Survivers horror game, slenderman ( Multiplayer )

Survivors is a free Russian-developed title that takes elements of the Slender formula and alters them in a way that results in some pretty effective horror in a co-op setting.  You and up to three friends are trapped in the woods at night and are armed with only flashlights as a werewolf hunts you down one by one. I was surprised that I actually found the game to be scary because playing a horror game with friends often completely destroys everything that makes a game horrifying, instead turning it into another silly action game that just happens to be in a dark setting. Survivors manages to avoid this issue by following the Amnesia and Slender route of stripping the players of any ability to defend themselves.

It quickly becomes apparent that the added help is more of a curse than a blessing.  In Slender as soon as you realize that you shouldn’t look at the monster you stop making sudden turns for fear that he might be right behind you.  The Slenderman also never truly gets to prove that he is dangerous until he finally gets you at the end of your play session.  By contrast in Survivors you are constantly turning around and observing your surroundings because you are trying to keep track of your friends.  Because of this your fear of being stranded and alone in this setting is actually making it more likely that you will notice the creature and startle yourself.  This leads to plenty of unnerving (and sometimes funny) moments where one player is running and
yelling because of something only they have seen.

The creature in Survivors also feels much more threatening because it gets the chance to prove it is dangerous a number of times.  If you are (un)lucky enough to be one of the last players standing you get to enjoy the experience of your friends being picked off one by one.  They may get devoured right before your eyes, or they may suddenly vanish in the darkness.  I’m not sure which one is worse.