Why is it so much fun to play survival horror games?

I´ve asked this question several times and it seems the answer for me is quite simple, for me it´s a challenge and by beating that challenge I feel like I´ve accomplished something. Well maybe that sounds stupid but facing your fears makes you stronger, so playing survival horror games will make you a stronger person. Mentally stronger of course, I don´t think you actually become stronger by pushing buttons...


But why is it fun? Because some people just like creepy things, face monsters or be a monster yourself. It might sound weird to some people but some of us actually like that. I guess we all have our own favourite type of game but survival horror is something I really enjoy playing, mostly because I like to test myself. I mean if I want to relax and play a simple game I´ll be playing some hack and slash or first person shooter (eventhough they´re not all that easy), but with a survival horror game (the more traditional, so without a lot of ammo and not many checkpoints) you´ll have to be smart and show some willpower to actually make it through because the monsters won´t go away by shouting at them!


So difficult games are fun? I´m not saying that survival horror games are that difficult, but some can be a challenge and not just because of the difficulty but also experiencing all the horrors that are thrown towards you. Especially in first person mode you´ll see everything coming right at you and nowhere is safe. Unless you play with the lights on, but that would be cheating! But it is fun to beat a game that is a challenge, that gives you something to be proud of and even if the rest of the world doesn´t care then at least it´s a personal victory.


Unfortunately survival horror games aren´t always good, some are just lame or break off the traditional path which doesn´t have to be an issue but sometimes you shouldn´t change things just to add another player in the game (survival horror co-op isn´t really scary, at least not as scary as it would be when you´re all alone). I´m glad that games like Outlast and the Evil Within keep it scary, half of the time you don´t know what´s going on but you keep going just to make it out alive. But can you make it out alive? You´ll only know if you keep playing...

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