The most recent trends in terrifying video games tend to be focused on an exceptionally young demographic, causing considerable consternation among older gamers.
Horror and video games have always gone hand in hand, frightening millions of gamers worldwide with tight atmospheres, terrible monsters, and the fear of knowing a monster lurks around every corner. Though they were formerly supposed to be mostly for adults, current horror games have undergone an extraordinary change in the past decade. The medium has been overrun by youngsters, resulting in a flood of copycat games that cater to that market. While not always for the better, this shift in the current horror game world is both bizarre and interesting.
Horror games have always existed and have remained popular. With its ominous atmospheres and diverse frightening creatures, classic games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill popularized the genre. The debut of Amnesia: The Dark Descent in 2010 marked one of the genre’s first big developments. It was acclaimed for both its mood and its restraint. Instead of continually bombarding the player with creatures and chases, interactions with foes were rare and infrequent. The threat of a monster frequently startled the player, rather than one actually appearing to follow them.
Most significantly, Amnesia demonstrated that independent horror games can be very profitable. This was mostly due to the increasing popularity of video game playthroughs on YouTube. Many YouTubers at the time amused their viewers with Amnesia videos, enabling people to experience the game without having to play it themselves. Amnesia was a big hit as a result of this, and it influenced many current horror games that followed. Its popularity may have even influenced the video game that came to define the current horror genre, Five Nights at Freddy’s.
The Development of Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s, created in 2014 by indie game developer Scott Cawthon, went from a game with a modest cult following to an online success virtually overnight. Its gameplay followed the same logic as Amnesia, with the user monitoring deadly Chuck E. Cheese-style animatronics through security cameras. Its shocks were few, but the fear of being startled at any moment made them all the more potent.
Five Nights at Freddy’s, like Amnesia, garnered a large following due to YouTubers. This is perhaps the most significant reason why Five Nights at Freddy’s major target is youngsters. YouTubers would often use dramatic thumbnails and excessive responses to attract younger listeners. The game was terrifying, yet nothing was so hideous that children couldn’t look at it. It took a childish concept – robotic restaurant figures — and gave it a gloomy edge.
Five Nights at Freddy’s was a huge success due to all of these factors, with sequel games, novels, spin-offs, toys, and other official goods. The game’s enormous popularity prompted a slew of copycat and fan games; it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that the game single-handedly revolutionized horror. These rip-offs also made several odd idiosyncrasies, which were initially unique to Five Nights at Freddy’s, so common in horror games that they may now be considered standards for the genre.
The Increasing Popularity of Trend Chasing in Horror Games
The most evident oddity is that it appeals to children. Many horror games based on Five Nights at Freddy’s, such as Bendy and the Ink Machine, Poppy Playtime, and Tattletail, have the same concept and subject. They concentrate on run-down children’s attractions and homicidal toys and use various strategies to draw the same audiences, especially by avoiding revealing anything too horrible for youngsters. The tales sometimes feature adult topics such as murder, yet they seldom show anything that would frighten off their target audience.
