Why Colins Game is the scariest part of Subway Midnight

Subway Midnight is one of my favourate games. It's a horror game but I don't think most of it is very scary. Most of it. There is one section that genuinly scared me thefirst time I played it: Colins Game.

The main reason for this is the unfamiliarity of it. By this point you'll likely have gotten used to the style of the main game and with little warning it changes. Quickly shifting from fairly standard third person controls to first person tank controls puts the player on their back foot. It's difficult to control and forces you into an entierly new perspective. Even if you're used to tank controls (which I am not) they are usually used in third person games. It forces you to stop moving when you want to see around you, having to choose between getting a grasp on what's going on and getting the hell out of there.The visual style is also pretty different. They use these dark, grainy shaders futher muddying the water on what's happening around you.

 

The best part though, in my opinin, is when you leave the house you're configned in and the movement speed increases. It's such a simple change but it can create so much tention. It implies there's something to be running from. There isn't, the whole section is scripted. There's no monster chasing you, there's no time limit. You can't fail but it feels like you can. The best horror gives you just enough information to have the veiwer create the fear for themself.

 There are some shortcomings to Colins Game. Like I said the whole thing is scripted and after playing it once most of the fear wares off. I think this is just a symptom of horror media in general. Once the mystery is gone most of the fear is too. I'm not really sure what the solution is. Having a real chase wouldn't do much imo. In games that do have chase sequences they can quickly become a source of irritation rather than fear. I do think having some consicquences for the players actions would be benifitial though. At the very least it would make people want to replay it to see different outcomes. That is part of what draws me to horror games over something like movies in the first place. The knowledge that what I do can actually affect the outcome makes everything a lot more tense.