How do you guys cope with tense games?

[Folie]

First off, to clarify my definition of 'tense' - games like The Last of Us: Part 2, Demon's Souls, any Resident Evil ever etc. Basically, any games/sections where there's an oppressive atmosphere and pretty much everything is out to kill you, aggressively.

I find games like those mentioned really hard to deal with. I'm about 7 hours into TLOU2 (so no spoilers pls), actually really enjoyed what I've played of it, but even the thought of going back to it makes me feel a bit anxious and haven't played further for months. This isn't like a '2020 has been a bad year' type thing though, even Uncharted 1 and its Nazi zombies section really unsettled me way back when.

So for those of you who have no issues or have overcome them, what advice do you have for basically chilling the F out and not letting tense/stressful games affect you?

 

[Pilgrimzero]

If those games stress you out, don't play Alien Isolation. That game I can only play in spurts even on easy. 10-15 minutes and then I gotta play something else.

Really any stalker game like Alien, just stresses me out PDQ.

 

[flashman92]

I stare off to the side of the screen so the scary things can't hurt me

 

[Ravelle]

Most of them are just video games to me, Last of Us and Demon's Souls, Resident Evil 2 Remake I can enjoy just fine.

There's a couple of things I can't deal quite deal with though, like being chased by something like Mr. X in RE2R, I stopped at that moment because I could not solve puzzles and think with him stomping around. I didn't make it far in RE7 either, first person chase scenes are so rough because you're trying to figure out where you should go, came from and how to dodge the father and after dying a couple of times because being disoriented and frustrated it kills the immersion and scaryness turns in to frustration.

 

[Budi]

Lots of tobacco. Not recommended though.

Honestly I have bit of hard time with games like that too, especially Souls games feel too constantly opressing for me. I need my moments of levity and relaxation too.

 

[ItchyTasty]

Most games of these games tend to get less tense once you get more confident in your gameplay abilities in my experience. Also when you accept that your character can die and it's alright. Though that part is hard, since survival instict tend to kick in.

 

[Bathory]

Tense games are a huge problem for me, I love horror movies and horror books, I think I watched more horror movies than any other person than I know, I even write about horror in my research in college, still for some reason, some games make me feel so anxious that is impossible to play and this is very sad, because I feel I miss a lot of good games such Amnesia, Resident Evil 7, Silent Hill and so on. I would love to change that, but I don't know how :(

 

[Deleted member 12555]

Those are quite different examples of what you mean, but they're all interesting. But if you're playing a tense game and you're chilled out then the game's probably doing something wrong. The cool thing is feeling tense and being afraid and still making progress, I think that's the whole point. Don't overthink it if you're feeling scared, that means you're probably into the game.

And yeah, as someone said above it's OK to die. I'll actually go straight into a monster when playing horror stuff and feeling overwhelmed, to let my character die. Did that a few times playing Amnesia.

 

[Armoredgoomba]

A round of animal crossing after a session

 

[cosmickosm]

Slowly

I love horror but horror games mess me up. So I typically play "tense" games slowly and in smaller time chunks.

 

[badatorigami]

I had Always Sunny playing in the background for my entire first playthrough of Bloodborne. Turning on a funny show that I'm familiar with and don't have to pay attention to gets me through oppressive games.

Doesn't work with horror; CANNOT play any horror game even though I adore horror movies.

 

[baberunisei]

Either I dont play them or I play them with a walkthrough (more frequently the former)

 

[Chettlar]

Stream it!

I've found a lot of games that were kind of depressing or too intense for me are way way better when you can play with people, but since I live alone that's not always easy. So if I hop on discord it helps a lot to have other people watching what I'm doing. I have a bunch of destiny friends that all play kind of grindy games like destiny, wow, waframe, etc. and a lot of times we'll have the friend's stream up on the side and talk about it. It's gotten me to buy and play a lot of games too haha, but hey.

Also helps with more boring games too or games I can't quite get into immediately due to my ADHD.


Which is weird because it helps opposite problems. With a boring game, having something to do while you shoot the shit with friends is fun and can help overcome some initial boredom because I just can't get into it (This happened with Doom 2016). With a tense, stressful/scary game, if I play alone, I get TOO into it, and having friends around helps keep that from happening. I just naturally get really immersed in games which isn't always a good thing for what you're talking about, OP.

 

[Kain]

I don't. I just can't play those kind of games, that stress the fuck out of me.

The only game like this I've finished was precisely TLOU and because I thought of the game as a puzzle game when the clickers and stuff came. I had a reaaaaaaaaally hard time with the hotel basement (you know the part) and I had to run blindly to finish it lol. The human encounters i had no problem with though.

 

[Tuorom]

I unconsciously clench my jaw leading to it being sore, thanks Hades

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

Didn't play Last of Us. Demon Souls I wouldn't call tense you see most enemies coming and the one you don't only fool you the first time. Resident Evil 2 was just a third person shooter.

If those games stress you out, don't play Alien Isolation.

Click to shrink...

That Alien is just a straight up asshole.

Over Cooked and Tetris are tense.

 

[Nessii013]

Defiance and the desire to overcome a harsh reality maybe? Or who knows, maybe it's masochism lol

 

[blueredandgold]

I went to Dark Souls 2 as a palate cleanser if Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze was stressing me

I actually finished Dark Souls 2.

 

[Brannon]

Embrace it all; it's why I play games like Amnesia and RE 7 partly. Lights off, headphones on, a dark and stormy night if I'm lucky, and it's just perfect for letting the dread set in.

Alien Isolation is cool, but I only played about 30 minutes since want to play it in VR, so when I finally get a PC VR headset, that's just gonna be a lovely night.

On that note, is there any reason other than Microsoft saying no that current VR headsets aren't running on the Series X? I mean it's clearly got the power to handle it so hey.

 

[The Albatross]

OP, I'm with you.

I had to stop playing Resident Evil 2 because my middle aged sensibilities couldn't take it anymore. I played Re1 and Re2 as a kid, 20+ years ago, but now as an adult like just that first segment in RE2 had me frantic. And then when I heard about Mr. X stomping around as you're solving puzzles I'm like ... fffuuuck.

I realized a while ago that I like games where I can control the tension, like Red Dead 2 or other open world games. Like in those games, existing in the world is calm and not tense, but then you can initiate tense situations yourself if you want to, which you then usually have the power to resolve.

 

[Fevaweva]

Poorly

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

I'm horrible. I'll play until I hit a save point and then that's enough for me...yup. Need a break.

 

[andymcc]

wouldn't you say most action games that require good reflexes or some degree of memorization count as being tense? i can deal with really hard arcade game sensibilities but have no desire to play TLOU2 due to the violence.

 

[julia crawford]

Lmao i couldn't play more than ten minutes of Silent Hill 2 in broad daylight

Resi1... somehow managed it going a liiiiittle bit at a time, same with Dead Space.

 

[Chadtwo]

the tenseness is its own form of escapism for me. Real life stressors tend to fade away when you're worried about whether the clicker a foot away from you is going to notice you

 

[The GOAT]

StarCraft, as a bronze player, was incredibly stressful. It was like doing cardio.

RE7 in VR was nerve wracking, but motion sickness was far worse.

An overtly oppressive atmosphere doesn't bother me much. I actually prefer it in most games.

 

[Winston1]

In survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, I tend to pause the game and take a few moments to collect myself. Also maybe take a look at what my health and ammo is at.

 

[kingsamj]

Once I've died a few times it sort of strips off the veneer and I start to see the game in more abstract terms: as a set of responsive systems more than something "real". If I do x, y happens, etc. When that happens it alleviates a ton of the stressful feelings!

People have mentioned Alien Isolation a few times in this thread and IMO it's the perfect game for training yourself to do this. Absolutely one of the scariest, most tense games I've played. I loved the feeling I had during the first few hours of this game. But by the end of the game you'll have learned the rules and you'll see it more as a video game, and the tension will largely be gone. Honestly it felt great to overcome my fear over the course of that game.

 

[N64Controller]

Depends on the game, really. Didn't really feel tense while playing TLOU2, just felt like any other action game where you stealth around, take down some guys and then get spotted and just kill everyone/everything in firefights once you get spotted. Horror games like RE2, I tend to be really scared and wary of jumpscares. In situations wher I know something will happen, I quite literally just "scream" IRL and run through to give myself courage! Haven't played Demon's Souls yet, but usually Souls games don't bother me that much with their atmosphere, but I do get quite tense playing them, it just doesn't keep me from playing them.

Games I eventually stopped playing because of stress are games like Tarkov or Hunt Showdown, because you literally have to be always on because another player could jump you at any point. It's true for Souls games also but you kinda know when someone invades you most of the time.

 

[Mickagau]

I simply stopped playing games like that a few years ago.
Maybe it's because I'm getting older (43) but I don't see the point anymore in playing games that make me feel stressed and anxious. That's like the anti-entertainment for me lol.
OP, if you don't feel like it, you shouldn't pressure yourself to play certain games imo. Just pick something you are more comfortable with.

 

[Jeepman87]

I usually cope by peeing my pants. But just a little to relieve the pressure.

 

[Smutpeddler]

Play something fun instead. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Lobster Roll]

I just remind myself that I'm not in any actual danger myself.

Using TLOU as an example, often I'd just let a Clicker snack on my jugular if I lost a bunch of healing items in the fight. May as well let them reset the encounter and try again. So many times my SO would be yelling to me to run away from them and I'm like "it's cool I'm taking a death".

My character is in danger. Not me.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I don't really any more. Tried playing The Last of Us Remastered a couple of weeks ago and I got stuck on a bit where I had to stealth kill some runners and a clicker, and I kept getting it wrong. Probably tried 10 different times with no luck so I realised I wasn't having fun and I didn't want to keep repeating it, so I turned the game off.

 

[EvilBoris]

Frantic masturbation

 

[TheMadTitan]

I say "oh shit" a lot, pause for a moment, and then continue playing until I'm done for the day.

 

[Ra]

I don't deal with tense atmospheres well at all, in games or movies. I can become desensitized to jump scares, but psychological dread is something to which I just can't adjust. I put a lot of games down or just know my limits and never buy them.

TLOU2 didn't affect me much though, Ellie felt like an unstoppable terminator from the beginning.

 

[djinn]

I don't. Tried to play Prey, got maybe 10 hours in before I got my first panic attack from it. Realised I needed to stop playing the game altogether.

 

[Mona]

i play them

 

[est1992]

I love it. I revel in it.

 

[penguindrum]

I don't play games like this because I'm really bad with them. I like to watch others play though! The last one I played that made me feel super tense was Prey. My strategy was pausing often and playing slowly.

 

[Joffy]

Turning the sound off during particularly tense bits helps. Without audio literally all the tension is sapped out instantly

 

[Menchin]

I had to force myself through my first two-three raids in Escape From Tarkov. Absolutely harrowing experience. I love it.

I'm still shit, though

 

[Kyuuji]

Depends on the level of tension. TLOU2 I didn't have an issue with but add some horror or stalking presence to it and ya.. not so well. I once stayed under a table for 15m in Alien Isolation lol.

 

[Lurcharound]

Once I've died a few times it sort of strips off the veneer and I start to see the game in more abstract terms: as a set of responsive systems more than something "real". If I do x, y happens, etc. When that happens it alleviates a ton of the stressful feelings!

People have mentioned Alien Isolation a few times in this thread and IMO it's the perfect game for training yourself to do this. Absolutely one of the scariest, most tense games I've played. I loved the feeling I had during the first few hours of this game. But by the end of the game you'll have learned the rules and you'll see it more as a video game, and the tension will largely be gone. Honestly it felt great to overcome my fear over the course of that game.

Click to shrink...

Speaking of overcoming fear I found this piece of using AI to help cope with anxiety interesting: https://www.toplessrobot.com/2014/10/alien_isolation_ripley_video_games_xbox_one_ps4.php

Myself I quite like tense games and was blown away by Alien Isolation. I do play slowly and methodically though! I love how I erased you get in tense games; they really suck me in and I find hours have passed. I think I quite like the sense of relief when you take a break, stretch, etc and for sure the sense of victory they bring when you make it through feels great.

 

[Folie]

So, what I'm getting from a lot of these replies is 'We don't cope, OP' haha.

Really interesting to read people's thoughts, well, apart from the frantic masturbation one.

And this has actually helped with TLOU2! There was an interesting point above about her basically being this terminator of vengeance and looking at it from that perspective genuinely does make me feel less anxious about it (though I imagine things don't end well for a lot of people in that game).

Last example, because why not - In RDR2, anywhere in the swamps, after a pal told me about being ambushed and killed by a native tribe at night. Nope nope nope, no thank you.

 

[MrKlaw]

I find Alien Isolation incredibly tense. Why I'm looking up VR mods for it, god knows - it'll probably kill me

 

[MrFox]

The trick is alternate your activities with contrasting games or films. Do not binge TLOU2. I played it in short sessions of 2 hours maximum, then I watch a comedy on netflix, or an old animated film, or anything naively childish as a palate cleanser. Contrasts actually make me appreciate both extremes.

I'm much more sensitive to some general themes than the intensity, or violence, or gore. I don't like the classical horror genre anymore. If it's violent and dark it needs a very good reason and very strong theme development otherwise I give up on the game. I bought Demon's Souls and played a little, and the mood is so depressing I don't get it. Same for Dead Space which was highly recommended by friends and have amazing reviews. I played about 3 hours and stopped forever.

I think it's because the horror genre traditionally focused on dark biblical references of hell, putrefaction, and eternal suffering, which have no meaning to me and cannot have great arcs nor intelligible resolution. So I see them as maintaining a pointlessly dark mood and a voluntarily disgusting environment.

Nowadays I prefer the more recent takes on the horror genre mixed up with a well developed post-apocalyptic world, where authors share a more complex and well reasoned view of humanity, focus on characters, and use a heavy dose of anthropology and history to support their world-building. It's what many gamers expect today anyway, gaming progressed a lot in the last decade.

Death Stranding and TLOU2 are the rare exception among my favorite games of all times. Not sure if they are considered in the horror genre.

 

[Deleted member 56752]

The trick is alternate your activities with contrasting games or films. Do not binge TLOU2. I played it in short sessions of 2 hours maximum, then I watch a comedy on netflix, or an old animated film, or anything naively childish as a palate cleanser. Contrasts actually make me appreciate both extremes.

I'm much more sensitive to some general themes than the intensity, or violence, or gore. I don't like the classical horror genre anymore. If it's violent and dark it needs a very good reason and very strong theme development otherwise I give up on the game. I bought Demon's Souls and played a little, and the mood is so depressing I don't get it. Same for Dead Space which was highly recommended by friends and have amazing reviews. I played about 3 hours and stopped forever.

I think it's because the horror genre traditionally focused on dark biblical references of hell, putrefaction, and eternal suffering, which have no meaning to me and cannot have great arcs nor intelligible resolution. So I see them as maintaining a pointlessly dark mood and a voluntarily disgusting environment.

Nowadays I prefer the more recent takes on the horror genre mixed up with a well developed post-apocalyptic world, where authors share a more complex and well reasoned view of humanity, focus on characters, and use a heavy dose of anthropology and history to support their world-building. It's what many gamers expect today anyway, gaming progressed a lot in the last decade.

Death Stranding and TLOU2 are the rare exception among my favorite games of all times. Not sure if they are considered in the horror genre.

Click to shrink...

Yeah I couldn't handle TLOU2 for the first half. Game took me a month to beat because I needed the breaks. No game has ever done that for/to me.

 

[LiquidSolid]

I typically try to line up other, less stressful games to play at the same time so I can switch between them whenever I feel like it. For example, during my Demon's Souls playthrough I ended up finishing Bugsnax and Kentucky Route Zero plus got a few cases into Phoenix Wright.