Lurker > Snake5555555555

Max Caulfield - Life is Strange
Maya Fey - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Futaba Sakura - Persona 5
Sombra - Overwatch
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Dante
Chloe
Chun-Li
Ganondorf
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61. Hereditary (film) (18 points)
Nominated by: GANON1025 (4/5 remaining)


Importance: 5
Fear: 6
Snake: 7

Hereditary was a weird film experience for me. As the most hyped horror film of the year, its attention grabbing trailer made the most of strange imagery, stressed-looking characters, an awesome score, and one particular mouth-popping little girl. I honestly have not seen a trailer for a horror film that good in a long time, and I really mean that. It was the type of trailer that really did not spoil or reveal anything but instead captured the mood and vision of what you would eventually see. More trailers like this would make the world a better place.

I did not see this on initial release in theaters, it was a couple of months after actually, and I think that really helped me form a better, honest opinion about it. I was happy everyone loved it and was excited to see it, but I didn't want to be influenced by the hype. I have many conflicting feelings about the film. The performances are rock-solid and capture a family in pure depression and disdain for one another, and I can still remember how Toni Collette yelled her heart out at the family dinner table or Alex Wolff's look of pure emptiness after his sister gets accidentally decapitated on the road back from a party. This type of horror is one that's tangible and you can feel it crawl throughout your skin.

Plot-wise however, it loses me a little. Its deep underlying cult aspect feels ripped from and done better in Rosemary's Baby, with a really cliche "older lady" friend plot line that to me just detracts from the strengths of the family drama. Even some of the more straightforward horror moments late in the film almost feel like they come straight out of an Insidious or Conjuring movie. Maybe I just expected something more psychological here, although the ending is creepy and uniquely ambiguous which slightly makes up for the more tried & true tropes found in the film. I wouldn't say these are done bad, and some even magnify the family tribulations, but I've seen many horror films this decade that feel more special in their execution.

I can definitely see the importance of this film rising in future years, remembered as a classic of its era. I would recommended it to anyone even remotely interested in horror, and one plus I would give its common horror elements is that they can definitely ease viewers in before hitting them with the hard stuff. I can even see it growing more and more on me too with multiple viewings in the future.
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HK-47 (KOTOR)
Lex Luthor (New 52 Justice League)
Mick Rory/Heat Wave (Legends of Tomorrow)

Hms:
Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (Legends of Tomorrow)
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Tidus
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Yuna

trading for Yuna auto
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Red Mage
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Anagram posted...

I only nominated that because it was the most cliched horror thing I could think of. If I'd remembered cat jump scares at the time, I'd have used it instead.

Luckily I love discussing tropes and the history of it like this!

Johnbobb posted...

Dead of Winter is one of those games that looks like a lot of fun but I'd never really end up playing it

I've had the Game of Thrones board game at my apartment for like 3 years now but getting a group of like 4-6 people to sit and play a 4+ hour game is difficult

My thoughts exactly, even worse is when you actually do start and everyone taps out after like half an hour. Happened to me twice with the Resident Evil Deck Building Game.
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I checked out the visual novel and some of the anime for my horror rankings.
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Johnbobb posted...

Man a 5 for personal is high imo

the mirror thing (especially if it's a bathroom mirror) has to be one of my least favorite horror tropes. It's gotten to the point where even subverting it feels lazy

there are exceptions (I think the V for Vendetta one was well done) but for the most part I just kind of groan whenever I see it, regardless of whether it's played straight or not

I just went with an average score to cover the good and bad aspects of the trope.
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Hah! That is a great shot!
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62. Dead of Winter (Board Game) (18 points)
Nominated by: Great_Paul (1/4 remaining)
https://www.plaidhatgames.com/games/dead-of-winter

Importance: 4
Fear: 7
Snake: 7

Dead of Winter is a massive and ambitious board game that can turn any hang-out night with friends into a grueling game of survival, deceit, and strained teamwork. The first thing I noticed with Dead of Winter is the strong art direction of the game, with really nice zombie and character pieces, card artwork, and the design of the board invoking strong atmosphere. I think things like that can go a long way towards getting people in the mood to actually play this 1+ hour long epic. If that's not enough, each player's secret goal can keep many players hooked and constantly thinking about their next move, and it would be interesting to see how other players react to your decisions, just like you would in media like The Walking Dead or even The Thing. Game difficulty naturally increases as the game goes on, including dwindling food resources and environmental hazards. Winning is no east feat, and with everyone both working together and possibly conspiring against each other, victory comes with a satisfying and hard-earned ending that could leave any other player exasperated and exhausted. I find it endlessly intriguing that a board game can create so much tension and horror like this, and games like Dead of Winter solidify the board game medium as having some of the most progressive and engaging ways of providing entertainment to many people.
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I will agree the characters in season 1 are definitely boring, which is something the other seasons improve on greatly in my opinion. It's why it's the weakest season for me. Still though, I hate the goddamn tooth monster, gives me the damn chills.
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63. Opening the bathroom medicine cabinet, pulling out something, closing the cabinet, and something is in the mirror behind you (Movie Trope) (18 points)
Nominated by: Anagram (4/6 remaining)



Importance: 8
Fear: 5
Snake: 5

Better known as the Mirror Scare, this trope is a classic in the horror genre, and it's common to see it parodied and subverted rather than played straight nowadays. One of the earliest examples I can think of, if not the first ever, is in the 1931 film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. No door or mirror is even closed here, but rather one is opened as Mr. Hyde appears in the mirror behind Ivy, who just escaped Hyde's grasp. Many tenets of the mirror scare are executed here, including the shattering of security, psychological paranoia, and symbolism of the inner-self which is prevalent throughout Dr. Jekyll.

The next major example is in Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Again, it's not a medicine cabinet here, rather a closet door, but it's in effect the same thing. It's used here to build psychological tension in Carol's character and actually helps clue us in to her mental state at that moment. Also note the use of music, as light and fleeting piano notes gives way to a horrifying stinger taking away our lulled sense of security.

Another great mirror scare occurs at the very end of Phantasm. Just 14 years after Repulsion, Phantasm already subverts the trope through clever use of misdirection. Mike is packing his belongings, having just vanquished the Tall Man and feeling safe for the first time in forever, and as Mike nudges close a closet door, the Tall Man appears there in the mirror, and what I love most about this scene is how Mike doesn't even notice it right away. It actually takes a couple of seconds for him to turn and see the horrifying visage in the reflection, and then subverts it even further by having the final scare actually come breaking through the mirror rather than from the Tall Man. It's very well done!

The mirror scare grew great relevancy throughout the eighties and nineties with the slasher boom, being used in nearly every major slasher franchise, usually played straight and to varying effectiveness. An American Werewolf in London uses its mirror scare to transition to comedy. Candyman places the mirror scare as a central part of the Candyman urban legend, making any mirror in the film a potential danger to the main protagonist. Slashers like Halloween H20 and Elm Street: Dream Warriors offer more straightforward examples and I think they serve to only cheapen the trope and make them ultimately jokes and cheap gags. This leads to parodies in films like Shaun of the Dead or other mediums such as The Simpsons in "Treehouse of Horror V", Home Movies, Jackie Chan Adventures, Phineas & Ferb, and SNL.

Still the mirror scare lives on, and can still be done in effective ways, with one of the best coming in 1408 which uses a window to create one of the scariest moments in the film. It can even be done in non-horror offerings, like V for Vendetta, which shows how dangerous our hero is whilst doubling as political commentary. Mirror scares also translate well to video games, including Resident Evil: Director's Cut, Catherine, and Doom 3 who each use mirrors in different ways to scare with their enemies and monsters. The mirror's deep roots in symbolism and reflections of the self will keep this trope alive and well in the present and I'm sure much beyond.
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Whiskey_Nick posted...

Eliminated Day 3: Claire Redfield

bad
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Batman Year One art is honestly the artwork I think of first when I think of Batman.
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Yuna
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Red Mage
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64. From Next Door (17.5 points)
Nominated by: ihatethisCPU (2/5 remaining)
https://spacezeta.itch.io/from-next-door
The Window Next Door: https://imgur.com/a/9ut9n#QpOdx

Importance: 1.5
Fear: 7
Snake: 9

There's been plenty of Junji Ito inspired pieces to go around on this list so far, but From Next Door is the first on this list to actually be an adaptation, albeit loose adaptation, of one of Ito's stories, titled "The Window Next Door". Ito's original creepy story translates well to the choice-based horror game, and I dare say even that the game is scarier than the original story. From Next Door starts off with a young woman moving into a new house that happens to be neighboring a house with absolutely no windows on it. A locked upstairs door sets into motion a quest this woman may not walk away from, as this leads into the revelation of a lone window across from the one in the locked room, followed by creepy notes found in secret alcoves throughout the house. From Next Door is particularly excellent at making the player feel lonely, isolated, and helpless especially in the parts that take place at night, also capturing that unsettling feeling of just moving into a new house and getting used to your new surroundings that suddenly feel alien to you. I also get some Rear Window vibes, with the woman being on vacation from work, and how being cooped up in your house for a lot of your time can lead to morbid curiosity and a thirst for exciting narrative in your life. Beyond all that, From Next Door has some of the most frightening jump scares I've seen in a while and that's thanks to masterful tension building that leads to something you will definitely not be expecting. There are multiple endings, and the one I received ends with the woman being dragged into the window next door by the game's monster, never to be seen again. Fitting, I think.
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It's an important part of the horror topic process to go through several purges before one really lasts.

General Horror Films guide:
http://www.listal.com/list/horror-films-guide

General Horror Games Guide:
http://www.listal.com/list/survival-horror-video-game-guide
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Wolverine
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Panther
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Glad you loved So Far Under so much! Rainier Fog is a fantastic album, I think it's easily their best since the 90s. For a classic album to listen to, you should go with Dirt.
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Man I love Slayride! Cover is a nice callback to Death in the Family and yet the b&w style invokes some old, cozy Christmas movie. Good clashing of tones there.

Everything about the initial set-up is classic comics, from the crime bust gone wrong to the in-media-res street chase between the goons and Robin, and things only get worse.

It cannot be stressed enough how much this single issue nails Joker perfectly. That damn creepy smile, no remorse or regret in his actions, how he can switch from jolly and joyous to raging anger in a mere moment. Joker really embraces the clown and comedian part of his persona here, and it's dark humor at its finest. And of course, it could not have ended any other way, with the Joker just disappearing at the end, truly like some undefinable force of nature.

I also really like Robin's portrayal. Staying calm under pressure, thinking on the fly, like a true Batman, but he's also able to separate himself from his master by using personal experience to gain the upper hand over Joker through the sheer act of conversing and actually finding some common ground with the Clown Prince of Crime. It's a small but deep way of better characterizing Tim and making him his own hero.
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Let us never forget Batman wets his pants during the famous Year One feast scene.
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Abstain

GLaDOS (Portal)
&
Rikku (Final Fantasy X)
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Thought it was just me!
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Speed Force (The Flash)
"Thank God we invented the, you know, whatever device." (Thank You For Smoking)
Bio-Luminescent Mushrooms (metal Gear Solid 3)
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Spider-man
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65. Lost Hearts by M. R. James (17.5 points)
Nominated by: PumpkinCoach (0/3 remaining)
Text Version: http://www.thin-ghost.org/items/show/143
Narrated Version:

Importance: 4
Fear: 6
Snake: 7.5

Whilst his name is not as prevalent as Lovecraft, Shelly, or Stoker, M. R. James is fondly remembered for his very influential ghost stories, and Lost Hearts is one of his more well-known ones. Lost Hearts is an incredible flexing of atmosphere and mood, and nothing really inherently scary happens until the very end, yet a sense of melancholia, dread, mystery, and hints of something deeper pervade the story. M. R. James' real strength in this story is his masterful sense of location; right from the start, character descriptions are ousted in place of describing Aswarby Hall in excruciating detail, which clues us in on who the main character of this passage really is. That's not to say characters are completely background noise; the head of house Mr. Abney is mysteriously reclusive and asks strange questions, establishing quick hints to his deeper motivations. There's also Mrs. Bunch, a kindly housekeeper who takes fondly to Stephen, the newly arrived resident of Aswarby Hall and our reader avatar so to speak. Bunch is particularly important to the story, establishing routine and comfort to Stephen and indeed the reader with her vast knowledge of many topics and gift of gab. When this routine is broken, we feel it as much as Stephen, as the truth of the ending invades our minds and chills us to the core. They don't really make ghost stories like this anymore, that's for sure.
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;)
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Yuna
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If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
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Red Mage
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66. Slipknot - The Virus of Life (17 points)
Nominated by: Johnbobb (4/6 remaining)


Importance: 3
Fear: 5
Snake: 9

Slipknot's catalog is full of songs meant to shock and scare the listener, and The Virus of Life is one of their best in that regard. Corey Taylor's whispered, sinister vocals in the verses contrasted with the screaming vocals of the chorus shows a considerable release of anger and frustration, and depending on how you interpret the song, could be seen as the song's protagonist unleashing said anger on some unsuspecting victim or unobtainable love interest. The opening verse definitely sounds to me like some creepy stalker following a woman he can't have, with bad intentions crowding his thoughts. However, The Virus of Life could also be referring to drug addiction, its invisible dangers to give us false security and happiness. Whatever you interpret it as, there's no denying its rather dark meaning either way. The fantastic drumming and industrial riffs give the track a great atmosphere with the latter creating an interesting duality to tie into the lyrics. Little touches like the disturbing moans at the end really put the cherry on top of a great song that's sure to catch any listener's attention.
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Claire vs. Zombies (Resident Evil: Degeneration)


Constantine stalls and tricks the First of the Fallen (Hellblazer #42)

Jill Valentine - "You want stars, I'll give you stars!" (Resident Evil 3)

HMs:
Deathstroke nearly defeats the entire Justice League (Identity Crisis #3)
Ocelot's gun-spinning (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater)
Krauser vs. Leon Knife Fight (Resident Evil 4)
Just about everything Leon does in RE4 actually

Metallica at the 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards

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I would definitely love a Chris & Mercy.
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Cuphead
Neku Sakuraba
Yu Narukami
Primrose
Shantae
Neptune
Godot
Ike
Estelle Bright
Isaac
Hat Kid
Aloy
Captain Toad
Lucina
Shulk
Ren Amamiya
Monokuma
Isabelle
Lloyd Irving
KOS-MOS
Aqua
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67. "Telescope" / Whatever The Fuck Is Going On Here (Comic Strip) (17 points)
Nominated by: Pirateking2000 (2/6 remaining)
https://imgur.com/cIJqpyV

Importance: 2
Fear: 7
Snake: 8

*I HIGHLY SUGGEST READING THE STRIP BEFORE READING THIS, IT'S REALLY SHORT DON'T WORRY*

This very short comic strip genuinely scared me the first time I read through it. The 6th panel down is an honest-to-god shocking jump scare for those who are unsuspecting of it, a total "what-the-fuck" twist that goes from 0 to 100 in just a short gap. For a comic to achieve such a jolting startle was impressive to me, and I think the medium this is delivered in really helps it. The scrolling of your mouse wheel makes the monster's movements seem even faster than usual, and it's over before you even process what the hell happened. The monster and comic could be mistaken for Junji Ito, but it's actually drawn by Uno Moralez, who's other pieces also deserve a look at with many disturbing images amongst his work. Despite being a very short piece, there's actually a few things to dissect here. I feel like the boy's smile as he peers through his telescope is voyeuristic in nature, as if he expected to catch his distant neighbor undressing for his adolescent pleasure. The monster as a result feels like the boy's punishment, with a deliberately twisted feminine appearance mocking the boy's desires. Of course, this is all up to anyone's speculation, and I don't really know what's up with the last panel, but it's dang creepy! In short, it's a comic surely to administer an unexpected shock to your system.
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Manny Calavera (Grim Fandango)
&
Bowser (Super Mario Bros)

King Dice (Cuphead)
&
Jill Valentine (Resident Evil)
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What everyone else said, along with the new topic.
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Yuna
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Red Mage
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Yuna
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If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
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Red Mage
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If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
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68. The Ritual (2017 film) (17 points)
Nominated by: jcgamer107 (2/5 remaining)


Importance: 4
Fear: 6
Snake: 7

The Ritual is a film that nearly reaches the upper echelons of horror greatness. Set in idyllic Sweden, The Ritual is about a group of four friends who go hiking there in order to honor their deceased friend Rob, who thought it would be a great trip to strengthen their bonds and grow closer once again. In the opening scenes, Rob is killed in a robbery in front of his friend Luke, who was too slow to act and intervene in the robbery.

It's first half is superb; an exercise in masterful tension building, stressed character relationships, and fleeting glimpses of fear as the haunting aura of their friend's death hangs over the entire affair. The atmosphere is carried by the group of friends, whom all seem to hold some type of grudge or another towards Luke due to his supposed cowardice in failing to save Rob. Still, the friends try their best to make the trip at least somewhat fun or enjoyable, but other things like Dom's injured leg, directional confusion, and gutted animals seem to hold back their every effort, as if this is Rob's vengeance for Luke's cowardice.

Things come to a head in an isolated cabin in the middle of the woods, as many horror movies are wont to do, which contains a particular creepy effigy in the attic. The group still decide to stay, but obviously the film makes it clear this place is bad, bad news. Come morning, the group is in psychological tatters from their overnight stay, suffering nightmares, wounds, and one of the group even finds himself naked and praying to the attic effigy. The group is pursued by a strange monster from there, and these scenes are fantastic, with only fleeting glimpses of their assailant but not performing the same discretion when it comes to the deaths of each of the group.

Yet, I find the film succumbs to its own plot developments in the last third. Luke and Dom are eventually captured by a cult and I find the film loses all sense of horror and mystery here. The monster is shown full-body and while it's a cool looking monster, all the sense of mystique and being hunted in the woods by an unknown thing is dropped in favor of showing off said cool monster they probably put a lot of effort into designing. I can appreciate the incorporation of classic Scandinavian mythology if done well, but it feels largely unnecessary here. I much prefer the film as an allegory and a psychological look at death, friendship, regret, the ways we age, and the many rituals we go through to bring comfort and strength to ourselves.

Still, it's well worth a viewing and you may even think differently about the ending, for those that dislike the ambiguous nature of something like The Blair Witch Project, which The Ritual for sure owes a great debt to. David Bruckner has always been a horror filmmaker to keep an eye on, and as his first non-anthology directorial debut, he delivers a film that will surely leave a mark on many viewers.
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Haunting of Hill House is so good so far. Episode 2 in particular is one of the most nuanced tellings of death I think I've ever seen in fiction.
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Black Panther
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69. Stories Untold (16.5 points)
Nominated by: PumpkinCoach (1/3 remaining)


Importance: 2.5
Fear: 6
Snake: 8

Stories Untold is an experimental horror narrative game, which is played through short anthology-type segments. A prominent hook of the game is its throwback technology each of the protagonists use, in fact, nearly all facets of the game invoke classic 80s imagery and music as is very common in horror nowadays. Stories Untold uses this method of nostalgic to create an immersive experience that feels accurate to the era as far as I can tell, but its otherwise post-modern method of storytelling and narrative clashes with this to intriguing effect.

For better illustration, let's take the first segment, "The House Abandon". It starts off as a simple emulation of a Commodore 64 style horror text adventure, complete with era-appropriate wooden paneling and CRT TV screen, completely immersing you in mood and tone as thunder and lightning crashes around you. It's cozy and spooky all at once, and if you're old enough to remember playing games like that, an instant nostalgia boost. However, when the meta aspects start kicking in, such as when the in-game text adventure starts mimicking events happening in your very house, all sense of safety and good memories quickly melt away, breaking the 80s nostalgia spell and delivering new sensations of dread and horror.

Each of the following segments ramps up the tension until the plot starts to come around in a very satisfying and mind-bending way that echoes films like Triangle or Wes Craven's New Nightmare. It's a perfect execution of horror and meta elements and well, I'm just a sucker for this kind of stuff. It's easily my favorite type of horror, and Stories Untold is a rare video game example to pull it off with this level of quality.
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If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
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Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2)
&
Missile (Ghost Trick)

Chris (Kaju 100%)
&
Vergil (Devil May Cry 3)
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Spider-Man
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If the suspense doesn't kill you, something else will!
http://tinyurl.com/zqwzc9a - https://imgur.com/a/OcdhKKR