The Scary World of Viral YouTube Horror Games - Caddicarus

Caddicarus2 minutes read

Viral horror games gained popularity on YouTube between 2010 and 2014, with "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" being a key player, influencing other indie horror games. "Five Nights at Freddy's 3" introduces new challenges and mechanics, increasing difficulty as essential systems fail simultaneously.

Insights

  • Viral horror games gained popularity through online videos, allowing viewers to experience the games without playing them, sparking a surge in specific horror games between 2010 and 2014 that hasn't resurfaced.
  • "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" is a first-person survival horror game known for its atmospheric setting, puzzles, and stealth gameplay, influencing subsequent indie horror games significantly.
  • The game "Yume Nikki" offers a unique experience with dream exploration and surreal imagery, while "SCP-087" presents anxiety-inducing gameplay based on an endless staircase, both contributing distinct elements to the horror game genre.

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Recent questions

  • What are viral horror games?

    Viral horror games gained popularity through YouTube.

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Summary

00:00

"Viral Horror Games: YouTube's Influence"

  • The speaker, Kyle Amar, discusses viral horror games, a subcategory of horror games that gained immense popularity on YouTube.
  • Viral horror games became popular due to online videos, allowing viewers to experience the games without playing them.
  • Between 2010 and 2014, specific horror games saw a surge in popularity on YouTube, but this trend has not resurfaced since then.
  • Kyle Amar mentions a charity dedicated to getting Matt Pat to respond to indie game Twitter accounts, urging viewers to support it.
  • The speaker delves into the game "Amnesia: The Dark Descent," a first-person survival horror game released in 2010.
  • In "Amnesia," players navigate a terrifying castle, solving puzzles, avoiding monsters, and managing light sources to maintain sanity.
  • The game's atmosphere, puzzles, and stealth gameplay contribute to its enduring popularity and influence on indie horror games.
  • Kyle Amar highlights the impact of "Amnesia" on the horror game genre, noting its influence on subsequent indie horror games.
  • The speaker also discusses "Yume Nikki," a top-down RPG Maker game from 2004 that gained attention around the same time as "Amnesia."
  • In "Yume Nikki," players explore dream worlds, collecting objects and encountering surreal and twisted imagery, creating a unique and immersive experience.

14:59

Unsettling games with unique gameplay and atmosphere.

  • The game "Punishments for Not Being G" is known for its thick, sloppy atmosphere and pushing players into uncomfortable territory.
  • The music in the game, despite being funky and jazzy, works well with the game's mood.
  • Getting the bicycle in the game is advised to make navigation easier in open areas and avoid distracting footsteps.
  • "Yume Nikki" is a unique and creative game, offering an unforgettable experience with relaxing yet unnerving music.
  • SCP-087 is a game based on an endless staircase in darkness, where players must report their findings while facing hallucinations and danger.
  • SCP-087 features a simple premise with anxiety-inducing gameplay, but some may find it boring due to prolonged periods of inactivity.
  • SCP-087 has an unusual control setup with unnecessary fire buttons, adding to the game's mystery.
  • SCP-173 is a sculpture that moves when not observed, a key antagonist in the SCP Containment Bridge game.
  • SCP Containment Bridge features various monsters like 106, 096, and 049, each with unique abilities and threats.
  • "IMSCARED" is a game that becomes truly special when it interacts with players outside the game, adding files and communicating through text and images.

29:41

"Horror Games: Ghosts, Slenderman, and Asylums"

  • The game "I'm Scared" immerses players in a haunted experience where the game itself becomes a ghost story, leading to a chilling ending where the ghost eventually makes the player hang themselves.
  • "Slender" is a game based on the Slenderman myth, where players must collect eight pages in a forest while avoiding the menacing Slenderman who becomes more aggressive as pages are found.
  • The game's slow pace and limited gameplay options make it frustrating, with the player having to walk slowly, sprint ineffectively, and find pages in specific forest landmarks.
  • Slenderman's appearance is underwhelming, lacking the expected scare factor, and the game's mechanics make it easy to avoid him by simply turning away whenever he appears.
  • In "Slender: The Arrival," the game is an improved version with better controls, visuals, and a more structured story, but Slenderman remains less threatening and easily avoidable.
  • The game introduces additional threats like a child and bony figures, but they appear infrequently, diminishing the overall scare factor.
  • The game's environmental elements, like conserving power and finding batteries for night vision, add depth to the gameplay but do not significantly enhance the overall experience.
  • "Outlast" places players in an asylum setting, where they must uncover the facility's horrors, avoid enemies, and use night vision on a camera to navigate the dark environment.
  • The game's reliance on finding batteries for night vision adds tension and challenge, as running out of batteries leaves players in complete darkness, heightening the fear factor.
  • Despite improvements in gameplay mechanics and visuals, the game's overall scare factor is limited by predictable enemy encounters and repetitive gameplay elements.

44:34

"Parkour reporter game with Duracell sponsorship"

  • The game features a battery company sponsorship idea, with Duracell being a potential sponsor.
  • Players take on the role of a parkour news reporter in the game.
  • The game transitions to a part where players are instructed to hide, marking the beginning of the actual gameplay.
  • Encounter rooms in the game feature tables that players can run around, a design aspect that poses a challenge.
  • The game shifts from crawling and hiding to running laps around enemies, losing the scare factor.
  • The game is likened to Mirror's Edge rather than Amnesia, focusing more on action than horror.
  • Characters like Chris Walker and the Johnson Twins reduce the horror element of the game.
  • Jump scares in the game are frequent and over the top, serving more as adrenaline shots to keep players engaged.
  • The game's mechanical feel allows for exploitable strategies, making it less scary but still enjoyable.
  • The storyline involves twisted experiments in an asylum and a paranormal ghost creature, creating a disjointed narrative.

58:37

"Guard chair PS3 game against Springtrap"

  • In this game, you are a guard super glued to a chair in a PS3, monitoring cameras to prevent an animatronic named Springtrap from reaching you.
  • Unlike previous versions, there is only one animatronic to worry about, but the game introduces randomness in essential survival elements like camera feeds, audio systems, and oxygen levels.
  • Rebooting failed systems takes 3 years, during which you are stuck on a screen unable to do anything else, increasing the risk of Springtrap attacking.
  • As the game progresses, systems break more frequently, requiring longer reboots, often leading to game over.
  • The game includes hallucinations from other games, adding to the challenge and unpredictability.
  • The game becomes more difficult as more systems fail simultaneously, forcing you into a reboot panel repeatedly.
  • The game "Five Nights at Freddy's 3" is described as frustrating and challenging, with the player feeling powerless and unable to progress past certain nights.
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