Jump scares are a controversial topic in horror. Some people love them, others feel they are cheap. It's an easy way to create a fear response, and sometimes it can feel like the storyteller is relying on lessons from the jump rather than spending time cultivating something truly terrifying. Other times, the jump scare is so damn effective that it trumps anything a slow-build horror moment could do.
This goes for movies, TV shows, and of course video games. Most horror games use a jump scare or two somewhere along the way, although a select few don't use jump scares at all. These other horror games are the opposite; they are all about jump scares. Sometimes this focus is effective, other times it can be a little too much, but for anyone looking to get a repeated scare this Halloween, these are the games that will get the job done.
Alan Wake 2
Vision Faces
First Alan Wake was a horror game at heart, but more in the vein of Stephen King than Junji Ito. Sure, it was creepy, but it was rarely scary. Alan Wake 2 is a completely different beast. Leaning into the survival horror genre, Remedy goes all out with resource scarcity, hard-hitting risk-reward combat, and persistent jump scares that, while extremely effective, will drive some players insane.
While these aren't the only scary things about the game (far from it), Alan Wake 2 will permanently flash grayscale screaming faces on the screen without warning. They're supposed to represent the Dark Presence's efforts to dissuade Alan and Saga from stopping Scratch and rescuing Alan from the Dark Place, but they're also very annoying. This will work for many players, but may turn others off completely. That said, these jump scares are only a small part of the horror Alan Wake 2. Several chapters – including an abandoned coffee-themed theme park, a not-so-fake hotel murder, and an in-home medical wing for the elderly – are extremely disturbing, and playing through them makes the game feel like one of the scariest horror games ever made.
Mortuary Assistant
Some of the best jump scares in any medium
At the other end of the spectrum we have Mortuary Assistant, an indie game from 2022 that is equal parts horror and simulator. Players take on the titular role of a mortuary assistant who helps with embalming corpses under the watchful eye of their boss. The thing is, when their boss locks them in the morgue, players must instead determine which corpse is possessed by the demon. Then they must decipher the name of the demon that possessed them and cast it out of their body.
However, no self-respecting demon would make things so easy. So naturally they actively toy with the player, manipulating the world and/or attacking them with the help of the three Lesser Spirits. These ghosts are the core of jump scares Mortuary Assistant. They're not just creatures popping out of closets. Players often turn after completing a mundane task and the ghost simply to be there he stared at them. Other times the ghost will quickly run across the room out into the hallway or appear at the window. These scares are so effective because they work organically; the monster doesn't jump out to scare the player, it just sees something that scares them. It's the kind of thing that will quickly make someone look nervously over their shoulder, which will be reflected in their lives outside of the game.
Madison
Camera shake
scientifically speaking Madison is the scariest video game of all time with the highest heart rate swings and highest overall heart rate of any game tested (which of course wasn't each horror game). This trend is largely due to the Polaroid camera mechanics, incredibly intense chase sequences, and the effectiveness of the game's jump lessons.
The camera mechanic is a very effective horror tool because it firstly distracts the player with a mundane task, but more importantly draws their eyes in a certain direction. Jump scares that may not be effective in other games work like magic Madison because players simply don't look for them, or on them. These hauntings are also random in some cases, meaning even seasoned players can still be surprised. Madison it also has a fantastic opening, but unlike many horror games, it doesn't slow down after that. Instead, it maintains a solid pace of haunting, puzzles, and narrative flow that keeps the player engaged.
Face
The calm before the storm
Face
- Released
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October 30, 2020
- ESRB
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m
- Developers
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SadSquare Studio
Face there is no jump scare fest no stretch. This is a slow-burn horror game divided into four vignettes, each set in the game's primary setting: a house where traumatic events repeatedly occur. Players are tasked with solving complex puzzles related to each individual past event while being tormented by the ghosts that haunt the house.
Atmosphere in Face is of the highest level, which helps keep players on edge no matter what they do. The thing is, the scares in this game aren't constant; sometimes players will go quite a while without anything scary happening. It's easy to imagine that when a jump scare happens, it's that much more startling because it comes out of nowhere. Face is a notoriously scary game, and while players may struggle with its puzzles, there's no denying that the jumping lessons are well-designed and unobtrusive as well.
Anthology The Dark Pictures: Little Hope
Fiesta in your face
Little hope is the second game in Supermassive Games' epic horror adventure series, The An Anthology of Dark Images. It follows a group of four college students on a road trip with their professor when their bus crashes in the small town of Little Hope. They soon discover that they are trapped in the city by an impenetrable fog with a horde of evil demons who like to impersonate other people, especially those who have died in the city.
If there's one game on this list that deserves the descriptor “Features Lots Of Jump Scares,” this is it Little hope. Popping and screaming faces roll a mile a minute; in fact, it's probably the game's main intimidation tactic. It certainly won't be for everyone, but those who like jump scares will get more than their fair share of fare here. Not the best entry by far The Dark Pictures Anthology, but Little hope it still has all the strengths that make those games successful: split-second narrative decisions, solid writing, casting and acting, and a convoluted story that keeps players on their toes.
Ride out
This asylum is not as abandoned as they say
There are arguably two games that started the “horror walking simulator” trend in gaming: Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Ride out. Amnesia it's about physics-based puzzles, keeping your sanity, and solving a mystery. Ride out it's all about oppressive, suffocating darkness. The thing about darkness is that there's probably something lurking in it, waiting to pop out.
To remedy this, players have access to a video camera with a night vision mode that allows them to see in the dark, albeit with a sharp, disturbingly green filter over everything. However, video cameras need batteries, and if they run out, players will be left stumbling around in the pitch black. There are also enemies to contend with, namely the hulking Chris Walker, who will stalk players through the asylum, forcing them to hide and pray he moves on before he finds them. While many of Outlast's the jump scares are based on these Chris Walker hide and seek scenarios, with more traditional scares mixed in as well. Bodies that should be dead jolt to life, unexpected loud noises echo through the corridors, doors slam; it's all here, and it makes the haunted house atmosphere of the game palpable.
Glass staircase
A tribute to classic zombie flicks
Puppet Combo is a relatively unknown horror developer that creates homages to low-budget retro games. They've been consistently praised for their writing and storytelling, but the game that consistently sits atop their library is glass staircase, an homage to classic Italian zombie movies and retro horror games like Resident Evil. The game features four girls who work to maintain an abandoned mansion where they are trapped. They are lured by promises of freedom, but all the while an unseen monster is gradually taking them away.
The great thing about jump scares inside Glass staircase is that everyone feels earned. Each one is equal parts surprising and terrifying, and there are no ground-breaking things; every single jump scare has some significance to the plot, making it feel much more valid than just a one-off scare. Glass staircase is an underrated horror gem (as are many of Puppet Combo's creations), and at $6 on itch.io, it's an easy, low-risk recommendation.
Five Nights at Freddy's
They watch you watch them
Working security at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza seems like an easy gig: watch the security cameras, report any break-ins, keep the security office door closed, all pretty standard stuff. Definitely watch out if any of the animatronics start moving. They can be a little… murderous.
Five Nights at Freddy's is a simple concept at its core. Watch the cameras, watch the mascots move around, and if any of them get too close, slam the security door on them. That nuance comes from how every action the players take is terrifying in some way. Check the camera and nothing is there? It means the mascots are somewhere else. Check the camera and is there a mascot? It will start moving soon. Check the hallway outside the office? This means that the cameras are unattended. Focus on the cameras? Now the corridor is unguarded. It's a constant high-stakes juggling act, and if the mascot makes it to the security office, it results in a game-ending jump scare. Every time. It is the final flourish of the whole experience.
Poppy Playtime
Are we talking yet?
Horror games often gravitate toward abandoned buildings, but an abandoned toy factory isn't usually a haunted location. That's the place Poppy Playtime hosts its horrors, though. Still in the process of publishing his episodic chapters, Poppy Playtime is a survival horror game in which players explore an abandoned Playtime Co. factory. trying to unravel the mystery of what caused the factory to close, why all the employees disappeared, and why the toys are so monstrous.
Each chapter focuses on one large toy that has come to life and is trying to kill the player. In Chapter 1, it is a giant statue named Huggy Wuggy, while in Chapter 2, it is a beast named Mommy. Killing these creatures results in a jumping death animation, but the most effective scare Poppy Playtime are when these giant killer toys fall on the player. Not only are these moments effectively terrifying, but they constantly lead to a chase where players have to drop whatever puzzle they're solving and run away from a giant killer toy. The toys are animated so well and the movement mechanics are so fluid that these sequences make the jump lesson doubly exciting as players know they're in for one of the most tense 'run for life' moments they've ever experienced.
