Horror is a consistently popular genre in gaming, but what isn’t popular is overuse of the same fluff makes games feel way too similar.
No matter what system you play games on, be it PC, console, or even mobile devices there is no shortage of horror games for you to choose from. Horror seems a particularly strong genre within the independent scene – although there is a real lack of them on the Switch.
However, there is more to horror than a dark and creepy setting. There is also a big difference between generic horror and original horror. Yes, there are still plenty of original ideas out there. Anybody who falls into the ‘nothing is original anymore’ camp is wrong. I’ll say that right now.
Originality is not in short supply, it is just that there is a comfort in following the previously successful tropes, putting what feels like a unique spin on it, and churning out something that turns the horror genre into something that could be summed up like the back of a shampoo bottle.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
That said, there is also a big difference between originality and boundary-pushing. Trying to cause shock and offence for offence’s sake it neither. That is not horror. Well, technically it is, but it’s bad horror. I am all for taking risks and breaking away from the mould, but just make sure it has a strong story and a reason for being there. Shock value alone is never a valid reason.
With that said, let’s look at some of the most overused tropes in horror games today.
Avoidable Horror Pitfalls
There is nothing wrong with any of the following elements of horror, and there is still room for them to be used in combination with a truly unique idea. However, as it stands right now, these elements are overused tropes that we are tired of seeing as the driving elements of horror games.
- Mental Health and PTSD
Mental health is a serious theme, and yes, it is easy to see how it can be so heavily linked to horror games. However, there are already too many games out there where you play a character with PTSD or some other form of mental illness, and that alone is supposed to be the driving narrative behind everything they do or experience during the game.
There is a lot more that can be done with this theme, but it needs to be handled well.
I can understand why people stay clear of this because if you get it wrong, you end up trivializing the condition or making it look as if you are mocking it. So people stick to the safe middle ground.
There are many ways to instil fear and suspense in a scene and through into the player without having to rely on mental illness. We are complex creatures and tapping into what fear really is, understanding how it plays on the mind opens up many more storytelling ideas than projecting an individual illness. You can create a far more compelling and intriguing world when you look beyond the surface and dig deeper into what makes us afraid.
- Absent or Abusive Father
So many first-person horror games, especially those found on Steam of Itch.io tell the same story over and over again. An absent father or an abusive father is the reason why the family dynamic broke down. It’s why the character has to endure such horrible and often paranormal events.
Sure, there are some sub-storylines here. Dad died or dad ran away, but either way, the absent father figure is overly used as a source of blame and negativity. The case could be made for absent mothers also, however, a lot of the time their absence is either explained or rather they are absent because of the father figure who is then more deadbeat than absent.
Much like mental health, it is a serious theme, but it is one that is tired now when it comes to being the key narrative that drives the story forward. Bad things can happen to people who come from happy homes too. Not to mention, that compelling gameplay is there to draw the player into the world, and by over-relying on a particular family dynamic you are alienating a large portion of your possible player base and lessening their immersion in the story.
- Fetch Quests
The idea of being locked away, and having to find your way out is indeed a terrifying experience. However, there is an overuse of having to search out and find the key needed to escape. Especially when it would be just as easy to take the things you are moving and interacting with in your search and using them to break the windows and call for help.
Of course, this is not saying we should never have to look for things, but rather saying that developers should make sure that every search is valid and helps move the story forward rather than just being about the ‘ treasure’ at the end of the hunt. Also having to find keys or door codes to get into rooms that hold no purpose to the greater story – loot rooms or the like – gets old real fast. Not to mention that breaking away from the game’s story to look for a key that way can ruin the immersion and damage the great world-building.
- Unseen Enemies
The unseen enemy can be a very powerful storytelling tool. If you have your world-building spot on then giving the player nothing but their own imagination to play with can be the most haunting of horror effects. It just needs to be done well.
Years ago, the Blair Witch Project (movie) nailed it dead, and this was confirmed in the sequel when revealing the witch lessened the sense of horror and dread. Now you can argue it was a different story and different storytelling style, but the point remains the same. Sometimes the unseen evil is a great device. However, when every other game you play has the screen glitch every time the character looks towards whatever evil it is, the effect is lost and the trope gets old.
Not to mention, having the player see but not see this antagonist devalues the power of said evil and lessens that required sense of dread.
- Notes and Collectables That Add No Substance
Collectables can be a great way to add content to a game, explain the lore and help move the story forward. One of the things I loved about playing Dead Space was the way the game just popped when you listened to the tapes and read the different notes. Without them, the game was still good, but the storytelling and the depth of the world just came alive when you looked for these items.
However, there are also too many examples of collectables being thrown in simply to give the player something to do. This breaks the immersion and can make the game feel weak.
Sure, it’s fun to have something a little random, a handful of items to find or destroy. Such as the statues in Evil Within (or rather the finding of keys for the evidence lockers) and the bobbleheads in Resident Evil. It is when you make collectables part of the story but do not use them to actually tell part of the story, you are breaking the connection to the game and leaving your players feeling distracted and less drawn into the world you are building.
Tropes Aren’t All Bad But Use Them Properly
Tropes are what they are for a reason. They are not bad, but rather they are the embodiment of too much of a good thing makes it bad, or they are used without imagination and in the most basic of forms.
Tropes can be used as the backbone for a great many storytelling devices but they need a lot more meat on their bones that they are not given in a lot of games.
What are some of your pet horror peeves, or tropes that you think are used too frequently?
