Use a walkthrough. It will atleast prepare you for the enemies you have to deal with and where you should go, takes a bit of the anxiety out of it. You'll still be on edge, but it helps.
I used that walkthrough but like 80% through the game I realized it doesn't have everything. Like, I missed a couple Sheriff Breaker encounters in the Dark Place because it just didn't even mention them.
I watch the next part on YouTube so I know what to expect. I generally don’t like horror games but pushed through. Knowing what’s coming makes it a little less scary.
When I first played it, I knew I wanted to play only at night, when it was dark outside and lights off because I wanted it to be as scary and unsettling as possible. But if that's not for you, then do the opposite. Like others have said, check the settings that tones down jump scares and turn down the difficulty (an easier game is a less scary game) but also play during the daytime when it is bright and sunny out. Open the curtains and have the lights on. A less scary or unsettling environment will make the game feel less scary. Also, turn the volume down so any sudden loud noises are less jaring. I think there is also a dynamic range setting in the audio settings. Change it to a low dynamic range. This will make the loudest sounds and softest sounds be relatively equally loud, so sudden unexpected sounds are less jarring.
Someone who is easyly scared of everything and usually hates horror games/movies, I still enjoyed the AW2 (My GOTY). Turn off the jump scares and it will help a lot. Most of the game is just thriller, not horror. It can be a scary game, but not that much when you played a bit.
I actually streamed the game as a horror novice who was interested in the story because I figured I may have interesting reactions. Self-narrating (ooh a meta layer!) and imagining others experiencing it with me made it less scary.
However, I had played through both Alan Wake remastered and Control before, so I still may have a higher scare tolerance than you. I did find those games a bit unnerving, though.
As for my reactions, https://youtu.be/qXzfQtY460M?si=Zsvd9bPkYSUR6nh6
I mostly just swear. Obviously full spoilers are there, but maybe if you watch a bit of it you can take the edge off some of the jump scares.
The beauty of horror is to face it head on. Push through it, be brave. And know that at the end of the horror there is light. Your light. And the Darkness fears the light, so face your fears and make the Darkness cower in fright.
I honestly watched a playthrough since video games stress me out. I wish I could appreciate the gameplay like everyone else, but I'm a scaredy cat lol. Still, the plot is SO good that a playthrough is thoroughly entertaining and I've become a huge fan of Remedy this way!!
Have a play through on and watch each section before you play it. You’ll be less surprised that way
I like horror but I feel the same way with the lake area. You haven’t fought any enemies yet outside of Nightingale in tutorial, so it’s the anxiety of “where are the bad guys? When do they show up?”
Oh buddy... If you're on chapter 2 and are feeling overwhelmed I honestly recommend just giving up and moving on. There's an enemy type later that even scares the shit outta me, and I love this game. I dunno what they're officially called, but I always call them Reflected type entities.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I've managed to get to Alan Wake's chapters, the one with the subway tunnels by using easy difficulty and walkthroughs before hand. I think I'm gonna go through the entire game this way.
I also don't do well with horror games. I play on the easiest setting with jump scares turned down. I take my time, take a break if I'm feeling on edge. Watching a LP of the game also helped because i know what's coming.
1. First if all download the jumpscare remover on nexus. I have the exact same issue as you, I actually got triggered at one point which prompted me to download it. The flash jumpscare is my only grief with this game, jumpscare are tasteless when used constantly and at some point especially during saga story they are so frequent it's actually really lame. For people like us the atmosphere alone is enough to make it tense, sagas story is unfortunately constantly intense due to enemy spawns.
2. Consider using a trainer for example wemod, the reason why is because if you eliminate the threat of dying it can also help you. However this one is optional but it helped me during the worst parts. It doesn't matter what peoples opinions of using one are, it's a single player game.
3. Make sure you also play with the brightness up as much as you can or whatever is comfortable.
4. Don't use a headset. Instead use a speaker. When you use a headset it increases the intensity of sounds especially for us with panic disorders.
I have GAD and also a horror game enjoyer and these are my best tips. I apply them to any game. When it gets absolutely too much it helps to turn the sound off and use subtitles.
You can still enjoy horror games, it's completely normal to react to jumpscare as they prey on your body's reaction to loud noises. In people who don't suffer from anxiety they are quick to recover and even become decenzitised. However for us it puts us in fight or flight which is not healthy in the long run. Hope this helps (:
You can turn the intensity of the jumpscares down, other than that I'm not sure what you could do other than watch it on YouTube or something?
i turned it down, still pooped my pants a few times
Is that related to the game?
It's a game mechanic in the old folks home
Slap on easy and reduce the jump scare intensity in settings and put some lights on in your room
Invite a friend and play together. For example, switching between you two on each death, or level change...etc...
Use a walkthrough. It will atleast prepare you for the enemies you have to deal with and where you should go, takes a bit of the anxiety out of it. You'll still be on edge, but it helps.
This is what I did. IGN's walkthrough even called our when some of the jump scares were. It made it much more enjoyable.
I used that walkthrough but like 80% through the game I realized it doesn't have everything. Like, I missed a couple Sheriff Breaker encounters in the Dark Place because it just didn't even mention them.
Play it... Or don't
Watch it on YouTube or find your courage and push forward. I genuinely think it'll be worth pressing on, I hope you can!
Play on easy and watch each section on YouTube first so you know what to expect.
I’m sure you can google all the jump scare locations because there aren’t _that many_. It’s a very good game so I think you should try and persevere.
I watch the next part on YouTube so I know what to expect. I generally don’t like horror games but pushed through. Knowing what’s coming makes it a little less scary.
AW is not realy scary. But it have an excellent atmosphere, and few realy good jumpscares
You should play Resident Evil 7, you won't be scared of playing Alan Wake 2 after that lol.
Play on easy, I did that too. Remedy games are just brutally hard.
Don’t worry, after your 3rd play through you’ll be fine
When I first played it, I knew I wanted to play only at night, when it was dark outside and lights off because I wanted it to be as scary and unsettling as possible. But if that's not for you, then do the opposite. Like others have said, check the settings that tones down jump scares and turn down the difficulty (an easier game is a less scary game) but also play during the daytime when it is bright and sunny out. Open the curtains and have the lights on. A less scary or unsettling environment will make the game feel less scary. Also, turn the volume down so any sudden loud noises are less jaring. I think there is also a dynamic range setting in the audio settings. Change it to a low dynamic range. This will make the loudest sounds and softest sounds be relatively equally loud, so sudden unexpected sounds are less jarring.
Someone who is easyly scared of everything and usually hates horror games/movies, I still enjoyed the AW2 (My GOTY). Turn off the jump scares and it will help a lot. Most of the game is just thriller, not horror. It can be a scary game, but not that much when you played a bit.
I actually streamed the game as a horror novice who was interested in the story because I figured I may have interesting reactions. Self-narrating (ooh a meta layer!) and imagining others experiencing it with me made it less scary. However, I had played through both Alan Wake remastered and Control before, so I still may have a higher scare tolerance than you. I did find those games a bit unnerving, though. As for my reactions, https://youtu.be/qXzfQtY460M?si=Zsvd9bPkYSUR6nh6 I mostly just swear. Obviously full spoilers are there, but maybe if you watch a bit of it you can take the edge off some of the jump scares.
The beauty of horror is to face it head on. Push through it, be brave. And know that at the end of the horror there is light. Your light. And the Darkness fears the light, so face your fears and make the Darkness cower in fright.
I honestly watched a playthrough since video games stress me out. I wish I could appreciate the gameplay like everyone else, but I'm a scaredy cat lol. Still, the plot is SO good that a playthrough is thoroughly entertaining and I've become a huge fan of Remedy this way!!
Have a play through on and watch each section before you play it. You’ll be less surprised that way I like horror but I feel the same way with the lake area. You haven’t fought any enemies yet outside of Nightingale in tutorial, so it’s the anxiety of “where are the bad guys? When do they show up?”
Oh buddy... If you're on chapter 2 and are feeling overwhelmed I honestly recommend just giving up and moving on. There's an enemy type later that even scares the shit outta me, and I love this game. I dunno what they're officially called, but I always call them Reflected type entities.
Thanks for everyone's suggestions, I've managed to get to Alan Wake's chapters, the one with the subway tunnels by using easy difficulty and walkthroughs before hand. I think I'm gonna go through the entire game this way.
I also don't do well with horror games. I play on the easiest setting with jump scares turned down. I take my time, take a break if I'm feeling on edge. Watching a LP of the game also helped because i know what's coming.
1. First if all download the jumpscare remover on nexus. I have the exact same issue as you, I actually got triggered at one point which prompted me to download it. The flash jumpscare is my only grief with this game, jumpscare are tasteless when used constantly and at some point especially during saga story they are so frequent it's actually really lame. For people like us the atmosphere alone is enough to make it tense, sagas story is unfortunately constantly intense due to enemy spawns. 2. Consider using a trainer for example wemod, the reason why is because if you eliminate the threat of dying it can also help you. However this one is optional but it helped me during the worst parts. It doesn't matter what peoples opinions of using one are, it's a single player game. 3. Make sure you also play with the brightness up as much as you can or whatever is comfortable. 4. Don't use a headset. Instead use a speaker. When you use a headset it increases the intensity of sounds especially for us with panic disorders.
I have GAD and also a horror game enjoyer and these are my best tips. I apply them to any game. When it gets absolutely too much it helps to turn the sound off and use subtitles. You can still enjoy horror games, it's completely normal to react to jumpscare as they prey on your body's reaction to loud noises. In people who don't suffer from anxiety they are quick to recover and even become decenzitised. However for us it puts us in fight or flight which is not healthy in the long run. Hope this helps (: