Orwell’s Animal Farm Is Terrifying in Ways Most Horror Games Wish They Could Be
Orwell’s Animal Farm is one of the most affecting games I’ve ever played. As I think back over my time with it, I’m reminded inexorably of Stephen King’s assertion that there are three levels of terror: gross-out, horror, and terror. It’s that last one that King described as “when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute” that the game taps into.
In general, most horror games don’t frighten me. Oh look, it’s a horde of zombies that I have to shoot; it’s a wannabe creepy thing that I have to hide from in a rusty cupboard; oh no, if Jason catches me, escaping this gloomy campground will be harder for my teammates. The gameplay usually goes one of two ways: Either it’s derivative of power fantasies, or you spend so much time hiding that it just becomes frustrating and boring rather than tense.