This started out as a scary game but has transitioned into a comfort game to me, as weird as that sounds. Sometimes to relax I will throw on a youtube video essay (Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why is a favourite) and just blast through Leon or Claire's campaign. I think I know my way round that police station better than a lot of the places i've worked at this point lmao- it's like a second home to me.
On a first playthrough though, this is one of the few horror games to actually scare me. I LOVE horror games but they don't often really scare me. Whoever programmed Mr.X and how he moves around is a genius because it feels so random, which makes dealing with him on repeat playthroughs way more interesting. Sometimes I barely have any trouble with him at all and others it's as if he's lurking around every corner, you just never know. And the times his encounters are scripted, it's like they predicted exactly how the player was going to react, often leading them into even worse traps. Amazing game design.
One thing I will recommend if you can, turn on the option for the original soundtrack as you play. I have no nostalgia for the 1998 game outside of watching youtubers play lol, as it was before my time, but the music adds so much to the atmosphere, it makes everything feel so eerie and sad. and is also just great music on its own. I never play without it.
On a first playthrough though, this is one of the few horror games to actually scare me. I LOVE horror games but they don't often really scare me. Whoever programmed Mr.X and how he moves around is a genius because it feels so random, which makes dealing with him on repeat playthroughs way more interesting. Sometimes I barely have any trouble with him at all and others it's as if he's lurking around every corner, you just never know. And the times his encounters are scripted, it's like they predicted exactly how the player was going to react, often leading them into even worse traps. Amazing game design.
One thing I will recommend if you can, turn on the option for the original soundtrack as you play. I have no nostalgia for the 1998 game outside of watching youtubers play lol, as it was before my time, but the music adds so much to the atmosphere, it makes everything feel so eerie and sad. and is also just great music on its own. I never play without it.