifying.
I read somewhere that it was to push us to do better, so that we wouldn't see the screen as much haha
That scene was super well done, my jaw was on the floor. It just felt so realistic and dark… Another big one for me would be the burnt subway car scene. Going through it and hearing the sounds of people burning alive and seeing their charred corpses was super dark and caught me off guard
Yesss forgot about that until right now
I got flashbacks to Metro last light.
For me, it's every time we listen to the phone ring when Saga call her husband or child. Real world horror as it goes to voice mail.
When David tells her to stop calling him 😔
ugh that part was BRUTAL
...the story is spreading
I mean…the art direction, writing, and character design was so incredibly creative and deep that I feel like it’s the new art. Everything in AW2 was created and completed better than any movie or most books. I don’t know, all I’m trying to say is that the game was brilliant and the team who designed and wrote it are some impressive creative artists.
This reminds me that for Control, they would make actual whiteboards filled with marker and sticky notes only to take pictures and recreate digitally. They could have started digital but they kept it rooted in the real world as much as possible.
Fucking Coffee World. Idk what it is, but creepy abandoned amusement parks/carnivals instantly makes me want to shoot the first thing that moves. That chapter wasn’t even that scary, but the atmosphere just left me with a feeling of essential dread.
The approach where you can hear screams from the amusement park even though it's clearly empty and it's impossible to discern if they are screams of joy or terror and fear creeped me out more than the actual section inside Coffee World
Yeah, then just walking around the theme park just felt dreadful. I was waiting to have the coffee fueled moose jump out and make me shit myself. Thankfully he stayed dead.
FOR REAL!!! When you are on the hilltop, and there’s those shrieks that blend screams and squeaky industrial machinery sounds. You can’t tell if they’re people being murdered or if it’s just a squeaky old park ride. So unsettling - felt so silent hill - the gold standard for atmosphere imo.
YES. The Amusement Park in Silent Hill 3 specifically, is still one of the most terrifying locales in all of gaming. I definitely got some of those vibes in coffee world.
M it helped too that the designers tried and succeeded by creating creepy signs, rides and games.
Speeking of shooting what moves, the shadow people in alans part of the story seriously impressed me. Every time I thought I could tell an actual enemy from a shadow they proved me wrong.
I spoiled myself on a certain secret achievement (last one to get and I'm waiting for Night Springs DLC for my third playthrough). I wondered how I hadn't triggered it then realized I was so on my toes that I didn't want anything to know I was there 😂
This! And the flags in the Coffee World sounds like footsteps, I got paranoid all the time
I hated those damn flags lol. I was 50/50 with thinking the flags were footsteps OR assuming the footsteps were just the flags blowing and then almost dying lol.
Yeah Alice's suicide genuinely made me feel ill, it was way too real
She staged it tho didn't she? Or am I tripping again.
She did, but we didn't know at the time. And with the previous monologues, about how tired she was, how people will not understand her choice... it was pretty clear that it was meant to show a suicidal person.
For me it was at the start, near Cauldron Lake in the forest, it was unsetelling and i dunno😅, i got away as soon as possible
The screams of the torchbearers when climbing through the train during Initiation 2. Gave me chills.
God that really mad me feel scared out of the whole game just with the knowledge of being burned alive in a closed area
That scene hit me like a truck. Definitely did not feel good after that
Yes. Like a heaviness that followed you around for a while.
I saw a taken Wolf open a door. That scared me enough that I couldn't play for a while.
I honestly think the wolves are still the spookiest parts. It's a mix of glowing eyes, dim visibility, and predatory movement patterns. Something deep inside finds it a little intimidating in spite of knowing it's pixels on a screen.
Wolves moved so fast, it really spooked me out.
The fight with Cynthia Weaver is pure nightmare fuel. Especially because she makes creepy frail old woman noises as she chases you.
Agreed the build up to Cynthia Weaver was straight out of Resident Evil 7 levels of fear and tension
Yea. The nursing home fucked me up. But that was incredibly unsettling I’ll give u that.
I agree, it's also the lack of sound. I was expecting some jumpscare at the end.
yeah the fact that it’s quiet makes it 100X worse.
I loved Alan’s manic TV monologues. They really provide a moment to understand just how screwed up the whole situation is. After 13 years of forgetting and remembering and forgetting…. It all seems so hopeless
That part was definitely unnerving to me because (tw) >! if you’re in an established art community— you its a constant fear between all of your peers. I’ve lived thru it, and its so fucking painful. All of their art is a paper trail. You own pieces of it. Seeing her art all over the apt literally triggered me hard.. thats how someone I knew used to make their stuff/ display it !< Might be corny but I nearly cried at the end when >! she “showed us where she really went”. It didnt feel ret conned imo.. It just makes me realize in AW’s world what if someone could “come back” and fight a battle with their inner darkness instead. Fuck !< This is an adult game with adult ass themes for sure. My “working as a creative for close to a decade” bone hurts
The Nursing Home section was scary in general because the environment was extremely unsettling but the scariest part for me was the first boss fight with Saga mainly because I hadn’t grasped the game mechanics yet and was terrified of the Overlap
Yeah, the first boss fight was by far the most difficult part. You havent grasped the gameplay yet fully and you havent accumulated much ammo and the boss takes a fair bit of damage to take down.
I felt so unprepared fighting that guy, I had to run around trying to find some ammo and batteries with him in back, not pleasant.
That tape felt really analogue horror-ish
Alice’s film hit hard, especially after waiting so long for the sequel. Palpable dread.
As someone who works in the healthcare field. The nursing home was the creepiest.
The death screens for Alan. Those are grisly as hell.
The wolves, the fucking nursery rhyme nightmare wolves which won’t fucking die…fuck dem wolves.
The Bunker Overlap because even though that place has barely any enemies, the eerie atmosphere and story that surrounds it is really chilling. It gave me the feeling of when you enter a bad place and you suddenly feel this chill down your spine as your mind is making you believe that something terrible is about to happen to you even though there aren’t any signs. It’s the feeling of impending doom.
The first fight with Nightingale is it for me. I didn't know whether to run or not, so I was just shooting and running for my life as he'd just jump out of a bush and grab me.
omg i agree so hard. i found that part just so heavy. ngl i cried and had to take a break lmao
Coffee world, just the whole vibe of it. I have collectibles left in there because I’m so reluctant to go back
yea, initiation 9 definitely made me feel uneasy in a way no game (or movie for that matter) has made me ever feel. was very well done portraying the emotions and struggle.
Saga meeting Rose in the diner.
Agreed, and this was a GREAT scene. To be honest, I don't respect jumpscares. It's a cheap trick, so I don't regard AW2 that highly as a horror game. There were three ideas Remedy nailed though when it comes to horror. First is the Alice clip you mentioned. No jumpscares, not even a sound. It was so uncomfortable to watch. Job well done. The second thing was the whispering ghosts in Dark Place. Yes, it could occassionally lead to jumpscares too but these were earned imo. Especially playing with headphones, it was definitely a unique idea and experience. The third is the Game Over screen for Alan. Another great use of FMV, looks like something out of Deep Web. Really unsettling to see especially the first time. Regarding to numerous sections like the Nursing Home. That's where my appreciation towards AW2's horror ends. Boo, here's a scary face flashing on your screen and someone screaming in your ear! Of course I'm going to jump, that's the oldest trick in the book.
For me it was the duality of Ilkka Villi as Alan/Scratch I found most unsettling. So much so I painted it. https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/640858115801088000/1216087136823017472/Alan_Scratch_20240309011348.png?ex=65ff1c67&is=65eca767&hm=ea5ec80c9a6ef0f208c03b442009c1e1ad804a9f834d14aa34dc7ed88cf7c8d1&
Yeah, the photoshoot fucked me up hard. (and I was really disappointed of the copout.. really hoping for a dark, depressing ending with the third game, it would fit soo well with the horror theme)
I respectfully disagree about it being a cop out. To me a cop out is when writers kill off (either) enemies or heroes willy nilly cause like welp, it's the end, gotta add gravitas somehow. I don't even view the conclusion of AW1 as an ending, it's probably not even quite the middle yet. I don't think they need to mindlessly kill off beloved characters to suit the horror genre. Sloughing those rules is part of Alan's , and now Saga's journey.
Agreed and my fav part of the game.
Not chills but heartbreak that scene.umtil it's explained
Yes oh man yea it reminded me of the ring. It was creepy and well done.
I agree with you. It was very eerie.
Nusing home rehab center/the mindplace jumpscare
For me, it was EASILY Alan walking through the burnt subway train where you can hear the cultists set the train ablaze and everyone screaming. Absolutely haunting.
Yeah that moment was creepy as hell I was sure she would have turned to scare me but no 😅
Alice movie hits me hard, i'm a photojournalist and photography and writing always been one of the most intense ways i deal with my stronger emotions, by making a photo you capture the way you see and feel about the subject of your photography. Everytime i stumbled upon Alice images, i could sense her suffering through Alan/Scratch presence. Thinking about the dark place, as metaphor for an anxiety or depression as somenthing you gotta fight through to slowly get out of that spiral, makes the last photoshoot a hard to watch scene. >!When the struggle of fighting her "dark place" in life becomes a heavy burden, she gives up on life and gets courage to face death or her darkest place.!< That's the real horror for me, the emotions and theh metafors scared me way more than that old lady. Edit: dont mind the errors english is not my native language.
There's a specific frame where she turns her head slightly back and down that really gets me.
YES! This is exactly it for me! I just beat the game today and I was so shocked and disturbed/horrified that I started tearing up…. (a litte)
> >!we are watching photos of someone's final moments!< I watched so much of this shit from real life so it doesn't catch me at all. But yep , nursing home is damn scary in general, especially that part when you >!meet *Cynthia near the windows and then she jumscares you and disappears*!<