I can’t play horror games to save my life. I get too anxious, throw the controller, and scream a lot. That being said, I love watching other people play horror games. One of my favourite things to do with my roommate is sit on the couch and watch her play terrifying games that I could never play myself.

I am going to blame my weird fascination with horror games on my dad. I literally grew up watching him play the Resident Evil games. When I was six or seven, I learned how to read strategy guides so that I could help him look up the maps to Raccoon City Police Department or the Umbrella Mansion — this was in the time before high-speed internet, and me looking up the schematics allowed Dad to keep playing.

Once I got old enough to figure out the controls, Dad got me to try controlling Jill Valentine in the first Resident Evil game. I didn’t do too badly against the zombies, but the zombie-dogs were my undoing.

The most recent horror game that I watched my roommate play was Pineview Drive. It’s a psychological horror game that takes place over thirty in-game days which end at a pre-determined time: when you’ve found a journal entry. Basically the scariest thing about this game is a clown doll that occasionally moves around and scares the ever living shit out of you, and the odd paranormal cut scene that was meant to act as a jump scare. The ending was a little disappointing and left a lot of questions unanswered, but it’s an indie game that has rumours of a sequel.

Next on the agenda is to watch someone on YouTube play Resident Evil: Remastered. If anyone knows of an LP of this game that isn’t in German, please let me know. Alternatively, if anyone knows German, please teach me.