What makes us scared whilst playing Outlast and Five nights at Freddy's?

Fear is an emotion we feel in response to a stimulus which cause us to avoid it. Fear of something causes what is known as the fight or flight response. This is triggered to preserve our survival.

Video games in the horror genre are mostly set in the dark to use the player’s fear of the unknown against them. In the game Outlast you are to investigate an insane asylum in the dark. The main character is a journalist; he is unarmed but has a camera with night vision to allow him to see in the dark. The battery also runs out which gives you something else to fear.

Outlast (https://www.g2a.com/outlast-steam-key-global-i10000000380010, n.d.)

​Five Nights at Freddy’s at is another very popular horror game that puts you in the role of a restaurant night guard who must survive “five” nights without getting killed by possessed animatronics that cheer up children during the day. I must admit that the jump scares were not the prominent source of fear in this game. I built a rush of adrenaline and felt anxious because of the fact that I was stuck in an office were I could not move, only being able to look left and right or on the camera, and had a limited amount of power that I needed to use efficiently all while having to keep track of the animatronics movements.

These kinds of vulnerability are what makes these games great horror games. Unlike Resident Evil games, these two horror games restrict your ability to fight, and in the case of Five Nights at Freddy’s, even the flight response is taken away. They leave you at the mercy of your wits and your skills in resource management in an environment that is unnerving and hostile.

Foxy running towards the office (http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/37600000/FOXY-S-RUNNING-five-nights-at-freddys-37656455-812-450.gif, n.d.)