My earliest memories of this game come from my friend Gianni frantically trying to explain the scary game he played that put files on his desktop, back around what must have been the ORIGINAL original release date. Being the wimp that I was (am), any time I saw that scary white face in my YouTube feed, I'd scroll past it quick, trying hard not to cry.

But I'm thankful for that, because I got to experience this game as an adult completely blind, and I doubt I would have appreciated it as much if I hadn't. Scary as this game is (again, wimp here), the ways in which you interact with it are something else. I would talk more about it, but it would risk robbing people of that experience. All I can say is, definitely check this out, you won't regret it.

It’s interesting finally playing IMSCARED after all this time. The game is over a decade old, and it’s hard not to ignore the game, or the legacy it left behind. “A game with an entity that can create folders on your actual desktop” is an amazing idea. I’m not sure if IMSCARED is the first game to affect someone’s desktop, or to break the fourth wall in the way it does. However, I know it’s definitely one of the most well known for it, and it helped inspire others to come up with similar concepts in their own games. But IMSCARED’s legacy aside, I had never actually played the game until now, and it really stood the test of time.
I’ll be honest, I’m really bad with horror games. I absolutely love them, but I get scared so easily, it’s somewhat ridiculous. IMSCARED is no exception. Though there was rarely an active threat, the constant atmosphere and droning ambience filled me with so much dread. There was never a time where I wasn’t uneasy. I also noticed that at times, the music would cut out. While it would be first assumed that it was a bug of some kind, regardless of if it is, it makes the atmosphere so much more tense. Instead of that droning ambience, you’re just drowned in silence. I was far more than just scared, I was absolutely terrified. And the minimal use of active threats makes those moments where active threats are around even more terrifying. It never feels like a “been there done this” kind of situation, each encounter feels terrifying in the same degree.
Of course, IMSCARED is well known for its Fourth Wall Breaks. Acknowledging you the player at multiple times, and often requiring you to mess with files the game adds in order to solve puzzles. One thing I really appreciate about IMSCARED is that the scares rarely come from the Fourth Wall Breaks themselves. Like I said, most of them time, messing with files is necessary to primarily solve puzzles. Later on in the game, there are some absolutely amazing puzzles that involve messing with the game or files in specific ways. When the Fourth Wall Breaks are tied to scares, they play more into leading into a scare, instead of being the scare itself. And I absolutely love the way of doing it. Though some of the fourth wall breaks definitely suffered due to the new Steam Update, fake achievements don’t work like they used to.
I absolutely adore the entities of IMSCARED. White Face is an amazing design. I love how most of the horror isn’t coming from its design, or the times it chases you. Instead, it’s terrifying whenever it watches you, staring into your soul the way it does. And that terror grows even further as it evolves into HER. While White Face is more of a lingering dread, HER is an antagonistic threat to you. Actively going out of her way to try and stop you from progressing. And seeing the writing of the game, and how the character of White Face/HER evolves as the game, and as you progress is really great. I may be talking a bit too much about the game here, and I’m sorry about that. I just really adore how the entity of the game is written the way it is.
I’m very late to the party on IMSCARED. It’s almost 11 years old at the time I’m typing this, and I’ve had this game in my library for probably a good 2 years at this point. I’ve been meaning to get to it for such a long time now, I just struggle getting the motivation to play horror games. Yet again, I get scared really easily, so I hesitate a lot. But I’m glad I finally brought myself to play IMSCARED, it really is a terrifying game, and its puzzles are absolutely stellar. While I really think IMSCARED’s ending is one to be admired, the promise of brand new IMSCARED content, especially with the direction it seems to be going is one that I find really interesting, and I can’t wait to see how it goes.

Simplesmente Surreal, eu realmente ESTOU ASSUSTADO.

Eu não esperava que este jogo fosse tão INCRÍVEL. Foge totalmente dos clichês de "jogos de terror", tendo um terror único e uma história MUITO boa + puzzles divertidos e desafiadores (É genial você mexer nas pastas do jogo para mudar certas coisas no game).

Ainda por cima o game consegue te enganar de muitas maneiras e de VÁRIOS jeitos diferentes durante a jogatina (Spoilers a parte o jogo consegue ser surreal no seu suspense, chegando até mesmo a "invadir" o seu computador).

O jogo é curtinho e convence no quesito "terror psicológico", entra na lista de games BONS que pouca gente conhece.

PRÓS:
- Puzzles criativos que complementam a história.
- Bom suspense.

CONTRAS:
- Talvez um pouco repetitivo demais no final.