# Is Bioshock too scary for me? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 14, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807 "2009-10-14T17:04:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/21 "2009-10-14T22:13:35Z")
> [@Zoinks](#): > > I’m only a third of the way in, the creepiest scene so far has been when I was stalking this one mad scientist. He was around the corner and I could see his shadow on the wall. I knew it was a dead end, so I started creeping closer, thinking, “That’s it doc, keep dissecting that dude, there’s a shotgun shell here with your name on it” - then the lights went out. Sweet zombiecock, I think I emptied my shotgun firing wildly at everything around me. YES ! That’s exactly it. That’s what Bioshock is. It’s like the haunted hotel level of _Vampire : Bloodlines_ : harmless most of the time, but on your first time through you will kill a whole lot of walls with your shotgun. And speaking of that level : \ _he’s heeere_ \ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/22 "2009-10-14T22:54:21Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > Ah, you definitely need to play Fatal Frame 2. Not really any gore, but. I absolutely love all of the Fatal Frame series to the point that I’m annoyed that the new one for the Wii looks like it won’t be coming to the US. If you haven’t played the third one then you should, **capybara** , it’s a direct sequel to both of the first two games where a woman in a lonely house in Tokyo goes to sleep and is caught in a dreamscape that’s formed (in part) of fragments of the locations from the first two games. And when she wakes up her home has become slightly worse each time. So you’ll wander her house between the dreamscapes and see more and more things slip into the “real world” from dreams. And for a newcomer I’d recommend the first game before the second. Not because you won’t understand the second game, I just think the more confined manor house of the first game is a better introduction than the village of the second. Either way I highly recommend the series to anyone who likes creepy games that are a bit slower paced. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/23 "2009-10-14T23:02:24Z")
I don’t get some of you all. Being scared shitless by games like these is part of the fun! And **LOUNE** …are you seriously that much of a sandy vag? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/24 "2009-10-15T01:39:35Z")
Hmm, I didn’t know there was a third one, and I sure didn’t know that there was but not for 360. So sad. Awesome games. God damned scary girl in the dark in the locked room with the closet near the doll room. The damn doll room. Gah! What a game. I should find the first one. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/25 "2009-10-15T01:48:53Z")
This is making me want to load this game back up. Excellent game. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/26 "2009-10-15T01:58:43Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I think I peed myself a little bit when I played it. Sweet mercy, what a bundle of scares. In fairness, **LOUNE** has always had bladder control issues. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/27 "2009-10-15T02:47:15Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I don’t get some of you all. Being scared shitless by games like these is part of the fun! > > And **LOUNE** …are you seriously that much of a sandy vag? > > 🙂 This was really an unnecessary post, and the smiley at the end doesn’t save it. Yes, some people don’t actually get a thrill from being scared. They just get scared, or nervous, or spooked, or disturbed. These are not, in fact, pleasant feelings, and it’s not shameful to not want to seek them out or to want to have control over how scared you get, as you imply with the namecalling. Hell, the reason some folks _can_ get a thrill from being scared is because you know it’s not real danger and you can walk away at any time. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/28 "2009-10-15T02:54:41Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > This was really an unnecessary post, and the smiley at the end doesn’t save it. Yes, some people don’t actually get a thrill from being scared. They just get scared, or nervous, or spooked, or disturbed. These are not, in fact, pleasant feelings, and it’s not shameful to not want to seek them out or to want to have control over how scared you get, as you imply with the namecalling. Hell, the reason some folks _can_ get a thrill from being scared is because you know it’s not real danger and you can walk away at any time. Sooooo…you’re in the sandy vag club too? C’mon, man, I was just playing around (mostly). If a game is too fucking scary, then don’t play it. I have a hard time believing in the “scare level” some people claim to get from videogames. It’s _completely under your control_ (ie, you can click “quit” whenever you choose), unlike, say, being talked into riding the Top Thrill Dragster and trying to change your mind at the top of the hill and it’s too late. I guess I owe an apology to the OP though…the OP was clearly asking if a certain game was scary or not and asked for advice, so sorry for threadshitting, OP. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/29 "2009-10-15T03:15:14Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Sooooo…you’re in the sandy vag club too? Gosh, I’m surprised you didn’t say I must be butthurt about something too. Still, I was probably more vehement than I needed to be. Sandy vag is one of my buttons, even if it’s not directed at me. Easy to push. You do contradict yourself, though. **LOUNE** was enjoying the game until it caught him off guard and got too scary for that session, at which point he…stopped playing it, just like you suggest. So what’s up with the namecalling? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/30 "2009-10-15T03:51:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > In fairness, **LOUNE** has always had bladder control issues. > > 😉 My vagina is packed with sand. I produce pearls hourly. You can set a clock to the intervals. The game was okay. The controls sucked a little bit, but I think that was a decision made to increase the tension (which I fucking hate). The game was fine, but I’m not going back. Thanks for the backup, **Bosstone** , but it’s cool. They didn’t mean anything by it, except to point that my vagina produces 20-grit sandpaper. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/31 "2009-10-15T11:34:40Z")
I don’t particularly enjoy being “scared” either, so I try and avoid “spooky” games and horror movies. Having said that, I really, really enjoyed _Bioshock_. I wouldn’t play it late at night when you’re the only one in the house, but it’s got a great storyline, it’s very immersive, and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel. I would, however, advise the OP to avoid _Wolfenstein_, which manages to combine Nazi Super Science\*, Zombies, invisible enemies, and Nazi Occultism. Sure, it’s fun to use the Nazi Super Weapons, but it’s a surprisingly dark game and not something I’d recommend before bedtime. \*For when regular Super Science just isn’t Evil enough 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/32 "2009-10-15T12:42:28Z")
The first time the ghosts showed up in Metroid Prime, my friend and I were shitting ourselves. It was in that fantastic platforming level (the Observatory?), you had busted your hump climbing up the inside of this huge tower, you flip a switch and…the lights go out. “Shit - the lights went out. Getting down is going to be tough.” Then all of a sudden the music \*really \*ramps up, and the high pitches screetching begins, like angry bloodthirsty pissed off banshees from hell. “Oh god, oh god, oh shit, oh shit, oh shitohshitohshitohshit…” Plus, you don’t know how to kill them yet, so you’re totally at their mercy. Fantastic gaming moment. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/33 "2009-10-15T13:34:15Z")
I shat myself during Metroid Prime too! Except it was when you find the Omega Pirate asleep in a glass jar-thing, and it’s all dark, and you explore every corner of the room really carefully to make sure you don’t step on his feeding tube or something… …and then you open the door to leave and he wakes up anyway and squashes you like a bug. _shudder_ I still maintain that the scariest game sequence ever is at the bottom of the elevator in the headcrab zombie-infested area in HL2: Episode 1, when the lights go out and… …you have to fight off a zombie army coming from all directions with only your flashlight for illumination. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/34 "2009-10-15T13:49:23Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > IMO, Bioshock is the same kind of scary as Thief : it’s more about eerie atmosphere than jack-in-the-box monsters in the closet. I’ve yet to find any game that’s immersed me in its atmosphere more than the Thief series, played in the dark, with headphones, on my PC. The Shalebridge Cradle segment of _Thief: Deadly Shadows_ is widely considered[_by whom?_] to be the scariest level in the series[_citation needed_], but there were plenty of other piloerectory moments in all three games. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/35 "2009-10-15T13:58:11Z")
> [@Zoinks](#): > > I’m only a third of the way in, the creepiest scene so far has been when I was stalking this one mad scientist. He was around the corner and I could see his shadow on the wall. I knew it was a dead end, so I started creeping closer, thinking, “That’s it doc, keep dissecting that dude, there’s a shotgun shell here with your name on it” - then the lights went out. Sweet zombiecock, I think I emptied my shotgun firing wildly at everything around me. See, I thought that one was the best scare, too, but most people who discuss the scariest moment cite this one (also on the Medical Pavillion level): [spoiler]when you’re in the Dental area. First, you walk into an exam room, the room fills with steam, and when it clears suddenly there’s a dead body in the dentist’s chair. Okay, freaky enough. Then you walk over to that desk that has some goodies and a teddy bear on it. Once again, the room fills with steam, and when it clears…nothing. Nothing’s changed. Whew. And then you turn around to leave and [HOLY CRAP SPOOKY DENTIST IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU STARING AT YOU!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzGjR6_oFy4) I guess I was so “on guard” for people popping out of nowhere, that it didn’t faze me as much as most folks.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/36 "2009-10-15T14:17:03Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I’ve yet to find any game that’s immersed me in its atmosphere more than the Thief series, played in the dark, with headphones, on my PC. The Shalebridge Cradle segment of _Thief: Deadly Shadows_ is widely considered[_by whom?_] to be the scariest level in the series[_citation needed_], but there were plenty of other piloerectory moments in all three games. Agreed. But forget about the dark & headphones part. I wouldn’t play some levels in anything but glorious daylight - the desk would reek of piss for _months_. And the omagodomagodomagod Haunts would home in on the scent… Speaking of Haunts, the devs of Thief II are absolute, rotten bastards : in the cop station level, down in the basement where the cells and torture chambers are, they put the ghost of a Haunt on patrol. He doesn’t do anything, can’t see you, in fact he’ll walk right through you. When I saw him for the first time, I about shat as the cursed memories of “Return to the Cathedral” flashed before my eyes over and over. Seriously people : play the Thief series if you never have. You’ll understand what Lovecraft was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/37 "2009-10-15T15:14:12Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Agreed. But forget about the dark & headphones part. I wouldn’t play some levels in anything but glorious daylight - the desk would reek of piss for _months_. And the omagodomagodomagod Haunts would home in on the scent… > > Speaking of Haunts, the devs of Thief II are absolute, rotten bastards : in the cop station level, down in the basement where the cells and torture chambers are, they put the ghost of a Haunt on patrol. He doesn’t do anything, can’t see you, in fact he’ll walk right through you. When I saw him for the first time, I about shat as the cursed memories of “Return to the Cathedral” flashed before my eyes over and over. > > Seriously people : play the Thief series if you never have. You’ll understand what Lovecraft was talking about. I’ve posted this here before, but it’s my favorite Thief story - I was playing Thief 2 on my first go-round, it was late at night and I found myself unexpectedly in an undead level. At the time, we had a newborn. My deal with my SAHM wife was that if I’m awake, I’ll get the baby if she starts crying. After I go to bed, my wife becomes the first responder. So I’m in my dark basement office, around 1 AM, playing an undead level that I wasn’t expecting, I have Garrett hiding in a dark corner, I’m trying to remember which type of undead responds to which type of weapon, when an earsplitting screech comes from RIGHT BEHIND ME. I jumped up, shot the chair back, and fell on my ass. It turned out to be my daughter announcing her presence through the baby monitor. **Anaamika** , would you kindly let us know how scary you think it is once you’ve played it? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/38 "2009-10-15T15:31:27Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I think I peed myself a little bit when I played it. Sweet mercy, what a bundle of scares. > > My buddies and I used to hole up in the basement after dark and play scary games. I had the best reflexes, so I controlled the character all the time. We played Fatal Frame 2 for a while until I saw a ghost in a closet in the last place I was expecting one. I put the controller down, turned on the lights, and said that someone else had to take over. > > It spooked us all out a little. That’s exactly how you’re supposed to feel! 😃 By the way, did you finish that game? I’ve heard it being called one of the saddest games ever and I was wondering what someone else’s perspective was on it > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I would, however, advise the OP to avoid _Wolfenstein_, which manages to combine Nazi Super Science\*, Zombies, invisible enemies, and Nazi Occultism. Sure, it’s fun to use the Nazi Super Weapons, but it’s a surprisingly dark game and not something I’d recommend before bedtime. > > \*For when regular Super Science just isn’t Evil enough 😉 Having just finished Wolfenstein, I have to disagree on the scariness. For one thing, those invisible guys don’t really appear a lot, and most of the game is in well-lit, daytime areas. Try the game before it though, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It’s pretty tame, even when the undead start coming after you. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/39 "2009-10-15T15:50:14Z")
Well, they had it new for $20, so I just bought it new, last night, and started playing it. It isn’t terrifying, thus far, though granted I haven’t gotten far. I find I am a pretty accurate shot; much better than I used to be last time I played a game like this. It’s from playing Fallout 3 and Oblivion (arrows!) and even lots and lots of Call of Duty. So that helps a LOT - they may come screaming at me but I usually can plug them, if not on the first shot then the second. And with heavier guns I have learned the benefits of short, controlled bursts. (You don’t understand - I used to be the kind of girl that shot everything, like mad. All you had to do was wait me out until I ran out of ammo. Well, NO MORE. :D) The lighting is VERY ominous and it does frighten me when it goes out, dims, etc. The splicers themselves are not scary, just when they run at you from around a corner or come up behind you. I find I am trusting in my trusty wrench a lot. I do know the story, generally, but not the specifics, so I appreciate all of the spoilers clearly marked. Um, what else? I haven’t come across any Big Daddies but the first one yet, the “intro” one. So there’s that. And I will restart from the beginning tonight - this is how I always play, start it, get into it, learn the controls, and then restart. This time it’s so that I am not spraying machine gun bullets in the more difficult direction - I didn’t realize they would come through the hallway behind me until I had already expended my ammo. As for \*\*FoieGrasIsEvil \*\* I will say only this one thing, which probably would serve you well in every instance of your life. _Not everyone responds to the same stimuli the exact same way you do._ Your comment about not believing the “scare level” people get from video games - well, I don’t get that comment! I get scared from certain horror flicks, and definitely certain horror books. At all times I can shut off the movie or close the book, but I’m 33 now, and that’s old enough to know what kinds of images stay with me even after and what I should avoid. And no, I don’t really enjoy a game that’s too terrifying. But Bioshock just draws me with the awesome story. Anyway. All of everything aside, so far nothing has shown up that even remotely dissuades me from playing the game. Creepy, creepy, but oh so cool! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807/40 "2009-10-15T15:55:01Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > That’s exactly how you’re supposed to feel! 😃 > > By the way, did you finish that game? I’ve heard it being called one of the saddest games ever and I was wondering what someone else’s perspective was on it > > Having just finished Wolfenstein, I have to disagree on the scariness. For one thing, those invisible guys don’t really appear a lot, and most of the game is in well-lit, daytime areas. Try the game before it though, Return to Castle Wolfenstein. It’s pretty tame, even when the undead start coming after you. I put the controller on the ground and walked away. Nobody else picked it up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bioshock-too-scary-for-me/513807.md?page=3)