Horror games use jumpscares for immediate shock and pacing, sound to draw attention to—or hint at—danger, and limited visibility to keep players uncertain about what is nearby. These techniques can reinforce one another, but none is a universal formula: their effect depends on timing, context, and the player’s attention.
How the three techniques create different kinds of tension
Each technique controls a different part of the player’s experience: when a threat becomes noticeable, what the player can infer from a cue, and how much of the environment is visible.
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| Technique | What it changes | Typical effect |
|---|---|---|
| Jumpscare | Timing | A sudden event creates an immediate shock; the possibility of another can also shape anticipation. |
| Sound | Attention and evidence | A cue can signal an event or suggest a cause without showing it. |
| Limited visibility | Available information | Obscured sightlines leave the player unsure what is present or what caused a movement. |
In combination, a sound from beyond a restricted field of view can prompt the player to imagine a threat before seeing it. A sudden reveal can then break that uncertainty. The techniques are distinct, but a game can use them as parts of one sequence.
Why jumpscares are more than a sudden shock
A jumpscare is a sudden auditory or visual event. It can startle the player, but developers interviewed by Game Developer describe it as one ingredient in a broader rhythm of dread, contrast, and release. Lead writer Dion Lay, who worked on Alien: Isolation, called jumpscares “one of the minor tools—more like a bit of spice you add to the main course” and said that, when used correctly, they can help maintain pace and tension without exhausting the player.
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That pacing role depends partly on expectation. Frictional Games creative director Thomas Grip noted that once players know jumpscares are possible, they may anticipate them, making quieter scenes feel charged with the prospect of a scare. A fake-out or a stretch without a reveal can therefore affect tension even when no sudden attack occurs. These are developers’ accounts of design intent, not a guarantee that every player will react the same way. Game Developer’s interviews on the timing and use of jumpscares.
What a player study does—and does not—show
A 2023 between-subject experiment by Thomas Terkildsen, Lene Engelst Christensen, and Mathias Clasen varied participants’ mental workload using tasks of different difficulty. Among its 60 participants, greater workload had a significant linear relationship with physiological arousal from a jumpscare. The researchers did not find the same relationship in participants’ subjective reports of arousal. A measured physical response and a person’s reported experience are different outcomes; the result should not be read as evidence that harder tasks make every player feel more frightened. The experiment tests specific conditions, not every game or audience. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, “Work Hard, Scare Hard?” (October 2023).
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- A dark, enthralling 4-5 hour narrative to keep you hooked and guessing until the end. Gorgeous visuals as you traverse numerous and diverse environments, presented with a cinematic, film-like aesthetic. Ranged and melee combat with upgradeable weapons to help you survive your nightmarish journey.
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How sound can imply danger before it is seen
Sound can make an event noticeable while leaving its source unclear. A noise behind a wall, beyond the visible area, or without an obvious cause asks the player to interpret what happened. That gap between hearing a cue and confirming its source gives the imagination room to supply possible explanations.
In an interview about Darkwood, developer Gustaw Stachaszewski described the appeal of seeing or hearing objects move without knowing what caused the motion or sound. The game’s restricted field of view makes such cues matter because the player cannot immediately inspect everything around them. Game Developer’s interview on Darkwood’s visibility mechanics.
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Researchers have also explored sound as a design variable. A preliminary 2010 experiment by Garner, Grimshaw, and Nabi reported that coarse manipulation of audio parameters had potential to influence fear intensity during survival-horror play. It was preliminary work, so it supports the possibility that audio choices matter, not a settled rule about which sound will frighten players or how strongly. ACM, “A preliminary experiment to assess the fear value of preselected sound parameters in a survival horror game” (Audio Mostly 2010).
A 2025 IEEE conference-paper abstract reports stronger physical reactions to simultaneous audio and visual danger cues in its experiment, particularly when the scare was unexpected and the sound was loud enough to break tension. The accessible record is an abstract; it does not establish a broad consensus or provide a basis here for adding methods or sample details. It also emphasizes that audio and visual elements need to fit the rest of the game. IEEE, “Analysis of Player Response Priority to Different Types of Danger Cues” (2025 conference-paper abstract).
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- Survive on a Knife’s Edge – Years of intense training have taught Leon new ways to use his knife, helping to even the odds against the unrelenting onslaught of enemies. By parrying enemy attacks, you can avoid debilitating damage and evade lunging enemies seeking to grab Leon and hold him in place. Make smart use of scavenged knives to deliver precise finishing moves on vulnerable enemies, and even use the element of surprise to quietly dispatch unsuspecting foes before they break.
How limited visibility turns uncertainty into a mechanic
When a game withholds a clear view, players have less information with which to identify a threat. They may have to turn, move, or wait for another cue before they can explain what they noticed. That uncertainty can make an otherwise small sound or movement feel consequential: the player is reacting not only to what is visible, but also to what might be outside the current view.
Darkwood offers one example. Its field of view sharply limits what is clear around the player, leaving peripheral space obscured and requiring the player to turn to inspect other directions. Stachaszewski said the developers found it eerie to see or hear motion without knowing its cause, and described an interest in horror that lets players’ minds “fill in the blanks.” This illustrates one design approach; it does not prove that restricted visibility works for every game or audience.
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Why the techniques work differently in combination
The techniques can be understood along several design axes, rather than ranked from most to least effective:
- Timing: A jumpscare delivers an immediate event; anticipation can extend tension across a quieter stretch.
- Information: A reveal shows a cause, while an unexplained sound or obscured movement leaves the cause ambiguous.
- Sensory pairing: Audio or visuals can cue danger separately, or together. The 2025 abstract offers a qualified report about paired cues, not a general rule.
- Player state: The 2023 study linked workload to physiological arousal under its conditions, but not to subjective arousal reports.
- Pacing: Developer commentary treats sudden scares as a limited ingredient that can contrast with sustained dread, rather than a substitute for it.
For example, a game might first use a faint sound to suggest a presence, keep the source outside the player’s view, and later reveal it suddenly. The sound establishes a question, the restricted view keeps it unanswered, and the reveal changes the timing. Whether that sequence works depends on the game’s context and the player’s response.
What the evidence can establish
The sources offer different kinds of evidence: developer interviews explain design intentions, while the studies test specific questions under limited conditions. They do not provide a broad player-preference survey, a universal effect size, or a definitive comparison ranking across jumpscares, sound, and visibility. The most defensible conclusion is that these are distinct tools that can interact—not a recipe guaranteed to frighten everyone.
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